Will Running 5K Every Day Make Me Lose Weight?

Running a distance of 5K, which equals 5 kilometers or 3.2 miles, everyday can help you lose weight because it means you're burning significantly more calories. How many calories you will burn and thus how quickly you'll lose weight depends on a couple of factors. In addition, there are other elements that contribute to your weight loss success, including your nutritional habits.

Running 5K everyday will increase the calories you burn. (Image: Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images)

Losing Weight

You lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. Therefore, running regularly can help you lose weight because it increases the number of calories that you burn. Every time you burn 3,500 more calories than you consume, you see a pound of fat loss. This deficit should be created gradually and you shouldn't try to lose more than one to two pounds per week.

Calories Burned

The calories that you burn during your 5K runs depend on your running pace and your current body-weight. If you run at a pace of 5 mph, you'll finish each 5K run in about 39 minutes. A 160-pound person burns about 606 calories during 60 minutes of running at 5 mph. Therefore, during the 39-minute run, they'll burn a total of about 394 calories. A 200-pound person burns about 755 calories when running for 60 minutes at 5 mph. Therefore, they'll burn about 491 calories during each 5K run.

Possible Weight Loss

Running 5K every day will result in a high number of calories burned per week. If a 160-pound person burns about 394 calories every 5K run and runs seven days per week, they'll burn a total of 2,758 calories every week. This means they'll reach 3,500 calories and thus lose a pound of fat every nine days. A 200-pound person who burns about 491 calories during each 5K run will reach a 3,500 caloric deficit and lose a single pound every seven days.

Other Considerations

While your 5K runs will help you burn a significant number of calories, they will only end up helping you lose weight if you follow a healthy eating plan. A high-calorie meal or a couple alcoholic drinks can quickly cancel out the calories you burn during your running workouts. If you're concerned with your calorie intake, determine your basal metabolic rate, which is an estimation of the number of calories you need everyday. A woman can find her rate with 655 + (4.35 X weight in pounds) + (4.7 X height in inches) - (4.7 X age in years). A man can estimate his rate with 66 + (6.23 X weight in pounds) + (12.7 X height in inches) - (6.8 X age in years). By eating this number of calories and running everyday, you will successfully lose weight.