10k & HALF MARATHON TRAINING = STARVING

contingencyplan

Eating only 1200 AND doing 10k/half marathon training? Do you have ANY IDEA what that bumps your calorie requirements up to? 1200 is not nearly enough. Hell, even 2000 is not enough. Will you see gains on the scale? OF COURSE. Rigorous workouts lead to fluid retention and eating normal amounts after starving yourself lead to fluid retention of WHAT YOU SHOULD BE RETAINING.

You can't focus on fat loss WHILE focusing on training for a 10k or half marathon. You have to eat absurdly high amounts to support your activity level.

And cut the processed fast food crap!

bachooka

When I eat more than 1200 I show a gain on the scale....every single time!

Yes because your body wants to store the food that you gave it because it doesn't know when it will get enough next time. You need to eat more. Try using the BMR calculator from Fat2fitradio. The amount they want you to eat is going to be insane, and that is because you are burning a huge amount!

dawnna76

Temporary gain, will lead to Morelos and healthy you in the future. I agree with you need more fuel for the type of training your doing. I to am training and eat way tons on running days. Look at my diary for today 2/26/13 for a example. I still lose a pound a week eating this way!

cwolfman13

Holy mole....training for a 10K and 1/2 marathon on 1,200 calories is a recipe for disaster. You need to eat those exercise calories back...and that'll be a lot of calories. You're essentially training like an athlete and eating like a sedentary 5' nothing granny.

The gains (and losses) you see day to day have nothing to do with fat...1Lb fat = 3,500 calories over or under your maintenance level of calories (which I assure you is more than 1,200). Day to day body weight fluctuations are natural and normal and there's not a whole lot you can do about them...water retention/release...food intake/output...fluid intake/output, etc.

Bottom line, to train like this, you need to fuel that training. If you can't then stop training this way. My 5' 3" wife lifts weights with me 3x weekly and does 30 minutes of light jogging 3x weekly and eats 1,700-1,800 calories (gross because she eats her exercise calories) to lose about 1 Lb per week...she's in no way training to the level you are but is eating far more. Without the proper fuel, your body is simply dialing down it's metabolism in an effort to retain some kind of energy for basic functions.

weloveourboys

I've been running and training for over 20 years. I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with running 6 days a week if your body can handle it, and if you train smart. That includes fueling your body properly. What are your goals?? Are you wanting to be able to finish a 10k and a half marathon, or are you wanting to run a faster 10k and half? Or are you just trying to lose weight? Or do you want to run faster AND lose weight? Your goals make a big difference as to how you should approach your eating and training. If you are mainly wanting to lose weight, then why do you want to train for a half? Training for a half doesn't necessarily mean you're going to lose more weight than training for a 10k.

I find it hard to give advice to you b/c I don't know any of the above information. All I can tell you right off the bat is that if you are training for a half marathon, you are starving yourself.

Thank you...I know several people who run everyday. I do not run hard, fast runs everyday...I just run where I am comfortable except on some days.

I started running to lose weight and noticed how great it is for losing weight and toning my legs (which is my problem area). I have found an addiction to running now and run because I enjoy it and it is something I never thought I would be able to do. I do like to better my 5k times but as far as a 10k and half-marathon is to just complete it. It is such an accomplishment to cross the finish line doing something you never dreamed you would be able to do. I am about 8 pounds from my goal of 130 and would like to get to that goal but I just do not want to run to eat. I want to be able to enjoy running without gaining weight. Does this explain better?

I

Thank you, that helps. Since you have not done a 10k nor half yet, I would start with a 10k goal. It's easier to break your running goals (or any goals for that matter) into more manageable chunks. I highly recommend that you eat at least 1400, if not 1500 a day, as long as you are running 6 days a week, averaging say 3 miles a day. If this scares you, start with small increases - just an extra 100 calories a day - and see whether you really gain with that little. With your goal weight of 130, I really don't see it sustainable for you to run everyday on a 1200 cal diet. Your training will suffer. The only way you will train well is if you fuel your body well; otherwise, as you increase your mileage, you will notice a definite decrease in energy, you will have food cravings, and feel hungry. Make sure you eat enough carbohydrates - this is very important.

