Handling Stress from Running

One of the most important keywords in sports is "stress". Suppose you want to climb a 5-story building. Would you try to do it in 5 big jumps? Nope. You'd take it one step at a time. If you're young and strong, you might try to do it two steps at a time, but you'd be huffing and puffing more than you would doing it in single steps. Climbing two steps at a time puts a heavier load or stress on your body. You're breathing faster, your heart is pumping faster, and you're sweating.

Everything we do in our sport causes stress in our bodies. Stretching causes stress. Running, jogging, and walking cause stress. Increasing distance or speed causes stress. Racing causes stress to skyrocket. The climate conditions we run in cause stress. The time of day or night we exercise causes stress. If our bodies can't handle this stress, injuries result.

Stress is a Killer

Contrary to popular belief that stress strengthens our bodies, stress destroys our body cells. If we don't get rid of the stress, it will accumulate in our bodies and injury will occur. How do we get rid of this stress? Simple, by giving our bodies sufficient rest. Rest between runs. Rest between days of running, jogging, or walking. Rest each night. Naps during the day. Our bodies react, during periods of rest, to the stress of our sport, and our bodies become stronger as they rebuild cells.

We have two Nervous Systems

In order to properly manage our running, we need to know the symptoms that tell us we are under stress and the symptoms that tell us when we have recovered from stress. When we apply stress to our bodies, our Sympathetic nervous system responds and elevates our breathing rate to give more oxygen to our bodies. Our heart rate increases to give more blood. If needed, our sweat glands are activated to cool us off. Our adrenal gland are activated to produce certain hormones to help our bodies handle the stress of running. After we stop running, our sympathetic nervous system slows down, and our Parasympathetic nervous system becomes dominate and causes our bodies to recover by returning to normal conditions.

Here are the symptoms that I use to know when I've recovered from the stress. A normal wakeup heart rate is a good indicator that our body is overcoming the stress and is returning to normal, but it does not indicate that ones body has fully recovered from the stress and is ready for another speed or longer distance workout. At least with me, a high energy level is the best indicator I've found that I'm ready for more distance or speed. I first look for a normal wakeup heart rate, and then I look for a high energy level. By using both indicators, I'm able to listen to my body and respond accordingly. Sometimes, though, I have a good energy level, and even though my wakeup HR is slightly high, I'll still do a stressful workout.

Good Bye Stress!

By using common sense in our running, getting sufficient rest, and keeping our running within the limits imposed by our bodies, we can run injury-free, and we can enjoy our sport in ways that we may not have expected!

Getting Sufficient Rest

Many runners believe that running makes them stronger. The actual truth in this matter is that running destroys body cells and makes the person weaker. The strength comes from the rest following a run. During this rest, the body reacts to the stress of the run and repairs the damaged cells, thus making the person stronger.

How Do I tell that I should Rest?

That depends on our personalities and life styles, but rest we must have if we are to remain injury-free. Most of us don't have a trainer who can tell us when to rest, but we all have something better than a trainer; we have our bodies! If we listen to our bodies, we'll know when we need more rest.

Here are some symptoms that I've experienced that tell me I need more rest.

• My wakeup pulse rate is higher than normal. For example, my wakeup pulse is normally about 48. If it goes up to 54 or more, I know I'm tired and need more rest. When that happens, I might run a reduced distance and pace, or I might abort the run altogether.

• I feel tired while I'm doing my sit-ups. I do 30 sit-ups before I run, and I usually do them fast and feel good while doing them. If I feel tired, I know I need more rest. This happened to me a few days ago. I felt tired during my sit-ups, and when I started running, I felt really tired. After about 1/3 mile, I aborted the run and walk-jogged home.

• I feel extra tired during a run. Not the tiredness from physical activity, but tiredness from not having much energy. Tiredness like I'd been run over by a big truck. Tiredness like my "gas tank" is empty.

• I do dumb things while driving, like going through a stop sign, or not being aware of other cars while I drive.

