Jogging Tips For Weight Loss

Exercise is a crucial part of any weight loss regimen and vital for maintaining your health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies jogging as a vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise and recommends that all adults participate in a minimum of one hour and fifteen minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week. Effective jogging habits can help you get the most out of your weight loss program while staying safe and healthy. Always talk to your health care provider before starting an exercise regimen.

Start Slowly

Unless you're accustomed to regular aerobic exercise, it's important to start slowly when jogging. The Miami University "Informative Guide to Jogging" recommends that novice joggers start out at a brisk walk. Limit your time jogging to no more than 20 minutes throughout the first week and no more than 30 minutes throughout the second week. Refrain from the temptation to jog too far, too fast. Jumping into an intense jogging program leaves you prone to overexertion and injury, which makes you more likely to discontinue jogging--losing the considerable weight loss benefits jogging offers.

Follow a Schedule

Making a jogging schedule, rather than merely jogging when you have free time, will ensure that you exercise more often. Your body benefits more from frequent, shorter periods of aerobic exercise than infrequent, long exercise sessions. Even a mere 10 minutes of jogging burns calories and contributes to weight loss. Consider working jogging into your schedule before work, during your lunch break or in the evenings.

Wear a Pedometer

A pedometer keeps track of your steps and helps you monitor, and properly increase, your exercise. Once your body is well accustomed to jogging, wear a pedometer each time you jog. Set a goal of increasing your steps by 20 percent each jogging session.

A pedometer also serves as powerful exercise motivation. Science Daily reports that a 2007 study conducted by researchers from the VA Ann Arbor Health System and the University of Michigan demonstrated that individuals felt motivated to exercise more and were more likely to meet their exercise goals when wearing a pedometer.

Keep a Jogging Journal

Keeping a written record of each jogging session and how long it lasted can motivate you to stick with your exercise regimen--helping you lose more weight. Canada's National Post reports that dieters who maintain a log of what they eat and when they exercise are more likely to continue following the same healthy habits than those who don't keep track of their progress. Most individuals' motivation to adhere to a diet and exercise regimen decreases after four to eight weeks. A jogging journal can give you the push you need to stay with the program and meet your weight loss goals.