Jennifer Van Allen - Runners World Run to Lose: A Complete Guide to Weight Loss for Runners

The information in this book is meant to supplement, not replace, proper exercise training. All forms of exercise pose some inherent risks. The editors and publisher advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the exercises in this book, be sure that your equipment is well-maintained, and do not take risks beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training, and fitness. The exercise and dietary programs in this book are not intended as a substitute for any exercise routine or dietary regimen that may have been prescribed by your doctor. As with all exercise and dietary programs, you should get your doctors approval before beginning.

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Exercise photos: Beth Bischoff
Author photos: Peter Van Allen for Jennifer Van Allens photo and John Segesta for Pamela Nisevich Bedes photo

Book design by Carol Angstadt

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ISBN 9781623365998 paperback
ISBN 9781623366001 ebook

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

It is often said that weight loss is a simple matter of consuming fewer calories than your body burns.

If that sentence made you want to throw this book out the window, you are not alone. Anyone who has tried to lose weight by consuming fewer calories than they burn knows that its by no means that simple. And it certainly isnt easy. Sure, for a lucky few, the unwanted pounds just melt off as soon as they start exercising more and cutting back on calories. But for many more of usand close to 6 in 10 Americans want to lose weight, according to a Gallup pollthe process of reaching a feel-great weight is much more confusing. And frustrating.

If only it were as simple as calories in, calories out. If it were, we probably wouldnt have an obesity crisis. And those Gallup numbers would look much different.

One could get whiplash trying to keep up with the barrage of diet trends. It seems like every day, someone is making a bold new claim about some sort of superfoodgreen tea, chia seeds, coconut oil, lemon juice, hot peppersand the weight-loss magic it performs. Just as dizzying is the list of ingredients were told to avoidgluten, meat, wheat, carbs, fats, sugar, fruit, seeds, or acidic foods. Its hard to keep upmuch less figure out how to make the scale move.

And if youre running to lose weight, or trying to lose weight while training for a race, its even more difficult to wade through the tidal waves of advice to figure out how to shrink your waistline and your race times. So often, nutrition guidance for runners contradicts even the most conventional dieting advice.

Whats all this about fueling up for a run?

Why on earth would you go out and eat more calories to prepare for a workout designed to burn off the calories you already consumed?

And if weight loss is just a matter of consuming fewer calories and incinerating more, the idea of consuming calories during a run, where youre trying to burn them, sounds downright ludicrous.

And what about carbs?

Dieters everywhere are cutting them to shed weight.

But runners are told to make carbs more than half their daily calories.

And running and training for a race introduces so many other questions and variables.

Does a 3-mile run mean you get to eat 300 extra calories that day?

If you run 6 miles, do you deserve a brownie?

No wonder theres so much confusion.

There certainly was for Steve Lambert, a 33-year-old father of two who lost more than 100 pounds with the help of Weight Watchers and a half-marathon training program.

When I was training, my Weight Watchers mind was telling me not to use anything during training runs or the race, but my body was telling me I needed fuel after 1.5 hours of running, says Lambert, a planner from Virginia Beach. Ultimately he took the advice of running buddies and went for an energy bar during long runs. It worked perfectly, he says, but subconsciously I was worrying about how many points I was consuming that day.

For others, like Rob Walter, a 40-year-old father of two, the confusion leads to a frustrating process of training harder and harder, restricting more and more, only to see the scaleand race timescome to a standstill.

Walter was looking to get faster, feel more comfortable in his jeans, and shave about 20 pounds from his 6' 1" frame. So he tried various high-protein and low-carb approaches while training for half-marathons and marathons. But nothing lasted more than a few weeks. I would feel like total crap before, during, and after workouts, says Walter, a CFO from Dublin, Ohio. I had zero energy, and my cravings were horrendous because the bread and carbs I loved were discouraged.

Others, like Lynn Ramsey, a 45-year-old mother of two from Seattle, find that no matter how many miles they run, the scale only moves in the wrong direction.

The more Ramsey ran, the hungrier she became. She once gained 10 pounds training for a marathon. While training for, then recovering from, the Marine Corps Marathon, she remembers being hungry basically from September 2011 to February 2012.

I hate dieting, counting calories, depriving myself, says Ramsey. And I get really hungry as my mileage increases.

Shes not alone. In one study of 64 marathon trainees, some runners lost as much as 27 pounds; others gained as much as 14 pounds. And these people werent slow; the average finish time was 4:25. Some 63 percent of the subjects said they ate more during training.

Weve heard from thousands of these runners at Runners World. So many runners are confused.

For all of them, the pain and frustration of having extra pounds to shed are more difficult than any physical discomforts involved in making their legs and lungs stronger.

After several failed attempts at weight loss, Lambert says, I just sort of brainwashed and said, Hey, I am an athletic fat guy; that is what I am. I pretended that being overweight was okay. I pretended that I could just go to the gym a few times a week, and barely doing anything would make a difference.

A few years ago, it became clear that it wouldnt: My sleep wasnt efficient, I was out of breath tying my shoes, and just everyday stuff was hard, he says. I realized that I needed to be healthy so I could enjoy life.

Yes, the lighter you are, the more efficiently youll run, the more enjoyable running will feel, and the faster youll finish. Weight can affect performance in running more than in other sports, such as cycling and swimming.