9 Ways Running Can Help You Burn Belly Fat and Love Handles

Does running help you burn belly fat and love handles? Most of us have tried to incorporate running into our lives as a fitness habit. But we all give up too early!

Running has helped many people to get their desired bodies and lose fat. But what about that stubborn belly fat? Today’s lifestyle has become so sedentary that we find ourselves eating junk and going without exercise for many months.

Will you believe us when we say that now we have a solution to burn that extra belly fat of yours and also get rid of those love handles? Yeah! We have the solution to your problem, and the answer is running!

It is time for you to take out those running shoes of yours from the closet and get moving! And forget worrying about those stubborn love handles and belly fat.

Does Running Reduce Belly Fat?

The short answer is yes! Running does help reduce belly fat. Apart from all the benefits of running, like improved cardiovascular health, better memory, brain health, and uplifted mood, you will also experience a significant reduction in your body fat percentage. Your belly fat can be a big reason behind cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and other illnesses.

Running helps you burn belly fat by improving the fat-burning process in your body. When combined with a calorie deficit diet, you can expect to burn that belly fat at a faster rate. A reduction in belly fat will help you stay protected from many illnesses and will help you build a healthy body.

One must remember that it is not possible to spot reduce body fat, reduction in body fat varies from body to body and, you may find that where one person may lose tummy fat fast, the other person may lose thigh fat fast. So it is a completely independent process and, it differs from person to person

Does Running Get Rid Of Love Handles?

The short answer is yes! It does help you get rid of your love handles! So if you have also been feeling shy wearing that bodycon dress of yours, then you may consider running every day.

We promise that you will see a significant difference after you start being consistent with exercising. It leads to a release of serotonin in your body, which makes you feel good about yourself.

Running also helps you decrease the release of stress hormones in your body. It all leads to a decrease in the accumulation of fat in your body and protects you from many diseases too.

We know that running helps you burn calories, and it also has a lot of health benefits attached to it. But consistent running at moderate to high intensity for 4-5 days a week for 30-45 minutes will help you get rid of love handles.

9 Ways Running Can Help You Burn Belly Fat and Love Handles

We all have heard about the various health benefits that running helps us achieve. You may experience a change in your mood, you may become more positive, and experience life with a positive outlook. Your physique will get toned, you will have sculpted and toned thigh and calf muscles. And the list is never-ending.

Belly fat is the fat that accumulates around the belly. We all know that fat can be very stubborn to burn, but with continuous running, you will be successful in burning away most of the belly fat. Here are nine ways running can help you lose belly fat :

It increases the metabolism of the body!

Even if running increases your metabolism for just that duration of workout, it still helps you burn those extra calories very fast. You will start seeing increased weight loss and your body fat percentage will also be lowered.

We know that little can be done to increase the metabolic rate permanently, but running will help you increase it for a temporary duration. When you run, the metabolism of the body increases to meet the energy requirements of the body.

It leads to an increase in the metabolism of your body while you exercise. As more energy is being used, it leads to the burning of fat from the body to produce energy. So you will notice that your stomach fat will reduce at a very fast pace.

It involves the working of different muscle groups increasing the fat-burning process.

When you run, you are simultaneously burning calories as well as working on the different body parts of your body. Running engages all the lower body muscles of your body. It helps you get toned hamstrings, calves, and thigh muscles. It also helps you increase bone mass density and gives you stronger and healthier bones.

You must have seen that athletes and runners have sharply toned muscles, and the percentage of fat in their bodies is very less. It all is possible because of running. As the muscles utilize the stored fat to generate energy, the fat loss occurs, and you will find yourself becoming toned and losing that extra mass.

High Intensity Interval runs will help you speed up the fat burn!

We know that aerobic high intensity interval training (HIIT) is highly efficient at burning fat in your body. It helps improve calorie burn and helps with weight loss very efficiently. Interval runs help you lose that stubborn belly fat very fast!

As these high-intensity activities involve fast-paced movement followed by a rest period, it helps you burn more calories and also keeps on burning the calories even when your workout is finished.

You can also indulge in trail running to burn fat.

Trail running is the running where you run on different terrains that are not flat. You may run on hilly slopes.

This kind of running is the best to help you burn your love handles and belly fat. As it helps you to combine recreation with physical activity.

It helps you to lose weight fast and burn that stubborn belly fat. It involves many different muscles. So, overall it makes your body toned and helps you lose those extra kilos.

It also reduces stress leading to a reduction in body fat.

We all know that stress is directly related to weight gain. You must have noticed this for yourself. When you are stressed, you tend to overindulge in eating, which may contribute to you putting on a lot of weight.

Running helps you to reduce stress levels by increasing the happy hormones in your body. It releases serotonin that boosts your mood and makes you feel good about yourself. You tend to become much more motivated and look forward to your health with a better perspective.

So less stress means that you lose weight fast and fat does not accumulate in your body.

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It improves sleep quality that also helps you to decrease your weight.

We all have heard about the benefits of having a proper sleep cycle. Taking 7 hours of sleep every day is necessary for all of us so that the body functions properly and the metabolism is correct.

Sleep deprivation can cause weight gain. The metabolic rate decreases if we do not take proper sleep. You will find yourself taking up bad eating habits, and the body will not restore itself properly.

