I recently reached out to Heather, from Heather Eats Almond Butter, for some advice. A while back I read her post on “Confessions of a former Runner” and it really struck a cord with me. I love running. Love it love it. But, it has been in the back of my mind that high mileage is making it hard for me to lose weight. Often, with high mileage comes a high appetite! Heather explains that while she ate healthy foods, her body did crave a lot of fuel to keep her going. Sometimes I am unsure if I am actually hungry (and need to fuel) or if I want a certain food because it tastes good.
So, after a few emails back and forth I have decided to commit to Yoga twice a week (as my strength training) and focus on getting more protein, fats and whole grains (versus white flour). This is not too different from my normal eats, but I will just be aware of my protein and fat intake since I am heavy on the carbs in my diet. I am not going to cut back on running at all since I’m training for a Marathon and all, but I am going to try to watch it on the sugar. I love that the blog world hooked me up with this wonderful new friend (who’s blog I’ve been reading for a long time). Thanks Heather 🙂
Lunch was eaten in parts since I wasn’t really hungry at lunch time, but needed to eat so I could get back to work. I started with an apple.
And had the leftover TJ’s vegetarian chili over broccoli a bit later. Everyone at work made this big fuss because they thought I was eating beef (I normally eat vegetarian at work). Um, sorry folks – it’s veggie chili and it’s delicious! But their big conversation about my eats had me all flustered and I forgot to take a pic of it. I even had my camera right next to me! Sorry, but it looks the same as last night…
I will post the winner of the contest tonight! See ya later, gators 🙂
I’ve often heard people say they have gained weight when training for a marathon. It has to take a lot of work to keep the right balance. Good luck! P.S. I am giving away two breast cancer awareness prize packs on my blog: http://lovinlosing.com/.
I told a friend recently that I was training for a half marathon and running 30-40 miles per week. She said immediately that I must be wasting away, but that is so not the case. I am definitely fueling those runs with lots of food. And you’re right…it’s hard to tell when you are really hungry and when you are just feeling snacky.
way to be honest with yourself to find a balance between weight loss and marathon training and fueling. i have so much confidence that you will succeed 🙂
I just have to tell you that I have only ran 3.5 miles since my Marathon (10/10), and although I don’t own a scale, I definitely *feel* as though I’ve lost some weight. I have been working out regularly, just mostly biking rather than running because I came down with bursitis. It could be the additional weight-training that I’ve been up to, but I also haven’t been nearly as hungry.
I think that if your goal right now is to run the marathon, just focus on that. If weight loss is really that important to you (although I think you’re perfectly imperfect just as you are), make that a priority after your marathon. Don’t try to spin too many plates.
Rick and I were talking about yoga last night. I think I’m going to start researching local studios.
“they” say that to lose weight, marathons are not the way to go. but rather you should stick to races that are 10miles or less.
my boss found that by the time she hit her 2nd marathon she was gaining weight and she stopped running – having a hard time getting back into it.
i for one, will NEVER run a marathon – i keep my mileage at 10miles or less – I will do a half late spring next year but thats the MOST i will run period.
the fats & proteins will help keep yoru body satieted more than carbs – dont get me wrong you do need carbs fro your endurance but i think you’ll find that increasing both fats and proteins will make you feel much much better!
i personally love black beans, brown rice & avocado for breakfast sometimes – it has such staying power w/ the whole grains, the healthy fat from avocado and protein from beans 🙂
ezekiel sammiches w/ avocado/tomato/hummus
i’ve also found, that breakfasty foods don’t cut it anymore. i’m mostly vegan and ic an’t find anything brefeasty that satisfies the protein/carb/fat ratio – most of it is just carbs with very little fat or protein and it doesn’t keep me full..i also hate oats w/ pb so yeah. i eat real food for breakfast and I keep my lunch/breakfast cals at about 400-500 range. i eat less for dinner b/c i get home from my runs after 8pm so usually a hard boiled egg and OJ or something. hope this helps!
I think you’ll be fine with your fueling. You seem very good at it anyways from what you post. Whole grains I think were the easiest to work into my diet; I just kind of went cold turkey on the refined stuff, made all my own desserts with wheat flour, and now it’s simple
heather is a delight – she knows what she’s talking about!
There is a careful balance to be found when marathon training. I trained for my first marathon in the spring of 2004, it also happened to be shortly before my wedding. I figured marathon training would ensure that I was in great shape! Instead I ended up being the heaviest I have ever been! I think it was a combination of appetite, stress, etc. but it resulted in something I did not desire, weight gain.
During the fall of 2006 I was still running, however I took a step back and decided I really needed to not only focus on my training (didn’t like my times) but also focus on the number & quality of the calories I was taking in. By the spring of 2007 I had lost 20lbs and achieved a HUGE PR, I improved my marathon time by over a half hour and qualified for Boston.
I think the key for me is enjoying food, but also realizing its fueling me for my runs. I need to make sure I’m getting all the nutrients I need to keep me powered. I also started tracking the calories I was eating and expending, taking it down to that simple fact that if calories in is more than calories out….. the weight WILL go on.
Sorry for all the babble… Its just an issue I have gone through and have found some balance with now. Its never “solved” though, there are those days of crazy hunger that can throw you off.
I had the same feelings after her post. I think I also tend to eat more; “because I run so much I probably burn it”; but in fact; I’m afraid that I don’t!
So I’ve been eliminating ALL sugar from my diet and won’t eat any refined carbs. I’ve done that before (three years living according to South Beach) and felt amazing, so I really don’t get why I started eating all that crap again!
But whatever; I’m moving on 🙂
What is with the people you work with? They’re obsessed with your food!
Tuning your workouts to suit your needs and personality is a great idea. I’ve found fellow bloggers to be a great resource for this as well. Yay for internet friends!