What's the best diet for a runner?

jude666
jude666 Posts: 231 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I've been running on and off for nearly a year now, i've got to the point where I can run for about 30 minutes without stopping (just short of 5K so speed is improving to) I feel like i've definitely come a LONG way since starting, i couldn't really run for more than a couple of minutes without being out of breath! Trouble is, although my legs feel a bit more toned I don't see any difference in my weight. I was always under the impression that running is the best exercise for weight loss. And before you all ask, I am trying to stick to 1200 approx calories, I do normally eat all or definitely some of my exercise calories and have been avoiding all the junk, fizzy drink and bad stuff i'm supposed to (well, most of the time!), i'm just trying to eat to fuel my body..... but i don't see much of a change (perhaps i'm being a bit impatient).

I saw a photo of me from a wedding just this weekend where I thought I looked great (I certainly felt it and I got quite a few comments) but when I saw the photo I was very dissappointed that i didn't look visibly slimmer. :ohwell: Nor have my clothes felt hugely different since I started (slightly baggier by the bum but that's it!)

I'm obviously doing something wrong. Are there any runners out there who have been in the same boat as me and then you adjusted your diet and started to see results? I have PCOS so I try to stick to a low GI-diet as much as I can. Sugar is a problem with me, as PCOS sufferers have a sugar intolerance (a bit like diabetes).

Any advice would be FAB, if you have any, i'm a bit dissapointed with my results so far and just want to see a change for all the hard work i've been putting in. :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • belgerian
    belgerian Posts: 1,059 Member
    I run and at first I did not eat my excercise Cal back stuck pretty tight to 1600 cal a day and ran 3-5 days a week constantly increasing my distance till I could go for 60 minutes without any major issues. Then started to increase my pacing or do some speed up slow down till I could sustain my new goal pace for 60 minutes. Reapeat over and over and currently trying to get to a 730 pace for 8 miles best to date is 740 pace for 8 miles. started out at a 12 minute pace for about 3 miles. This has seemed to work well for me anyways. The weight really came off almost feel guilty how quick and easy it did but I was at about 260 to 280.
  • EmHorn4
    EmHorn4 Posts: 72 Member
    I have found that weight training has helped me considerably. Read my profile :) Weight training will not only help you lose weight (give it a month or two to start seeing weight results since you'll be gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time!), but it really helps shape and tone your body to help you look fab in your clothes. On the plus side for running, getting more powerful legs (doing squats and lunges, for example) will only help you become a faster and more sustained runner.

    As far as food goes, and maybe it is just me, but the "sweet spot" of losing weight and not depriving my body of energy has been in eating back about half of my exercise calories - since my calories are already set for weight loss as it is, I don't want to totally deprive my body. I usually just try to eat as clean as I can - this doesn't happen ALL the time, but its my goal! And drink lots of water!
  • trail_rnr
    trail_rnr Posts: 337 Member
    What is your weekly mileage? For me, anything less than about 20 mpw and I don't see much benefit. However, once I get above 30 mpw I see a LOTof benefit. I do some resistance traning (but only bodyweight), but I agree, mixing it up with some resistance training will help. You do have to have patience. I think it took my body a good 2-3 years fo running at least 20-25 mpw to really adapt and change permanently (this includes all of the connective tissue as well as the endocrine system). That's not saying you can't see results sooner; you can, but you might have to be more patient than you'd like! Remember: change takes place at the level of the cell. It takes a while for you to see the collective change in a bunch of cells!
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
    Running is not even CLOSE to the best exercise for weight loss. Lots of exercise beats out running. Any kind of high intensity training... kickboxing for example, I can burn probably 3 times the number of calories I would burn if I were just running! Running is great if you love it, but I wouldn't choose it just for the calorie burn.

    1200 calories seems low. If you want to make the most of out of your diet, you should be eating most of your food from plants (vegetables especially) and animals.

    PS: I feel like a jerk saying it, but a lot of the serious runners I know are not very lean. They have well-toned legs and a chubby midsection.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    Throw in two or three short weight training sessions a week - you wil see the difference within a month...I lost the bulk of my weight (55lbs) by just running and doing a little JM inbetween, but since I've started lifting three times a week (and actually dropped my milage a little due to time constraints) I have not lost much, but just bought my regular Levi's in a size smaller, and can see a huge difference in my shape....

    And I disagree with the poster wh said running is not even close to the best exercise for weightloss - it actually is one of the best...The only exercise where I burn more for the same time is if I do a seriously intense spinning class....
    Agree with the 1200 cals though, it is not enough....
    I run 4x per week - up to 25/30km in all, and I lift three times a week, and I maintain (but get better shaped and lose inches) op 2000 cals a day - I have 10lbs to lose....
  • jude666
    jude666 Posts: 231 Member
    Thanks for the feedback. There are so many differences of opinion about running and weight loss, but for me being a runner is something i've wanted to do all my life, so i'm definitely going to stick at it. I think you're all right in saying I need to add some weight training into it all and I just think i need to up my game a bit.

    I have tried to do JM's 30DS before and had some success with that but I stupidly didn't take pictures, so when the scale stopped moving I lost motivation etc. etc. and then I just gave up on it and even stopped running for a while (partly due to Xmas :blushing:).

    I'm back to where I was before I stopped, better in fact, so I think i just now need to run for longer say 3-5 times a week. Then I think i'll re-start 30DS just to ease myself back into it all. i can't really afford the gym right now (both financially and time-wise) so I have to do what exercise I can from home. I also think i'm not eating clean enough (well, for a PCOS sufferer anyway, i need to drastically cut down my sugar).
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