Loosing weight while training for a marathon
Nereneia
Posts: 1 Member
How can I loose weight while I am training for a marathon? When I reduce my carbs I feel tired when I do my runs. Last year I was training for a marathon and I’ve put on weight(4kg). Everyone was saying that I look like I’ve lost weight and I assume this was because my muscle weight increased which is ok. This year I’ve put on more weight(3kg) during Christmas and now I need to loose all of it so I can improve my running times. My main goal is to loose the weight without affecting my training. Does anyone have any suggestions preferably based on their own experience?
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How can I loose weight while I am training for a marathon? When I reduce my carbs I feel tired when I do my runs. Last year I was training for a marathon and I’ve put on weight(4kg). Everyone was saying that I look like I’ve lost weight and I assume this was because my muscle weight increased which is ok. This year I’ve put on more weight(3kg) during Christmas and now I need to loose all of it so I can improve my running times. My main goal is to loose the weight without affecting my training. Does anyone have any suggestions preferably based on their own experience?
Do your best with your deficit before your mileage gets too high.
The runger is real!4 -
Slowly!
Maybe with a deficit only on days when you aren't doing long runs.
Maybe with diet breaks if your training or recovery starts to suffer.
(Generally I can lose about 0.5kg a week for about 6 weeks while training hard for an endurance event then I can't both train well and lose weight at the same time.)
I wouldn't specifically target carbs as the macro to reduce to create your deficit, I might time them strategically around big training days.
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Everything I've read says its super hard to lose weight when training for a half or full marathon.
When I first started running three years ago, it was a major component of helping me lose 60 lbs. However, when I started adding on the mileage and train for my first half-marathon last March, I maintained weight, but continued my strength training, which helped me continue to lose inches even if the scale didn't budge.
Now working on my fourth half-marathon coming up this March, I'm losing (I gained about 10 lbs back during the summer), but it's slow. I'm really focusing on everything that goes in my mouth, and being very careful about which types of carbs I choose. I'm also keeping my sugars under control and trying not to eat any junk, which I think is helping. And of course staying hydrated -- I drink a ton of water every day, which helps to flush out my system and keeps my hydrated on long runs.
I am currently working with a sports nutritionist who used to run competitively, and she said it's possible to lose, but no more than half a pound per week for runners.3 -
I normally recommend against trying to lose weight while endurance training - I would eat at maintenance and go from there - you don’t want to compromise workouts and recovery but cutting nutrition down6
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How can I loose weight while I am training for a marathon? When I reduce my carbs I feel tired when I do my runs. Last year I was training for a marathon and I’ve put on weight(4kg). Everyone was saying that I look like I’ve lost weight and I assume this was because my muscle weight increased which is ok. This year I’ve put on more weight(3kg) during Christmas and now I need to loose all of it so I can improve my running times. My main goal is to loose the weight without affecting my training. Does anyone have any suggestions preferably based on their own experience?
I was training for a marathon and just trying to maintain, I couldn’t eat enough food to stop losing weight. Ended up having to visit the buffet weekly so I wouldn’t disappear lol. I would eat at maintainance, wait and see what happens. Make sure you eat those exercise calories back.
Some people do claim the opposite though, running makes some hungry. For me it was an appetite suppressor.2 -
I’ve been thinking about this thread - I’m currently training for a 1/2 marathon. I’m getting into peak mileage now and honestly I can’t eat enough to stop losing. I’m 6’1” and 186 pounds. I’ve been eating 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day and still losing weight. I’ve lost .5 to .75 pounds a week for the past couple weeks in spite of eating so much.0
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garystrickland357 wrote: »I’ve been thinking about this thread - I’m currently training for a 1/2 marathon. I’m getting into peak mileage now and honestly I can’t eat enough to stop losing. I’m 6’1” and 186 pounds. I’ve been eating 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day and still losing weight. I’ve lost .5 to .75 pounds a week for the past couple weeks in spite of eating so much.
I wish I had that problem. I put on 7lbs my first half....
i can more or less manage it now, but i have to really watch myself with the runger or I gain!3 -
@TavistockToad I guess I’m lucky. Exercise tends to suppress my appetite to a point. I experience runger at times, but not like some others describe.3
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consider what you are eating.
i've eaten at a deficit much of my running career. i'm not a fast runner but i've ran up to 18 miles. the more i make the calorie count nutrition wise the easier eating at a deficit. i have runners cookbooks and it seems to help1 -
I've never had luck losing weight while training for a marathon. If I've got weight to lose, I typically choose to do it after training is over. My goal while training is just to maintain.
That said, your carbohydrate intake can still be relatively high while losing weight. It's your overall calorie intake that will determine your weight loss, not your carbohydrate intake.
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To summarise the different experiences:
You will either lose weight, gain weight or might maintain your weight.
You might be more hungry, less hungry or hungry some of the time.
Sounds like a some personal experimentation and reassessment as your training goes on is in order.
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To summarise the different experiences:
You will either lose weight, gain weight or might maintain your weight.
You might be more hungry, less hungry or hungry some of the time.
Sounds like a some personal experimentation and reassessment as your training goes on is in order.
