10 days on this plan. Good results but first Yuchhy run today.
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phil230532
Posts: 41 Member
Hi, lost 5 pounds in 10 days. Trying to get to my proven optimal race weight for a November and December half. The latter, my daughters will be running the full. In today's run, for the first time, the legs did not have it. I'm not overly concerned if this is just part of the process until I hit my goal. More excited about current weight loss now if it leads to better running later. Do you think I am losing too fast and should up the calories or continue as is? Thanks.
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Bad days happen to all of us. I would be cautious to not try to lose weight too quickly. (Most feel it is best to lose no more than 1-2 pounds a week).
You may want to be careful to avoid over training which can cause fatigue. Many feel you should have at least 1 or 2 days a week where you avoid running and also feel you shouldn't add more than about 10% to your total mileage each week.
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Sound recommendations. Thanks.0
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Too many unknown variables to give you a solid answer. Losing 5 pounds in 10 days if you weigh 275 is a lot different than losing 5 pounds in 10 days if you weight 130. That being said, it's likely that the "weight" you have lost is water and glycogen. A true weight lose of a pound a week is pretty standard suggestion, sometimes less if you are close to your ideal or goal weight.
As for diet, it's important to fuel your workouts and as a runner, this means not skimping on the carbs. You'll need them to replenish those glycogen stores. It's not fun to run low on glycogen.0 -
That makes since, since the legs were not there but my heart rate during the not so good run was very comfortable. This could be that I did have a loss in glycogen. I am 6'4" and started at 180, trying to get to my optimal race weight. The mirror test shows that I have excess body fat around the middle. Many of the posts say this is the last to go. I also am doing weight training twice a week, upper and lower body.0
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No question you are losing some fat but, as slender as you are, you're probably losing muscle mass, too. I'm a big believer in rapid weight loss for the obese but there's no way I would lose that fast at your height and weight.
In that you're looking at races that are >= a month away, I would slow my weight loss significantly.
Matt Fitzgerald's book on nutrition is an excellent read and offers very good advice on this topic.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rules-Marathon-Half-Marathon-Nutrition/dp/0738216453
He has another book called "Racing Weight" but I haven't delved into it.
Insofar as nutrition, as Carson says "it's not fun to run low on glycogen" and that's something that could creep in. If you've dropped your carb consumption (because carbs are digested so quickly, you feel hungry sooner), that could impact the amount of CHO that you have. If your runs head into the double digit miles and if you're not taking on CHO before or during the run, you might bonk. Not a big deal - "that which does not kill us" and all. :-)
Here's some data about glycogen consumption during a race. I'm 6' 1" 175 so the numbers are a bit low but you'll be in the ballpark:
http://goo.gl/U6Bwhf
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You are correct ATT949 on some muscle loss, based on my weight lifting sessions. The amount of weight that I can move with my legs is not far off from what I could do in my younger days. The upper body strength is significantly weaker but have seen some gradual improvement in max lifts there. Do not want to lose that progress by as you have mentioned losing too fast. I have the "Racing Weight" book but have not looked at it in a couple of years. Just skimmed the Diet Science "Improving Your Diet Quality" chapter. Need better quality and to eat a little more to slow the weight loss down. Will test this out Saturday with a long run with my daughter. She is scheduled for 16 and I will do 10 with her. Will focus on CHO consumption before and during. Impressive data on glycogen consumption.Thank you for these recommendations. Really liking this group.0
