Clearly the best guys are fairly light weight. Should you cut back on eating at all to increase performance? What is the best way to fill up without eating stuff that'll make you gain lots of weight?
I know to eat healthy: fruits, veggies, whole grains, less red meat, no junk food, no soda, but beyond that.. how do you keep weight down? Or do you not even think about it?
that chick who won FLs a few years ago used to be anorexic.. Amber Trotter? then she ate food and won
eat less then you burn
Ok.
First you get all concerned about being lighter to race well. Then you start filling up on veggies and passing on dessert. Pretty soon you feel light and great and ready to race. But then you bonk. Dead legs. Depression. Colds. You come on letsrun and complain that you can't get any faster, and someone tells you to run 100 mpw. So you do. And you bonk further. Pretty soon you have dropped muscle and power, are stagnating in running, and you develop some random overuse injury that takes you out for a few months.
Eat well, run hard, take days off now and then.
Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. They're good for you, and they have a low calorie density. I have to watch what I eat pretty carefully, and I'm still a big guy, but I've found that eating only fruits, vegetables, and a bit of yogurt at lunch helps me stay trim. Before afternoon and/or night workouts, I like to have something a little sweet to keep my blood glucose high enough; otherwise, I get lightheaded very quickly.
Good luck.
Frank Horwill is very vocal on this subject. Van Aaken was pretty adamant, too.
well i drink a lot of beer and eat a lot of food, pretty much whatever i want in mass quantities, and yes it slows you down. when i used to not eat anything unhealthy i was faster but a lot less happy.
Firstly, what weight and height are you? If you just decide to eat less to lose weight, it could have drastic side effects on your running life- lack of energy, even malnutrition could occur. My advice- train hard and you'll keep your weight down naturally. If you're really concerned about losing weight, contact a nutritionist.
Well I am 153lbs 5'8 and 6.2% body fat, and I feel like IM a freaking sprinter sometimes w. PRS 3:49 1500 1:51 14:575k 25:48 XC 8k. Do the mileage, strecth, eat RIGHT and your body will find its optimal weight.
tattooedrunner1980 wrote:
Well I am 153lbs 5'8 and 6.2% body fat, and I feel like IM a freaking sprinter sometimes w. PRS 3:49 1500 1:51 14:575k 25:48 XC 8k. Do the mileage, strecth, eat RIGHT and your body will find its optimal weight.
If you would get down to the 3% body fat you should be, dropping that extra 5lbs could make your prs 3:47, 1:50, 14:45, 24:58 XC 8k.
I dont think its about weight. I think if you train hard and eat right to train fast, you will be skinnier. It isnt that being skinny makes you fast -- but if you are training right, you're body is going to be a reflection of that.
Rx wrote:
Frank Horwill is very vocal on this subject. Van Aaken was pretty adamant, too.
Sorry, gaunt is not beautiful, nor is it good for longevity in the sport!!!
What a crock of crap. Ed Whitlock is my ideal not some quitters who give up running. You can be thin and healthy.
Effect of Weight on Performance. Otherwise stated: How does Weight affect Performance.
Be careful... If your body fat gets too low your more prone to injury and sickness as well as slower recovery... My advice is if your hungry eat... Let your body determine its ideal weight naturally... Do'nt worry about it...
Eat 6-8 times a day, 2-3 hours, your metabolism will skyrocket through the roof, which is good. Eat lean protein with each meal. Hit the .75-1 g/lb of bodyweight for protein. Eat fruits and veggies with every meal. Only eat "other carbs" post workout (1-2 hours after workout) and first thing in the morning. As the day progesses, your body gets worse at handling carbs and better at handling fats.
The rule-of-thumb for top male distance runners is about 2 lbs. for every inch of height (e.g. 5'10" 140lbs.), and sometimes even less. But top runners are genetically predisposed to be very thin, and can easily achieve weights like these by just training and eating a normal healthy diet, without any need to starve themselves. Most of us naturally carry a lot more muscle, bone, and fat tissue than world-class runners, and it is neither natural nor healthy for us to persistently run a caloric deficit to force our bodies into their proportions. Do so, and your running will certainly suffer, as may other aspects of your life. High mileage + a sensible, balanced diet will get you to YOUR ideal weight for optimum performance.
i dunno, im 5'7" female and 173 lbs and college runner but i have trouble gettin to my hs speeds when i was at 135 i think skinny helps
Vex wrote:
Let your body determine its ideal weight naturally... Do'nt worry about it...
This is WRONG!!!!!!!!!
Your body is "made" to store fat. You have to put as much thought into what you eat as how you train. The goal is to have the lowest body weight you can in relation to the muscle and strength you need to run the fastest. By eating properly, you can have a 2-3% bodyfat and have all the energy you need to train properly. It does no one any good to limit what they eat to the point they do not have the energy for their workouts regardless of their size. It is also a waste of time to train for 6 months for a race and give away 10 or 20 seconds per mile because you were not at your optimum weight. It is more relavant as you get older, but it is still possible to overeat doing 100+ a week.
Just as you can overtrain or undertrain, you can also over or under eat. The right balance is what will give you the best results.
But what is the right balance? That's what the guy who started this wants to know.