Running and Weight Gain?

I took up running to lose weight.

I have not lost weight.  In fact, I have gained weight.  Some of this is due to age, lifestyle, and genetics, but some of it is my own fault.

Gaining weight while training for a race isn’t uncommon, but it’s not inevitable.  Why does it happen?  Because running makes you hungry!  And while it takes on average one mile of running to burn 100 calories, it’s pretty easy to pop 100 calories into your mouth without thinking about it.

I recently read an article in Runner’s World that talked about post-run indulgences.  I don’t typically indulge after my mid-week runs, though I may eat more that day.  I’m good about tracking my calories in My Fitness Pal during the week.  But after my long run on the weekend, all bets are off.  Runner’s World suggests only an indulgence of around 400 calories on the day of a long run and making sure to have something like eggs and a whole wheat English muffin right after the run to help with recovery and prevent over indulging.

Of course, after my long runs, I like to go out for pancakes.  My typical lunch is somewhere around 400-500 calories.   If I make this my indulgence, I’m interpreting RW’s rule to mean that I can then have up to 900 calories for lunch.  SO MUCH FOOD!

Except not really.  After a recent 13 mile training run, we went to Denny’s.  I had a Grand Slam with pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and scrambled eggs.  970 calories.  And let’s be honest, I continued to splurge throughout the day.   I clearly could have made better choices.  Did I need hash browns AND pancakes?  No.  Could I have gone with turkey bacon instead of sausage?  Yes.

But making those kinds of decisions can be tough.  Especially when ravenous after a long run.  Those bad for me foods just taste so incredibly good!

Could I have had the meal and then just eaten normally the rest of the day?  Absolutely.  But I know myself and that is easier said than done.

So the goal is just to continue conscious eating.  Look up calorie counts online before eating at a restaurant.  Plan ahead.  Splurge mindfully.  And hopefully get rid of some of these stubborn pounds before the marathon.