Exercise is a vital component to weight control. When you exercise, you expend energy, causing the body to burn additional calories. At the same time, you're also building muscle. And because muscle burns more calories than fat, its addition helps increase your metabolism. Both factors can obviously lead to weight loss, which can thin your legs. But long distance running doesn't just decrease fat along your thighs, calves and hips. Similar to any other physical activity, it can reduce your overall body fat, so results vary from person to person.
Caloric Deficit
It takes a deficit of roughly 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. of fat. Long distance running can help you reach this deficit. If you're able to burn enough calories running to hit a deficit of 500 calories a day, you can expect to lose 1 lb. each week. The duration needed to reach this deficit, however, is largely based on your body weight and level of running intensity.
Body Weight
The reason your body weight affects calories burned is directly linked to energy expenditure. The more your body weighs, the more energy it tends to take to move it around. If you weigh 185 lbs., you're going to burn more calories per minute than someone weighing 155 lbs. For example, running at a pace of 5 mph burns about 10 calories per minute at a weight of 155 lbs. and almost 12 calories per minute at a weight of 185 lbs., according to Harvard Medical School. This means you'll reach a deficit of 500 calories in 50 minutes and 42 minutes, respectively.
Intensity
Increasing the pace of your run also impacts energy expenditure and thereby affects calories burned. Let's say you weigh 185 lbs. and increase the pace of your run from 5 to 6 mph. Now, you're burning almost 15 calories per minute, so you need to run for just over 30 minutes to reach the 500-calorie deficit needed to lose 1 lb. each week. If you have 10 lbs. to lose, you can reach your target in 10 weeks by running for 30 minutes a day. Upping your pace even further to 7.5 mph increases calories burned to just over 18 calories per minute, leading to a deficit of 500 calories in just 27 minutes.
Duration
Just like body weight and exercise intensity, the duration of your run can affect the calories burned. If you're burning 15 calories per minute, you can reach a deficit of 900 calories in as little as an hour. This can translate into a weight loss of almost 2 lbs. a week. If you need to lose 10 lbs., you can now reach your target in 5 weeks.
Spot Reduction
Although you're predominantly working the lower half of your body, long distance running doesn't target the fat along the legs. In fact, no exercise can spot reduce fat along any area of the body, asserts the American Council on Exercise. The only way to do this is reduce your total body fat percentage by increasing your level of physical activity and decreasing your caloric intake.
References
- National Institutes of Health; Tips for Losing Weight; Oct 2009
- American Council on Exercise: So, You Want to Spot Reduce? Here's How...
- American Council on Exercise; Why is the Concept of Spot Reduction Considered a Myth?; Cedric Bryant; 2004
- Harvard Health Publications; Calories Burned in 30 Minutes for People of Three Different Weights; July 2004
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