• I come down with a cold. Colds can occur due to reasons not related to activity in sports. However, running, jogging, and walking can weaken our immune system and allow us to get colds if ones body isn't able to handle the stress from that activity. The two most important factors in running that induce colds are insufficient sleep and pushing to too high intensity in ones running.

OK, What do I Do to Get More Rest?

There are a few things we can do to get more rest.

• Keep a consistent, regular sleeping schedule. Our bodies will tell us how much sleep we need each night. We need to control our life styles so we get sleep on a regular basis. In addition, afternoon naps help supplement our nightly sleep and give us additional rest.

• Arranging our running, jogging, or walking so we have rest periods after heavy runs that put a lot of stress on our bodies. Dr. George Sheehan, who for a number of years was medical columnist for Runner's World, said our bodies need 48 hours to recover from a heavy run. Because of this, the running literature recommends that we run, jog, or walk in a heavy/light pattern. Do a heavy run that stresses our body and then a light run the next day that allows our body to rest. For me, a light run is about one-half the distance of a heavy run. Another way that we can reduce our running is to run less than seven days per week. I recommend that we have at least one day per week that is a complete rest from running. Also, I recommend that we have one rest-week each month, in which the running activity is reduced by 25-40%. But, we are all different, and you might use different methods to get rest.

• Increase our distance and/or speed slowly so our bodies can adjust to the increased stress. The running literature recommends that we increase in 10% steps, with sufficient time between steps such that our bodies can adjust to the increased stress. The number 10% isn't a magic bullet. Some runners can handle more than 10% and others can only handle less than 10%.

• Run, jog, or walk pain free. Pain is a signal from our bodies that we've exceeded the capacity of our bodies to handle stress. When we experience pain, we should reduce our training by reducing distance, speed, or the number of days we run (or combinations thereof) until we can run without pain. Then, as we run pain free, we can slowly increase our training to meet our goals.

The Real Meaning of the 10% Rule

I wrote this article as a guest post on the Marathon Nation blog. It is reprinted (with slight modifications) here by permission.

People realized years ago that runners might try to do more in their training than their bodies could handle, that is, they might do too much too soon. Over time, suggestions about increasing distance and speed were formalized into the 10% rule. This rule became one of the foundation-stones of recreational running. However, some people have misunderstood the rule and have tried to follow it in ways that were probably not intended.

Let’s take a look at the 10% rule to determine if it is (or isn’t) a good rule for us to follow. The versions of the rule that I have read state that increases in distance or speed shouldn’t exceed 10% of the weekly amount. Nothing is said about gender, age, or goals in running. The rule lumps everyone together and gives an upper cap on the amount of increases in ones training. Running, jogging, or walking puts stress on our bodies, so when we talk about increases in distance or speed, we’re talking about increases in stress.

Many runners have believed they are exceptions to the 10% rule, and they have ignored the rule with no apparent harm to their bodies.  Other runners have considered the rule as an absolute pillar of their training, and they believe that 10% should be the size of the increases, not just a cap on the increases. Some runners have done this with success. Other runners, though, have learned that 10% increases are more than their body can handle, while still others have learned that 10% increases are too small for their needs.  So, it seems that increases of 10%  are not a cardinal rule of running without injury.

The 10% rule was discussed in an article in The New York Times. The Times reported on a scientific test to determine if 10% increases did decrease injuries. The runners were novice runners. Half of them followed an 11-week training program that specified 10% increases, and half of them followed an 8-week program with a more rigorous schedule having larger increases. The runners in both groups ran three times per week, and they reached their goal of doing approximately 90 minutes per run. Did the runners making 10% increases have fewer injuries? Nope! Those runners took three weeks longer to reach their goal, and they had as many injuries as the runners in the other group.

It seems we need to replace the 10% rule with more realistic suggestions, keeping in mind that we need rest between our runs.

