So you think you need to lose weight.

That’s how you found this article, right? By Googling - “Running and weight loss” or “can I lose weight running”. Or maybe you saw the headline and clicked it thinking, “FINALLY! I AM GOING TO BE SKINNY” because many of us have this shared perception that all runners are skinny.

It doesn’t matter what you googled, whether it was, “How do I lose weight running” or “How much weight will I lose running”— I’m glad you’re here because gang, this headline—

“Everything you need to know about running for weight loss”

is poison punch.

Poison punch is the phrase we use at the Badass Lady Gang to describe all the diets, weight-loss teas, programs, workouts, messaging, imaging, and products we see 24/7 that tell us we need to be skinnier and “healthier”.

Stay with me.

I know this is clickbait.

I know you may have come here looking for weight loss solutions but hear me out—

Weight loss is one of the worst ways to motivate yourself to work out or move regularly. ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A WOMAN. Don’t believe me?

In Dr. Lexie and Lindsay Kite’s book, More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament, they write:

“One fitness study of both men and women found that the women overwhelmingly believed they had failed at their exercise goals if they didn’t lose weight, even if they stuck to their regiments perfectly. Alternatively, many of the men who actually gained weight during the study period still considered themselves to have been successful. When women see the goal and reward of exercise as weight loss or a particular physical appearance improvement like flat abs, around behind, or toned legs, and that doesn’t happen as they expected, they think they’ve failed and are much more likely to give up on exercise altogether or lean into the other end of the spectrum with over-exercising, also known as “exercise bulimia”.

We all know someone who lost a ton of weight and is now Queen of the gym. While some people have developed healthier habits by setting a weight loss goal, many more fail or develop exercise bulimia. OR, what we see isn’t the full story.

HEALTH is so much more than a number on a scale, a pants size, or a look.

I cannot emphasize enough how dangerous living in low energy availability (calorie counting and trying to burn more than you consume) can be. ESPECIALLY IF YOU RUN OR WORKOUT REGULARLY. A calorie is a unit of energy. When you are restricting, you are literally living in low energy availability. HOW can you expect yourself to kick ass and take names when you have no energy? AND, Dieting wreaks havoc on your hormones, mood, and attitude.

You cannot tell how healthy or unhealthy someone is by looking at them. You really can’t.

We at Badass Lady Gang believe in health at every size.

We believe in science.

We believe that being anti-diet is not anti-health.

We understand that we are more than our bodies.

And after spending close to 8 years in the running world, I can honestly say that the fitness industry rarely promotes healthy behaviors and lifestyles.

I know some of you may be sitting there thinking, “No, I need to lose weight. I don’t have energy. I don’t feel well.”

But there’s only one thing I want you to focus on in that statement, “I don’t feel well”.

How you feel and how you want to feel are INFINITELY better-motivating factors than weight loss. Because your weight isn’t the reason you don’t feel well.

There are one million reasons why you should move your body regularly and none of them have to do with weight loss. Here are a few:

• Mental health.

• It feels good.

• Connects you with a community.

• Time alone.

• It’s fun. (Roll your eyes if you want. I’m the self-proclaimed former president of the “I f*cking hate running club”. There was a time when you couldn’t pay me to run. Now, I actually think it’s fun. It just takes time to get there. Why? Because you need to work on your relationship to it. And I’m willing to bet that weight cycling, weight loss, and your relationship to getting active are tied to whether or not you feel successful getting active.)

• It’s a healthy way to close a stress cycle.

• It gives you something to work towards.

• It gives you something to feel proud of. (That isn’t your size or weight. I know people love to compliment each other when we make our bodies smaller. THAT is the problem, not your size.)

• The sense of accomplishment you feel when you finish or work towards a goal.

• Alone time.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here’s what I want everyone to know, the feeling you get when you FEEL STRONG because of what you’re doing? THAT is what running is all about. THAT is why we work out.

I run to FEEL good, FEEL strong, and to FEEL empowered.

And that’s not to say that every once in a while, I find myself thinking, “Yeah, but if I do X, Y, and Z, I’ll lose a little weight and be skinnier.” It happens ALL THE TIME because we live in a world that is fatphobic and poison punch is EVERYWHERE. So now, when that happens, I take a beat and check-in, remind myself that I’m already doing my best, I feel healthy, I feel strong, and I’m happy.

Our weight will fluctuate. That’s normal. But there is no one weight or size you should be aspiring towards.

There are so, so many reasons to learn to fall in love with running.

Weight loss isn’t one of them.

As we approach New Year’s and all the poison punch targeting “New Year New You” and New Years resolutions, remember, if you’re looking to lose weight, I encourage you to throw your scale away, join the Badass Lady Gang, and start chasing goals that have nothing to do with weight loss and everything to do with feeling good in your body.

I promise you the health element will follow.

F*ck dieting.

Love,