Forums >Running 101>Observations of weight to speed
I am finding that since increasing my mileage over 50 I have a bigger appetite, and due to my following of weight watchers, which isnt desireable for a runner, I avoid all the important energy foods like pasta etc. I suppose I have become scared of them as they have a lot of calories in, strange I know but its the way I have become being too obsessed. My day tends to be the same everyday re. food intake, perhaps I ought to zigzag it according to the workout.
I am finding that since increasing my mileage over 50 I have a bigger appetite, and due to my following of weight watchers, which isnt desireable for a runner, I avoid all the important energy foods like pasta etc. I suppose I have become scared of them as they have a lot of calories in, strange I know but its the way I have become being too obsessed.
My day tends to be the same everyday re. food intake, perhaps I ought to zigzag it according to the workout.
I'll echo what others have said here but cast it in slightly different terms. I'm not sure if there is any absolute mileage at which you lose weight best but for me it works best when I'm not pushing the limits anywhere. Weekly mileage, hard workouts, long runs all need to be a little less than whatever my training max has been for the last 6-12 months or the weight loss doesn't work as well (or as spaniel suggested recovery sucks.)
That being said, for me the speed I get from losing weight is almost the most quickly developed and reliable speed I can find. It's suddenly just there after I drop the weight.
As someone who is older and more injury prone than most, there are a lot of indirect benefits too.
*lower impact forces reduce injury potential and allow a little more mileage for the same injury risk.
*Somewhat more tolerance for faster training
*Energy required to run any distance drops a little. For marathons this may make a large difference in food intake required. A 20% improvement in fuel economy could increase the range of my "gas tank" from 22 miles to 26.4 miles without refuelling for instance.
*In ultras the rate at which I have to shove food in (and worry about my stomach rebelling) drops. Sweat rates drop and make hydration easier too.
One suggestion: something that has helped me lose weight, and I really struggle with it too. Appetite after a run, or the whole day after is really complicated for me. Sometimes running harder makes me not want to eat, sometimes it makes me voracious. The same is true of how far each run is. It seems like I've been able to make some progress just by paying attention to little changes that make me want to eat less and adjusting my runs accordingly. I can easily gain weight on 75 miles per week unless I figure out how to push away from the table. I can easily lose weight on less mileage and the right diet.
Well, my doctor told me the other day I needed to cut my miles way down if I wanted to lose weight because I've messed my body all up (not his words, but gist) with the training. So apparently, you shouldn't run.
I saw this post in this thread and had to share a joke:
A guy walks into his Dr's office and the doctor tells him he is overweight. To which the guy replies, "Its genetic, its a problem that runs in our family". To which the doctor replies, "No, the problem is that no one runs in your family"
I too am on weight watchers. Make sure you are tracking your running as activity points. For an hour run for me at my current weight, I earn about 11 activity points, that equals about 3 cups of cooked whole wheat pasta. You should be able to get full off of that. WW builds the activity points in just for that reason. If your working out / running hard, you need the extra calories. Use them.