Should you run to loose weight?

Weight loss isn't a subject I thought I would talk about here but as I saw a few people asking for help already, I decided to post some clues.

Running in front of Mount Baker, Cascade Mountains, Washington state

First of all the answer might be confusing but should you run? Yes and no! Read until the end to clearly understand why if you are concerned.

1) Adaptation phase

Almost all the time, bad eating behavior is causing people to be overweight. So the first thing you might have to do is analyse the way you eat daily point what is wrong.
It could be many things as too much sugar, too much fat, too much quantity, too much snacking...
Also many people forget or hate fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately these are the most valuable foods with all the nutrients you need for a few calories.
Once you have identified the wrong habits slowly try to change week to week. For example if you are a sugar addict, try to divide your intake every week.
Once you think your eating habit has improved enough, you can think about exercising more. The reason is that if you reduce your food intake and start exercising a lot, you will have more appetite and it won't be sustainable.

2) Weight loss

Before running measure how much weight you already lost or how overweight you are at the moment. This is very important because you don't want to start running too soon and overweight. It could cause you damages to your articulations and bone structure with the thousands of shocked induced each run. If you are below 25 pounds overweight you should be good to run. Otherwise there is a way better sport to stay healthy without damages, cycling!

3) Cycling

For a weight loss I would definitely recommend cycling. I experienced a few periods around 10 pounds heavier than my race weight and only did cycling to loose it (coupled with improved eating behavior).
You will burn almost as much calories than running but it also allows you to do longer sessions. As an hour run could start to be painful at the end, a bike ride wouldn't even after 2 hours if your position is well adjusted!

4) Not over doing it

Sport is a good thing to help you loose weight but doing it too much won't be productive. For example I sometimes was around 10 pounds heavier than race weight during training months and I didn't loose anything. I sometimes did around 15 hours of train running plus 10 of cycling per week without loosing one pound of fat. Why? Because your body gets more and more used to it and your appetite goes up with the training so you will eat more.

To conclude

The good recipe to lose weight with exercising is to first change your eating habits, second decide between running, cycling (ore even other sports as kayaking....) depending ho overweight you are at the moment. Finally keep in mind that exercising 3 to 5 times a week between 30 minutes and an hour is enough to loose weight. Doing more would be counter productive.