New Years resolution runners.

It's the time of year that people start running as a new years resolution, to lose some weight and get fitter. For many, they'll do the wrong thing and end up gaining weight or just lose heart because it seems too hard. If you're one of the people getting started, here's a few things that might help:

• to start with (and I mean for at least a few months) run slowly, or even just walk. If you're working too hard, you're burning glycogen not fat. That will make you hungry, without losing any body fat. To learn more about how this works, read up about heart rate zones.
• if you don't have enough spare breath to talk, you're overdoing it: slow down.
• muscle weighs more than fat - if you gain weight but look and feel better, don't worry about what the scales say.
• try running on your toes/balls of your feet instead of landing on your heels - it puts less strain on your joints.
• Don't worry about going slow and not going far. It takes time to build up, and no one is going to think bad of you - you're out there running, just like the rest of us.

Click here for a tale of someone who's lost a load of weight and hugely improved his health in his first year of running.