Weight Loss

Weight Loss - Why Do Runners Stay so Slim?

I see them almost everyday. They appear at the park where I meditate. Runners, joggers, or whatever designator you want to give them, they are there. They even run in the freezing cold winter months.

What are they running for, to stay fit and trim? Are they seeking a 'runners high'? Do they simply want to experience the challenge of running? I don't know. I am sure the reason is slightly different for each person. For the purposes of this article, we are going to presume that the purpose is fitness.

Those who run consistently do tend to be pretty slim, don't they? Why is that? Some people talk about using up the short term energy supply stored in the liver. Sometimes they refer to it as your glycogen storage supply. However you want to refer to this supply of short term energy, it can run out. That's the point, getting it to run out.

When the body's short term energy supply burns up, it is time to start catabolizing. That's geek speak for 'breaking down'. And what exactly does the body start to break down? Our fat supplies, we hope.

Once we start tapping into our fat supplies, we can burn fat. So now you see why those runners are so skinny. If they run on a regular basis, they burn through their short term energy supply and tap into those fat supplies consistently. For this type of person, it might not even matter what they eat. If they run enough, they will stay slender and fit.

As the saying goes, if you work out enough, it doesn't matter what you eat. Well, there are other concerns such as health, proper nutrition, etc. That's just a saying, but it serves to illustrate our point.

Ok, so what if you don't want to run every day or even every other day? Well, when it comes to weight loss and getting fit, every body is different. Getting to know your own body and what works and doesn't work is going to become part of your long term weight loss and fitness strategy. One important point is that if you are not going to be an exercise fanatic, you will probably need to pay attention to what you eat.

Some people talk about walking every day. And there are those that also say it takes a good hour of walking to burn through your short term storage and start tapping into your longer term energy supplies.

Walking is great. I prefer something else. I'm referring to a form of exercise that leaves the body feeling good, light and energized, unlike almost every other form of 'working out'.

I'm talking about the exercises of Falun Dafa which you can learn for free from the falundafa.org website. There are instructional videos there that you can download as well as a list of free volunteer instructors in almost every major city.

So what about those runners? I suspect they will keep on running. That's what runners do after all. I'll probably see them again very soon. The rest is up to them, and you.

Be sure to check with your physician before taking up any form of exercise or making any changes in your diet. This article is for information purposes only as not meant to constitute advice of any kind.

David Snape writes for To Be Informed. You can read more free weight loss articles or sign up for his weight loss emails there. To Be Informed is a site supportive of health, fitness and wellness.