{"id":91799,"date":"2023-08-02T17:25:31","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/trying-to-lose-weight-during-peak-season-is-a-bad-idea\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T17:25:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T15:25:31","slug":"trying-to-lose-weight-during-peak-season-is-a-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/trying-to-lose-weight-during-peak-season-is-a-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Trying to lose weight during peak season is a bad idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having a good body composition is essential to achieve or pursue optimal athletic performance. For this reason, many athletes decide to lose weight to fine-tune and improve their sensations in training and competitions. <\/p>\n

Now, when<\/strong> is it advisable to try to lose weight<\/strong>? The answer is simple: either before or after facing the competition season<\/strong>. What is not advisable<\/strong> is to undertake a weight loss strategy<\/strong> during the competitive period<\/strong> because it will hardly yield any benefits and, with total certainty, athletic performance will be negatively affected. <\/p>\n

\"Losing<\/a>
Sete Cerd\u00e1n, a 42K runner, during a mountain marathon, a race that demands high performance from the athlete.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Therefore, dieting to try to lose weight during peak season (and thus competing and demanding maximum performance from the body) is a bad idea because it will not bring benefits and, on the contrary, will cause harm.<\/p>\n

Losing weight during the season penalizes performance<\/h2>\n

Depending on the type of sport practiced, one body composition or another will be needed. For example, in sports where strength is paramount, such as weightlifting, a more voluminous physique and great muscular power are needed. In contrast, in endurance sports<\/strong> (such as running, cycling, triathlon, etc.) and endurance with strength (such as football, martial arts, tennis, etc.) a finer and lighter physique is required<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

\"Strategies<\/a>
Elite athlete Marta Olmedo exemplifies the ideal physique of a runner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That is, to run a race like a marathon, the lower the athlete’s weight, the less the sensation of “carrying a backpack” that is suffered during the 3-5 hours (in the case of amateur runners) of the race. It is undeniable that body weight affects performance<\/strong> in running (or foot racing, as some prefer to call it) more than in other endurance sports such as cycling or swimming. <\/p>\n

Achieving the right or optimal weight can be very beneficial for anyone who runs regularly and has competitive goals such as a half marathon or a marathon or a trail race of a considerable distance. Because with the right<\/strong> or optimal weight, it is possible to achieve better performance<\/strong> and, therefore, increase paces and lower times, but it is also very important because it reduces the risk of muscle and joint injuries<\/strong> and the athlete will suffer less during the competition. <\/p>\n

Knowing all the benefits of running at the right weight and not with a few extra kilos, it is not surprising that this improvement in body composition (reducing fat mass and increasing muscle mass) is sought. But is it advisable to start a weight loss treatment at any stage of the season? My answer is emphatic: NO. <\/p>\n

A weight loss diet worsens athletic performance<\/h3>\n

If a weight loss diet is undertaken, it should be done outside the competition season or when we are not undergoing high-demand training.<\/p>\n

The reasons why it is not advisable to go on a diet to lose weight during peak season are the following:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. First, trying to lose weight should be ruled out to prevent a decrease in athletic performance. Let’s use an analogy: if a car uses \u20ac50 worth of gasoline for a trip but only \u20ac30 worth of fuel has been refueled, there comes a point when the car stops. The same thing happens to the athlete: if the diet provides less energy than needed, after 2, 3, or 4 weeks, their performance will begin to suffer and will finally experience a “bonk”; and from that moment on, there will be little that can be done because their body will no longer respond correctly to the demands of the effort. <\/li>\n
  2. Furthermore, between one training session and another, a significant supply of energy and nutrients is needed, which probably cannot be achieved with a low-calorie weight loss treatment. Therefore, the athlete will not arrive fully recovered for the next training session. <\/li>\n
  3. During training and competitions, a constant supply of energy is necessary to maintain performance. If this is not provided, the athlete’s performance gradually decreases. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Losing fat during peak season<\/h3>\n

    But is it possible to lose or reduce fat during peak season? Yes, but trying not to lose weight. <\/p>\n

    If you want to lose fat during peak season, it is advisable to follow a weight maintenance diet<\/strong> and generate a negative caloric balance<\/strong> (i.e., burn more kilocalories<\/a> than you consume) by introducing walks of more than an hour daily<\/strong> in a post-absorptive fasted state, meaning after 3 or more hours after eating<\/strong> (the post-absorptive state<\/strong> is the metabolic state that occurs after digestion, when ingested food is no longer the body’s energy source and it relies on stored glycogen).<\/p>\n

    \"It's<\/a>
    Walks of more than an hour in a post-absorptive fasted state help create a negative caloric balance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Therefore, and in summary, the ideal is to carry out a weight loss strategy during the pre-season or after the competitive period has ended, but it is worth insisting that it is not a good idea to lose weight during peak season because the result will be disappointing.<\/p>\n

    Below you can see a schematic summary of the above explanation in the following infographic.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Infographic by Diet\u00edstica Valencia on what losing weight during peak season entails.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Having a good body composition is essential to achieve or pursue optimal athletic performance. For this reason, many athletes decide to lose weight to fine-tune and improve their sensations in training and competitions. Now, when is it advisable to try to lose weight? The answer is simple: either before or after facing the competition season. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":91800,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_joinchat":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1602],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition-sports-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91799"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91799\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/42krunning.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}