Has distance running ruined my metabolism?

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BerryH
BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
After getting up to 16 miles in my marathon training, I had to give it up due to recurring injuries. I'd been set to lose 0.5lbs a week for a slow weight loss while fulling myself properly, but like many runners I found my weight-loss stalled as I became more efficient and my body became better at storing the energy I'd need for the next session. No problem, that wasn't my goal at the time.

One month later, still set to lose 0.5lb a week, I've gained 5lb. I'm still running on and off, but no more than an hour, usually just half an hour or 5K, and much faster than my long distances. I've also added back other cardio I was missing, again trying to hit it hard for a shorter time. I'm finding the alternatives like stationery cycling, swimming, the "cross country ski machine" (new to the gym, a bit like a cross-trainer but tougher) and classes a lot harder than the running I'd become used to!

I've also added back in weight training, which I'd cut right back on other than a fairly light injury-prevention workout. This includes circuit-style part-cardio moves like kettlebell swings, Bosu ball jump side-lunges and step-ups.

Has distance running ruined my metabolism like low-calorie or fad dieting? Have I become so efficient I have to discount exercise calories altogether?

With regret, I've set my loss back to 1lb a week as I'm no longer as close to my goal as I was. What else can I do to get back on track without running for a hour midweek and five hours at the weekend?

Belly flubber says it's not muscle weight :laugh:
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Replies

  • Ilovedrinkingtea
    Ilovedrinkingtea Posts: 597 Member
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    God, this sounds like me. I reckon my metabolism is wrecked!!! I will stay tuned for answers.

    xx
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Evolutionarily, I'm guessing your metabolisms are perfected, not wrecked! 2000 kcal is a diet for me, so in times of famine, you live, I die.:noway:

    How hungry were you on the .5lb loss calories?
  • tenunderfour
    tenunderfour Posts: 429 Member
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    I had the same experience when I was marathon training..... I actually gained about 5 lbs each time I ran a marathon (I've done 4). And I find it VERY hard to lose when all I am doing is running. It's counter-intuitive because if you are running 20 miles at a time you should be burning some very serious calories!!

    I would say add more of the weights and if you keep running - focus less on distance, but do more speedwork and intervals, not just shorter runs at a steady, but faster pace..... but mix it up within the run. Do some fartleks. gotta mix it up a bit.... and also be patient. :)
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Great ideas here, and glad to see I'm not alone!

    The 0.5lb calories wasn't too bad, but I really missed feeling full, which I could do when I burned off mahoosive calories running for hours. Going back to 1lb a loss (a tiny for me 1340 calories) is harsh but do-able.

    I think I may need to work out more often - I was doing just three runs and one cross-training to try and stave off the injuries that eventually won. Going back to six days a week will involve getting up early at least a couple of days a week. Eek! I hate before work workouts!
  • Ilovedrinkingtea
    Ilovedrinkingtea Posts: 597 Member
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    You could try the Helloitsdan technique of eating 100-200 cals above your katch mcardle bmr and eating back cals or his other way is working out a flat tdee and making a subtraction for weight loss from that so you eat a set amount per day regardless of exercise. xx
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    To be honest, my calories come in at almost the same amount by most methods, so I tend to stick with MFP for ease and the fact it adjusts automatically with weight changes. I did have success in the past with a flat TDEE of 1800, but I'd have to switch my mind set to "I have to exercise X days a week at Y intensity for Z minutes to eat this much" from "I can't eat until I've burned enough"!
  • deannarey13
    deannarey13 Posts: 452
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    Sadly, yes it has. I could go on and on with what I have learned about how working out above your anarobic threshold (where your body stops burning fat for fuel and starts burning carbs. aka - heart rate above 80%-90% for most) will damage your efforts for weight/fat loss. Here is one article that does a pretty good job of explaining.

    http://members.rachelcosgrove.com/public/The_Final_Nail_in_the_Cardio_Coffin.cfm
  • deannarey13
    deannarey13 Posts: 452
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    If you have the technology available in your area (which you can find out on the website, who locally offers the service) I would highly suggest a New Leaf Metabolic test. This will tell you where you should be working out (heart rate zones) to burn fat more efficiently. I have been on a metabolic training program since November and it's worked wonders!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    Wow, interesting and scary stuff deannarey, certainly food for thought there. But he does add the point I always make to people who say ONLY do intervals and heavy weights - to get good at endurance events, only endurance training will get you there!
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
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    I started running over 6 years ago to lose weight and the opposite happened. Running either makes me crazy ravenous or I get to the point where my body has become an efficient calorie hoarding machine. I gained weight training for 3 marathons...and it wasn't muscle, since my pants got snugger.

    Almost 2 years ago I badly sprained my ankle and couldn't run at all for almost 6 weeks (and it took me a solid 12 before I was putting in many miles on-foot at all). In that time I took to my bike and had no trouble losing at least a .5#/week without trying. Eventually I became efficient at that, too. :sad: :grumble:

    Right now I'm training for a HM and still riding a bit. My body seems a bit confused and I'm slowly losing. The race is in 3 weeks, then I will switch over to mostly cycling. I hope I can continue to pull the wool over my metabolism's eyes for a bit longer. Sheesh, it's annoying!

