Running and Weight Loss

Tip from Runners World! 

Golden Rules of Weight Loss while Training

Runners know the miles they log on the pavement, trails, and the treadmill is great for keeping them fit and healthy. High on the list of the sport's many virtues? It is an amazing tool for weight control. But weight loss is a different story. Because you run, you may think you can eat whatever you want and still drop pounds. Unfortunately, that's not true. Running is only half of the equation. You have to look hard at what and how you eat, too.

RULE 1: TAKE REALLY GOOD NOTES - Record everything you eat for at least one week (and then doing so again every few weeks after that), making sure to include important details, such as when, where, why, and how much you eat. "Reviewing these details will help you glean important information about your habits, and highlight ways you can make healthier choices."

RULE 2: MEASURE WHAT YOU EAT - Get out a cereal bowl. Fill it as you normally would with your favorite brand. Read the label to find out the serving size and the calories per serving. Is what more than a recommended serving size is in the bowl? Pour it into a measuring cup to find out. People eat whatever is in front of them, it pays to know what an appropriate serving should look like. The only way to know that is to measure what you're eating.

RULE 3: BEEF UP YOUR PROTEIN INTAKE - Protein is essential for a healthy body; it builds muscle and preserves lean body mass. Runners need at least a half gram of protein daily per pound of weight. For a 150-pound person, that's 75 grams. Protein also takes longer to digest, so you feel fuller longer, and it helps keep blood-sugar levels steady, so you don't get ravenously hungry and feel the need to overeat. Spread your protein intake throug hout the day, eating some at each meal.

RULE 4: ADD COLOR TO EVERY MEAL - Eat red, yellow, orange, green, or purple food—that doesn't mean Skittles. Pack your diet with fruits and vegetables. They're low-calorie and loaded with vitamins and minerals your body needs to function, keep your immune system up, and maintain strong bones and muscles. They're also rich in fiber, which is key for slimming down. People who eat high-fiber diets are less hungry and lose more weight than people who eat less fiber.

 RULE 5: STOP GRAZING! - A few years back, "grazing" came into vogue in dieting circles. The idea seemed reasonable: You'd never get too hungry, and then you wouldn't eat too much at any one meal. But 2010 study found that people who eat low-calorie diets feel more satisfied and less hungry when they eat three times a day compared six, suggesting that mini meals aren't beneficial for appetite control. People also tend to graze on unhealthy foods like crackers or cookies.  "Cows graze. People shouldn't."

RULE 6: ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN - Runners—like anyone else—encounter trouble when there's nothing healthy at home. Y ou can whack a lot of calories by creating a menu and making a meal plan and then shopping ahead of time for the ingredients you need to execute that plan. That doesn't mean you have to be rigid about your menu if, say, you get held up at work. But you should have a sense of what you're going to eat over the next seven days.

 RULE 7: SLOW DOWN! - Here's another mealtime experiment for you – time yourself during eating. The longer, the better. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for nerve endings in the gut to send the signal to the brain that says you’re full. Wolfing down a meal faster than that can lead to overeating—and that can pack on serious pounds. People who eat quickly and eat until they feel full are more than three times as likely to be overweight than people who take their time and eat slowly.

 RULE 8: DO NOT RUSH WEIGHT LOSS - You need three months to train your brain to make a habit of good consumption behaviors. You need three months to get used to reading labels at the grocery store, to learn how to plan your meals and shop, to figure out how to add in more fruits and vegetables. It takes time to develop these habits. Remember, you're a work in progress, as an eater and an athlete.

Don't Push It

Tip from the DC Road Runners! 

Know Your Limits

How much running can compromise your immune system to the point of making you sick? For average runners, the dividing line seems to be 60 miles a week, according to David Nieman, Ph.D., of the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University. Nieman conducted the largest study ever done on this question by examining 2,300 runners who competed in the 1987 Los Angeles Marathon. "The odds of getting sick were six times higher than normal after the marathon," says Nieman, "and those who ran 60 miles a week or more doubled their chance of getting sick." The illnesses were of the upper respiratory tract, including sinus infections. Nieman says there's no doubt these findings are still applicable to runners today. He's also used himself as a test case: When Nieman trained up to 90 miles a week, he constantly battled sore throats. When he dropped his weekly mileage below 60, the symptoms stopped.

Running While Sick

Tip from Runners World!

By Marc Bloom, August 2004 

Should You Run When You're Sick?

Runners don't like to skip workouts--even when they're ill. Here's how to decide when you should take a sick day from training. 

Runners seem to live by a creed that's stricter than the postman's: "Neither rain, nor snow, nor sniffle, nor fever shall keep me from my training schedule." Indeed, the coming of winter presents many issues for runners who'd prefer to keep at it even when sick. Oftentimes, symptoms aren't severe enough to make you stay in bed, home from work, or off the roads. And while exercise can give you a mental and physical boost when you're feeling run-down, there are other occasions when going for a run may do more harm than good.

David Nieman, Ph.D., who heads the Human Performance Laboratory at Appalachian State University, and has run 58 marathons and ultras, uses the "neck rule." Symptoms below the neck (chest cold, bronchial infection, body ache) require time off, while symptoms above the neck (runny nose, stuffiness, sneezing) don't pose a risk to runners continuing workouts.

This view is supported by research done at Ball State University by Tom Weidner, Ph.D., director of athletic training research. In one study, Weidner took two groups of 30 runners each and inoculated them with the common cold. One group ran 30 to 40 minutes every day for a week. The other group was sedentary. According to Weidner, "the two groups didn't differ in the length or severity of their colds." In another study, he found that running with a cold didn't compromise performance. He concluded that running with a head cold--as long as you don't push beyond accustomed workouts--is beneficial in maintaining fitness and psychological well-being.

