Wanting to lose weight while training for a half marathon

hna84

Hello all!

I am training for a half marathon and a lot of the stuff I have read seems to be more focused on getting in plenty of calories/carbs to keep up energy levels for training which makes sense but I want to train and lose weight not maintain or even gain. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had success with trying to lose weight and train at the same time? Did you have enough energy? Could you post a sample day of your meals/snacks? Thanks for any input on this!

fromaquasar

Hey I am training for a half marathons while loosing weight. You have to accept it will go a bit slower than a pure weightloss focus. I find that if I eat more of my exercise calories back and I make sure I am eating "good" calories (proteins, complex carbs, fresh fruit and veggies etc) I have plenty of energy to train and am slowly (but surely!) loosing weight as well

knelson422

I trained for one and lost about 20 pounds. I just entered in what I ate to mfp to keep track of calories and ate most of my exercise calories back. I tried to be sure that my meals always had protien and carbs, ate plenty of fruits and veggies. All of that training does take a toll on your energy level, I think regardless of if you are trying to lose weight or not. Make sure you get enough sleep and drink enough fluids. You will feel so great after completing your race, way to go on setting your goal!!

jessmp22

Hi! I have run 2 half marathons and did not lose any weight while training. I didn't always eat a balanced/right diet while training because I figured since I was running more miles, I could eat more. Wrong! However, in January of this year, I began training for a full marathon and completed that in June. I lost 13 pounds training for the full marathon. I did pay much more attention to my calories.,...mainly becuase I used MyFitnessPal. But I also paid more attention to the right calories to be eating. You maybe already do that, but for me it was really cutting back on chips, dips, pizza, and beer! Best of luck!

hna84

Thanks for the replies! I am doing pretty well with making sure I eat a good balance of carbs/proteins/fats but I have noticed that I'm more hungry lately-especially at night! Maybe my body is just adjusting to the new training routine still.

The hardest part for me is trying to overcome my binge eating problem and keep a healthy balanced diet and keep up with my runs. I have gotten a lot better with not binge eating but every now and then I mess up and have a bad night. I think the running is increasing my appetite and I want to feed my body if it's hungry but I'm trying to not be so extreme and just pig out if I have a snack before bed.

Does anybody else relate? It's kind of embarrasing to put this out there

CoraGregoryCPA

I was told by a dietician, that if you are eating the right amount of calories (I'm assuming you are) AND you are starving.. your body is dehydrated. I was complaining to him that I was so hungry when I workout. He said I'm thirsty.. it's my body's way of telling me "I'm Thirsty". Now, I easily drink 10-12 glasses of water a day and eat/drink a lot of protein, now I don't graze/snack anymore and I'm not "starving". Now, if I eat bad, it's strictly because I'm bored at the moment, it's definitely NOT because I'm starving. I know the feeling you are going through. Try drinking more water because you are dehydrated, not to fill you up. Good Luck! I hope to work towards a half marathon some day!

fromaquasar

Thanks for the replies! I am doing pretty well with making sure I eat a good balance of carbs/proteins/fats but I have noticed that I'm more hungry lately-especially at night! Maybe my body is just adjusting to the new training routine still.

The hardest part for me is trying to overcome my binge eating problem and keep a healthy balanced diet and keep up with my runs. I have gotten a lot better with not binge eating but every now and then I mess up and have a bad night. I think the running is increasing my appetite and I want to feed my body if it's hungry but I'm trying to not be so extreme and just pig out if I have a snack before bed.

Does anybody else relate? It's kind of embarrasing to put this out there

Don't be embarrassed, I think you'd find hundreds of people on here who relate! I do, I used to have terrible nights and binge horribly sometimes. I think running and exercise helps you get that under control, well it did for me, it helped me relieve the stress and give me endorphins rather than finding that in food. Also as your body adjusts it demands better fuel and you'll find yourself less inclined to binge. On the nights you do mess up. Don't worry about it. Think about why you did it and some strategies for not doing it next time. And then forgive yourself and start fresh the next day

tabilw

I have that problem sometimes too. I'm also training for a half marathon and I am finding that I am more hungry. When I get home from work, I eat dinner, and I try to make it a very healthy dinner. But after an hour or two I crave sweets and other junk food and sometimes I find myself consuming way more than I want to. Sometimes I eat more dinner than I had planned.
I think it's really hard, and I think the previous post was right about dehydration. It's important for us to drink a whole lot of water to keep ourselves full.
Part of my problem is when I get home I am tired so I relax on the couch, but when I do that I get bored and eat. I've been working with my husband to help us keep busy in the evenings, but not so much that it's not a relaxing evening.

And as far as losing weight while training for a 1/2, It seems to be taking forever! But I just have to think that when it's time for the 1/2 I'll have lost the weight and will be able to finish it.

hna84

Thank you for the tips. I am drinking more water right now and trying to keep a positive attitude My half marathon isnt until December so I have plenty of time to train. I want to lose 40 lbs total but if I can get 20 lbs off by December I will be very happy.
I am 5'9 180 and a size 12 so I definitely need to get this weight off! Plus it's so much easier to run when you are lighter!

lclarkjr

Earlier this year I trained for and ran a full marathon. In my 16 weeks of training, I managed to lose 13.8 lbs. Then in the 12 weeks after the race, I was able to lose 17.4 lbs while focusing mainly on weight loss. It is possible to lose weight while training for an endurance event, but keep in mind you can't maximize training performance and weight loss at the same time as both of these goals go in opposite directions. If your calorie deficit is too great, the runs become a lot harder and less enjoyable. You need enough fuel to keep your engine going. You just need to find the right balance that works for you.

janniesinthehouse

This is a really interesting topic. I've run a 1/2 marathon twice, but both times were at 15lbs less than I am now. I'm running my 3rd in 14weeks, and I'm finding training hard at this weight...like lugging around a sack of potatoes! I like the idea of training to run now, and worry about weight loss after the race. But the extra weight is tough to carry for 21km!

fast_eddie_72

I'm training for my fifth half. I've always lost weight. First time I lost 20 lbs. I'm eating at 500 calorie deficit right now and training is going great. In fact, having lost some weight, my pace is better than it's ever been.

(edit) Holy necro-post Batman!