    My hubby has long joked that I have the most adaptive metabolism he's ever seen and that I'd likely outlive most people during a famine. He can cut back a bit for a month or two and lose crazy amounts of weight. I can obsessively log every morsel that goes into my mouth for months and be lucky to lose 5#s. It's totally demoralizing and I'm at the point where I just can't log my food. I just try to let myself be hungry here and there and hope some weight decides to drop. I'm the thinnest woman in my entire family at a size 8 AND, by far, the most active. Sometimes I feel like my genetics are conspiring against me. :angry:
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    I don't think that a lot of running ruins your metabolism, at least it hasn't ruined mine. I run nearly every day and often twice a day, eat 3000 to 4000 calories a day, and am at my lowest weight since I was 17. Most of the running is steady state, some is fast.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I like the thought that in the event of a famine there will only be long-distance runners left nibbling a few berries and going for a jog, deftly avoiding being eaten by the weight-lifters looking to keep their macros up :laugh:
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    Ya'll are seriously depressing me. LOL. I love running and I don't want to stop losing (or god forbid gain!!) weight.
  • zoom2
    zoom2 Posts: 934 Member
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    I like the thought that in the event of a famine there will only be long-distance runners left nibbling a few berries and going for a jog, deftly avoiding being eaten by the weight-lifters looking to keep their macros up :laugh:

    Or the zombies will get them. :bigsmile:
  • runnerchick69
    runnerchick69 Posts: 317 Member
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    No, running hasn't ruined your metabolism. As a distance runner and someone who has lost a substantial amount of weight I can say from my experience running actually helped my weightloss. Now let me say that I had already lost around 50 pounds before I started running and my running consisted of walk/running because I had never run before. I am one of those runners who actually loses weight when they marathon train because I stay very much on top of calories in versus calories out. You have to find that fine line between feeding your body what it needs to sustain those kind of miles and not eating too many calories. It can be a really hard line to follow because your hungry but it can be done. Now I heard someone mention cycling and I can't say enough about cycling! I find I can keep my HR in the fat burning state much easier than running. I am a firm believer in cross training and how much it can improve your running! I cycle, I use the Arc at the gym and I weight train. I work with a trainer on and off who is also a Ironman and he stresses to many runners the importance of continuing to strength train and I'm a believer. So I run three maybe four times a week, I cross train the other days and I strength train twice a week for about a half hour. All of this together works really well for me and has helped me become a better and faster runner :smile:
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
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    Interesting...

    I resumed running again (after a 9 year hiatus) and initially lost 40 lbs. Then I just hit a wall and since December I haven't lost a pound. I'm not a marathon runner but I have been running a fair amount per week and I just can't lose no matter what I do. Not losing inches either.

    I love running and I don't want to stop. I have a little bit of hard time just cutting back. I'm not going to hit my minimum goal for this week b/c of schedule conflicts and it's bugging me. :)
  • Chagama
    Chagama Posts: 543 Member
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    I don't think running ruins your metabolism. I think the issue many people have is that to continuously run long distances, train for marathons, etc. you need to eat a lot have enough energy for those long runs. This is what makes it tough to lose weight while training for marathons. I think. At least that's how it seems to me each time. I've done 7 marathons, and each time I don't lose any significant weight through the training, I just find I need to eat so much to keep my energy up.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
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    I should point out that I've been running for a loooong time - 15 years, just so intermittently I just never got any good :laugh: The weight DID fall off for the first few weeks, months and even years, but the regular two-hour plus runs were the cut-off point, almost like that whopping calorie burn just didn't happen.
  • siwelh
    siwelh Posts: 50 Member
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    Yes and no. How's that for an answer? What I mean is, the more fit you get, the less a particular workout can do for you.

    When I started back with running, I could burn 350 calories running 3 miles. Now I'm lucky to burn 250, and I'm running so much faster. Likewise, I used to burn 700 calories in an hour of spinning, now I might get 550 and I'm working at higher resistance.

    As we get thinner and stronger, it takes more to burn the calories. We have to remember how freaking hard everything was when we first started, and if we want to continue burning like we did back then, we need to feel like we are working just as hard. I think we tend to forget that usually working out needs to be a bit uncomfortable to have real results.

    I also agree with the strength training- it's crucial. And I ditto the watching your calories even when running a lot and recommend remembering that even a marathon only burns about 2600 calories- which is basically one 14 inch pepperoni pizza, which may be why so many people gain afterward a marathon, I gained 5 lbs after a half marathon last year and I think it was likely the piles of junk I ate after!
  • AmyEm3
    AmyEm3 Posts: 784 Member
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    I don't think running ruins your metabolism. I think the issue many people have is that to continuously run long distances, train for marathons, etc. you need to eat a lot have enough energy for those long runs. This is what makes it tough to lose weight while training for marathons. I think. At least that's how it seems to me each time. I've done 7 marathons, and each time I don't lose any significant weight through the training, I just find I need to eat so much to keep my energy up.

    I think this is most likely my issue. I eat a lot in order to have the energy to run a lot. I think I'm probably just eating too much to lose weight.

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