Starve for performance???

dude, even guys cut back on the food to shed a couple pounds.

pretty much every good person looks a little emaciated.

It is necessary to be very thin if you want to maximize performance. Look at the kenyans & ethiopians. It's about the power/weight ratio. You want that to be as high as possible. So increase power, and decrease weight.

There is a difference between "starving" and making better diet choices if you are on the softer side. If you are already lean maybe the focus should be put on adding strength by focusing on the weights over the summer. You can starve yourself all you want but at a point you will start losing muscle and lose strength. Find a consistent diet that is free of junk food, beer, and tons of sugars and focus on gaining strength and increasing volume. What extra fat you do have will be lost and you may even gain a lb or two if you gain some strengths in the weight room.

Frequent Travels wrote:

There is a difference between "starving" and making better diet choices if you are on the softer side.

She told me that she goes weeks at a time without solid food. She is NOT asking me to make better diet choices. She said that being a top level runner is not healthy.

self starvation is terribly wrong no matter what her PRs are.

A coach telling his athlete to starve in order to improve is like a Doctor telling his patient to stop running to solve the problem.

It is the easy way for short term success and a setup for long term failure.

if you run more miles and train harder more often you will lose the weight naturally.

whatever you don't lose is what you need.

Good luck!

Just eat thin crust pizza and stay away from deep dish and you'll be fine

This is incorrect. I think that not overeating is wise, but starving is silly. If you want to lose weight increase mileage and do more longer sustained high end aerobic runs. This could be anywhere between HM to Marathon paced runs of 6-10 miles (do 2 WU and CD to add 4 more miles) 2 times per week. This along with a good long run and solid mileage will allow you to naturally lose weight. I agree one should not overeat, but the fact that one runs a lot is what makes them thin. It is not the case that because one is thin, that they run fast. Being thin is more of a byproduct of doing a lot of running.

huge dillema wrote:

Frequent Travels wrote:

There is a difference between "starving" and making better diet choices if you are on the softer side.

She told me that she goes weeks at a time without solid food. She is NOT asking me to make better diet choices. She said that being a top level runner is not healthy.

Wow, I'm glad I'm not a girl.

Obviously don't starve yourself. No good can come from that. Any minor improvements you make by being 10 pounds lighter will not be sustainable in the long run, and you will most likely end up hurting yourself physically and mentally.

A high mileage training schedule with a core and strength routine, and a well balanced diet should have you good to go.

And no. Not all elite women starve themselves.

Look into PPAR and AMPk

For what they mean for athletes and how diet affects/influences them.

Starvation of soughts can be agood thing but would look into intermittent fasting rather than starvation per se

trollin trollin trollin, new chuckwagon trollin....

3/10

This woman should not be coaching, and I thought the NCAA had cracked down on this type of thing. No solid food for weeks? That is nuts. Cutting back on calories and watching fat and sugar intake is normal for runners who want to take it to the next level because it is true that there is a weight component to running fast. However, you also need muscle and energy. The anorexic runners may run fast for a bit, but never long term. And the lasting effects of starvation are not worth it.

She has an eating disorder and is trying to give you one. You will get to your ideal racing weight by running a lot and eating healthy solid food--lots of vegs, fruit, etc. She needs to be severed from her job.

JustBecause wrote:

self starvation is terribly wrong no matter what her PRs are.

A coach telling his athlete to starve in order to improve is like a Doctor telling his patient to stop running to solve the problem.

It is the easy way for short term success and a setup for long term failure.

if you run more miles and train harder more often you will lose the weight naturally.

whatever you don't lose is what you need.

Good luck!

This. It's ridiculous to starve yourself. If you are hungry, you need to eat. You can't train, recover, and stay healthy without a balanced diet and enough calories. Just work on getting in your fruits and plenty of veggies. If you want to cut back, don't eat cookies, beer, etc. You'll be "emaciated looking enough" due to proper training.

Just got out of bed and pleasantly surprised by all of the helpful comments. Thank you.

I know what school you are from. Now lets see if I can figure out who you are?

I am so sad to hear that a coach would tell you this. I had an eating disorder and lost about 15 pounds, only to find myself injured and still struggling with injuries, two years later. I ran my best when I was at a good, healthy weight before I ever lost weight. Please do not listen to your coaches lies. Plenty of girls on my team are elite runners and DO NOT look emaciated at all.

Crazy People wrote:

I am so sad to hear that a coach would tell you this. I had an eating disorder and lost about 15 pounds, only to find myself injured and still struggling with injuries, two years later. I ran my best when I was at a good, healthy weight before I ever lost weight. Please do not listen to your coaches lies. Plenty of girls on my team are elite runners and DO NOT look emaciated at all.

Same with me. All losing weight did was gave me a stress fracture and recurring injuries. And no energy. If you plan on running long term, starving for performance would not be a good idea and don't let your coach influence you. She may be running fine now, but it will catch up with her soon. I also know a few elite runners who most definitely do NOT starve themselves and are at a healthy weight.

Read the "Miracle of Fasting" by Paul Bragg. It is the best book on health I have ever read. Fasting is not the same as "starving" and it does work but it takes time to understand. Also do Yoga!

huge dillema wrote:

She told me that she goes weeks at a time without solid food. She is NOT asking me to make better diet choices. She said that being a top level runner is not healthy.

give it 6 months and she will a)have a stress fracture; b) have an autoimmune disorder; or c) completely fall apart and won't come close to being able to run well

that is what happens with this type of eating. on top of the world and kicking ass for a few months and then it all comes crashing down. short term gain for long term pain.