:laugh:1 -
I am training for a marathon. At about 20 miles/week in my training plan. I'm 4'11" and about 110. I would like to be about 100 by the start of the race, but that said I'm not planning on messing up my training for a few vanity pounds (22 bmi to 20 bmi, basically vanity pounds). I just keep a lot of healthy snacks around, like fruit and fresh vegetables. I eat more on long run days and less on rest days but nothing drastic. So far my progress is slow. But I have 3 months, and im not going to stress over the number too much.1
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Also, don't cut carbs (at least not mostly/primarily). Cut fats.3
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TavistockToad wrote: »
No, as in not a good idea, or no as in you love your fats?2 -
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TavistockToad wrote: »
lol... ok. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something and giving out bad advice.2 -
I started running in October. I am losing weight but it is a slow loss. I'm ok with that because my measurements have changed dramatically. Log religously and do the best you can. Start keeping track of your measurements if you don't already and take pictures. Even if the scale isn't moving, you will probably see progress.0
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garystrickland357 wrote: »I’ve been thinking about this thread - I’m currently training for a 1/2 marathon. I’m getting into peak mileage now and honestly I can’t eat enough to stop losing. I’m 6’1” and 186 pounds. I’ve been eating 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day and still losing weight. I’ve lost .5 to .75 pounds a week for the past couple weeks in spite of eating so much.
I have similar stats to you and found much the same. At a load of about 30-35 mpw, I found that my weight settled down at around 169 pounds on an intake of about 3000 calories per day.1 -
I've finished 9 weeks of a 12 week 1/2 marathon training plan and have lost 10 lbs. I've been eating about 200 calories below maintenance and not counting the calories burned running. Usually one cheat meal a week on long run days. I'm still 16 lbs from my target weight but the steady weight loss has definitely improved my times. Will see how the next 16 goes. It's been a slow process but consistent improvement is a great motivator to continue. Good luck!!0
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I've finished 9 weeks of a 12 week 1/2 marathon training plan and have lost 10 lbs. I've been eating about 200 calories below maintenance and not counting the calories burned running. Usually one cheat meal a week on long run days. I'm still 16 lbs from my target weight but the steady weight loss has definitely improved my times. Will see how the next 16 goes. It's been a slow process but consistent improvement is a great motivator to continue. Good luck!!
i would have killed my husband and eaten him if i wasn't eating back exercise cals :laugh:6 -
I have lost weight during marathon training, but most of the deliberate loss was in the early weeks, when the mileage wasn't too different from what I had been doing so I wasn't extraordinarily hungry. Once training gets serious, I set my goal to maintenance, log everything, and just try to maintain control of what I eat by focusing on healthy carbs vs. eating donuts, cookies etc. (I still eat them, but I generally try to go for more fruit vs. cinnamon rolls). I'll usually continue to lose a little weight all through the training, but it is slow and comes primarily because after really long runs, I don't eat back all the calories unless I eat out. Also, I burn a bit more than MFP gives me, thanks to hilly routes and the fact that I don't usually count post-run exercise (yoga, stretching, etc.) unless it lasts more than 1/2 hour. Eating less fat is a good way to cut calories, but you can't do too much of that because you need the fat as well. If I don't get enough, my mood and energy levels suffer.1
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lol! my biggest mileage week is 28 miles (Hal Higdon intermediate plan) and it's manageable. Hunger is much worse if I do a 2 hour bike ride - want to eat everything is sight!!0
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How can I loose weight while I am training for a marathon? When I reduce my carbs I feel tired when I do my runs. Last year I was training for a marathon and I’ve put on weight(4kg). Everyone was saying that I look like I’ve lost weight and I assume this was because my muscle weight increased which is ok. This year I’ve put on more weight(3kg) during Christmas and now I need to loose all of it so I can improve my running times. My main goal is to loose the weight without affecting my training. Does anyone have any suggestions preferably based on their own experience?
[1] Don't try for more than a minimal deficit (if at all) - it will affect your performance.
[2] Calorie burn estimates for running are fairly spot-on (using formula based on your weight and miles)...so fully eat back your exercise calories.
[3] To avoid eating a kazillion calories in the blink of an eye, avoid super-calorie-dense food when the runger strikes. (possible exception for the really, really long runs, where calories burned will actually cover that full plate of burger + fries + beer that runger will make you inhale).1 -
...(note on #2: not necessarily on the same day -- [1] that might be too much food on long run day, and [2] you'll probably be F** ravenously hungry the next day too)1
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I love reading this thread, as I can see everyone is so very different.
I have run 17 marathons and currently training for my first ultra-marathon. When I started running, weight dropped off me, but I got a little bit frivolous with what I was eating and for one marathon I actually put on 10kg! (clearly not all muscle
) Carrying that extra weight also impacted my finish times. So now I manage it a lot better, lost those 10kg and my times went down a lot.
For the ultra marathon I want to lose another 5kg as I don't want to be running a long distance with too much weight (I am not heavy but there is definitely some opportunity to drop some kg without getting skinny).. So now I am tracking everything that I eat, including carb loading days and after long runs just to make sure that overall I am in a deficit... Rungry is a very real thing for some of us, and it is hard when training for endurance events to lose weight.. but it can be done.. As some have mentioned above I am trying to drop most of the weight before the massive long hilly runs start!4 -
I can lose weight training for half’s. Marathons are a totally different story. I’ve tried, but the hunger of those final weeks with the high mileage breaks down all my willpower. I’ve done 2 full marathons and gained 2-3lbs each time.
It’s one reason I’m not doing marathons anymore. Not the main reason (that’s either constant injuries and the time commitment), but it factors into why I stick to half’s now.0
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