Running and losing weight are ideal partners. Understanding what your heart rate should be when you run can help you achieve your weight-loss goals. You can use the statistic of burning approximately 100 calories per mile of running, and gauge your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. The heavier you are, the more calories you'll burn when you run. To do it, keep your heart rate in the fat-burning zone, which is 60 percent to 70 percent of your maximum.
Burning Fat
The harder or faster you run, the more carbohydrate fuel you burn, but a slower pace will use more fat calories. If you are a 45-year-old runner who wants to lose a few pounds, and your max heart rate is 175, which you would achieve only by running very hard, you would better serve your weight-loss goal by slowing your running pace to 70 percent of your max heart rate, or 123. That would put you right in your fat-burning zone of running.
Fat as Fuel
Authors Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas, in their 2001 "Advanced Marathoning," give this example of the availability of fat to burn as fuel: A 140 lb. runner with 6 percent body fat still has 8.4 lbs. of fat. One pound of fat provides 3,500 calories of energy, meaning this guy has 29,000 calories of available fuel in the form of body fat. So if you are a 200 lb. runner with 18 percent body fat--36 lbs. of fat--you have 126,000 calories of fat as fuel to burn while running. Running with your heart rate in the fat-burning zone and with this ample supply of fuel/fat, you will lose weight if you run longer distances and for longer periods of time.
Gender Factors
Body fat amounts differ by sex. The "Lore of Running" by Dr. Tim Noakes says that the average body fat for men is 15 percent and for women 25 percent. This means that generally women have more available fat to burn. A woman's smaller stature means it may take her a while longer to achieve her weight-loss goals via running than it would for a man.
The Plateau
As you continue to run regularly and lose weight, at some point your body will adapt to the new workload and reach a plateau. If this happens and you have yet to reach your weight-loss goal, you have to increase your effort to burn more fat and lose more pounds. This means spending time in an aerobic training zone in which your heart rate is at 70 percent to 80 percent of your maximum. In this zone you will still be running at a pace to burn a fair amount of fat, lose more weight, and help get your body over the plateau.
Weight Loss By Heart Rate Works
When you're running to lose weight, don't make it a guessing game. Monitoring your heart rate to gauge your effort and thus the amount of fat you burn is a surefire way to achieve your goal. Numerous top-quality heart rate monitors are on the market to help you. Also, if possible, find an experienced runner or coach to help you figure out exactly what heart rate zones will work for you in helping you lose weight.
References
- American Medical Association: Calculating and Monitoring Your Target Heart Rate
- "Advanced Marathoning"; Pete Pfitzinger & Scott Douglas; 2001
- "Lore of Running"; Dr. Tim Noakes; 1992
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