Since you are so close to your goal weight, I honestly would focus less on your weight than on just eating healthy and enough so that you can increase the duration and intensity of your runs. I think the rest will follow, ie, eat healthy foods (fuel for your body), you will train better, you will be able to run longer and at a higher intensity, thus you will burn more calories (bonus).

If you go the "caloric restriction" route, you will feel hungry, have no energy to train, will eat less b/c you have less energy to run, etc. = downward spiral.

If you love running (and it sounds like you do), you can't go wrong by making it a priority to fuel your body. It is a good idea to check out some 10k training plans as someone else has suggested. Runner's World is a good resource, and if you live close to a Running Room, or a good running store that may have a running group.

Run4UrHealth

I've been running and training for over 20 years. I can tell you that there is nothing wrong with running 6 days a week if your body can handle it, and if you train smart. That includes fueling your body properly. What are your goals?? Are you wanting to be able to finish a 10k and a half marathon, or are you wanting to run a faster 10k and half? Or are you just trying to lose weight? Or do you want to run faster AND lose weight? Your goals make a big difference as to how you should approach your eating and training. If you are mainly wanting to lose weight, then why do you want to train for a half? Training for a half doesn't necessarily mean you're going to lose more weight than training for a 10k.

I find it hard to give advice to you b/c I don't know any of the above information. All I can tell you right off the bat is that if you are training for a half marathon, you are starving yourself.

Thank you...I know several people who run everyday. I do not run hard, fast runs everyday...I just run where I am comfortable except on some days.

I started running to lose weight and noticed how great it is for losing weight and toning my legs (which is my problem area). I have found an addiction to running now and run because I enjoy it and it is something I never thought I would be able to do. I do like to better my 5k times but as far as a 10k and half-marathon is to just complete it. It is such an accomplishment to cross the finish line doing something you never dreamed you would be able to do. I am about 8 pounds from my goal of 130 and would like to get to that goal but I just do not want to run to eat. I want to be able to enjoy running without gaining weight. Does this explain better?

I

Thank you, that helps. Since you have not done a 10k nor half yet, I would start with a 10k goal. It's easier to break your running goals (or any goals for that matter) into more manageable chunks. I highly recommend that you eat at least 1400, if not 1500 a day, as long as you are running 6 days a week, averaging say 3 miles a day. If this scares you, start with small increases - just an extra 100 calories a day - and see whether you really gain with that little. With your goal weight of 130, I really don't see it sustainable for you to run everyday on a 1200 cal diet. Your training will suffer. The only way you will train well is if you fuel your body well; otherwise, as you increase your mileage, you will notice a definite decrease in energy, you will have food cravings, and feel hungry. Make sure you eat enough carbohydrates - this is very important.

Since you are so close to your goal weight, I honestly would focus less on your weight than on just eating healthy and enough so that you can increase the duration and intensity of your runs. I think the rest will follow, ie, eat healthy foods (fuel for your body), you will train better, you will be able to run longer and at a higher intensity, thus you will burn more calories (bonus).

If you go the "caloric restriction" route, you will feel hungry, have no energy to train, will eat less b/c you have less energy to run, etc. = downward spiral.

If you love running (and it sounds like you do), you can't go wrong by making it a priority to fuel your body. It is a good idea to check out some 10k training plans as someone else has suggested. Runner's World is a good resource, and if you live close to a Running Room, or a good running store that may have a running group.

I have already ran a 10k on a treadmill...I finished in 1:12 but I have my first official race March 16th. I will take the advice of everyone to eat more but I only burn about 500-600 and that is only on my longer run days.

nkyjennifer

I have already ran a 10k on a treadmill...I finished in 1:12 but I have my first official race March 16th. I will take the advice of everyone to eat more but I only burn about 500-600 and that is only on my longer run days.

You've gotten some really good advice from people who've been running longer than I have (heck, I'm still doing intervals and my times are snails-pace) but I just wanted to point out that 500-600 calories is a lot. It's 50% of your daily calorie goal right now. That's half of your calories going to just your training.

Also, are you measuring or just weighing? Don't get too consumed over the number you see on the scale.