• Listen to your body to learn how much increase in stress your body can handle.
• Keep your training within the bounds of stress that your body can handle.
• Realize that the limits on stress that apply to your body are likely different than the limits needed by others.
• After each increase in distance or speed, stay at the new level as long as it takes for your body to adjust to the new stress.
• Understand that as you get older, your body may be injured by stress that would have been compatible with your body when you were younger.
• Realize that if your body encounters too much stress, injury may occur, but it may take weeks or months for your body to become injured.

These suggestions put the responsibility on each runner to determine how much increase in distance or speed should be made and how often such increases should occur. They are general suggestions that can be used by men and women of any age.

The Health Effects of Marathons and Ultras on our Bodies

There are a lot of training plans for marathon and ultramarathon training. These plans work because they are devised by experienced trainers and runners who know what a person has to do to complete a long distance race. The plans, though, have one weakness: they don't take into account reduction of our health through possible damage to our bodies caused by the running of long distances.

Scientists are beginning to investigate the effects of long distance running on our bodies. Scientific tests are being performed to investigate particular aspects of this issue, and other aspects of this issue are ignored in those tests. This means that an individual scientific test doesn't give the full story about the issue. It is, therefore, necessary that all scientific tests be studied to give one a better understanding of what is actually happening.

This page was created to give my thoughts about and our health. Keep in mind that I'm not a scientist or a doctor, and my thoughts may be naive. Also, I'm sure that tests have been conducted that aren't described in this page, and I will appreciate having links to such tests emailed to me.

 

Amount of Training Prior to a Marathon

The Boston Globe, in an article dated April 17, 2006, reported on the effect of training prior to a marathon on the cardiactic health of the runners. The conclusion of the tests was expressed by Dr. Malissa Wood, a cardiologist and codirector of the Massachusetts General Hospital Women's Cardiovascular Health Center. Dr. Wood is a runner and has completed four marathons.

Among marathon runners, the biggest cardiac risk seems to arise in people who train the least. People who worked up to a marathon by running at least 45 miles a week for at least three to four months ''were golden. They didn't get into any trouble at all," said Wood. ''If they trained less than 35 miles a week, they were in big trouble."

The article summarized the effect of marathon running on our bodies.

As for marathoners, Wood and her Mass. General colleagues have found that running 26.2 miles can lead to clear signs of cardiac stress. They have found that cardiac troponin, a chemical that shows up in blood tests only when heart muscle is damaged, rises in 60 percent of runners, and in some, it rises so high that ''if you had just looked at these scores, these people would have been admitted to the hospital for heart attacks," Wood said.

They've found that another chemical, BNP, or brain natriuretic peptide, another red flag for cardiac dysfunction, goes up after a marathon in 60 percent of runners. Platelets also become activated and more likely to form the clots that can trigger heart attacks, according to a just-published paper by Siegel and Alexander Kratz, director of the hematology lab at Mass. General. And, as shown on echocardiograms, the heart's ability to relax after each beat remains impaired for at least several weeks in most marathoners.

Age of the Marathoners

In an article dated August 31, 2010, ScienceDaily reported on tests conducted on older marathoners (average age of 50) who were not elite runners.

Immediately after finishing the marathon, there were some significant changes of the parameters of diastolic and right heart function. However, even though these changes were statistically significant, they were all within the normal levels and therefore do not seem to be clinically relevant. All parameters had returned to normal two weeks later, and the most likely cause of the changes were tachycardia and dehydration during the race. Also, for some runners, there was an increase in certain myocardial biomarkers but no correlation could be drawn between this increase and any myocardial dysfunction. It is believed that the temporary increase was probably caused by functional changes of the cardiomyocytes while running and not by myocardial damage.

The article concluded by stating

As a result of this study, it would appear that elderly amateur runners can continue to compete in marathon races without increasing their risk of sustained heart damage.

Heart Damage May Be Temporary

The study referred to above about the age of runners was a study of runners completing the 2006 and 2007 Berlin marathons. As indicated in the quote given above, the symptoms of heart damage were gone two weeks later.

