Lost 10 pounds...now feel SO FAST.

Very interesting. Can you elaborate on your weight loss methods? Did you literally just count calories (were you doing that before?) or did you cut out (or add) certain types of food?

Also, how old are you?

Thanks.

5'10" 135 is getting pretty scrawny. Don't take it any further.

I basically just kept track of what I ate. I assumed I burned about 1600 a day just from living, then used the formula of about 100 calories per mile of running. I was doing 50 to 60mpw, so that's an extra 5 to 6,000 calories per week. 3500 calories in a pound, so every day I just made sure that I had 5 to 600 calories "left over" -- i.e. if I ran a 10 miler, that's 1,000 + 1600 BMR = 2600, so I'd eat around 2,000 calories.

It was kind of approximate and not super strict, but I stuck to it pretty religiously and didn't cheat. Diet-wise, I didn't take out or limit any foods. I eat a lot of pasta, so I kept that up, especially before runs. If I cut carbs I feel really really bad on runs, and I think that's a very bad idea. I suppose theoretically you could eat anything you wanted to, but I'd stick with mostly carbs and protein...I'd have a few beers on the weekend / some pizza, but didn't go all out. Just keep it in moderation and you should be fine.

Also, I'm 21, male. Obviously not elite or anything, just a dedicated recreational runner.

laughingostrich wrote:

5'10" 135 is getting pretty scrawny. Don't take it any further.

Agreed...there's definitely a point of diminishing returns, and I'd never try to drop below 130. Staying in the 133-137 range is best for me, I think. Also, obviously, if you have had previous trouble with food/eating, this is a bad idea, especially for female runners...not trying to recommend anyone develop an eating disorder. But it does help, and I think honestly, almost everyone could lose 5 pounds safely (obviously not EVERYONE, but a LOT of people), and it's pretty crazy how a small weight loss can make you feel on a run.

I was a whopping 5'9" 108 lbs when i was a sophomore in HS, was finally 5'9" 130+ after college.

I'm now 5'9" and 145 lbs and trying to GAIN more weight (maybe 15 lbs.)

I guess I'd rather my times suffer than look too scrawny. I hate that 'long distance gaunted face' look some of my marathoner friends have.

I thought the recommended daily caloric amount is 2000 calories, not 1600..

I mean, I took a bit of a conservative estimate to make sure I'd lose. Basically, yeah, they assume the average person burns an additional 2-300 calories walking, working, cleaning the house, whatever, so on average it works out to 2000 a day. Your bmr is more or less what you'd burn if you were in bed all day. So you're right, I should have said it was more like 1850 to 1900, but I basically sit in class at college all day, or am at the library, so I don't do that much strenuous stuff.

Again, just do what works for you. I didn't freak out about +/-200 to 300 calories on any given day. Just keep the trend going and it works out.

(1/2) m1 * v1^2 = (1/2) m2 * v2^2

v2 = v1 * sqrt(m1/m2)

So, if you used to run the mile in 5:00, for roughly the same effort you could now run:

v2 = 12 * sqrt(145/135)

v2 = 4:49 pace

This assumes your muscles are providing you with the same kinetic energy despite losing weight. Obviously, this is a (very) gross oversimplification, but I thought it would give some food for thought.

sprint7 wrote:

(1/2) m1 * v1^2 = (1/2) m2 * v2^2

v2 = v1 * sqrt(m1/m2)

So, if you used to run the mile in 5:00, for roughly the same effort you could now run:

v2 = 12 * sqrt(145/135)

v2 = 4:49 pace

This assumes your muscles are providing you with the same kinetic energy despite losing weight. Obviously, this is a (very) gross oversimplification, but I thought it would give some food for thought.

So true -- I didn't account for the fitness boost I got from 2 months of just distance running in general, gradually building up my long runs. If you adjust for that, maybe I only gained 2 seconds per mile. I haven't done a timed mile in a while. Also, perhaps I got some efficiency gain in running that particular course. I've also been making a conscience effort to increase turnover and stride length, so maybe some of those things started paying dividends as well.

However, I know that losing weight did give me -some- benefit...maybe it's not solely responsible for the 30 seconds, but it sure didn't make me any slower.

YEah I don't want to look like a runner (even though I am on a runner forum) I want to look like this guys!!

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.strangesports.com/images/content/139211.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.strangesports.com/content/item/139211.html&usg=__yJpOGEIGBPioe0ZUJO11EV_VsuU=&h=618&w=350&sz=44&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=EZ3UYak_2wG2wM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=77&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhuge%2Barms%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft

:*%26rlz%3D1I7RNSN_en%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=iU1YTZqLCoP-8AbVm4WSBw

Only do this if you are actually ABOVE your ideal racing weight. Typically college athletes are in the adequate range of their racing weight and could stand to lose 1-3lbs at the most. I owuld only suggest this to middle-aged marathoner/road race warrior types who find themselves overweight/really struggling on runs to pull the extra load.

I gues my point is there are very few NCAA xc/tf runners out there truly 10lbs above ideal racing weight.