Gained 5kg from Long Distance running now can't get it off!!!

1454mfp
1454mfp Posts: 14 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Last year October i completed my first ever half marathon. During this time i didn't track because i was training so much i thought i could eat whatever! I actually gained weight and now I can't get it back down. I exercise but can't control my eating....I get headaches if i get hungry......Has anyone tried anything to curb hunger especially during ovulation?

Replies

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    Usually if there is no loss/gain, your calories are at maintenance or a bit above.

    What are your stats (height, age, current weight, goal weight)?

    How many calories are you consuming daily? Do you eyeball/estimate foods/portion, use cups/spoons, or use a food scale?

    Are you logging absolutely everything that you eat, drink, taste and take a bite of?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I struggle to lose weight when I am training for a half... the runger is real!
  • Hoshiko
    Hoshiko Posts: 179 Member
    LOL. You didn't gain weight from long distance running. You gained because you ate more than you burned.

    That's true, but let me tell you the hungriest I've ever been in my life was while training for a marathon. I managed to gain 10 lbs over the course of 3 months, even with all the mileage.

    OP, I add in extra calories for exercise, but they're mostly not pure junk, just more protein and fats. I'll bank extra calories for a weekly splurge of beer with friends or whatever, but I don't make it a daily thing, even on long run days. You don't have to be hungry, just make smarter choices.

    Satiety is an individual thing so you'll have to figure that out for yourself, but the mental aspect of not using running as an excuse to eat whatever was the biggest hurdle for me.

    On the plus side though, losing weight makes you faster.
  • 1454mfp
    1454mfp Posts: 14 Member
    Satiety is an individual thing so you'll have to figure that out for yourself, but the mental aspect of not using running as an excuse to eat whatever was the biggest hurdle for me.

    This is so true!!! And still is when i exercise. How to break that mental barrier......


  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    1454mfp wrote: »
    Last year October i completed my first ever half marathon. During this time i didn't track because i was training so much i thought i could eat whatever! I actually gained weight and now I can't get it back down. I exercise but can't control my eating....I get headaches if i get hungry......Has anyone tried anything to curb hunger especially during ovulation?

    nope you cant eat whatever and out exercise a bad diet. if you are eating more than you burn you will gain weight,with or without exercise. exercise really has nothing to do with weight loss, it burns calories sure. its all about the calories.
  • Hoshiko
    Hoshiko Posts: 179 Member
    1454mfp wrote: »

    This is so true!!! And still is when i exercise. How to break that mental barrier......


    Track what you eat, choose a calorie goal that fits within your lifestyle and isn't too ambitious, and be consistent. I eat back my exercise calories (50-90%, depending on the activity) but I don't use exercise any more as a way to undo bad eating. It makes a huge mental difference.
  • 1454mfp
    1454mfp Posts: 14 Member
    Hoshiko wrote: »
    1454mfp wrote: »

    This is so true!!! And still is when i exercise. How to break that mental barrier......


    Track what you eat, choose a calorie goal that fits within your lifestyle and isn't too ambitious, and be consistent. I eat back my exercise calories (50-90%, depending on the activity) but I don't use exercise any more as a way to undo bad eating. It makes a huge mental difference.

    I have started doing that as of yesterday and have controlled my eating after a big sweat session last night. I ate back 50% of my exercise calories. Never thought to do that before reading about it. And I was 700g down this morning! Winning!
  • 1454mfp
    1454mfp Posts: 14 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    1454mfp wrote: »
    I have started doing that as of yesterday and have controlled my eating after a big sweat session last night. I ate back 50% of my exercise calories. Never thought to do that before reading about it. And I was 700g down this morning! Winning!

    700g down sounds like water weight, not fat change. Or did you generate a ~5400 Cal deficit yesterday?
    I don't doubt that you lost. But don't conflate water weight changes for fat level changes.

    A lot of people find a trending weight app or web site to be a very useful tool.

    No 700g since last weigh in...
  • Hoshiko
    Hoshiko Posts: 179 Member
    Good job on not going crazy with the eating after your workout! Sounds like a good beginning to me.

    Also, totally agree about getting a weight tracking app. They drive some people crazy but I love seeing the trend change day by day, because now I can predict my weigh loss pretty well. I don't freak out so much if the scale goes up a bit and it keeps me motivated.

    Just something to consider!
  • charlieandcarol
    charlieandcarol Posts: 302 Member
    Marathon and half marathon training is notorious for helping you put on weight or stay the same due to the hungries. Do you have pre and post training measurements? I found when I was long distance running that my weight was staying the same which was frustrating but I actually dropped a clothing size.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    Also: try drinking more. I did my last marathon training long run on Sunday (37km) and feel like I'm still hungry from it but honestly I think I'm also thirsty. I get headaches when I'm dehydrated and sometimes I don't even realise that this is the problem as it feels like I drank heaps after the run.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @bendyourkneekatie

    Katie - you could try what I do before and long hot cycle ride, I weigh myself before and after the ride to estimate how much fluid I need to replace as part of my recovery.
    Electrolytes can also be the culprit.
  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    @bendyourkneekatie

    Katie - you could try what I do before and long hot cycle ride, I weigh myself before and after the ride to estimate how much fluid I need to replace as part of my recovery.
    Electrolytes can also be the culprit.

    That's a very good idea. And you're quite right about the electrolytes. Also, just general fatigue can sometimes seem like hunger. There's all sorts of thing that distance running (or any endurance activity) can do to you to make you think you need more food than you actually do.
  • irishgo
    irishgo Posts: 7 Member
    Try using Lean Protein as a way to replace meals. I just did a half marathon on July 22nd 2017 too, in Killarney, Kerry, IRL, and at 1st I had that hunger feeling but lean protein really helped in combination with slow release breakfast cereals such as Porridge Oats with blue berries. Of course make sure to drink at least 2 of 3 liters of water a day and take plenty of veggies, try to avoid meats.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    irishgo wrote: »
    Try using Lean Protein as a way to replace meals. I just did a half marathon on July 22nd 2017 too, in Killarney, Kerry, IRL, and at 1st I had that hunger feeling but lean protein really helped in combination with slow release breakfast cereals such as Porridge Oats with blue berries. Of course make sure to drink at least 2 of 3 liters of water a day and take plenty of veggies, try to avoid meats.

    why do you need to avoid meat? and you dont need to use protein powders as a meal replacement. you need fat in your diet too and if you arent adding that to your protein,porridge and berries you are losing out on some fat nutrition.
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