YOU DON’T HAVE TO STARVE IN ORDER TO BE FAST
Honestly, I haven’t weighed myself in months. Not that I haven’t tried, but literally, because my scale is broken. Our scale has had a dead battery for about a year now, and I’ve just been too darn lazy to actually buy a new battery and switch it out. (I’m actually pretty sure we have a battery for it, but again… #lazy.)While I’ve been pretty diligent about watching what I eat, and eating whole foods for the most part (except for my nightly ice cream and/or beer), I’ve noticed that my weight has gone up a little bit. My pants fit a little tighter, and my darn Mommy Tummy just doesn’t seem to want to go away. (I suspect that might have something to do with the ice cream + beer I mentioned above.)A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get a biometric screening for free through work. I come from a family with high cholesterol (I had my cholesterol tested in high school) + triglycerides, and I was really interested to see my fasting glucose, cholesterol, and other numbers they would run with the screening, including my weight.I really wasn’t surprised when not only all my numbers came back FABULOUS (the nurse actually asked me what I did to stay so active - duh, RUN!), AND my weight was up about 5 pounds than where I “like” it. But, I really wasn’t surprised, nor was I upset about it. To me, it is what it is. I know I could do better, but I also want to enjoy my life and I don’t want to deny myself a beer (I only drink ½ to 1 per night) and some ice cream (I’ve traded in full fat ice cream for high protein, low calorie ice cream).As I walked out of the building, I texted the hubs to tell him my fabulous numbers, despite weighing 5 pounds more than I did a year ago. His response…
And boy, did he nail it on the head! I might weigh 5 pounds more, but I’ve NEVER been faster. EVER. I’m consistently running sub-20 5Ks. I’m hitting my splits on every workout (or almost every workout). And I’m running more miles than I ever have, even during marathon training.Years ago, I was deadset on the fact that I had to look like Kara Goucher in order to be FAST. I was determined to PR my races and continue to get FASTER, and I thought one way to do that was by getting my weight as low as possible, shed as much fat as possible, and pretty much be anorexic (or at least restrict my calories as much as possible).While I know I am not overweight, I also don’t look to Kara Goucher or Shalane Flanagan. I don’t have a 6-pack, I don’t have stick thin arms or legs, and believe me, my body fat is not 8%. Could I do better on my “diet”? ABSOLUTELY! But, I also know that with extra miles (40+ miles per week), I NEED to eat more to support myself. I want to avoid injury and body fat + calorie intake plays a HUGE role in that!So, what does your weight have to do with your running? NOTHING. Absolutely NOTHING. Go run. Run lots of miles. Or only run a few. Eat the ice cream. Drink the beer. Everything in moderation, my friends. Do YOU. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Be healthy, inside + out, and LOVE YOURSELF the way you are!
Friend, you DO NOT have to starve yourself or weight 100 pounds to run FAST. But, you do have to have the right plan (running, strength training, and nutrition) in place to start seeing those PRs! Check out the Elite Running Academy VIP Membership to learn more about how to train to be FASTER + gain confidence in your running + YOURSELF!
