From improving the health of your heart and lungs, to relieving stress and combating depression, running has an abundance of health benefits. It can also help you to lose weight – and if you're overweight, this can help to reduce your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
Losing weight requires the creation of a calorie deficit – whereby you're burning more energy than you're consuming – and running is an efficient way to burn off some extra energy. It also happens to be totally free and can be done anywhere, at any time of day, so is very accessible for most people.
But it's vital that you approach weight loss carefully and in a measured and gradual way – the NHS recommends losing no more than 0.5kg to 2kgs a week (1lb to 4lbs). It's also important that you fuel your runs adequately and don't do too much, too soon, to avoid overtraining and injury.
If you are totally new to running or coming back to it after a break, it’s important to remember that building a baseline level of fitness takes time, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
You can also walk-jog-run to begin with. While studies have found that runners lose more weight than walkers – potentially due to the ‘afterburn effect’ which causes the body to continue burning calories after high-intensity exercise – walking can also be a great weight loss aid. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that moderate walking for 12 weeks helped with weight loss, and a study by the London School of Economics concluded that regular brisk walking might actually be better than going to the gym when it comes to weight loss.
What are the best running for weight loss apps?
Whether you're planning on running or walking, there's an abundance of dedicated weight loss apps that can help you – be it via specific running for weight loss apps providing personalised training and nutrition plans, or beginner running apps, helping you to get more active and form healthier habits.
However, while beneficial for most, tracking weight loss data can become problematic for some. If you think your relationship with fitness and health data is starting to become unhealthy, you should stop using any apps immediately and seek help from a mental health professional. We do not recommend using these apps if you have a history of eating disorders or disordered eating. If you are struggling in any way, you can find information and support on Beat's website.
NHS Couch to 5K
You’ve probably heard of this one: Couch to 5K has helped tens of millions of people to start running all over the world – and many to lose weight. It's a nine-week plan, which helps users gradually work up towards running 5K and is designed for everyone – including those who have never run before. It begins with a run-walk approach, where you do a mixture of running and walking to gradually build up your fitness and stamina until you are eventually able to run, non-stop, for 30 minutes. The app features a selection of celebrity trainers who guide, support and motivate you through the sessions, prompting you when to walk and run. When combined with a healthy diet, the programme can be a great weight loss aid, helping users to get into the habit of doing regular exercise. And it's completely free.
Joggo
Joggo brands itself as the 'easiest-to-follow running plan for weight loss' – and it really is very simple to use. Following an in-app quiz, Joggo creates a personalised running for weight loss programme tailored to your current running volume and ability (which can also be nil!), favourite terrain, preferred time of day/week to exercise and current mood. You can also opt for a meal plan that's designed to compliment your running plan and promote fat loss and muscle growth. It enables in-app GPS tracking, distance, speed monitoring and activity history to track your runs but you can also connect it to your Apple Watch and the Health app on iPhone. Additionally, Joggo has a great library of running tips and advice on everything from injury prevention to breathing. There are various subscription options available starting from £35/month.
NHS Weight Loss Plan
Also from the NHS, this free 12-week diet and exercise plan helps users to develop healthier eating habits and get more active. Once you've inputted your data into a BMI calculator, it suggests a healthy weight loss goal to aim for. From there, you can set your own target for daily calorie consumption from a suggested range and, each day, it helps you to keep on track of what you're eating by entering your food choices and calorie consumption into a diary, plus your fruit and veg intake and daily exercise. Then, once a week, you update your weight, so you can keep on track of your weight loss progress. It also provides weekly tips and guidance on how to lose weight safely, including how to cook healthier and how to gradually increase your weekly activity levels by fitting exercise into your day in an easy and accessible way.
BetterMe
BetterMe provides personalised workout and nutrition plans tailored to your weight loss goals, activity levels, sleeping habits, dietary and exercise preferences, motivation levels and more. Like the NHS Weight Loss Plan app, it calculates your BMI and helps you to set a healthy weight loss target, to be achieved over a realistic timeframe, giving you a daily calorie target to aim for. There's a huge range of running and walking workouts you can do, ranging from 10 to 80 minutes, including sessions like 'Morning fat-burning run' and 'Weight loss in the park walk'. It also includes practical advice on nutrition and training, plus psychological tips to help you form healthier habits. The subscription starts at £14.49 per month.
While it's not specifically geared towards weight loss, Nike Run Club is a good app if you want to get into running to lose weight but you aren't quite sure where to start. It features a library full of guided runs led by professionally accredited world-class athletes – including everything from 'Don’t wanna run' to the 'First run' to the 'Grateful run'. It also includes training plans for all distances – from 5K up to the marathon. All of your running data is captured within the app (pace, location, distance, elevation, heart rate and mile splits), which will also sync with the Health app on iPhone and with Apple Watch, and you can also set, and take part in, community challenges with other runners. A fun – and free – option if you need some motivation and guidance to get started running – and keep at it.
Running Slimkit
Running Slimkit is a running app designed specifically for weight loss. Like the Joggo app, you firstly follow an in-app quiz, answering questions on things like your current activity levels, age, weight, height, body shape, daily water intake and more, and it creates a bespoke running and nutrition plan to help you to achieve your weight loss goals. Running plans include a mixture of interval sessions and are guided with audio instruction throughout, while the meal plans include step-by-step recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can also access regularly updated playlists via the app – and can even match the tempo to your workout pace. Running Slimkit can be synced with Apple Health, Fitbit, Runkeeper and MapMyRun, and there is also a walking version. The free version allows you to run and keep track of your results without a specific training plan, and Premium Membership costs £38.99 for 12 weeks.
Adidas Running
Similar to the Nike Run Club app, you can use the Adidas Running app (formerly named Runtastic) as a fitness tracker for all of your running – and cross training – sessions, while also making the most of guided workouts. Adidas calls these 'Story Runs' and there's a number of free sessions to choose from, including a couple of options for complete beginners. It also offers some community features – including virtual challenges and the option to follow/find fellow users and compete on a virtual leaderboard. But what sets Adidas' app apart is the option to access personalised training plans – including a bespoke running for weight loss training programme, plus plans for distances from 5K up to marathon – via Premium membership. With the paid-for option, you also get access to more guided workouts, which are great for helping you to stay motivated. Premium Memberships costs £41.99/year.
None To Run
None To Run, which describes itself as an 'easier version of Couch to 5K', focuses on running itself rather than any distance or pace metrics – and is a great option if you're looking to use running to burn some extra calories but don't know where to start. In the space of 12 weeks – doing just three workouts of less than 30 minutes – None To Run will build you up to running for 25 minutes without stopping. It also includes simple strength and mobility workouts for injury prevention, which you can easily follow along to at home, as they don't require any equipment. The training programme and subscription costs £31.99/year of £5.99 per month and is extremely accessible – whether you've not run for a while or have never run a single step.