But, doctors say, you still walk, or run, a fine line. Take extra caution when training with anything worse than a minor cold because it can escalate into more serious conditions affecting the lower respiratory tract and lungs. Sinus infection, or sinusitis, is an inflammation of the sinus cavity that affects 37 million Americans each year. Symptoms include runny nose, cough, headache, and facial pressure. With a full-blown sinus infection, you rarely feel like running. But if you do, consider the 72-hour rule of Jeffrey Hall Dobken, M.D.: "No running for three days," advises the allergist/immunologist and ultramarathoner in Little Silver, New Jersey. Even without the presence of a fever, says Dr. Dobken, some sinus infections, when stressed by exercise, can lead to pneumonia or, in extreme cases, respiratory failure.

Not surprisingly, winter weather increases risk of sinusitis. In dry air, the nasal passages and mouth lose moisture, causing irritation. "The sinuses need time to recover," says Dr. Dobken, "just like a knee or foot." So Dr. Dobken recommends including treadmill running in your winter training regimen.

Another option for sinusitis sufferers is pool running. "The water adds moisture to nasal passages," says John J. Jacobsen, M.D., an allergist in Mankato, Minnesota. Pool running is preferable to swimming, says Dr. Jacobsen, because chlorine can be irritating to the nose.

Temperature Control

If you're still in doubt about whether it's safe to run or not, take your temperature. If it's above 99 degrees, skip your run. "Some people think that they can 'sweat out' a fever by running," says Nieman. "That's wrong. Running won't help your immune system fight the fever."

Nieman saw this firsthand when his running partner once ran a marathon with a 101-degree fever. Soon after, the runner developed severe and persistent symptoms similar to those of chronic fatigue syndrome. "Every day he'd wake up feeling creaky and arthritic," says Nieman. "When he tried to run, he'd stumble and fall." Eventually doctors concluded he had a "postviral syndrome," a latent condition that was exacerbated by the race.

Although this syndrome is rare, it's an example of the risk you take by running while ill. "Running with a fever makes the fever and flu-like symptoms worse," says Nieman, "and it can lead to other complications." During exercise, your heart pumps a large amount of blood from your muscles to your skin, dissipating the heat your body generates. If you have a fever, your temperature will rise even higher, and your heart will be put under greater strain to keep your temperature from soaring. In some cases, this can produce an irregular heartbeat. Also, a virus can cause your muscles to feel sore and achy; exercising when your muscles are already compromised could lead to injury.

Nieman recommends that runners with a fever or the flu hold off until the day after the symptoms disappear--and then go for a short, easy run. Runners should wait one to two weeks before resuming their pre-illness intensity and mileage. Otherwise, you risk a relapse, he says.

Above all, obey your body and the thermometer--not your training program.

Alternate Workout Intensity to Prevent Injuries

Tip from the DC Road Runners! 

Alternate Easy and Hard Workouts

Getting to the starting line of a marathon requires some degree of care in injury prevention. One way to help prevent injuries is by alternating Easy and Hard runs, and not running Hard workouts on two consecutive days. Hard workouts can be either long or fast. Back-to-back Hard workouts can lead to overtraining - a condition that results from not getting enough rest to allow the body to recover from stressful training. Overtraining can result in lowered endurance and speed and place a runner at a greater risk of injury. 

Benefits of Cross Training

Tip from the DC Road Runners!

Cross Training

While the core of training for any race is the miles that we'll log each week, there are other elements of a good training schedule that will help ensure success.  Days of rest are certainly essential for proper recovery from the stresses of running.  Many also find it very important to incorporate cross-training into your weekly routine. There are many benefits to be realized through cross-training:  injury prevention and rehabilitation, improved fitness, and recovery, to name a few.  Cross training will give you a much needed break from the normal training routine, offering a low-impact alternative to the trails and roads.  There are a wide range of alternatives to choose from, including pool running, elliptical training, cycling, and swimming.  While they might differ in the muscle groups that they exercise, they all help to increase your aerobic capacity.  Equally important though, you should have fun with these different activities.  Keeping your training fresh and interesting will help keep you motivated all season long. 

Don't Forget to Rest

Tip from the DC Road Runners!

Rest Days and Off Days

Many runners will say "on my off day I usually bike or swim or lift" but don't confuse an "off" day with a "rest" day. Your rest days should consist of doing nothing but resting. An off day, also known as a recovery day can consist of running a much slower pace or cross training with yoga, pilates, biking, or swimming.

 Of almost all the sports out there, running is one of the most demanding sports on your muscles so it's important to give them adequate time to rebuild before your next workout. Doing too much, and working out too many days in a row, is not only going to leave you wiped out but your muscles won't be able to rebuild the fibers you've broken down to ultimately improve your muscle fitness. There are many things you can do to make the most of your rest days. In addition, recovering from a long run also includes what food you put into your body. If you aren't in the habit, start bringing a snack with you to have in the car on the ride home. It's a good idea to have something in your stomach within the first 30 minutes of finishing a long run.

 You shouldn't feel guilty about taking a rest day either - you need to listen to your body during the week. 

Training On Vacation

Tip from the DC Road Runners!

Training When On Vacation

As we head into prime vacation season, getting your miles in is
 important. Training through vacation is one of the hardest parts of
 this marathon training program. While on a vacation with friends and
 family, think of running as your time for yourself, even if you are
 travelling.  If your vacation schedule gets so hectic that you can’t
 get a full run in, get out there and get in a few miles.  Even a 20
 minute run helps in maintaining your conditioning.