The October 25, 2010 issue of ScienceDaily reported on MRI tests of runners completing marathons. The MRI tests allowed doctors to look at individual segments of the hearts. The tests showed that damage does occur to hearts. Runners who wern't properly trained for their marathons had more damage to their hearts, but the damage was temporary.

His research found that the magnitude of abnormal heart segments was more widespread and significant in a group of less fit runners. During the marathon, they had signs the heart might be at greater risk of damage than that of runners who had better training or at least had better exercise capacity.

His research found that the magnitude of abnormal heart segments was more widespread and significant in a group of less fit runners. During the marathon, they had signs the heart might be at greater risk of damage than that of runners who had better training or at least had better exercise capacity.
"Without proper training, marathon running can damage your heart. Fortunately the exercise-induced injury is reversible over time," said Dr. Larose. "But it could take up to three months to completely recover."

Canadian researchers found that marathons may cause damage to our hearts, but that damage is likely temporary and reversible. However, we need to do long-distance LSD enough that we become "fit" runners.

Investigators who studied a group of recreational marathon runners have established that strenuous exercise such as running a marathon can damage the heart muscle. Although they found the effect is temporary and reversible, they warn that these effects are more widespread in less fit distance runners and that recreational distance runners should prepare properly before marathons. Their findings are published in the October [2013] issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Another Look at Marathons and Ultramarathons

The New York Times reported that British researchers have learned that half of the older elite athletes who were tested and who trained hard have scarring within their heart tissue. The tests were performed with a new type of MRI.

The results, published online a few weeks ago in The Journal of Applied Physiology, were rather disquieting. None of the younger athletes or the older nonathletes had fibrosis in their hearts. But half of the older lifelong athletes showed some heart muscle scarring. The affected men were, in each case, those who’d trained the longest and hardest. Spending more years exercising strenuously or completing more marathon or ultramarathon races was, in this study, associated with a greater likelihood of heart damage.

The Times article also reported on tests made on laboratory rats that showed that prolonged running by the rats did cause scarring of their hearts.

The rats had begun their regimens with perfectly normal hearts. At the end of the training period, heart scans showed that most of the rodents had developed diffuse scarring and some structural changes, similar to the changes seen in the human endurance athletes. A control group of unexercised rats had developed no such remodeling of their hearts. The researchers also could manually induce arrhythmias, or disruptions of the heart’s natural electrical rhythm, much more readily in the running rats than in the unexercised animals. Interestingly, when the animals stopped running, their hearts returned to normal within eight weeks. Most of the fibrosis and other apparent damage disappeared.

Not only runners are affected by long distances. Long-distance skiers have similar effects.

Dr Andersen said the study was important because, although there have been other studies looking at the effects of endurance exercise on various cardiovascular problems such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, there have been only a few, smaller studies of its effect on heart rhythm disturbances, and they have tended to look at people who are less physically active, or compared very sedentary people with those who were very active.

Most runners aren't in the elite group that was the subject of the research, and the concluding paragraphs of the Times article may serve as a guide for us.

So for now, the best response to the emerging science of excessive exercise is to just keep exercising, but with a low-level buzz of caution. If your heart occasionally races, which could indicate arrhythmia, or otherwise draws attention to itself, Dr. Nattel said, consult a doctor.

But if you exercise regularly and currently have no symptoms, “I think it’s safe to say that you should keep it up,” Dr. Thompson said.

A Word of Caution

I found the following paper on the web that discusses the effect of endurance exercise on the heart. The paper is titled, The endurance athletes heart: acute stress and chronic adaptation. The paper, itself, is too complex for me to understand, but the Conclusion was written in terms that I could understand.

It is, however, entirely likely that for the vast majority of endurance athletes, the stress of acute exercise will lead to healthy, physiological adaptation in the heart. For a very small minority, though, there is emerging evidence that endurance exercise may be part of a patho-physiological cascade that clinicians must be aware of and respond appropriately too.

