Marathon training and weight loss

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imogene912
imogene912 Posts: 32 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Has anyone here in MFPland lost weight while training for a marathon? I know statistically it is difficult, given the fact that most people consume the calories they've lost during training runs, but I would like to hear from someone who's beat the statistics and dropped lbs while training. Thanks!
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  • KathyApplebaum
    KathyApplebaum Posts: 188 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Not a marathon, but I just did my first half and dropped 6 pounds during the eight weeks of training for it. (And set several PRs along the way.)
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I am losing weight and triathlon training. I usually don't eat many of my exercise calories and I burn about 3000 or more a week via exercise. I've always felt fueled sufficiently to complete my workouts and my performance and endurance has improved. If I had to do it over again, I might have eaten more to slow down the weight loss (I think I might have lost more lean muscle than I would have liked).
  • safisana
    safisana Posts: 12 Member
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    I trained for a marathon several years ago without counting calories. I lost a couple of pounds, but I didn't get the svelte figure you'd expect from being about to run 26.2 miles! Training that much made me ravenous... I could go for a 15 mile long run and then eat an entire pizza, plus 2 other meals.

    I actually lost more weight after the race, when cut back my running substantially and my hunger stabilized. That was without food logging or much conscious effort, too.

    In my opinion it was mentally taxing enough to get the miles in, and paying too close of attention to what I was eating probably would have made the challenge insurmountable. (Although, had I replaced pizza with some healthier options, I probably would have been in better shape overall...)
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    edited March 2016
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    It's not that it is DIFFICULT to lose weight while training for a marathon, it's that intentionally putting yourself in a sustained caloric defecit while systematically increasing the training load on your body sets you up for under-recovery (aka overtraining syndrome) and puts you at higher risk for overuse injuries.
  • Huge1993
    Huge1993 Posts: 14 Member
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    I don't know who told you that losing weight while training for a marathon is hard, but I think actually gaining weight is much harder.

    When training for a marathon, you are running, what, 50 kilometers (~30 miles) a week? For me personally, that is about 4500 calories that I would have to consume to only keep my weight.

    I'm currently training for my 2nd marathon, and I'm already down 5 kg. In my opinion, it is a pretty easy process. What's even better, running is going to take less energy the lighter you are, so it's pretty much a win-win. You do have to make sure you are getting sufficient nutrition though.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
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    You would have to be eating ridiculous amounts to not lose weight....
  • Selkie_Runner
    Selkie_Runner Posts: 41 Member
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    eldamiano wrote: »
    You would have to be eating ridiculous amounts to not lose weight....
    Actually you're wrong. People generally don't burn as many calories as they think and intensive training makes you more hungry. Statistically people do put on weight while training for a Marathon. It's not just losing the weight it's getting the balance if you don't eat enough your training suffers and you lose energy. That is one of the main reasons why people gain weight while training for long distances

    I run 100k most weeks and I find it difficult to lose unless I strictly monitor my intake. It's getting the balance that is the issue. I have a Marathon and an Ultra this year and I have around 20 pounds I'd like to shift so the balancing act is not easy to get enough nutrition to maximise performance and lose weight at the same time.
  • ekat120
    ekat120 Posts: 407 Member
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    I lost a few pounds training for a marathon a couple years ago. It was hard. They keys for me were accurate exercise logging (via my Fitbit) and eating a solid, well-rounded meal or large snack right after my long runs. The other runs didn't ramp up my hunger too much, but if I didn't feed the beast right away after a long run, I'd be hungry the whole rest of the day and into the next day (the "rungries"!). There's a long-distance running community on here that can help if you have want more help or info.
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    I can put on weight even when running 65 miles per week. Those who say it's hard to maintain your weight while marathon training clearly aren't as good at baking as I am.
  • StealthHealth
    StealthHealth Posts: 2,417 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Every single person that I trained with (and myself) who attempted to lose weight whilst training for a marathon either:
    • Failed to lose weight
    • got ill and needed to drop out of their training for a period of time

    This is despite the fact that everyone I spoke to at the running club and on running forums said "Either train for the mara and eat accordingly or try to lose weight - don't attempt both".

