Weight Gain During The Off Season For Ultra Marathon Athletes

You already know that going well beyond the distance of the classic 26.2-mile marathon, and into the realm of the ultra marathon, requires serious training – and serious eating. Not surprisingly, after the ultra marathon season closes, you’re more likely to gain weight during the off-season. For some athletes, this is good news, but others may dread the added pounds.

Weight Gain Issues

Many runners find that they gain weight after the ultra marathon season ends, according to running coach Joe English. Some athletes may, out of habit, continue to consume the high-calorie, high-carbohydrate diet needed during training and marathon time, even after they cease to need the same amount of calories and carbs. Others may simply enjoy having a less rigorous schedule to follow and eat the foods that were considered bad for sports performance during training.

Maintenance Strategy

What you can eat during the off-season depends on your training schedule. If you are simply scaling back your running, create a weekly meal plan that serves that schedule. For example, you’ll want to load up on carbs the night before a long run. On the other hand, your post-run meals needn’t be carb-heavy because the following day will be one of rest.

What to Avoid

Whether you continue to train rigorously or scale way back after ultra marathon season, there are still some dietary practices that are best avoided. Keep your portions under control – those giant bowls of buttery pasta you could consume during the ultra marathon season aren’t appropriate to your less intense workout routine. Like athletes and nonathletes alike, you’ll need to avoid empty calories. Sweet desserts and saturated fats are especially troublesome to anyone who isn’t burning thousands of calories every week in training.

Gaining Weight

Some long-distance runners can’t keep weight on during the training season. If you need to gain back weight after your ultra marathon, a goal of a half-pound to a pound a week is ideal. Eating healthy food while making sure you continue to stay physically active helps ensure your gained weight is in the form of muscle rather than fat. Aim for adding an extra 500 to 1,000 calories a day to your daily meal plans, and make sure at least 25 percent of those calories come from healthy fats. Talk to your doctor or nutritionist about other factors, such as how much protein and carbohydrates you should aim for each day. Your gender and current weight, as well as your activity during the post-marathon season, will determine how much you should have of calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates. Choose more calorically dense carbohydrates if you need to add some pounds after the intense ultra marathon season. Dried beans and root vegetables have more carbs and calories than leafy greens, salads or broccoli and offer plenty of vitamins and minerals. Choose dried and tropical fruits over those with high water content, such watermelon and peaches.