Since none of us know if we're in the "vast majority" or the "very small minority" of endurance athletes, it would be wise for persons considering running a marathon to have a good health examination before they begin marathon training. If they're already in marathon training, it might be wise for them to push their marathon plans out a few months and do significantly more long distance runs before the race, and to provide time for a good health examination prior to the race.

Ultra-Endurance Running

ScienceDaily, in an article dated August 31, 2010 reported on the cardiac effects of running 50 and 100 miles in difficult conditions, including hills, thunderstorms, and strong rain. The athletes had trained for that distance, and all athletes had been running marathons and ultras for over two years. The athletes had no known heart problems. The article described the results of the testing.

The ECGs at the start of the race displayed the typical features of an athletic heart, with the slow heart rate and electrical changes commonly seen in athletes. At the finish, there were significant electrical changes in over 50 percent of the ECGs, and in some there were bizarre electrical changes not commonly seen in normal ECGs, either at rest or during exercise. However, the changes in cardiac Troponin I did not correlate with specific electrical changes on the ECGs. Further data, to be presented at EUROECHO later this year, will show that baseline heart function was normal, but there was a 6 percent drop in heart function at the finish, which may also be relevant. Whether these changes reflect undiagnosed cardiac conditions was undetermined.

The following statement by Professor John Somauroo of the Countess of Chester Hospital concludes the article.

"This study suggests that running continuously over 50 or 100 miles may not be good for the heart. 96 percent of the finishers developed a significant increase in cardiac Troponin I, which can be an indicator of heart muscle damage -- and 12 percent showed signs suggestive of significant cardiac damage. They also developed significant electrical changes on their ECGs and, in some cases, quite bizarre changes. However, there was no proven correlation between the changes in cardiac Troponin I and the ECG changes."

Read the full article in the link given below for more details about adverse effects of extreme workouts.

"Physical exercise, though not a drug, possesses many traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. A routine of daily physical activity can be highly effective for prevention and treatment of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and obesity," says lead author James H. O'Keefe, MD, of Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City, MO. "However, as with any pharmacologic agent, a safe upper dose limit potentially exists, beyond which the adverse effects of physical exercise, such as musculoskeletal trauma and cardiovascular stress, may outweigh its benefits."

The Duration of a Race

Fifteen runners completing an ultra event that lasted from 5 to 7 days were tested for cardiac fatigue, and none was found.

If cardiac muscle were to respond in the same way as skeletal muscle, the expectation would be for lower contraction velocities after exercise. However, the results of the study show that this was not the case. It is worth noting that these results are not consistent with other studies of endurance events such as marathons or triathlons. The researchers believe that this may be because average intensity was relatively low despite competitors exercising for extended durations that averaged 150 hours. Therefore, a possible conclusion may be that it is exercise intensity rather than exercise duration that is the primary source for cardiac fatigue.

Some Marathoners Die

Even though most marathoners recover from the heart-damage of their marathons, a few runners have died during the race or shortly thereafter. There is speculation that those runners may not have been able to handle the stress of the damage.

A new study finds that marathon runners experience temporary heart damage during their 26.2 mile (42.2 kilometer) races. The damage is reversible, but it may be one reason that seemingly healthy people sometimes die during long races.

However, researchers at Harvard University discovered that deaths in runners usually occurred in persons who had previous, underlying damage to their hearts.

Other Effects Besides the Heart

In addition to studying effects of distance running on the heart, scientists are looking at possible effects on other organs. A report was recently issued about possible buildup of liquid in the lungs of marathon runners. Keep in mind that only 26 runners at one marathon were tested.

Lead author, Dr Gerald Zavorsky from the Marywood University, USA, said: "Marathon running is linked to an increased risk of pulmonary edema, and it seems that women are at higher risk than men regardless of marathon finishing time. While pulmonary edema can be a negative consequence of marathon running, regular exercise can also keep you fit and healthy. We do not yet know the impact of this finding on long-term health of runners."

