Marathon training and weight loss

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gorple76
gorple76 Posts: 162 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I know, I know, it's really hard to lose weight whilst training for a marathon, and so far I'm proving that point admirably by putting on several pounds since I started training. But I really want to lose 10 pounds if possible before October as my knees get sore and my pace is not great. I think I'd feel generally swifter and more confident for the big day. So, any good news stories and/or advice out there?!

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  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
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    Eat at a modest deficit. I'm training for my first half and have my goals set to .5lb a week so I'm fueled but not starving. You don't say whether you are actually tracking calories, so start there.
  • gorple76
    gorple76 Posts: 162 Member
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    Thanks vespiquenn. I am tracking but doing abysmally. I constantly fall off the wagon - getting to 5pm and eating everything in the fridge or just sacking it off for a day or two (or three or four.....). I think I need to believe it can be done do that I can give myself a talking to and just knuckle down!
  • pzarnosky
    pzarnosky Posts: 256 Member
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    I trained for a 25K and lost around 20-30lbs (lost a total of 40, but some was before training started). I ate 1500 cals a day and I ate back 70 cals for every mile I ran. Except long runs. Long runs were fair game and always fell on my cheat day anyways. So I'd run the first part of the day and then eat whatever I felt like the rest of the day. It's definitely something you can do, my advice is to simply be a bit more modest about your calorie deficit.
    Also, be more accountable for yourself and work on logging. When I started weighing food and truly accurately logging I found it much easier to lose the weight because in the end, for the majority of us out there, it's simple math, CICO. You can lie to MFP and yourself about what you eat, but you can't lie to your body.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Losing a few pounds in the early stages of a training plan should be quite doable as you're not getting into the really long runs yet. the half pound per week target makes sense. In the latter part of your training plan you pretty much need to be eating at maintenance to fuel the long runs (at the same time be diligent about accurately logging your food and tracking your expenditures......it's really easy to put on a few pounds again, personally I'm ravenous after a long Sunday run......)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Losing a few pounds in the early stages of a training plan should be quite doable as you're not getting into the really long runs yet. the half pound per week target makes sense. In the latter part of your training plan you pretty much need to be eating at maintenance to fuel the long runs (at the same time be diligent about accurately logging your food and tracking your expenditures......it's really easy to put on a few pounds again, personally I'm ravenous after a long Sunday run......)

    All of this
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    BrianSharpe wrote: »
    Losing a few pounds in the early stages of a training plan should be quite doable as you're not getting into the really long runs yet. the half pound per week target makes sense. In the latter part of your training plan you pretty much need to be eating at maintenance to fuel the long runs (at the same time be diligent about accurately logging your food and tracking your expenditures......it's really easy to put on a few pounds again, personally I'm ravenous after a long Sunday run......)

    agreed.
  • codename_steve
    codename_steve Posts: 255 Member
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    I've noticed that if I get enough protein within the hour after my long run, I can avoid being ravenous later that day. Also, I've been looking at my calorie goals on a weekly basis instead of a daily one, this way I'm eating the same amount each day instead of trying to adjust more or less based on that day's run.
  • rumijs
    rumijs Posts: 218 Member
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    I eat at a deficit will packing in the protein and fat. It can be expensive, but it changes the energy source of the body and preps for the long runs. Also keeps me satiated longer.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Once I got to my really high mileage (for me) weeks I had to stuff myself to keep from wasting away too much. (40-50 mpw) I've learned that my case was more the exception rather than the rule.

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