Re: Training for a Marathon, BFL, and trying to loose fat (at the same time)

[Guest guest]

Rai,

That's great that you're doing a marathon!! I know you're trying to lose fat,

I have your same stats almost and I'm trying the same thing! I'm 163 lbs 19.7%

bodyfat and I'm eating BFL but training differently and will start training for

a triathlon soon. I did an olympic distance Tri last spring, so that was 3hr 1

min for the race, and I trained six days a week. I ate healthy but you

definitely need to eat enough to support your training! The BFL 6 meals a day

will be perfect but just listen to your body and if you're hungry increase the

size of your meals. I didn't lose weight during my training but the best thing

I got from that experience was that I was amazed by my body and focused on what

great things I could accomplish with it, instead of how it looked! Good luck,

you can do it!! You will have a totally new appreciation for your body as you

train and especially WHEN you complete the marathon!

heather

---------------------------------

Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+

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[Guest guest]

First of all, way to go on your results so far and congrats on your decision to

do the

marathon! I don't have much advice, but I'm interested in the responses you get

because

I'm going to train for my first triathlon this summer and I'm also not sure how

to eat

enough without overdoing it.

Two thoughts I had were to either:

-add an extra carb portion for the first three meals--like Bill recommends

during a

bulking phase

-or to eat more frequent BFL balanced meals per day. Right now I'm doing the BFL

workouts and eating 6 balanced meals on HIIT days and 7 balanced meals on weight

training days. I thought I might zigzag between 7 and 8 meals when I'm in the

midst of

trathlon training.

How much weight training are you going to do? That's another thing I'm not sure

of. I

don't want to lose too much muscle, but I only have so much time in a week and

most of

my exercise time is going to be spent running, swimming, and biking!

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress! )

-Another

>

> I am going to run the Chicago Marathon in October. It's my first

> time and I am scared and excited. I've been doing Body for life

> since December and I have made decent progress:

>

> Start: 172, BF% 29.2

> End: 162, BF % 23

> My goal is to get a bodyfat % of around 20% (ideally I would like to

> be at 17%) or under and to weigh 145 -150. So I still need to loose

> about 15 pounds.

>

> I've read alot that you shouldn't try to cut while training for a

> marathon, but I surely need to loose this extra weight. I decided to

> do this marathon because I need a its been a goal of mine and I

> figure that I need to stop putting it off.

>

> I'm planning to join a marathon training program in June, but right

> now I'm trying to get my mileage up (they recommend that you should

> be running 18 miles/week and can run 6 miles without stopping before

> beginning the program).

>

> I was going to try to stick to the BFL way of eating and working out

> (maybe trading some HIT for the runs), but I was wondering if ANYONE

> can share some advice on how you they trained and incorporated BFL

> for endurance sports. I definetly don't want to loose too much lean

> mass but I need to loose some fat.

>

> Okay, sorry for my ramble...

>

> Rai

>

[Guest guest]

I know that Raylene (way back when) ran the Disney Marathon while on

BFL. I'm trying hard to remember the specifics of her training. She

had the one long run and I think a couple of other runs during the

week. She had extra carbs on the running days. I do recall something

about leg workouts destroying her runs, and her runs destroying her

leg workouts. The marathon was quite an accomplishment. Something she

probably wouldn't trade for the world, but she lost muscle and her

percentage of body fat actually went up.

I checked the BFL site and a couple of Bill chats and found these Q & A:

~~~

From BodyForLife.com:

Q: I'm currently training for a marathon, but I'd like to do

the Body-for-LIFE training program too. How can I merge the two?

A: Good question..it will be very difficult to merge them.

Both are demanding on your body. If you try to do both, you will

likely over-train your body and not see the results you are looking

for. If you would like to add resistance training to your running

regimen, we suggest that you stay with moderate weight and high reps,

and do not train your muscles to failure.

From the Bill Chat:

carolineandrews_webmd: Hi Bill. I'm training for a marathon (it's Oct.

22) and we're getting into the really long runs. Any suggestions for

tweaking the program to help me train? Thanks!

: The Body For Life program and marathon training are very

diverse. I can't imagine how you could train for a marathon and do the

Body For Life program simultaneously, although there are a few things

in common such as the need for focusing the mind on your objectives,

ensuring proper protein and energy intake, and making rest and

recovery a top priority. What I suggest is that you focus on your

marathon training for now, then take a week off to enjoy your

accomplishments, and let your body recuperate, then begin a Body For

Life program when you can focus on it completely.

