Runner Trying to Lose Weight

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charlatte987
charlatte987 Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all. Between numerous anxiety provoking situations, graduation parties, and late night half off app outings with friends, I have put on a solid 10 pounds, and I'm not happy about it. I'm not overweight by any means, but I feel uncomfortable in my own skin, and would like to get back to where I was a few months ago. I'm currently training for a half marathon (currently running 40 miles per week), and weight lifting 2 times a week. I want to maintain the lean muscle I have, but lose the fat I've gained. If anyone has any tips they could share to help me out with this, i'd really appreciate it, as i'm feeling pretty down about having gained so much. Thank you!

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  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    I would increase the amount of weight lifting and high intensity intervals you are doing. The problem with lots of cardio on a calorie deficit is that you'll really reduce down your metabolism. Check out this video that goes into this.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHHzie6XRGk

    Allan
  • LaneB89
    LaneB89 Posts: 93 Member
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    My ideal response would be to ease up on the cardio and bump lifting to at least 3x a week while getting in adequate protein (don't know your stats to know how much you should be getting), but obviously easing up on cardio is not what you want to do since you're a runner and are training for a half marathon. All I can really say is eat at a rate that allows you to lose 0.5 - 1 lb of weight a week, but you should know that 10 lbs is not a very big deal, especially as someone who's probably quite fit. It should come off nicely, so please don't beat yourself up over having "gained so much". Also bear in mind that it may be pretty difficult to maintain all of your muscle while doing that much cardio - there's a reason you don't typically see muscled up marathon runners.
  • IGbnat24
    IGbnat24 Posts: 520 Member
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    I think 40mile weeks for a 1/2 is unnecessary. You could trade 2 of your runs, say Tues/Thurs if you long run on the weekend, for interval workouts. 400 repeats will fry more fat than a long, slow run of the same time.m

    While I agree that you could put a bigger emphasis on lifting (heavy!) by adding an extra day, I also believe that if you're training for a specific event, your focus should be on that.

    Diet is always the most important factor in weight loss so that is where you should really fine tune.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I think 40mile weeks for a 1/2 is unnecessary. You could trade 2 of your runs, say Tues/Thurs if you long run on the weekend, for interval workouts. 400 repeats will fry more fat than a long, slow run of the same time.m

    While I agree that you could put a bigger emphasis on lifting (heavy!) by adding an extra day, I also believe that if you're training for a specific event, your focus should be on that.

    Diet is always the most important factor in weight loss so that is where you should really fine tune.
    I agree, but some of the elite runners do up their mileage. I think we usually maxed out at 30 in a week while training for a half, and 15 of that was the LR>

    Trade in a run or two for some HIIT..those 400's can be ball busters and burn some serious cals!
    I know training for halfs I didnt lose as much as I thought I would as it made me so hungry. Training for the 5k's with those tough intervals like 400's/800's really melted the fat off though.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    I'm currently training for a half marathon (currently running 40 miles per week), and weight lifting 2 times a week. I want to maintain the lean muscle I have, but lose the fat I've gained. If anyone has any tips they could share to help me out with this, i'd really appreciate it, as i'm feeling pretty down about having gained so much. Thank you!

    Running or not it all comes down to logging your food and exercise. Personally I think 40 miles a week is a great goal. I was doing this all last summer and fall (and will be again soon). What I found that helps me is running in a fasted state in the morning. What's your body going to burn on that 12 mile run after you burn through your glycogen stores? You guessed it, bodyfat. If you overeat you'll still pack on the weight but if you keep the calories in check you'll lean out really nice. Plus it's great training for your body to run in a fasted state.

    http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/articlePages/article/2
  • Lara124911
    Lara124911 Posts: 23
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    I was over weight and tried so many things. Different things work for different people and I was lucky enough to find one that worked for me. I lost 18 pounds in one month without much exercise and it's been a life changer. I'm a little embarrased to post my before and after photos here but if anyone actually cares to hear what I've been doing then I'd be happy to help in any way. Just shoot me an email at secretosdelara@gmail.com and I'll show you my before and after photos, and tell you about how things are going for me with the stuff I've tried. I wish someone would have helped me out when I was struggling to find a solution so if I can help you then it would make my day
  • charlatte987
    charlatte987 Posts: 27 Member
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    Thank you so much for the replies and support everybody! It's a bit overwhelming, but in a very very good way! Also, I talked with a few people on the site before, but i'm interested in hearing a few other people's inputs; For someone in my situation (a long distance runner, trying to lose a few), What kind of weight lifting programme would be good for me? I need to have enough energy to run, but preserving the little muscle mass I have is a priority as well (second to running of course). Thank you!!!
  • 321blueeyes
    321blueeyes Posts: 279 Member
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    I'm a fellow half marathoner - I use Pilates (reformer) and TRX for strength training. TRX is definitely a much tougher workout, sometimes I'm sore and it does mean I have to scale back on my running intensity/distance or skip the occasional run all together. Currently I do these 1-2x weekly. It probably should be more, but "life" has a way of getting in the way.

    Your profile indicates that you are 18 which is definitely on the younger side of the spectrum for half marathon racers - are you a competitive runner (HS / College)?

    I do take my running seriously and track distance, time, training loads, etc. But at the end of the day, I'm still just a recreational runner with "middle of the pack" finishes.

    In my training, I don't exceed 30 miles a week (currently <20 due to rehabbing an Achilles injury, but my next race isn't until Nov). There are a lot of new training theories that promote quality over quantity, I would suggest reading some of the Runners World articles for tips.

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