Weight Loss for Runners – Part 2

Reyna F

This is the second installment of a two-part series.  For Part 1, please click here. The number one rule for weight loss for competitive running, biking, racing or anything equivalent, is to lose the weight during the winter when you are not in serious training mode.  But it’s not the winter and some of you are still training for upcoming marathons.

What do you do so that you can run without bonking, recover healthfully, and lose weight? Keep reading and you will find out.


WEIGHT LOSS FACTS

Here are a few weight loss facts to consider.  To lose one pound, you must have a deficit of 3500 calories.  Sounds like a lot, but if you stretch the calories across one week, that is a reduction of 500 calories a day.  Do not try to lose more than 1 pound a week, otherwise you will be sacrificing the nutrients necessary for running. 

WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

How do you reduce your caloric consumption of 250-500 calories a day when you are trying to maintain your glycogen stores?  These stores are what your body relies on during aerobic exercise such as running, and can even give you energy for up to two hours!

• Cut down on foods and liquids that are high in processed sugar and fat. Some examples are soda, sweetened drinks, potato chips, candy, creamy salad dressing, mayonnaise, pastries (cookies, cake and cinnamon rolls) and ice cream.  For that sweet tooth, consume fruits that have natural sugars and are high in fiber.
• Do not consume anything fried or sautéed in large quantities of oil or butter.  Preferred cooking methods are baked, broiled, steamed or sautéed lightly in oil.
• Eat low-fat dairy and protein foods. Drink one-percent or non-fat (skim) milk. Eat low-fat cottage cheese, yogurt and cheese. Eat fish, chicken or turkey without skin, and lean cuts of meat. Trim as much fat as possible off of meat before cooking meat.
• Eat foods that are high in fiber. Eat at least five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Enjoy whole grain foods (such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, quinoa, amaranth, brown rice), beans and legumes. These high fiber foods are healthy and may give you a feeling of fullness. This may help you to avoid overeating at or between meals. Add high fiber foods to your diet slowly if you have not been eating high fiber foods. Adding many high fiber foods to your diet too quickly may cause bloating, gas and stomach discomfort. And avoid eating high fiber foods before a long run if you are worried about bloating, gas or other stomach discomfort.
• Cut out alcoholic drinks. Ok. I know you don’t want to read that, but it is true. Alcohol contains empty calories and increases the appetite.  12 ounces of beer is 150 calories, 4 ounces of wine is 77 calories, an ounce of hard liquor (gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, or scotch) contains 64 calories for 80 proof varieties, and 80 calories for those that are 100 proof.  If you add a mixer, the calories will soar.  One cup (8 ounces) of orange juice contains 111 calories, regular cola or lemon-lime soda has about 100 calories, and regular ginger ale, tonic, or quinine water has around 80 calories.  And you don’t usually drink just 4 oz of wine – that’s a small pour.  Nor are you getting just 1 oz of hard liquor. Think of all the calories that you can save by not drinking those beers, in addition to the nuts, pretzels, chips and other late night snacks that go along with them.

DO YOU REALLY NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT?
But what if you don’t drink alcohol, you eat a high fiber, low-fat diet, and still need to lose those 5-10 pounds?  First of all, congratulations because eating healthfully may be more important than losing those stubborn pounds.  I would like you to determine if your goal weight is realistic. Have you ever been at your goal weight as an adult?  If not, I recommend that you continue eating healthfully and focus on training.  You may want to get your body fat measured to determine your body composition.  You don’t want to risk losing muscle by consuming too few calories.  Take a look at my prior blog that explained body fat percentages.  If you are in a healthy body fat range, work on fueling yourself for energizing foods instead of losing unnecessary pounds and possibly muscle.

REDUCING CALORIES DURING THE TRAINING AND RACING SEASON

To lose those stubborn pounds,  reduce your caloric intake by 250-500 kcal on the non-training or light running days.  This will be accomplished by reducing portion sizes and following the suggestions listed above.  Take a look at what you usually eat. Do you snack on chips?  If so, eliminate that and you just reduced your calories by 150!  Do you drink sugary soda or juices? Eliminate that for another 150 calorie reduction.  That is how easy it is to reduce calories without counting calories. 

If you are interested in counting calories or grams, you can calculate your minimum carbohydrate and protein requirements.  Carbohydrate intake ranges from 6-10 grams per kilogram bodyweight.  Protein intake ranges from 1.2 to 1.4 grams per kilogram bodyweight.   (To calculate kilogram bodyweight, divide your weight by 2.2.)  Calculate your minimum needs using the lower end of the ranges.  To determine carbohydrate and protein calories, multiple the number of grams by 4 (there are 4 calories in a gram of carbohydrate and protein, and 9 calories in a gram of fat.)  The remaining calories come from fat, which should range from 0.8 to 1.0 grams per kilogram bodyweight.  Avoid foods high in trans-fats and saturated fats.  “Good” fats are in foods such as fish, nuts, olive oil, and avocados.

BODY COMPOSITION

You may notice at some point you stop losing weight, or you may have possibly gained weight.  Get your body fat measured so that you can see changes in your body composition.  If you belong to a health club, ask a trainer for a body composition measurement.  If your body fat has decreased, the extra weight is muscle weight.  Remember, you may be running more and your leg muscles are increasing while you are losing fat as you improve your diet.  Do your pants fit you better?  If so, you may want to reconsider your goal weight. The number is not as important as how you look and feel.

As I mentioned in my prior blog entry on weight loss, it is not recommended to go below 5% body fat for men and 12% for women.  If you are too thin (notice the underweight woman in the picture), you will be at a disadvantage.  Excessive leanness (below essential body fat levels), excessive calorie restriction and excessive training can predispose an athlete to eating disorders and increase the risk for muscular injury, stress fractures and menstrual irregularities.  The ranges of body fat for optimal health and fitness are 14-24% for women and 6-17% for men.

FINALLY

If you want to lose weight and you are preparing for a marathon or another competition, do not exceed 1 pound a week weight loss.  If you lose more than that, you are not eating optimally to fuel your workouts.  You may want to add some weight training into the picture to maintain muscle mass.  Lastly, I do not recommend caloric restriction on a day of a long training run.  You need your fuel before, during and after that long run.  Just get back on track the next day.

Reyna Franco, MS, RD, CSSD, CPT

www.reynafranco.com

reyna@reynafranco.com