Advice

Dundalk

I ran the Dublin Marathon in 2009 after starting running on April of that year and ran it in 3.28.02 which i was very happy with but I think I took on too much to early and ended up with a bad injury. Anyway, while training I lost a lot of weight, more than I could really and ended up looking too skinny. The injury had me out for most of the year and I put weight back on but (thankfully) Im back running now and have slowly starting to lose the weight again.

My question is, is there a way I can train for a marathon without losing a lot of weight. Im 6ft and about 12 stone but after the training last year i went down to just under 10 stone and whilst I felt healthy and could run well I looked frail and gaunt! Should I just eat more and if so what? Chocolate? Sweets? Cake? :eek:

I plan on running the Belfast Marathon in May and with training I think i can do it again in a similar time I did for Dublin but what should I be doing in training apart from the miles to help my performance? Should I be doing weights or anything like that?

Sorry about all the questions but I got a great buzz training for and completing Dublin in 2009 and want to do it again - but this time a little bit better

RoyMcC

Some people on here would love to be having your problem Dundalk :pac: That is some drop though, especially from a healthy starting position. The good news though is that you seem to retain your running strength despite the big weight loss so it's not a major worry.

There are people on here far better qualified on matters of nutrition and I hope they pop in with their observations. However I don't think anyone will recommend a diet of chocolate and cakes - have you seen the price of dental care these days? You probably know that you need plenty of good carbs to fuel your training - at a guess I'd say that you may be lacking in that area. If you were to post up a typical few days diet whilst in training then people could comment with some insight.

But honestly, if you feel strong and healthy in yourself then don't get too hung up on it.

Good luck.

tunney

Amazingly someone can't ask about a case of ITBS but can ask for advice about something that could be actually medically related.

ThePiedPiper

Dundalk,

That's a fairly low weight for a man of 6 foot, giving you a BMI of 19.0. Below that level, you would be classed as underweight so you certainly shouldn't fall below 10 stone or you'll find your health and running performance will end up suffering.

The simple answer to keeping your weight is eat more. In terms of how much extra you need to eat, some of the following numbers might be of some use.

1. Depending on speed and your weight, you'll burn somewhere between 120-150 calories per mile. Therefore, a ten mile run, you'll burn close to 1,500 calories. You'll use about 2,000 calories in a normal day, just walking around, not doing any real amount of exercise.

2. One pound of weight would translate to about 3,500 calories.

3. Using both of the above assumptions, you'll see that if you run maybe 60 miles in a week coming up to marathon time, and you don't compensate your diet for that, you could lose up to two pounds just from the running.

In order to sustain my weight at or slightly below 11 stone, which for me is a BMI of 20.5, I have to eat a lot of food. Double helpings of breakfast cereal, fruit during the day, 4 sandwiches for lunch, larger dinners than most people and probably toast or fruit again at night time. Keep it healthy, just increase the quantities.

metamorphosis

Its all down to your diet really - eat more calorie dense nutrient dense food. Litre of milk has 600kcals so maybe 500mls after a run and more throughout the day.

100gms nuts has 5-700kcals and nuts are ridicously easy to over eat, same goes for nut butters. Say, if you had porridge, you could put a spoon or two of a nut butter in and nuts aswell to boost the calire content.

Maybe with your main meals, throw in things like avacados that are calorie dense and if having salads - pour EVOO over them etc. eat bigger portions of rice/pasta with your meals if you can. Its not the best idea to be getting you extra calsories from pure sugary foods.

Also, i think the calorie estimations in the post above for burning 120-150 cal a mile is a gross over estimation unless you are very heavy. 100cals a mile is the general rule of thumb, and even less if you are lighter. I clock normally 80-100 cals a mile, upper around 100 if its a fast fast mile and im a little over 65kg at 5'10.

Dundalk

Thanks for all the replies and advice will take it on board and hopefully run and stay at a normal weight and not look like someone that has had to go on a strict diet for an operation

kennyb3

tunney wrote: »

Amazingly someone can't ask about a case of ITBS but can ask for advice about something that could be actually medically related.

Agreed unless the op developed an eating disorder that seems like too drastic a drop. I'd be going to your doctor.

tunney

Dundalk wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies and advice will take it on board and hopefully run and stay at a normal weight and not look like someone that has had to go on a strict diet for an operation

How the hell this thread didn't get locked down immediately but "I broke a toenail, how can I train" gets locked immediately with an angry message "Read the charter" I don't know.

OP you need to go to the doctor. you shouldn't be loosing weight that quickly.

A proper sports related doctor.

I don't even want to go into the possibilties of what it could be but it could be many things and you need proper medical advice.

donothoponpop

tunney wrote: »

How the hell this thread didn't get locked down immediately but "I broke a toenail, how can I train" gets locked immediately with an angry message "Read the charter" I don't know.

OP you need to go to the doctor. you shouldn't be loosing weight that quickly.

A proper sports related doctor.

I don't even want to go into the possibilties of what it could be but it could be many things and you need proper medical advice.

<mod> tunney that's what the report post button is for. Mods don't read every post or thread. Quit backseat modding, no-one locked any threads about broken toenails, in anger or otherwise.

The other mods see no reason to lock this thread, so I'm opening it again </mod>

ecoli

tunney wrote: »

How the hell this thread didn't get locked down immediately but "I broke a toenail, how can I train" gets locked immediately with an angry message "Read the charter" I don't know.

OP you need to go to the doctor. you shouldn't be loosing weight that quickly.

A proper sports related doctor.

I don't even want to go into the possibilties of what it could be but it could be many things and you need proper medical advice.

little over 2 stone in seven months i would not call losing weight to quickly? He has stated once again he has started to lose weight again slowly

I can understand the concern but as the OP has stated he was healthy it was more the way he felt he was looking


I think if you do become worried about your health with relation to your weight i would seek professional medical advice but in the mean time i do not see this as a medical issue

kennyb3

ecoli wrote: »

little over 2 stone in seven months i would not call losing weight to quickly? He has stated once again he has started to lose weight again slowly

I can understand the concern but as the OP has stated he was healthy it was more the way he felt he was looking

OP can i ask for a bit of background information like your previous sporting history before the marathon training? what you regular diet looks like? it may be the case that you are working off a calorie deficit?

I think if you do become worried about your health with relation to your weight i would seek professional medical advice but in the mean time i do not see this as a medical issue

I see what you're saying ecoli, but losing 2 stone for the op was 1/6 + of his original body weight, seems like a lot in that period. Not many could do that off that sort of weight at that height even if they tried. It's not normal to lose that if you aint trying.

Losing 2 stone at 20 stone yeah but thats some serious %. Either there is some medical reason or running is causing the OP to miss meals/lose their appetite, either way id consult a sports doc OP.

All we ll be doing is guessing, and i'd bet 90% of the time when people put up a diet it will be their regular good day diet and not include everything and reflect the weekends.

ger664

Keep you diet the same assuming you have a good deit and just increase your portion sizes until you stop shedding weight while training.