Runners

JULY 2018 RUNNER’S WORLD 31the best running buddy. “Peoplethink they need to restrict alarge number of kilojoules to loseweight; but if you’re doing thatwhile running, you’re burning thecandle at both ends,” says dieticianTavierney Rogan. Possible falloutincludes injury, burnout, andbingeing. Here’s how to side-stepthe biggest fuelling mistakes, anduse healthier strategies to run andlose weight.Skipping RefuellingWhen you cut carbs or skip mealsin an effort to drop kilograms,you’re not giving your body what itneeds to avoid muscle breakdown.When you run, you use theglycogen in your muscles. Soafter a workout, you need 40 to50 grams of carbohydrates toreplenish glycogen stores – that’stwo to four servings of fruit orcomplex carbs such as oats orbrown rice. The food isn’t goingto your gut, either. “The carbs youeat after a workout are used byyour muscles,” Rogan says, “notstored as fat.” You’ll also want tosupplement that fuel with a littleprotein for muscle recovery.And if you’re trying to loseweight, don’t double-dip yourrecovery meals, says nutritionistLeslie Bonci. “If you finish yourrun just before supper, skip thesnack.”Cutting Too Many KilojoulesLet’s say your body needs 8 000kilojoules to maintain yourweight, but needs 10 000 whenyou’re logging extra kays. If you’reeating less than that and yourweight drops below a certainpoint, your metabolism slowsdown to compensate for the lackof fuel; which means you enter‘starvation mode’. Your body holdson to everything it can, makingit nearly impossible to maintainweight loss.Instead of slashing kilojoules,aim for a smaller reduction of1 000 kilojoules a day, says Bonci.That should result in a loss of 200to 300 grams per week, whichwon’t f lip the starvation switch,even during training. “It will alsoensure you’re taking in enough“When your body entersstarvation mode, it becomesnearly impossible to maintainweight loss.”fuel to avoid tapping into yourmuscles for energy,” says Bonci.``````Falling Victim to Fad DietsPeople trying to lose weight oftenget sucked into the latest trends,such as kilojoule-free sweeteners,fat-free foods, and gluten-freediets. But for long-term healthand success, it’s all about real foodand portion control. “The closerto the original source of food, thebetter,” says Rogan. For example,your muscles can’t use fake sugarsfor fuel; so if you eat a bar madewith erythritol or sucralose beforea run, you’ll fatigue faster, becauseyour muscles won’t have the carbsthey need. The smarter move:limit sugar intake, and use naturalsources such as honey or agave.That also means if you’re reachingfor skim milk over full-cream, or ‘lite’peanut butter instead of genuine PB,think again. Not only has the eating-fat-makes-you-fat mentality beendisproven, but a full-cream yoghurtor a salad with full-fat salad dressingwill keep you fuller for longer. Plus,fat helps your body absorb morevitamins and antioxidants.And that gluten-free craze?Unless you have coeliac disease ora true allergy to gluten, you don’tneed to cut gluten out of your diet.“Removing gluten can backfire onyour weight-loss and performanceefforts,” says Rogan. Many gluten-free packaged foods are loaded withsugar to compensate for the missingingredients, and eliminatinghealthy whole grains means you’renot getting the important vitamins,minerals and nutrients needed formuscle function and recovery.``````Losing the Joy of RunningSure, you can diligently log your``````kilojoules in an app, try to runon an empty stomach, and forceyourself to eat cacao nibs whenyou actually want chocolate; butyou’re going to be hangry, and endup eating chocolate anyway.“Dieting is about deprivation.Telling yourself ‘I can’t eatthis’, over and over again... itsucks,” says dietician RebeccaScritchfield. It also doesn’t work:everyone has a weight set point – arange of around 5 to 7kg that yourbody settles into. Once you dipbelow that range, your brain startsto protect you against furtherweight loss by cranking outhunger-inducing hormones. “Ina war of brain chemistry againstwillpower, your brain will alwayswin,” says Scritchfield.Instead, she urges runners toditch the thou-shall-not-eat listsand run for other benefits, suchas improved sleep and boostedenergy. Eating and sleeping welland exercising can contribute toweight loss on their own, too.Finally, “Your size doesn’tmatter – you’re a runner just bygetting out there and running,”Scritchfield says. “Your weight hasnothing to do with it.”Need more proof? After a three-year hiatus, Kieffer returnedto competition. She packed herplate with nutritious food andlistened to her body’s hungersignals. She gained three kilos,her tibia healed, and last year sheplaced second among US womenat the New York City Marathon,with her fastest marathon timeever: 2:29:39. “If I just eat healthyfoods when I’m hungry, I seemto do much, much better,” shesays. “And I’ve rediscovered thehappiness of running.”``````ADD20TO30MINUTES OFSTRENGTH-TRAINING THREETIMES A WEEKLean muscleburns about 46kilojoules perkilogram whilethe body is atrest. Fat tissueburns half ofthat.``````INCORPORATESPRINTS INTOYOUR WORKOUTA study fromthe Universityof WesternOntario foundthat people whoadded four tosix 30-secondsprints to theirruns lost twotimes morebody fat thanthose who onlyran a slow,steady pace.``````BOOSTYOU RBURN