Why Female Runners Gain Weight Despite Healthy Eating
I want to share something with you that I’ve been covering in new video training — because I keep hearing the same things from female runners and I want to make sure you’re not making these mistakes.
You run 20, 30, even 40 miles a week. Your grocery cart has yogurt, apples, and protein bars. Dinners are some variation of chicken, rice and vegetables or turkey tacos and salad. You eat pretty healthy — yet your weight has been creeping up over the last few years.
There are 3 things that I see happening with female runners that cause them to not love the way their bodies look, gain weight despite healthy eating AND not perform to their potential.
Today I want to cover the first problem I commonly see. Does this sound familiar?
The Underfueling Mistake Female Runners Make
You wake up at 5 AM to run 30 minutes later, so you don’t eat anything before (maybe coffee). You have 20 minutes to eat lunch at your desk so you can leave work in time to cart a kid to dance class. Yet, you’re burning 500+ calories running 5 miles on a weekday and 1,000 on Saturday during a 10 mile run.
But you think a protein shake on the way to work or oatmeal at your desk will cover breakfast. It’s not. And most of the runners I work with aren’t eating the right lunch either.
What Happens When You Underfuel Early in the Day
Because you’re under eating in the first half of the day, you’re sending signals to your body to conserve precious energy — and your body is going to scream at you for it later.
Why Underfueling Leads to Cravings
You’re setting yourself up to eat an entire sleeve of crackers at 4 PM, feel too tired to cook and order takeout for dinner, or feel an irresistible urge to keep returning to the pantry for chocolate chips at 8 PM every night.
Common Signs You’re Not Eating Enough Earlier in the Day
This is why you’re carrying an extra 10-15 pounds and feel like you’re falling asleep at your desk at 3 PM.
A Real Example of Underfueling and Weight Gain
Bridget is a lawyer on the partner track who often works late nights and through lunches, eating a combination of healthy snacks to get through the workday. She wasn’t eating junk — she rarely let herself enjoy ice cream with her kids or pizza. Despite barely eating and training for marathons, her weight had crept up 20 pounds.
How Bridget Lost Weight Without Eating Less
The key wasn’t to just “eat more” — it was to eat differently.
The Importance of Fueling Runs and Eating Balanced Meals
Fueling her runs (even mid week shorter ones) & eating solid meals with the right ratio and types of carbs.
Using the Run Fuel 5S Meal Planning System
Using the Run Fuel 5S Meal Planning System, Bridget spent 20 minutes on Sunday making meals like enchilada quinoa or egg roll in a bowl that she could bring to work for multiple lunches — meals that actually filled her up, fueled her training, and helped her recover.
The Results of Fueling More Strategically
She not only lost 10 pounds — she can actually enjoy ice cream with her kids without feeling like she’s sabotaging her goals (we call these treats “smiles”) in the program.
Why Female Runners Need to Fuel Consistently
Just like Bridget, the answer isn’t eating less. It’s fueling your runs strategically & eating more filling foods more consistently throughout your day.
Learn More About Weight Loss and Fueling for Female Runners
If this resonates — I go much deeper on this inside Run Fuel, my weight loss and performance nutrition program for female runners.
More on this next Wednesday.
Happy running,
Nicole Dobransky
P.S. This is part 1 of 3 — next week I’m covering the protein mistake that’s making female runners gain weight even when they’re eating “clean.”