Loosing weight while training for a marathon

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  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
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    garystrickland357 wrote: »
    I’ve been thinking about this thread - I’m currently training for a 1/2 marathon. I’m getting into peak mileage now and honestly I can’t eat enough to stop losing. I’m 6’1” and 186 pounds. I’ve been eating 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day and still losing weight. I’ve lost .5 to .75 pounds a week for the past couple weeks in spite of eating so much.

    I have similar stats to you and found much the same. At a load of about 30-35 mpw, I found that my weight settled down at around 169 pounds on an intake of about 3000 calories per day.
  • mimc66
    mimc66 Posts: 33 Member
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    I've finished 9 weeks of a 12 week 1/2 marathon training plan and have lost 10 lbs. I've been eating about 200 calories below maintenance and not counting the calories burned running. Usually one cheat meal a week on long run days. I'm still 16 lbs from my target weight but the steady weight loss has definitely improved my times. Will see how the next 16 goes. It's been a slow process but consistent improvement is a great motivator to continue. Good luck!!
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I have lost weight during marathon training, but most of the deliberate loss was in the early weeks, when the mileage wasn't too different from what I had been doing so I wasn't extraordinarily hungry. Once training gets serious, I set my goal to maintenance, log everything, and just try to maintain control of what I eat by focusing on healthy carbs vs. eating donuts, cookies etc. (I still eat them, but I generally try to go for more fruit vs. cinnamon rolls). I'll usually continue to lose a little weight all through the training, but it is slow and comes primarily because after really long runs, I don't eat back all the calories unless I eat out. Also, I burn a bit more than MFP gives me, thanks to hilly routes and the fact that I don't usually count post-run exercise (yoga, stretching, etc.) unless it lasts more than 1/2 hour. Eating less fat is a good way to cut calories, but you can't do too much of that because you need the fat as well. If I don't get enough, my mood and energy levels suffer.
  • mimc66
    mimc66 Posts: 33 Member
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    lol! my biggest mileage week is 28 miles (Hal Higdon intermediate plan) and it's manageable. Hunger is much worse if I do a 2 hour bike ride - want to eat everything is sight!!
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    Nereneia wrote: »
    How can I loose weight while I am training for a marathon? When I reduce my carbs I feel tired when I do my runs. Last year I was training for a marathon and I’ve put on weight(4kg). Everyone was saying that I look like I’ve lost weight and I assume this was because my muscle weight increased which is ok. This year I’ve put on more weight(3kg) during Christmas and now I need to loose all of it so I can improve my running times. My main goal is to loose the weight without affecting my training. Does anyone have any suggestions preferably based on their own experience?

    [1] Don't try for more than a minimal deficit (if at all) - it will affect your performance.
    [2] Calorie burn estimates for running are fairly spot-on (using formula based on your weight and miles)...so fully eat back your exercise calories.
    [3] To avoid eating a kazillion calories in the blink of an eye, avoid super-calorie-dense food when the runger strikes. (possible exception for the really, really long runs, where calories burned will actually cover that full plate of burger + fries + beer that runger will make you inhale).
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
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    ...(note on #2: not necessarily on the same day -- [1] that might be too much food on long run day, and [2] you'll probably be F** ravenously hungry the next day too)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    mimc66 wrote: »
    lol! my biggest mileage week is 28 miles (Hal Higdon intermediate plan) and it's manageable. Hunger is much worse if I do a 2 hour bike ride - want to eat everything is sight!!

    It's so interesting how differently our bodies react.
  • jcmetzke
    jcmetzke Posts: 2 Member
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    I love reading this thread, as I can see everyone is so very different.

    I have run 17 marathons and currently training for my first ultra-marathon. When I started running, weight dropped off me, but I got a little bit frivolous with what I was eating and for one marathon I actually put on 10kg! (clearly not all muscle :):D ) Carrying that extra weight also impacted my finish times. So now I manage it a lot better, lost those 10kg and my times went down a lot.
    For the ultra marathon I want to lose another 5kg as I don't want to be running a long distance with too much weight (I am not heavy but there is definitely some opportunity to drop some kg without getting skinny).. So now I am tracking everything that I eat, including carb loading days and after long runs just to make sure that overall I am in a deficit... Rungry is a very real thing for some of us, and it is hard when training for endurance events to lose weight.. but it can be done.. As some have mentioned above I am trying to drop most of the weight before the massive long hilly runs start!
  • mandabeth34
    mandabeth34 Posts: 158 Member
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    I can lose weight training for half’s. Marathons are a totally different story. I’ve tried, but the hunger of those final weeks with the high mileage breaks down all my willpower. I’ve done 2 full marathons and gained 2-3lbs each time.

    It’s one reason I’m not doing marathons anymore. Not the main reason (that’s either constant injuries and the time commitment), but it factors into why I stick to half’s now.
  • angmarie28
    angmarie28 Posts: 2,786 Member
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    I trained for 2 marathons a couple years ago, and lost about 15lbs in 6 months doing so, I ate more on my long run days, but ate lots of veggies so my calories were lower but I still ate enough to feel full.

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