The Run-To-Lose Problem

TRYING TO SHED A FEW KILOS? YOU’LL WANT TO AVOID THESE COMMON DIETING TRAPS, SO YOU CAN RUN HEALTHY – AND HAPPY.

- Leslie Goldman

IN 2011, ALLIE KIEFFER ran 1 600m in 4:40.9, and came third in the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships 3 000-metre event. She was fast. But she wanted to be faster.

“We often hear that to run faster, you should lose weight,” Kieffer says. At 17 per cent body fat, the now 30-year-old was already lean, but “everyone seemed leaner than me”. So, as she made the jump to the elite scene, Kieffer began cutting kilojoules and fat. She lost 4.5kg, and qualified for the upcoming Olympic Trials.

She also developed a stress reaction in her tibia. Not only did running hurt, but “I spent hours a day tracking what I ate,” she remembers. “I’d lie in bed at night, hungry. Dieting basically ruined running for me.” The injury prevented her from competing in the 2012 Olympic Trials, and Kieffer didn’t run competitively again for nearly three years.

The elite runner isn’t alone in using running and kilojoule-cutting to shed weight. Among newbies, weight loss is second only to exercise as a motivator for lacing up, according to Running USA’s 2017 National Runner Survey.

But dieting doesn’t always make the best running buddy. “People think they need to restrict a large number of kilojoules to lose weight; but if you’re doing that while running, you’re burning the candle at both ends,” says dietician Tavierney Rogan. Possible fallout includes injury, burnout, and bingeing. Here’s how to side-step the biggest fuelling mistakes, and use healthier strategies to run and lose weight.

Skipping Refuelling

When you cut carbs or skip meals in an effort to drop kilograms, you’re not giving your body what it needs to avoid muscle breakdown.