Can I safely lose ~5 pounds in a week and be able to race well?

nice ur on right

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How much did you gain over your vacation? I doubt you truly gained that much additional weight in fat over the duration of your vacation. Your weight gain could be due to you being more hydrated at the time of your weighing or could be due to you having more in your intestines because of less running (less jarring/loosening up of waste).

Attempting to lose up to 5 lbs over a week will do more harm than good. You're going to feel tired and weak at race time. 5 lbs in one week would mean a 17,500 calorie deficit (3500 calories in a lb of fat, so 3500 x 5 = 17,500) or a 2500 caloric deficit per day. For weight loss, it's recommended that you aim for 1 to 2 lbs per week (a 500 to 1000 caloric deficit per day). Going into too much a caloric deficit will result in some loss of lean mass (i.e., muscle) which you obviously don't want to do in the week leading up to a race.

Just focus on eating healthy over the next week. Good luck.

Well Ive never ever been 140. Usually around 130, and even then I was trying to get to more like 125. I actually drank less water on vacation than I shouldve, i drink more when Im at home and training.

So could I lose 2-3 pounds? that will still make a difference. I'll just focus on eating healthy.

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the lone runnerw wrote:

i have a peak road race in about 1 week (8 days)

Am I the only one who finds this hilarious?

Girls?? wrote:Am I the only one who finds this hilarious?

yep. You're the only one. The key word was "about." 8 days is ABOUT a week.

Maybe it is because I wasn't able to run doubles... is it worth it adding them in so late?

you can definitely do it. just eat protein powder or Ensure after your run and then only vegetables for the rest of the day. you probably burn about a pound of calories a day (about 3500) so you can eat about 1300 calories per day for 8 days and lose 5 lbs

You can lose 5 pounds in a week, but no way you'd lose 5 pounds of actual fat...maybe one pound tops...I wouldn't worry about it at this point and just call it "carb loading".

If you drank less water that probably contributed to your "weight gain". i find that my weight can fluctuate by as much as 4-5 pounds just from a big meal or a few days of bad eating. No way did you gain 5 pounds unless you were eating nonstop. I'd say focus on drinking a LOT of water over the next few days, avoid high sodium foods that would cause you to retain said water, and don't eat any junk and you'll be fine. I found that i could easily "lose" 3 or 4 pounds the week before a race doing this without any adverse side effects.

I was exactly the weight you are a few weeks ago. I am now down to 132.

The most you should lose in a week is a couple lbs. The easiest way for me to lose weight is to count calories. I add them up as I go throughout the day and hit around 2,000. I work on houses so I am on my feet all day but I am only running about 35-40 miles a week. If you don't do much else all day, you may be able to go down to 15-1600 calories.

thanks all, it is still a bit disconcerting to see 140 (or even 141-2) on the scale when ive stepped on it this whole day. doing some drills that i didnt do on vacation, and adding in 2-3 doubles (i was doing 3-4 earlier), even though its less than a week and a half till my race. hope i can shed those pounds, also watching what im eating.

Stepped on the scale again this morning, 140. Ouch.

Breakfast was 1 slice of buttered toast with an egg and some strawberries. Lunch will be some rice and veggies, snack will be some cereal, dinner again rice and veggies.

Don't be so silly. You didn't put on 5 pounds of fat during vactation, and you can't lose 5 pounds of fat in 8 days without starving yourself.

Just carry on as normal and run the effin race.

I didn't do any doubles during vacation, but I'll add in 2 this week (I was doing 3-4 before).

wilfredo wrote:

you can definitely do it. just eat protein powder or Ensure after your run and then only vegetables for the rest of the day. you probably burn about a pound of calories a day (about 3500) so you can eat about 1300 calories per day for 8 days and lose 5 lbs

This guy must be a registered dietitian and/or exercise physiologist. There's a reason you're not supposed to exceed a 500-1000 caloric deficit per day. And for a serious athlete, that should probably be more like 250-500. First off, he's gonna be too fatigued to complete a decent workout. Secondly, he's going to go into starvation mode and his metabolism will slow. Thirdly, once you exceed that range you're going to start breaking down muscle to use for energy. You want to lose fat, not lean mass.

Like I already said, just focus on eating healthy throughout the week leading up to your race and don't be too preoccupied with a couple of excess lbs on race day. There's not much you can do at this point as far as weight goes without it having more of a negative effect than a positive one.

Agreed. You're better off focusing on the mental aspect of the race - getting yourself prepared with your race plan, thinking about pushing yourself through the tough parts - than obsessing over weight and eating. Maybe 5 pounds means a difference of 10 seconds in otherwise identical individuals, but I can guarantee that the stress of trying to lose weight quickly and the shifting of focus to your weight instead of the race you plan to run will hurt you a lot more than that. Weight is just a number; focus on fitness and recovery and you'll do much better.