NUTRITION TIPS: 6 fat loss rules for runners

Follow these fat loss rules to stay lean and run strong

By James S. Fell

From a calories-in calories-out perspective, one night of drunken gluttony can undo 30K worth of running. I know, because sometimes I do just that. Running along the Bow River in Calgary during the summer months makes me realize that a lot of my fellow rapidly travelling bipeds don’t comprehend the concept of caloric restriction.

As a fitness author I feel the need to look the part, so while I do love running, I also like the fact that it burns a lot of calories and makes it so that I can see my abdominal muscles (as long as the lighting is good and I twist the right way). However, running is only part of the equation. I’m a 40-plus-year-old guy who likes beer, so I need to watch what – and how much – I eat. It can be a fine balance, because losing fat means taking in fewer calories than you burn on a regular basis, and if done improperly this can decrease performance and cause hunger – and being hungry sucks. The proper way to restrict calories is pretty simple: focus mostly on eating healthy food, don’t stuff yourself, but don’t let yourself starve either.

Eat healthy food. The general consensus by registered dietitians boils down to focusing on unprocessed carbohydrates as a main source of calories, and this means lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If nature made it that way then go big, but if people processed the crap out of it then stay away.

Stay away from junk food. RDs also recommend limiting trans and saturated fats, eating less red meat, and moderating alcohol intake. The first reason for eating healthy should be obvious: it keeps your body healthy. Crappy food equals crappy health – duh. The second reason is a matter of performance. Think of your body as a sports car: you need to put high-octane fuel in it to get high performance. Junk food is low octane and will make you drag your butt. Also duh.

Go for nutrients. From a weight loss perspective, healthy food is your friend because it controls appetite far better than junk does. A lousy diet is one that is high in calories, but low in many of the nutrients that are vital to bodily function. Active people especially require these nutrients, so even after a Doritos/Big Mac/large Coke with a side of Timbits festival of pigging out, your body can send out hunger signals a short time later because it isn’t getting what it needs to perform. Conversely, consuming fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meats gives a healthy dose of what you need to thrive and your body’s hormonal reaction from a hunger perspective is: “Thanks for that. We’re good.”

Crank up the volume-to-calorie ratio. Another major benefit to eating healthy food is the high volume-to-calorie ratio. An extreme example is comparing a large, one-pound bag of spinach to a single Oreo cookie. Believe it or not, they both have about the same number of calories. Now I can pack away plenty of Oreos, but I’m not sure how many pounds of spinach I can eat before I’m stuffed and ready to poo out algae. This same rule applies to eating fat – both the good and bad kinds – because of its caloric density. Fat has nine calories per gram, whereas carbohydrates and protein each only contain four per gram. The result is that eating fat results in high doses of calories for less volume and weight of food.

Get satisfied, not full. One lesson is to learn the difference between “satisfied” and “full,” and focus on the former. There is an old Chinese adage that says, “Eat until you are eight-tenths full.” If you’re concerned about your waistline, then it’s good advice to follow. Not stuffing yourself is important if you want to lose weight, but you also need to make sure you’ve got fuel for your runs. It’s no fun when you’re kilometres from home and suffering from a low-blood-sugar attack. I once had to beg a hiker for a cereal bar. Talk about embarrassing.

Go a bit hungry at the end of the day. The final bit of advice is to only go hungry at the end of the day. Eat breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, and then stop. Keep a moderate intake of food throughout the day so that you have energy and can resist the late-evening ice cream frenzy. Avoid the before-bed snack whenever possible. Instead, drink some tea, chew some gum, brush your teeth, stretch, go to bed and sleep, or go to bed and do other stuff. Do anything but eat. This has nothing to do with metabolism and everything to do with not scarfing another 500 calories before going to sleep.

James S. Fell is the author of Body for Wife: The Family Guy’s Guide to Getting in Shape. He gives free, politically incorrect fitness advice at www.bodyforwife.com.

Portions of this article appeared in a previous issue of Canadian Running.