One effect on our health of distance running that has received little attention is the effect on our bladders. 

"The added stress on the body that comes with running a marathon can cause urinary stress incontinence problems during the race or down the road," said Melinda Abernethy, MD, fellow, Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "People who already suffer from incontinence also are at risk for bladder-control issues while running."

Dr. Abernethy admits that more research needs to be conducted on bladder-control, but she says "that runners should monitor their fluid intake and go to the bathroom at least every few hours during a marathon".

The Big Picture

As I read these articles, I'm beginning to see what seems to me to be the "big picture" of the effect of long distance running on our bodies, particularly on our hearts. Here is a summary of my understanding of this.

• Run at least 45 miles per week for several weeks prior to a marathon.
  
• Be aware that irregularities in your heart may occur right after a marathon, but those irregularities will likely return to normal within two or three weeks after the race. However, some runners may not recover from the damage.
  
• Older runners can run marathons without permanent damage (assuming, of course, they have properly trained for the marathon distance, and have been cleared by their doctor to run marathons).
• Use caution in deciding to run ultras. The effect of ultras on your heart is more severe than the effect of marathons.
• Use caution in the intensity of your training. Heart damage may occur in older runners who have run marathons and ultras for many years and have trained hard for those races.

Health to Allow Running

We are all aware of the importance of fitness and good health to a walker, jogger, or runner. In this page I point out tips about fitness and health that aren't obvious but are helpful as you train to run without injury.

 

Sleep is for more than Dreaming 

I'm a night owl, and I love to stay up half the night working on my projects. The bad news is that society expects me to be up early for my day's activities. The result is that I'm usually in sleep deprivation, and this is a killer for good running (and good life in general). Jim Fixx in his book The Complete Book of Running said

Runners need plenty of sleep. Fatigue tends to accumulate quickly if you don't sleep enough, leaving you listless, unenthusiastic and susceptible to colds. Sometimes, job and family responsibilities, late-night television and a daily running regimen make it hard to find time for enough sleep. If you can bring yourself to do it, turning the set [and the computer] off a half-hour earlier works wonders. -- The Complete Book of Running, Random House, New York: 1977, p. 180

Here is a website that is dedicated to sleep and things you can do to get better sleep.

http://tuck.com

Slow Down Heart, Slow Down!

I've forgotten where I picked up this tip on pulse rate, but it is a jewel! When you first wake up, measure your pulse rate as an indicator of your body condition. The time you wake up is the one time that you can measure your heart rate consistently from day to day. Many of us don't realize that our pulse rate varies according to our body conditions. It increases, or is elevated, when we are sleep deprived or are under fatigue or stress.

When I ran marathons in the early 1980s, my wake-up pulse rate was 44. A friend at work said that was so slow that I had time to go out for a hamburger between beats. One morning I measured my pulse rate at 40. I thought that was a fluke, but it stayed at 40 during the remainder of my marathon training. Now, I'm older and my wake-up pulse rate is in the mid 50s,  but I can still get a hamburger between beats if I hurry :)

As I've monitored my wake-up pulse rate over the years, I've discovered that a night or two of significantly insufficient sleep will raise the rate by 10-20%, and it will probably take a week or longer of proper sleep to bring it down! I've learned that when I run with an elevated pulse rate, I don't have my normal endurance during long runs. I get colds more often. I do dumb things like driving through stop signs. Yes, my wake-up pulse rate is a great indicator of my body-condition.

When I measure my wake-up pulse rate, I walk slowly to the bathroom so I can turn on the light without disturbing my wife. I measure my pulse for 60 seconds, using my watch as a timer. My initial PR is usually 2 or three beats high, due to the walk to the bathroom, but it comes down as I sit quietly in the bathroom. I measure my PR several times until it has stabilized. I use my fingers to feel the pulse at the pressure point next to my left ear (don't use your thumb because it has its own pulse). Some people will measure their pulse for 15 seconds and then multiply it by 4. That method, however, is inaccurate because a one-beat error in the 15 seconds translates to a 4 beat error in 60 seconds, and for long distance runners that 4 beats is close to 10%.