Running helps you with improving your sleep quality as well as your sleep cycle. It eventually helps you to lose weight and burn fat.

It burns maximum calories when compared to other exercises.

Running improves the transfer of oxygen to the different muscles of your body.

As more oxygen is transferred to the muscles for energy generation, the muscles end up burning fat for meeting the energy requirements.

As a result, you burn the maximum calories with moderate to high-intensity runs.

It also helps you suppress your calorie intake.

This is one of the best benefits of running. It helps you suppress your calorie intake and, as a result, you will see significant weight loss when you start running. Running is one of the best cardio exercises to lose weight.

Many studies have concluded that running helps to curb the appetite, this implies that naturally your hunger will go down, and the problem of overeating can also be controlled.

The whole theory behind this is that when you run, the hunger hormone named ghrelin is suppressed. Because of this, the overeating problem subsides. It also has been seen that when you exercise daily for 60 minutes, there will be a 5 percent reduction in your appetite.

It keeps on burning the calories even after the exercise is done!

There are only a handful of exercises that keep on burning calories even when you have finished working out. You may have tried a lot of exercises but, high-intensity interval running will help your body burn calories even after your workout is done!

High-intensity exercises, like interval running, help you burn calories for up to 48 hours after your workout.

In high-intensity interval running exercises, the after-burn effect comes into play. It refers to the burning of calories even after the workout is done.

So running helps you burn belly fat and love handles in this way.

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How Long Should I Be Running To Lose Belly Fat?

We will recommend running for 30-45 minutes at least 4-5 days a week to lose that stubborn belly fat. You can combine it with swimming or cycling to increase the fat-burning process.

The thing with running is that there are so many variations possible that will give you optimum results. You have to decide which one will suit you. Like for burning belly fat, trail running and high intensity interval training will give you the maximum positive results. You will see a significant reduction in your belly fat after 3-4 months.

You can try HIIT interval running at the comfort of your own home, that is on your treadmill. Here is a quick guide to trying HIIT intervals on your treadmill.

1. Start by jogging for 10 minutes for a quick warm up.
2. Now adjust your treadmill to a 4% grade/incline for 90 seconds. Run at a high speed to burn the fat.
3. Once again, return to the flat surface and keep on jogging to recover.
4. Do this for 4-5 repetitions.
5. Now end your workout with 10 minutes of the cool-down period where your body will recover.

You can also engage in aerobic interval training to burn that stubborn belly fat.

How Long Does It Take To Lose Belly Fat By Running?

It is common knowledge that one pound of body fat contains 3500 calories. So you can calculate how much weight you want to lose and omit the calories accordingly. You have to omit 500 calories from your diet if you want to lose a healthy 1 pound in a week.

Now coming to the real question, how long does it take to lose stomach fat by running? It depends on what stage you are in your fitness journey. If you are a newbie, then it will take time. But if you have been running for a long time, then you will see that along with your belly fat, love handles will also start burning. Generally, it will take 3-4 months to notice changes in your belly fat.

The most important factor that determines your calorie burn is your current body weight. If you weigh more, then you will require more energy. It also varies between men and women as men naturally have a higher metabolic rate than most women.

The most important thing is to choose the right kind of running to burn belly fat. If you do interval training, then chances are it will help you burn fat at a faster pace. Research has also shown that doing exercise at a faster pace for short durations helps burn more calories compared to the usual pace.

Here is statistics-based data that will give you a clearer picture of losing weight.

Running for 30 minutes at 12 min/mile gives the following results:

• 240 calories are burned for a 125-pound person
• 288 calories are burned for a 155-pound person
• 336 calories are burned for a 185-pound person

Running for 30 minutes at 10 min/mile gives the following results:

• 295 calories are burned for a 125-pound person
• 360 calories are burned for a 155-pound person
• 420 calories are burned for a 185-pound person.

Running for 30 minutes at 6 min/mile gives the following results:

• 453 calories are burned for a 125-pound person
• 562 calories are burned for a 155-pound person
• 671 calories are burned for a 185-pound person

The process is gradual, and you will find that you will start getting impatient. But with proper running variations, you can get your desired result.

How Long Does It Take To Get Rid Of Love Handles By Running?

As we said, it is difficult to give the correct estimate because it depends on how much fat is accumulated in your body.

It also depends on the type of running that you have been doing and the time that you are giving to your exercise routine. You may lose them in a short span, or it may take a lot of time if you have been obese for a long time. Generally, a person may take about 3-4 months to find their love handles disappear.

And you all know by now how many calories you will burn with that 30 minute run, as we addressed it earlier in the article. You can take help from it. Remember that you can not spot reduce fat in your body. You will have to be patient with running or any other form of exercise because spot reduction is not possible at all!

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The Bottom Line

Let us consider that you are not a fan of working out. Then we promise that engaging in running will help you to get over your laziness towards working out. And we can at least give it a try! Running will help you get in your best shapes, and will tone your belly and shed your love handles.

You can go jogging in your neighborhood, or go for hill trails in hilly areas.

You just need a can-do attitude and running shoes to get started on your running journey.

Even though you will not see the results immediately, still after a few months, you will see a huge reduction in the belly fat and love handles.

Now you can wear those old jeans of yours, and flaunt your toned figure. Also, it will help you to stay safe from many diseases that may develop as a result of the accumulation of fat.