If you're trying to lose weight, or just be healthier in general, you might wonder if running can help you achieve those goals. Heck yeah, it can!

And it might be easier than you think, because there are a few tricks running can play on your mind and body that might actually help quite a bit.

Before you start running, please check with your doctor to make sure your heart is healthy enough. Okay, now that's out of the way, let's lace up our trainers and get going!

So once you've made the decision to run, you've made a mental commitment, and that can actually help you enjoy running on a level above the physical pain. Because it won't be easy - nothing worth having ever is - but with your mind set, you can do it!

If you're struggling with the last little bit of your run, here's a yoga trick you can try: focus on a point several feet in the distance, and get there. Then choose another point to focus on, and get there.

That distance point you're gazing at is a drishti, and I know it sounds silly, but it helps!

Nothing will ever taste as good as cool water when you're done with a tough run. Carry that forward and use it to add more water to your diet.

Add a little lemon or lime or orange if you'd like, for extra flavor, but drinking more water can help with your overall health goals, as well as keeping you hydrated for your runs.

I know it's hard to believe, but once you've run for ten days in a row, you'll be reluctant to give up that streak - you'll want to see how long you can go without skipping a day!

Studies have shown that people who sleep well tend to be better at getting to, and maintaining, a healthy body weight. And guess what? Running during the day will help you sleep better!

Once you're running, you'll look at everything you eat in a new way: as fuel. You truly will, quite automatically, scrutinize everything you consider eating, whether it's good fuel or not.

And you'll naturally avoid the not (anything greasy and heavy, for example) because your body will be telling you what it wants, and why.

If you can find a group of friends to run with, or even if you just start seeing the same people out on your run, you'll have a sense of accountability, helping you keep running, even on the days you just don't want to go.

Can I just tell you how amazing it feels to pinon a bib for a race, then at the end, to sometimes even win or earn a medal? I'm in it for the bling, and after a while, you will too.

Truly, nothing will spur you to keep running, and even pushing to be faster, than trying to reach a new PR (personal record). It feels so good to compete with yourself, and only yourself, unless...

When I'm running, in a race or not, I'm racing everyone I come across, whether they know it or not. I've even raced freighters I see when I'm running by the water! It's fun!

So these are a few of the tricks that will help you stick with running, to help you lose weight (or just be healthier). What other tips can you share?