Q I bought your book and have been running now regularly for about six months. I lost nearly two stone but really want to lose another stone and it's just not shifting. I am currently running about four miles three times a week and it takes about 50 minutes, quite flat ground near where I live, on some grass and some concrete. My diet is pretty good I think, and I am drinking lots of water. Help. I love the running, but I do need to shift some more pounds. Sue
A First, congratulations on losing two stone in six months – that is one hell of an achievement. What is probably happening here is that your body – initially shocked into burning off a great deal of fat from all the exercise you were taking, almost effortlessly (I use that word in the Grit Doctor sense) – has now adjusted to the new status quo and so your weight loss has plateaued.
Your body has recalibrated itself and has learned to expect those runs, plus, a leaner you requires fewer calories to maintain. Translation: you don’t need to eat as much any more.
In order to get back into serious fat-burning mode, you have to kick-start the process again, in other words, you have to up the grit ante and challenge your body in much the same way as you did when you first started running.
Diet
The first thing to do is to take a closer look at your eating habits. A "pretty good" diet smacks to me of "plenty of room for improvement". Little shifts can have seismic impacts, especially when combined with intensive exercise. Here are some tips:
If you have been “treating” yourself to a calorific cake-type snack after a run, stop, and get into the habit of remembering that losing those pounds is the treat that running regularly and giving up that cake will ultimately reward you with.
Stock up your fridge and cupboards with healthy low-fat, fibrous alternatives for snack attacks (fresh fruit, raw vegetable crudités, crispbreads and a natural yoghurt-style dip such as tzatsiki) and you can munch by the truck-load.
Try to always eat your main meal after your run, ideally within an hour or two, and try to include lots of green leafy veg and a delicious wholegrain like brown rice.
Brown rice is cheap, deliciously nutty, full of fibre and will have you feeling full for hours on end.
Drink more water. If you are drinking any sugary drinks, stop.
Try not eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime.
Whatever dietary lapses you were able to get away with before no longer stand. Be honest with yourself and mindful of every morsel that passes through your cake-hole.
Extra run
These tips are easy to incorporate into your routine and will have your body back in fat-burning mode in no time.
Stick to your staple of three four-mile flat-ish runs: the length is ideal and you are completing them in a great time. But add in another weekly run – and grittify it.
By this I mean mix it up and make it harder. So one week make it a short run – say 5km, but run it faster, with intermittent 100m sprints, or take on a steep hill; during another week, run longer, say six miles (and slow down if you need to).
The challenging terrain and/or change of speed will have your body working harder again and will feed into seeing more calories burned and hopefully kick-start the weight-loss.
Thinking of it as a bonus run gives it a positive, super-motivating spin: it is the run that is going to give you what you want: a slimmer, fitter you.
Finally, I highly recommend entering a local 10km race, in say two or three months’ time. Committing to a race and setting yourself a time goal is a great motivator and ought to have you pushing yourself that much harder, particularly on your extra weekly bonus run.
The Grit Doctor says:
I take it as read that this stone you are trying to lose is extra baggage and that you are not aiming for an unnaturally lean Victoria Beckham-esque frame.
My plan will work if it is excess weight that you are trying to shift – but please see a real doctor if otherwise.
Tweet your running queries to Ruth at: @gritdoctor
Ruth Field is author of Run, Fat Bitch, Run