 

Colds, Colds, what is a Cold?

Before I started running, I would get 3 or 4 colds each year, and it would take a week or more to get over them. After I had been running for a year or two, I realized that I wasn't getting colds anymore. Colds have disappeared from my life, except ... except when I over train or get insufficient sleep. Even then, those colds only last a couple of days. Those colds are how my body tells me to back off and get my life in shape. Heeding those signs has helped me be free of injuries during many years of running. I can't claim that you'll have perfect fitness and won't get colds, but running should help your immune system to be stronger, and your body should have a greater chance of resisting the "cold bug". You should have better health and should enjoy life more.

To read about the stress caused by running, read my page on stress (see left-sidebar).

Over Eating and Over Drinking

Many of us are concerned about our health, and we run or walk to have better health and to lose weight. Exercise, however, is only part of the plan we must follow if we are to have good health and a good weight. The food we eat, especially the amount, is the key factor in having good health and weight. 

Health Checkups

In addition to exercise, it is important that one have regular health checkups. The following infograhic from Hims recommends these checkups.

Results: Good Health

The following infographic from Elysium Health illustrates the principles given in this page.

Losing Weight from Running

Many people start running, jogging, or walking as a way of losing weight. Those activities can help one lose weight, but it is not a fast way to lose pounds. Let's take a look at running, jogging, or walking as a method of weight-reduction. In this discussion, I'll use the word "running" as a catch-all for all three types of exercise.

Running Does Burn Calories

Running burns about 100 calories per mile. This estimate ignores individual factors such as metabolism or hereditary factors. Since a person can run or jog a mile in 10-15 minutes (typically) and can walk a mile in 20 minutes, it looks like these activities would be a great way to lose weight. However, to lose a pound of weight through running, one would have to do approximately 35 miles since each pound lost means about 3500 calories burned or not consumed (of course, we're all different, and the exact number of calories burned for a pound lost varies with the individual). Thirty-five miles is quite a distance, especially for a beginning runner who may do only 3 or 4 miles per week. Thus, we realize that running is an important factor in weight reduction, but it is not the whole picture. It is just one piece of the puzzle.

Eat Less and Drink More

You'll have fewer calories to burn, thus loosing weight, if you eat less each meal. Many nutritionists recommend that you eat until you're 80% full. It takes about 20 minutes for your body to recognize that it is full, and by stopping eating when you're approximately 80% full, you're giving your body time to recognize that it is, in fact, full. Also, drink more water before you eat. Don't drink carbonated water. Don't drink soda. Just drink plain water. This will help your body believe it is full, and you'll get more nutrition from your food due to the extra water.

Get Into the Long Haul

Since one pound of weight-loss requires 35 miles of running, recognize that you may have to run for several weeks before you lose one pound! Don't become discouraged if, after two or three weeks of running, you don't measure any loss of weight. Weight-loss will come, but it takes time and miles. As you run, try and develop a positive attitude about running. Forget, for a while, about running to lose weight. Run for enjoyment.

Throw Your Scale Away

Many people weigh themselves every day hoping to see the needle come down. The needle hangs up there, and they become discouraged. My suggestion is not to weigh yourself more often than once a week.

Most older bathroom scales aren't awfully accurate, and those scales may not measure weight to a fraction of a pound. In measuring your weight, you need to realize that there is a small range or tolerance about the number you see on your scale, and your actual weight could be anywhere within that range. For example, suppose your scale has a tolerance of plus or minus a pound. You weigh yourself and see the number 143. Your weight could be anywhere from 142 to 144. Thus you can not accurately measure your weight with older bathroom scales, and there is no need to weigh yourself every day since daily changes in your weight are probably within the accuracy tolerance of the scale and thus can not be measured accurately. On the other hand, newer digital scales are more accurate, and if you have one of those scales, you can weigh yourself more often. However, from the psychological viewpoint, only weigh yourself once a week to avoid discouragement if your daily variations are small.

