General Fitness & Nutrition: Let's talk about weight

Hi All,

I started racing less than half a year ago, and already enjoyed a Half-Marathon and few 4 milers. So, the next step. I'm planning on starting training for the Marathon (Hartford, or New York if I'm passing the lottery) and one of my main concerns is weight.

I'm slightly underweight. I'm around 5'9'' ~ 5'10'' tall, and weigh 130 lb. Always weighed that.

I've been reading that one of the big virtues of marathon training is losing weight, but I can't afford this.

Do you have any suggestions? Recommendations for slightly underweight marathon newbies?

By the way. I had a physical check-up and they didn't find anything wrong.

 

Thanks a lot!

-Luca 

Yeah, you are not underweight, under weight is a BMI under 18.5, your stats make you a 19.5ish so that is ok. Infact, I'm trying to get down to your weight now, ironically for a marathon, but it is more of a side project because as I train for the matathon I just figure that my weight will slowly come down over the next couple of months as long as I keep light tabs on what I eat. FYI I'm 5'9" and 145. ~John

Don't feel bad I'm 5'' & 124#'s. I too have always been called under weight but it's usually some one who is over weight.

Once when I was finishing up a ride a large woman in a jeep drove by and screamed "eat something" at me.

It takes all kinds to make this world go round. Just keep smiling and be healthy.

 

You are underweight . . . . for a front row forward that is.  For a marathon runner, you are probably the ideal weight.  So long as you eat a healthy diet, you should be fine.

You guys are making me feel fat. I am a good size for football, but I'm sure you would smoke me in a marathon. I am 6'2" 200lbs. I just recently started running again (after years of eating and smoking) I was up to 250lbs, smoking a pack a day. I must say, I feel much better now than I did in the past. I ran my first 5K in the fall and finished in 28:48. I ran my second one this spring and finished in 26:30. This morning (on a dreadmill) I turned in a 25:06 but last week I hit a 24:42.

Reading your comments back and forth from the sidlines made me want to get back into the game.

THANK YOU EVERYBODY !!!!!!!!!!!

John M.

Ok, I don't know were I plugged in wrong for the BMI, but if you use the BMI calculator on this site, for 5'9" at 130 pounds you get 19.2. There are many different ways to "estimate" you BMI, the Kg/M2 is a rough estimate but is only good for a very limited height/weight range, the US military uses a logarithmic equation that is a better estimation but hard to do on the fly, but technically we are all wrong until you get an immersion test. There are also different definitions of what "underweight" is,

There are also diffrent definitions of what "underweight" is: less than 18.5 (Department of Health) or less than 19.1 (WHO). Also there is debate as to how meaningful it is to use BMI for athletes, and as an endurance athlete a low BMI is average. The main point is that you are not clearly in a obvious unhealthy zone and you should not be concerned. Sorry about the double post, figured out the site does not like the less than sign.

I'm with you John...I'm trying drop a few pounds as well...my BMI is 24.9. Just under the overweight category. Personally, I think BMI is whacked...going by height and weight alone to determine whether or not someone is overweight. My problem is this: I'm running up to 30 miles a week, plus 3 days of weight lifting in a gym, and can't lose weight. Of course all the exercise makes me want to eat everything in sight :).

Hey, I wouldn't sweat it too much, people do come in all shapes and sizes and I think your body eventually adjusts to suit your physical needs. Back in Jan I was quite over weight (5'5'' 150lbs on a small frame). I started running, kickboxing and weight training and the weight started to come off and the muscle build up. Over about 4 months my physique has changed totally.

Now I am training for an adventure race at the end of the month and a 1/2 marathon in October and the weight is FLYING off at a rate of knots - I am losing approximately 4-5 lbs a week right now. I was a little concerned that I was actually losing some of the muscle mass as I stopped weights for the past month or so because of a shoulder injury. I'll start weights again soon but I'm not alarmed by the weight loss as I figure my body is doing what it needs to right now. I eat a lot of food and a very healthy diet so I am giving it everything it needs - that's what counts.  As long as you're putting in adequate and appropriate fuel you should be fine!

Very common to gain weight. You should watch what you eat and when you eat, more often then not you will eat more as a result of thinking that you need to make up for the lost calories, especially after a run. If you add two miles to your daily run, you might treat yourself to a nice scoop of ice cream, I know sometimes I do, or eat those fries that you would other wise leave on the dish, but the extra 2 miles is only a little more then 200cals, thats not even a can of soda. There is nothing wrong with a treat as long as you put it in perspective and see the big picture. But your right, eventually your body will convince your mind that you don't need to increase your intake.

RunJane

perhaps it is muscle increase rather than weight?  I have just picked up a couple of pounds too, thankfully turned out to be muscle! Although I also found with an increase in mileage (even just a couple of miles) that I am starving - it seems to plateu out after a while.  Just got to keep an eye on those calories as Spudsmac12 says - 2 miles is only 200cals... scary!