Column 21, October 2009

Weight loss advice for runners

Following conventional ‘diet’ programs can leave a runner feeling fatigued, hungry, and eventually overweight! Runners need to learn how to maximize energy levels, without overdoing calories, so they can train at their peak.

Here are a few tips:

1. Minimise caloric restriction and rate of weight loss

Most diets recommend you reduce caloric intake by 500-1000cals/day to lose ½ - 1kg/week. However this sort of restriction can leave a runner feeling tired, unable to train hard, losing muscle mass, reducing metabolism, and subsequently craving food, overeating and weight gain!

It’s better to give yourself plenty of time to cut down, aiming for ¼ kg loss per week, which can be achieved by reducing caloric intake by around 300 calories per day.

NB an individual’s caloric requirements vary greatly. Determine yours by keeping a detailed food diary for 1 week, and then calculate your average daily caloric intake (with the help of a Dietitian/Qualified Nutritionist or using a diet software program) required to maintain weight.

If a runner consumes 6 small meals a day, then cutting just 50 calories from each meal (300 calories/day) can make a big difference over time eg;

Substitute Out - 3 pieces of toast + butter and honey – 450 calories

Substitute In - 2 pieces of grainy toast + 1 Tbsp peanut butter + 1/2 banana + small glass of trim milk – 400 calories

Substitute Out - 6” subway on white with roast beef, cheese, mayo and salad – 400 calories

Substitute In - 6” subway on wheat with roast beef, (no cheese), mustard, extra veggies, and apple slices on the side – 340 calories

2. Mix up your workout routine

If you run the same distance at the same pace every day, you can bet your body has started to become more efficient, burning less calories than initially required to do the same run.

Shaking up your regime with new workouts can add fun while making your body chew through the calories faster.

Consider:

Interval training – alternate sprinting with the same length of recovery jogging.

Track training eg;

+ 4 x 400m
+ 8 x 200m

Fartlek training – is more like training at your usual pace, with pace ‘surges’ to pump up the volume. Eg Run your usual distance, but after 15 mins of warming up throw in different length ‘surges’ followed by the same amount of ‘recovery’ at your usual pace; - 1 min, 2 mins, 3 mins, 2 mins, 1 min (repeat when fitter).

Hills – Just switching to hillier run loops will challenge your body more, but you could also do one day a week of hill repeats. Eg find a relatively steep hill that is at least 80 meters long. Run to the top, jog down, repeat 6-10 times initially, building up to 20, or finding longer hills.

3. Choose ‘quality’ carbohydrates at every meal

Reducing carbs (the fad currently) can not only have negative health effects but will leave the runner feeling exhausted. We just cannot train at intensity for a prolonged period without carbohydrate to fuel our muscles.

The trick is to choose low glycemic index carbohydrates which provide lasting energy, reducing cravings, and controlling hunger. Refer to my previous article ‘Glycaemic Index – quality carbohydrate vs low carbohydrate’. Eg.

Replace white bread with dense wholegrain breads eg Vogels/Burgen

Replace white rice with brown or basmati varieties or pasta

Replace potatoes with kumara/yams or taro

Replace cornflake/puffed rice/processed cereals with oats/All Bran/Rice/Wholegrain Mueslis…

4. Get enough sleep

Research actually links sleep loss to obesity. Without enough sleep your energy levels, immune system, and mood drop, meaning exercise is the last thing on your mind. However, with sleep deprivation our appetite actually increases. A double negative whammy.

So prioritise sleep if you’re trying to lose weight, and yes that may occasionally mean missing a morning training session! You could always schedule that run later in the day.

5. Eat some healthy fats and oils

Traditional dieting has taught us to minimize fat, as it has the most calories/gram - 1g fat has 9 cals, whereas 1g of carbohydrate or protein has only 4 calories.

While in theory this sounds a logical way to reduce calories, there are several reasons runners’ trying to lose weight need to consume ‘healthy’ fats ie poly and mono unsaturated fats such as those found in salmon, avocados, nuts, seeds and olive oil:

Healthy fats keep you satisfied – Unsaturated fats promote feelings of fullness and reduce hunger partly by slowing the digestion of a meal. They therefore lower the glycaemic index of a meal containing carbohydrate. This means normal blood sugar levels will be sustained longer, preventing hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and subsequent cravings.

Reduce injury - A recent study found that female runners on low fat diets are at increased risk of injury. It’s harder to lose weight when you can’t run!

Decrease joint pain – omega 3’s - a type of polyunsaturated fat found in fatty fish (eg salmon), walnuts and flaxseed – act as an anti-inflammatory, reducing joint pain that many runners experience. Less pain means more running = easier weight loss.

Enjoy!

Marnie Oberer