Marathon runners why are they not all stick thin???

I gained weight while training for my marathon. Mainly because I was hungry all the time. Plus you use gels and what not to keep your energy up there on the road. However, I didn't increase in size at all. I wore the same clothes, had the same measurements etc etc. And as soon as I was done training, my weight dropped back down, plus 10lbs more. I'm sure it was because I was eating, sleeping, and training, then repeating

I do have thyroid issues, and honestly, weight isn't the only problem connected, it is simply a lack of energy too.

I love it when the bigger people run past me, I'm so proud of them for being out there and moving and doing this type of event. Marathoning isn't as much physical as it is mental, anyone can run, but not just everyone runs a marathon. It's not about the physical fitness to some, it's about the determination and dedication.

I also look at the super thin ones and justify it's genetic - I just wasn't built like that.

Initially I agree with the whole - they are eating more than they are burning theory.

But then I thought of myself ... a fat runner... who is just a work in progress.
Are people looking at me laughing at me wondering how I can possibly eat the excess calories from my run?
Im a work in progress... and probably look hysterically funny on the track in my tight capris and tank top ... but I have no other choice because if you dont wear moisture wicking clothing for distance running it all chafes... yuck!

Im gonna do my first half marathon... and people will probably look at me and think... wow how is she so fat?
But... ponder this one... I havent lost hardly a pound in the last month, yet my clothes keep getting looser?
Conversion from fat to muscle? I never bought that idea, but it just might be true!

I for one, commend the heavy runners. I look for them at every race ... and I always pick one or two to go over to and say "hey you kick butt!"

This topic has often puzzled me. I am currently training for my first marathon & am no stranger to dieting/counting cals & weight loss. From years of various workouts I have learned that running 3 miles a few times a week leads to weightloss where as running 6+ miles leads to gaining. I think this is because every little calorie you consume your body stores because runs that are that long leave your body going "wtf?" and it clings to calories that much more. I've been down to 125 lbs (5'7" female) but I was the weakest I've ever been in my life doing only 120 minutes of cardio a week & simply some ab routines & lat pull downs, now I'm at 140 lbs, my pants barely fit & I've gained quite a few inches on my waist, but I can easily run 6 miles without breaking a sweat & lift more weight than ever. Some is clearly muscle, but there's definitely fat there too despite eating well under 2000 cal a day most of which is protein & fiber. In conclusion, must be genetics for most.

I'm about to run my second half marathon in just over a week and my body type sounds exactly like the type you described.

I eat to fuel my runs, but still at a deficit about 85% of the time. (I have a Body Media Fit that I've worn for about a year and a half)

I never lose weight while I train for a race. Sometimes my middle gets a little leaner, but not by much. And my weight at the start of training is almost exactly the same as at the end.

My training schedule includes two nights of full body, heavy lifting, strength, along with speed intervals and cross cardio, so it's not just all running.

I eat about 40/30/30 on most days and then closer to 50/25/25 on the heavier cardio days (long run days mostly). I eat about 80% fresh, homemade from scratch foods, more than enough veggies, whole grain carbs, and just generally as good as I can. I don't eat back 100% of my calories but I pay attention to my daily deficit and try to stay around a 500-800 calorie deficit each day. But the weight doesn't budge.

As soon as I stop training, continue eating in the same healthy manner, the weight starts coming off again.

Once I started running in earnest and training for races, I've actually put back in 20lbs that I'd lost prior to race training. Again, keeping a caloric deficit about 85% of the days that whole time. So I'm actually looking forward to getting this next (last) race done and over with to see if I can drop this weight back off.

Whatever it is about running, it just doesn't act as a weight loss mechanism for me. I have two friends that as soon as they started running they leaned out into beautiful runners bodies. Another friend started running with them and has had the same results as me. We've compared notes and we're all doing pretty much the same thing (though the leaner folks are actually less meticulous about weighing and portioning as I am). But what works for one body just won't necessarily work for another. So it's time for me to get back to what was working for me before I tried running. And it may just be the same thing for your sister.