~~~

If you want to do this right, I would turn all your attention toward

the marathon and not do BFL workouts on top of it. There are some

elements of BFL that you can keep, like the frequent healthy meals

(with additional carbs, of course) and 20 minute HIIT cardio once or

twice a week. I wouldn't use the BFL weight workouts right now because

they will wreck you for your distance runs. If you continue lifting

weights, I would probably only do legs one day a week and I would

schedule legs the day before a rest day or really easy run. You

definitely don't want to wreck your legs the day before a distance

run. On upper body, you could either do one upper body a week (and one

lower). Or if you still wanted to do three weight days, you could do

something like: day 1) chest/triceps/shoulders, day 2)back/biceps/abs,

day 3) legs. And I would probably do more like three sets of 12

instead of doing six sets per body part and going heavy to failure.

If you do any HIIT cardio sessions, they should probably not be

running. Crosstrain with something that's easier on your joints like

the bike or elliptical. It's good for your heart and lungs to keep

some intense intervals. But you don't want to be pulverizing your

tendons and joints running sprints several times a week, and then turn

around and ask your knees and ankles to carry you 26 miles without

complaining.

Just some thoughts. You can always go back to straight up BFL once the

marathon is over, but I'd be prepared to modify it quite a bit in the

meantime.

> I am going to run the Chicago Marathon in October. It's my first

> time and I am scared and excited. I've been doing Body for life

> since December and I have made decent progress:

>

> Start: 172, BF% 29.2

> End: 162, BF % 23

> My goal is to get a bodyfat % of around 20% (ideally I would like to

> be at 17%) or under and to weigh 145 -150. So I still need to loose

> about 15 pounds.

>

> I've read alot that you shouldn't try to cut while training for a

> marathon, but I surely need to loose this extra weight. I decided to

> do this marathon because I need a its been a goal of mine and I

> figure that I need to stop putting it off.

>

> I'm planning to join a marathon training program in June, but right

> now I'm trying to get my mileage up (they recommend that you should

> be running 18 miles/week and can run 6 miles without stopping before

> beginning the program).

>

> I was going to try to stick to the BFL way of eating and working out

> (maybe trading some HIT for the runs), but I was wondering if ANYONE

> can share some advice on how you they trained and incorporated BFL

> for endurance sports. I definetly don't want to loose too much lean

> mass but I need to loose some fat.

>

> Okay, sorry for my ramble...

>

> Rai

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Rai,

I've trained for a marathon twice. I have a friend in Germany who

has completed 3 marathons in the past year. We both need to lose

roughly 15 pounds of fat, and neither of us has been able to lose

weight while training for a marathon!

The problem we both really struggled with was having to fuel our

long runs. You need to fuel up 1 or 2 days in advance, and you'll

be starving afterward!

In a running clinic with Jeff Galloway, he said that very few people

lose weight while training for their first marathon, but may lose

weight on the 2nd or 3rd.

I'm not writing this to discourage you at all, and I think a

marathon is a terrific goal. But don't get discouraged if you find

you aren't losing weight. You'll be accomplishing a terrific

physical feat, not to mention improving your endurance. That's a

tough goal by iteself, without worrying about the fat loss also.

Maybe you'll achieve what my frined & I haven't, and you can share

your tips! :-)

Good luck with your training. I promise it will be an incredibly

rewarding experience.

Neca

[Guest guest]

Rai -

Congratulations on your decision to run the Chicago Marathon! I've

run it four times (last time in 2000) but easily the most special

one was the first one. The joy and sense of accomplishment I felt

when I crossed the finish line was indescribable - one of the high

points of my life. I wish you all that joy and more.

I have to echo what the others are saying and note that what you are

doing will not be particularly compatible with BFL. By the time you

get into your heaviest trainig, you'll be doing so much cardio it'll

be hard to be lifting weights to any great degree, too. I actually

lost a tremendous amount of weight when training for my last Chicago

Marathon, but you DON'T want to emulate what I did (starving myself

to try and look like a long distance runner). My metabolism was

wrecked for years - literally.

I would just try and maintain your current weight, etc. and start

anew with BFL when the marathon is over. You'll have a real feeling

of achievement from the run that will help you with other goals.

If you're not training with a group, you might check

www.halhigdon.com for training programs and other tips - I found

that site a great help during my marathoning days. In addition, if

you live in the Chicago area and decide you like marathoning, the

Mad City Marathon in Madison, WI is a fabulous race that runs the

Sunday before Memorial Day. It's a lot smaller and the course is

gorgeous - all around the lakes, the governor's mansion, and through

the UW campus.

Best wishes to you and good luck in your training!!!

Lo

>

> Rai,

>

> I've trained for a marathon twice. I have a friend in Germany who

> has completed 3 marathons in the past year. We both need to lose

> roughly 15 pounds of fat, and neither of us has been able to lose

> weight while training for a marathon!

>

> The problem we both really struggled with was having to fuel our

> long runs. You need to fuel up 1 or 2 days in advance, and you'll

> be starving afterward!

>

> In a running clinic with Jeff Galloway, he said that very few

people

> lose weight while training for their first marathon, but may lose

> weight on the 2nd or 3rd.

