Train Gain....

Everyone who hears you say you are running a half marathon says "Wow - I'm sure that burns a ton of calories! I would love to eat whatever I want!" The problem with their revelation, is it is not entirely true. Yes, you burn roughly 100 calories for every mile you run as a 135 lb woman. Yes, that means if I run 8 miles this weekend training, I will be 800 calories richer in terms of my eating allowance. The problem is, that your body gets hungry. Really hungry. It doesn't register an 800 calorie workout, let you eat 800 calories, and say, "I'm great - thanks!" It taunts you all day after your run....like that venus fly trap in the B-rated movie I never liked....saying "Feeeeeeeed meeee"......

Enter, train gain.

If you want to lose weight running, you have to have a negative calorie balance at the end of the day. Calories in=calories out. The problem is, you have to find a happy balance between making a deficit, and not making yourself low on fuel so that your runs suffer. You can really only get a 250 calorie deficit going before you begin to suffer from your lack of food as fuel, which makes losing weight a slow process.

What typically happens, is your body is hungry, so you eat to fuel it. Then you run 8 miles, and you think you can eat 800 extra calories, but in reality, you eat 1000 extra calories. Which means you are over 200 calories a day. After a month of overeating just 200 calories a day, you are 1.6 lbs heavier. Yup. Even if you ran 75 miles that month. Your body will still gain weight. Hence, "train gain"....

How to combat the bulge? Keep things in check. If you are hungry - go for clean options - lots of fruit, veggies, and complex carbohydrates. Don't fuel yourself post-run with something fatty or rich, your stomach will hate you later. Try eating just shy of your required cals for the day and see how you feel? Are you okay to run in the am, or do you need a small snack? Do you feel sluggish, or okay? This, my friends, is the only way to battle the long-distance runner's paradox.


*Not to mention that we as a society grossly underestimate the amount of calories in dishes. See here....and here*