    I realise that this is n=1 but, my training partner ate like a horse, neither gained nor lost during his training and routinely out performed me on our long runs even though during our half marathon days (when I wasn't trying to lose weight) I routinely had to drag him along to keep to my pace.


    Edited to add: I now realise that you were looking for examples of where people had succeeded to lose whilst training; Sorry, I didn't read the post carefully. Hopefully my post will add some balance to the "I did it!" posts you'll get.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    I'm currently 9 weeks into a half marathon plan, along with consistent weight loss. Been actually upping calories every few weeks to stay in line with loss target (about 1 lb/week or less).

    You need to make sure your cuts remain reasonable or everything goes out the window.

  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    Just coming back to say I have actually lost weight while marathon training, but only slowly (2 pounds every 3 weeks). If you really want to do it, just run a very small deficit and be prepared to eat at maintenance if you're struggling with the training.

    Also I was doing a lot more running than many people on mfp will do while training for a marathon. So I was still eating a lot.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    imogene912 wrote: »
    Has anyone here in MFPland lost weight while training for a marathon? I know statistically it is difficult, given the fact that most people consume the calories they've lost during training runs, but I would like to hear from someone who's beat the statistics and dropped lbs while training. Thanks!

    I'm losing weight training for a HIM. I never understood these posts/issues. Shouldn't it be easier to lose weight with higher training loads due to the increased calorie burns? You just can't be stupid about how much you eat the rest of the day. Personally, I could never eat as much during a workout as I burn, so it really comes down to the other 22 hours in the day.
  • nicolemarie999
    nicolemarie999 Posts: 91 Member
    edited March 2016
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    I did a bit, not a lot of pounds though and I wasn't trying to at the time. I went from 126 to 121 lbs over a four month period. But I regained the pounds within a year ( which was fine becasue I hadn't been trying to lose them).
    I'm one of those off people who's appetite seems to be suppressed if I do a lot of running ( like 45+ miles a week) .
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    You can shed a few pounds fairly easily during the early weeks of your training plan but the bottom line is that training takes fuel and it would be difficult to train properly (assuming you're racing for time not just to finish) at too much below maintenance.
  • imogene912
    imogene912 Posts: 32 Member
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    Great info and input, everyone. Thanks so much!
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    Half marathon yes. I set my diary to lose .5 a week so my deficit was minimal.
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    You can shed a few pounds fairly easily during the early weeks of your training plan but the bottom line is that training takes fuel and it would be difficult to train properly (assuming you're racing for time not just to finish) at too much below maintenance.

    This ^ is spot on in my experience.

    When putting in heavy training miles for endurance events such as marathons, triathlon, etc., I focus on feeding the machine first, with weight loss as a happy by product.

    For example, right now I am 22 weeks out from my "A" race, a HIM. As a result, I'm very focused on food intake with the goal of getting leaner while my training load is moderate. Once the mileage increases, I won't focus as much on weight loss, but rather fueling to maintain energy and support recovery during the 12-15hr training weeks.


    OP - if you want more info, you might enjoy reading Matt Fitzgerald's book: "Racing Weight: How to get lean for peak performance".



  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,493 Member
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    While training for my first HM, during which I ran as much as 18 miles on my long run, I lost 15 pounds in the first 12 weeks of training. I ate at maintenance during the last 4 weeks of training.

    I'm now training for my first full marathon. I've lost 8 pounds in the first 8 weeks and plan on losing another 4 pounds in the next 4 weeks, before eating at maintenance for the final 4 weeks.

    Though I'm eating at a deficit, I have plenty of body fat to fuel my runs. I just make sure I eat a lot of protein for muscle recovery.
  • arussell134
    arussell134 Posts: 463 Member
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    I'm hoping to lose a few pounds, but doing so before starting my marathon training plan. My plan starts in June, so wherever I'm at weight-wise, is what I'll be maintaining at. I've got an ambitious-for-me time goal and can't risk not fueling adequately.

    Good luck!

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