>

> I'm not writing this to discourage you at all, and I think a

> marathon is a terrific goal. But don't get discouraged if you

find

> you aren't losing weight. You'll be accomplishing a terrific

> physical feat, not to mention improving your endurance. That's a

> tough goal by iteself, without worrying about the fat loss also.

>

> Maybe you'll achieve what my frined & I haven't, and you can share

> your tips! :-)

>

> Good luck with your training. I promise it will be an incredibly

> rewarding experience.

>

> Neca

>

[Guest guest]

, wow a triathlon. I tip my hat to you.

I'm in the process of gathering information on training and trying

to lose fat. I think I'm still going to do weight training every

other day and having my usual rest day. However, I'm going to make

sure that I don't do my LBWO the day before my long run.

I decided to see a registered dietician and I made an appointment

for next Tuesday (apparently it's free because I'm a grad student)!

So, I'm going to talk to her about my goals of having enough energy

to do my training, but still lose weight. So hopefully, that will

square me away on the nutrition.

Your suggestion about the extra carbs sounds good though. Hopefully

with the extra cardio, I won't bulk.

I'm thinking about trading my HITS for the runs, but I don't know if

this is the best way to go.

My goal is only to complete the marathon. I'm not too concerned

about being competitive, I just want to finish.

> >

> > I am going to run the Chicago Marathon in October. It's my first

> > time and I am scared and excited. I've been doing Body for life

> > since December and I have made decent progress:

> >

> > Start: 172, BF% 29.2

> > End: 162, BF % 23

> > My goal is to get a bodyfat % of around 20% (ideally I would

like to

> > be at 17%) or under and to weigh 145 -150. So I still need to

loose

> > about 15 pounds.

> >

> > I've read alot that you shouldn't try to cut while training for

a

> > marathon, but I surely need to loose this extra weight. I

decided to

> > do this marathon because I need a its been a goal of mine and I

> > figure that I need to stop putting it off.

> >

> > I'm planning to join a marathon training program in June, but

right

> > now I'm trying to get my mileage up (they recommend that you

should

> > be running 18 miles/week and can run 6 miles without stopping

before

> > beginning the program).

> >

> > I was going to try to stick to the BFL way of eating and working

out

> > (maybe trading some HIT for the runs), but I was wondering if

ANYONE

> > can share some advice on how you they trained and incorporated

BFL

> > for endurance sports. I definetly don't want to loose too much

lean

> > mass but I need to loose some fat.

> >

> > Okay, sorry for my ramble...

> >

> > Rai

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks .It's weird because I'm scared but excited about the

marathon and it's 6 months away!! Did you still do weight training

during your triathlon training (I'm so impressed)? If so, can you

talk a little about your routine?

>

> Rai,

> That's great that you're doing a marathon!! I know you're

trying to lose fat, I have your same stats almost and I'm trying the

same thing! I'm 163 lbs 19.7% bodyfat and I'm eating BFL but

training differently and will start training for a triathlon soon.

I did an olympic distance Tri last spring, so that was 3hr 1 min for

the race, and I trained six days a week. I ate healthy but you

definitely need to eat enough to support your training! The BFL 6

meals a day will be perfect but just listen to your body and if

you're hungry increase the size of your meals. I didn't lose weight

during my training but the best thing I got from that experience was

that I was amazed by my body and focused on what great things I

could accomplish with it, instead of how it looked! Good luck, you

can do it!! You will have a totally new appreciation for your body

as you train and especially WHEN you complete the marathon!

> heather

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and

30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.

>

>

[Guest guest]

I¹m not sure where you¹re located but you may want to have that testing done

if you¹re near a campus sports clinic. My friend had it done last week and

it was fascinating. She¹s run the Ironman before and is training for it

again, but the folks at the clinic recommended that she think about shorter

courses because of her body type. They measure stuff like how your body

handles the extra oxygen and all sorts of cool things. I¹m not sure what

it¹s called, but they use it for endurance athletes like cyclists and

triathletes. They also helped her with her diet, and they speak her

language. This was at UC . In her case they told her to lay off the

weights and build a better base if she was going to Hawaii.

> First of all, way to go on your results so far and congrats on your decision

> to do the

> marathon! I don't have much advice, but I'm interested in the responses you

> get because

> I'm going to train for my first triathlon this summer and I'm also not sure

> how to eat

> enough without overdoing it.

>

> Two thoughts I had were to either:

>

> -add an extra carb portion for the first three meals--like Bill recommends

> during a

> bulking phase

>

> -or to eat more frequent BFL balanced meals per day. Right now I'm doing the

> BFL

> workouts and eating 6 balanced meals on HIIT days and 7 balanced meals on

> weight

> training days. I thought I might zigzag between 7 and 8 meals when I'm in the

> midst of

> trathlon training.

