Meet Heather: A Runner Focused on Weight Loss and Performance
Think you can’t lose 10-15 pounds and feel great in your bikini this summer while also running faster for your fall marathon or half marathon?
Are you asking yourself if you should just make peace with your shorts being too tight because a runner on Instagram said so?
Or skip the race all together and lift heavy and go for walks instead of running because the fitness coaches are saying running spikes cortisol?
Yeah, I call BS (and my run coaching & Run Fuel client Heather is living proof).
Heather is a 43 year old mom of 3 from Canada who came to me last October with the primary goal of weight loss and a longer term goal of improving her half marathon time. Her husband was going to run Boston and she was excited to support him, but the idea that she could run it too one day was a glimmer of hope.
Setting Priorities for Weight Loss and Half Marathon Training
We immediately set priorities: weight loss was the first goal – even though she was worried about the upcoming Christmas holidays and a family trip to Mexico in January. The half marathon was the spring goal.
She signed up for both 1:1 run coaching AND my Run Fuel program.
Why Traditional Calorie Cutting Wasn’t Working
Before joining Run Fuel, she tried losing weight on her own – but when she cut calories, she would find herself hungry at night – sometimes she’d lay in bed with her stomach rumbling a bit, wondering if she was going to wake up in the night or if she’d feel bad on her run the next day.
Fear of Eating Carbs at Night
But she was also afraid to eat something before bed, especially if it had carbs which is what she was craving.
And despite logging everything she ate, it wasn’t working anyway – she was still 2 pants sizes larger than she had been for all of her 30s.
Heather told me: “I don’t understand what’s not working anymore!” but also : “I am nervous about losing all the fitness I’ve built running.”
Can You Lose Weight While Running?
The first thing we had to address was expectations: I told Heather she can lose weight while running, but we need to create an intentional, small deficit, while also strategically fueling her most runs. She can’t expect to lose 10 pounds in 3 weeks – because that would leave her feeling flat on her long run, ravenous on Saturday night, and pushing snooze 3 times on Monday morning.
How We Balanced Weight Loss and Running Performance
Meanwhile, I scheduled her runs and strength workouts in a way that supported her weight loss, not worked against her (short, speedy interval runs, 2 days of easy running & strength training on Peloton). She learned what to eat before & after runs so she had energy for them, and how to fill her plate for the other meals to trigger fat loss.
Early Weight Loss Results Without Counting Calories
In the first 6 weeks, she lost 6 pounds and her clothes were fitting better. She didn’t count a single calorie and was living her life – she celebrated Christmas and went on a family trip to Mexico.
Losing Over 10 Pounds While Training for a Half Marathon
By February, she was down over 10 pounds.
At this point, we started working on her threshold and holding goal pace for a portion of her long run – something that helped build her confidence in being able to hold a 4:56 pace for 13.1 miles. These runs demanded more fuel and more carbs at meals – which she learned how to adjust in Step 4 of Run Fuel.
Running a Half Marathon PR After Weight Loss
Now, Heather is down 15 pounds in total and back in her old pants.
She ran an 8 minute PR at her half marathon this month. She ran sub 1:45, a time she wasn’t sure she was ever capable of.
Building Bigger Running Goals After Success
After supporting her husband at the Boston marathon last month, she felt confident enough to speak a goal out loud: She wants to qualify for Boston too.
Can Female Runners Lose Weight and Run Faster?
You CAN lose weight AND run faster and set bigger, bolder goals – but you have to be patient and strategic.
During our work together – 2 of her kids got norovirus, she got a stomach bug, went on a ski trip, had a trip to Mexico and half of her runs were on the treadmill due to an insanely cold winter in Toronto.
Why Crash Diets Don’t Work
Had Heather done a short term diet and didn’t actually shift her eating habits, learn how to find good snacks while traveling, consider her training load in her eating plan, or was stuck in the “all or nothing mindset”, she might have lost 8 pounds in that first month and regained it. (Or possibly, lost 2-3 lbs because our bodies don’t respond as well to big calorie deficits in our 40s).
It doesn’t make sense to follow Whole 30 for 1 month and then start eating pasta again during half-marathon training.
The Key to Weight Loss and Better Running Performance
The key to losing weight, keeping it off, AND hitting your running goals, especially as you age, is to learn how to fuel your body based on your current priorities, with a long term approach.
You need to be strategic with timing, but that doesn’t mean giving up running or bagels.
Why Patience Pays Off
But what you DO need is to be patient enough to let it work more slowly so you can actually keep it up & your body still gets what it needs to respond to the training.
Final Thoughts on Weight Loss and Running Goals
Do you not only want to feel great in your shorts this summer but also enjoy ice cream with your kids? Run Fuel is a balanced, sustainable approach to weight loss, designed for runners with busy lives. Learn more and join now.
Or want a run coach who will approach your goals with a strategy that includes both fueling AND running and understands what it’s like to train with a career & children? Apply for 1:1 run coaching.
Either way, I hope Heather’s story gives you some reassurance that whatever hard work you’re putting in now is going to be worth it – if you’re following the right plan, patience pays off.
Happy running,
Nicole Dobransky
PS This is all shared with Heather’s permission. Thank you Heather!
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