I almost wish I hadn't read this thread...

I am a fat runner. I have completed several 5Ks, a 10K, an obstacle race, and I'm training for a Spartan Sprint in Dec and my first half marathon in January.

Runners do not run because they are trying to be rail thin. Running is not the exercise to do if you are looking to drop 30+ lbs. Runners do it because we love it. Something inside of us pushes us to go from walking to jogging to running.

This thread has reminded me of what other people must be thinking when they see overweight runners like myself out there pushing through 1, 2, 13 miles. I have to really concentrate on not letting it get to me that ppl are judging me for my size.

I started running to prove to myself that just because I was "fat" did not mean I couldn't do it. And I was right. I love it when people are awesome enough to come up to me after a race and say, "You were great out there. I wish I could do that!" I hope one day other people will stop looking at running as only a sport for the incredibly thin person. I have friends who are at a healthy weight who can't keep up with me during runs.

Try not to look at us "fat" runners as people who "run to eat". We run because we can. We run because we must. We do NOT run to lose weight.

You can eat healthy while training for a marathon, but dieting does not work, you simply won't have the energy to run a couple of 40 mile weeks.

I burn about 3000 cals during the actual marathon. For the three days afterwards I can eat my body weight in protein, I'm that hungry. That is a lot of calories that you are eating back.

I try to watch what I eat, but my bottomline is that I love running more than I would love to be stick thin. I'd rather have the energy to drive my engine and that is a fine balance to keep.

Anecdotally, myself and several running buddies put on weight while training for marathons. I was clinically obese when I did my first.

It has already been mentioned that marathon training is specifically designed to make the body more efficient, i.e. burn fewer calories to cover the same distance. There is also a law of diminishing returns - you do not burn twice as many calories running 20 miles as you do running 10, for example, as different energy sources and mechanisms kick in, and calorie calculators do not take this into account.

Finally, while it's possible to train on a deficit, it's very, very difficult. You're running at least every other day in an average programme and if you haven't replenished your energy stores between sessions your next one will, frankly, be rubbish.

Obviously some of them *are* losing, but not there yet (like me). And some of them will be grossly overeating. You do get very hungry, when you do endurance running. And it's alluring to think you're burning *so much* that you don't have to worry about what you eat. If you're not watching the balance of intake and expenditure, it's not hard to overdo it on food, and still gain weight. A lot of people intuitively eat 'to hunger' - you could easily overshoot, with post run hunger drives being quite intense. (The day after a long run, there's a part of me just wants to eat *all the food*.)

Running is a very efficient calorie burn. But you can't outrun bad diet

(Oh and before the super dooper lifters who like to frequent macdonalds, burger king and pizza hut but also like to dole out the dietary and fitness advice as if they knew it all show up to grump about how 'dreadful' running is ... yeah, that bad diet is going to catch up with you lot too... :-) )

um 1 bmi is crap a healthy weight for me would put me still in the obese range and if i get close to a proper bmi my doc starts looking for signs of an eating disorder body weight percentage is a better track for it 2 frankly i carry weight in 2 places usually body fat in the chest and muscle weight in my legs (tho im trying to change that last one a little bit) some of them may have bulky muscles for various reasons

I'm currently Trainin for my first 1/2 and want to thank everyone for the good advice on this thread . I have been in martial arts for years and been overweight because of the "I just worked out 2.5 hrs I can eat whatever I want" mentality. I am currently running about 6mi a day but am also watching what I eat for the first time in my life . I have lost 10 lbs in the last 4 weeks and my body is reshaping ... Yeah ! Hopin to be under 200 in 2012 and never return to my love to workout sand eat unhealthy old self

Thanks again
Mark .

Feel free to friend me if you want friends that run ;
I also use runkeeper to track my progress . Same name as on here