>

> How much weight training are you going to do? That's another thing I'm not

> sure of. I

> don't want to lose too much muscle, but I only have so much time in a week and

> most of

> my exercise time is going to be spent running, swimming, and biking!

>

> Good luck to you and keep us posted on your progress! )

>

> -Another

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for the great responses. I'm going to try to defy

odds and get some fat loss while training. I figure I still hae

about 5 weeks before I hit the hard training and if I can loose

about 5 fat pounds (hmmmn)by then then I will be happy. However, if

I don't lose any extra weight from the training I will not get

disappointed. My goal is to finish (yep, just to finish) the

marathon.

I came across an article on runners world

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-53-85-0-7771,00.html

and it basically says what we all know. I'm going to see a

registered dietician on Tuesday about how can I fuel my body for the

runs and still loose weight. I'll let you know what she recommends.

I'm impressed that there are so many marathoners and triathlon

athletes here. Yeah, for BFL and for us!!!

Oh Lo, I was thinking about joining the CARA running club (they use

Hal higdon plan). But, I'm wondering if it worth the extra money (I

realized I'm going to be out of town during the major clinic event

too) and I should just train by myself (well with my husband too).

> >

> > Rai,

> >

> > I've trained for a marathon twice. I have a friend in Germany

who

> > has completed 3 marathons in the past year. We both need to

lose

> > roughly 15 pounds of fat, and neither of us has been able to

lose

> > weight while training for a marathon!

> >

> > The problem we both really struggled with was having to fuel our

> > long runs. You need to fuel up 1 or 2 days in advance, and

you'll

> > be starving afterward!

> >

> > In a running clinic with Jeff Galloway, he said that very few

> people

> > lose weight while training for their first marathon, but may

lose

> > weight on the 2nd or 3rd.

> >

> > I'm not writing this to discourage you at all, and I think a

> > marathon is a terrific goal. But don't get discouraged if you

> find

> > you aren't losing weight. You'll be accomplishing a terrific

> > physical feat, not to mention improving your endurance. That's

a

> > tough goal by iteself, without worrying about the fat loss also.

> >

> > Maybe you'll achieve what my frined & I haven't, and you can

share

> > your tips! :-)

> >

> > Good luck with your training. I promise it will be an

incredibly

> > rewarding experience.

> >

> > Neca

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Rai,

I didn't do a lot of weight training while I was training for the Triathlon.

It was pretty much two days a week of each sport, running, biking and swimming

so I was lucky if I added two days per week of lifting...but that meant twice a

day workouts and trying not to lift upper body on swimming days, etc. I was

single then so I had the time : ) I'm sure there are people here who know more

about slow and fast twitch muscles but I know my Triathlon coach said to do more

bodyweight exercises or light weights, more reps to work on muscle endurance

rather than heavy weights which would build muscular strength. Hope this

helps!!

heather

---------------------------------

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with Messenger with Voice.

[Guest guest]

Rai -

I never joined CARA when I was in Chicago, I just used Hal's plan

off his website. I never liked running in groups, I much preferred

training alone so it really suited me - I would just do the long

runs with my husband who also marathoned with me (although he had a

bad habit of winding up in the ER post-marathon, so we agreed to

retire from all that cardio and try BFL living instead!). I think

you'll do fine without springing for the CARA membership, I think a

lot of people just do that for the social aspect, plus reduced entry

fees in other CARA-affiliated races and accumulating points for a

racing " season " .

Enjoy your training! I remember well those glorious summer runs on

and around the lakefront downtown. Chicago is so gorgeous in the

summer, it almost makes the other three seasons tolerable!

Have fun,

Lo

> > >

> > > Rai,

> > >

> > > I've trained for a marathon twice. I have a friend in Germany

> who

> > > has completed 3 marathons in the past year. We both need to

> lose

> > > roughly 15 pounds of fat, and neither of us has been able to

> lose

> > > weight while training for a marathon!

> > >

> > > The problem we both really struggled with was having to fuel

our

> > > long runs. You need to fuel up 1 or 2 days in advance, and

> you'll

> > > be starving afterward!

> > >

> > > In a running clinic with Jeff Galloway, he said that very few

> > people

> > > lose weight while training for their first marathon, but may

> lose

> > > weight on the 2nd or 3rd.

> > >

> > > I'm not writing this to discourage you at all, and I think a

> > > marathon is a terrific goal. But don't get discouraged if you

> > find

> > > you aren't losing weight. You'll be accomplishing a terrific

> > > physical feat, not to mention improving your endurance.

That's

> a

> > > tough goal by iteself, without worrying about the fat loss

also.

> > >

> > > Maybe you'll achieve what my frined & I haven't, and you can

> share

> > > your tips! :-)

> > >

> > > Good luck with your training. I promise it will be an

> incredibly

> > > rewarding experience.

> > >

> > > Neca

> > >

> >

>