By Dr. Aaron Case BSc, DC (November 2006)
Have you ever gained weight on a running program? Many people have, including me.
Note: An initial weight gain of 2-3 lbs when starting a running program is normal due to an increase in muscle mass and/or glycogen/water stored in the muscle.
The main reasons runners gain weight or maintain unwanted weight while on a running program are:
1. You are hungry beyond your body’s needs
Hunger triggered by a run that is faster, steeper, longer, or more frequent that you are accustomed to, is usually in excess of need. The more intense (relative to your current fitness level) the run, the higher the percentage of sugars/carbohydrates burned (relative to fats/proteins). This intensity training can trigger excessive hunger post-run due to a more significant drop in blood glucose (an appetite stimulus).
Overall, higher intensity and/or longer runs are essential to improving fitness and weight control; just beware of their effect on making you feel hungrier than you really are.
Solution: Compensate by eating more fibrous foods and carbohydrates with a lower Glycemic Index (GI).
2. You eat what you deserve
You think that you deserve a large compensation of calories because you have run a distance that you have not run before, it was raining, you ran up a hill, down a hill, into the wind, etc.
Many people gain or maintain weight because the calories expended are often overestimated. The body doesn’t care what you deserve and will happily turn every extra calorie you eat into fat, whether it starts out as carbohydrates, protein, fat or alcohol.
Solution: Determine how much food you really deserve: Running typically will burn 100 calories per mile (1.6 km), the equivalent to one banana.
Website to determine the number of calories you burn in a run (based on distance run and your weight).
Website to determine the number of calories in your food.
