Losing Weight During Half Marathon Training?

[thea77]

Hi,

I just started training for a half marathon. I would also like to lose about 10-12#. For those of you who have run a half marathon, were you able to continue losing weight or did your weight loss stall? I have heard stories about many women training and being unable to lose weight. Thanks!

 

[cab0899]

I definitely lost weight while training for my half marathon. Actually didn't lose that much while training for my full marathon. I think with the full marathon all the miles made me so hungry that I was eating too much. Kim

 

[Imafitnessfreak]

It just all depends on your diet while training. If you come home from a workout and think you can eat a bit more because you ran more than usual, you will most likely stall. If your goal is to lose weight while training for an endurance activity, you need to pay close attention to your diet and your bodies needs...let me say that again...your bodies needs. Don't try any carb depriving diets because your body will need them for such a long event. Just be picky about the kind of carbs and when you consume them. Whole grains, fruits and veggies. Protein is a must to repair those muscles after increased mileage. Watch your portions, especially on the carbs. Carb loading does not mean hitting the buffet at the nearest Italian all you can eat restaraunt. Think of your body as a high quality machine, the higher quality the fuel the high quality the performance.

You can lose weight while training, as long as you do not over compensate for the miles you put in.

 

[jennifermaria]

I was doing Weight Watchers at the same time that I was training for my half-marathon (which apparently is not recommended, but I didn't know that at the time ), so I did lose weight over the course of training. I think this was definitely due to my higher-intensity workouts (running is just about the highest-intensity workout out there, especially when you're doing it for fairly long distances), but also because with WW, I learned to eat properly--healthy portions, healthy food choices, etc.

Jennifer

 

[jennifermaria]

I have to second this--definitely don't go without carbs! You'll find that when you're training, your body will start to develop an intuition about what it need. I found myself craving whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and generally, unprocessed foods.

Jennifer

 

[banslug]

I agree with everything that Sarah said. Listen to what your body says and needs...not wants.

Jennifer-I follow WW and have been for over 2 years now. I'm curious about you saying "not recommended". I hadn't heard this. I actually asked the leader about endurance sport training and eating, and she simply (and HIGHLY) recommended making sure I eat my APs.

Gayle

 

[MRSchultz]

I'm with you Gayle, I'm curious, Jennifer, too - why WW isn't recommended. I'm training right now for a 1/2 marathon and have been following WW. I haven't lost a whole lot of weight, but I'm toned up quite a bit, especially of course in my legs.

Thanks,
Marcia.

 

[alsrnbsn]

I think that was she is referring to about WW not being recommended during long distance training has to deal with the restricted calorie intake that is built into the WW program. I have been on WW for the last 20 months and stalled in the loss the last 6 months, even though I really kicked up my APs. What I found out was that I was not eating enough food.
I think that as long as you eat your Flex Points and some of your APs you will get all the calories that you need to keep going as well as to continue to lose. Also, I think that it's only recommended to eat a maximum of 4 APs/day.

 

[jennifermaria]

Hi Gayle,

When I first did Team in Training, they recommend that you not be on any kind of weight loss plan when you're training--it's just because in general, weight loss plans have you on a calorie-restricted plan, and you need to make sure you are fueling up if you are training. I was able to make it work by making sure I was eating my activity points .

Jennifer

 

[jennifermaria]

That happened to me too, halfway through training. I had hit a really frustrating plateau--even though I was eating my activity points. My leader said that this is when I really needed to listen to my body, and if I still felt hungry, even after having eaten my activity points, that I should still eat (just make sure I make healthy choices and not eat junk food LOL). That's what I did, and that seemed to kickstart the weight loss all over again!