No Need to Run Fast

Except for an effect on your metabolism before and after running, going faster does not increase the calories burned per mile. Thus, if you're running, slow down and enjoy it. Don't try to sprint. Take LSD, not the drug kind, but the running kind (see left-sidebar).

Running is only Part of the Story

Putting in the miles will help you lose weight, but there is the other half of the weight-loss equation.

Weight Loss = Exercise + Reduced Calories

Reduced calories come from reduced eating! However, don't go on a crash diet! To be successful in reducing weight, you must have fewer calories going into your body. If you try and reduce too many calories through dieting, your body may think it is starving, and it may lower your metabolism in an attempt to conserve energy. You may lose weight, but you probably won't be able to continue your diet for years and years, and when you leave your diet, you will eat more and, due to a lower metabolism, you may gain even more weight than you lost . This is known as the "yo-yo" effect.

A reasonable goal is to reduce your calories from food by about 300 per day. Many people can do this merely by consuming fewer calories from sweets and sodas. Others have success with small changes in diet -- losing 50 calories here and 25 calories there. That, plus losing 200 calories per day due to running will give you a weight loss of about a pound a week. That may not seem like much, but that is 52 pounds per year, and that is significant weight loss.

Be sure that the calories you do consume come from a nutritious diet. Eat veggies, fruits, fish, poultry, nuts, and whole grains. If you eat meat, eat small amounts as a condiment not as the main course. If you eat foods with a high glycemic index, balance that with foods with

a low index. If possible, shun processed foods and prepare meals from "scratch". Avoid eating three big meals a day. Instead, eat five or six small meals. If you eat three meals, you'll probably be pretty hungry at each meal and may overeat (it takes a while after you eat before your hunger subsides). If you eat more often but smaller meals, you'll be less hungry for each meal and may be better able to control your intake.

BMI

A check on your weight is to occasionally calculate your Body Mass Index or BMI. Your BMI is a number that is calculated from your height and weight, and for many people that number is a measure of body fat. However, for some people BMI is not a good indicator of body fat. For example, for the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men. Older persons have more body fat, and athletes have more muscles that cause their BMI to be higher even though they may have less body fat. Here is a good site that discusses BMI in detail.

BMI Weight Status Below 18.5 Under weight 18.5 to 24.9 Normal 25.0 to 29.9 Overweight 30 or higher Obese

Here is a BMI calculator from the National Heart Lung and Institute.

Get Your Sleep!

We all know the importance of getting sufficient sleep at night. It's through rest that our bodies recover from stressful workouts. Researchers from St. Luke's -- Roosevelt Hospital Center and Columbia University in New York have learned that insufficient sleep also increases our desire to eat. So, if you're trying to lose weight, get good sleep each night! Dr Kristen Knutson, from the University of Chicago said that "A review of the evidence shows how short or poor quality sleep is linked to increased risk of obesity by de-regulating appetite, leading to increased energy consumption." 

Volume not Weight

People who are too big and want to reduce usually think in terms of weight -- they want to lose weight. Thinking in terms of weight is fine for people who don't exercise, but people who do exercise may get confused if they think in terms of weight. It is common for runners to increase their muscle mass and thus gain weight since muscle is heaver per cubic centimeter than fat. I thus suggest that runners who want to reduce think in terms of how well their clothes fit. They may gain a bit of weight due to increasing their muscle, but if their clothes fit looser, they are reaching their goal. They want a smaller body, not necessarily a lighter body.

You Can Do It!

Be assured that you can lose weight and that running can be a part of your plan. Take a balanced approach to weight-loss, an approach that involves exercise, good nutrition, and a slightly lower consumption of food. Here is a good article on carbohydrates. Here is the story of one man and his quest to lose weight.