How much attention do you need to give to your weight as a runner?
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky is an obesity and lipid specialist physician who’s helped thousands of patients across the US.
He’s certified with the American Board of Obesity Medicine, is the former medical director of Weight Watchers, and has an unmatched meme game on Instagram among doctors.
Spencer is a fellow podcaster as the co-host of the Docs Who Lift Podcast.
Spencer is an expert in a sensitive topic for athletes: weight loss.
Running is a sport that presents an uncomfortable dichotomy.
While you have to be well fueled, healthy, and strong to race at your best, excess weight will slow you down.
After competing on a college track team in the horrible early 2000’s culture of “lighter is better,” I wanted to bring a medical expert onto the podcast to discuss weight loss in a responsible way.
We talk about why it can be hard to lose weight, optimal times to lose weight if you’re a runner, effective strategies to accomplish this goal, when you likely don’t need to lose weight, symptoms of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, and more.
Dr. Spencer Nadolsky on Body Composition, RED-S, Ozempic and More
In this episode, Dr. Spencer Nadolsky and I talk about…
- The balance between fueling for performance and the potential need for weight loss
- Assessing whether weight loss is clinically indicated or potentially harmful
- Focusing on nutrition rather than just running more to lose weight
- Body composition and maintaining muscle and bone mass
- The risks of RED-S and what both men and women should look out for
- Nutrition recommendations for runners
- Thoughts on weight loss medications like Ozempic for runners
Chime in with your top takeaways from this episode on Instagram.
Subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or iHeartRadio.
Links & Resources from the Show:
- Dr. Nadolsky on Instagram, on X/Twitter, and on YouTube
- Docs Who Lift Podcast
- Get recovery and injury prevention tips from 9 elite runners.
Thank you DrinkLMNT!
A big thanks to DrinkLMNT for their support of this episode! They make electrolyte drinks for athletes and low-carb folks with no sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. They are offering a free gift with your purchase at DrinkLMNT. And this does NOT have to be your first purchase. You’ll get a sample pack with every flavor so you can try them all before deciding what you like best.
DrinkLMNT’s products have some of the highest sodium concentrations that you can find. Anybody who runs a lot knows that sodium, as well as other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium, are essential to our performance and how we feel throughout the day.
If you’re not familiar, LMNT is my favorite way to hydrate. They make electrolytes for athletes and low-carb folks with no Sugar, artificial ingredients, or colors. I’m now in the habit of giving away boxes of LMNT at group runs around Denver and Boulder and everyone loves this stuff.
Boost your performance and your recovery with LMNT. They’re the exclusive hydration partner to Team USA Weightlifting and quite a few professional baseball, hockey, and basketball teams are on regular subscriptions. So check out DrinkLMNT to get a free sampler pack and get your hydration optimized for the upcoming season.
Thank you MOBO Board!
Invented by renowned physical therapist Jay Dicharry, MOBO helps you stabilize your stance with an innovative rocker board that’s set up on two fins. The design effectively forces you to drive your big toe into the board to improve your stability. I was pretty arrogant going into my first session on the MOBO Board. How hard can it be to balance, right? Well, I was humbled pretty quickly!
Even if you’re a good runner, better balance, stability, and proprioception is going to help you have a more powerful stride and prevent more running injuries. You’ll learn how to improve the efficiency of the kinetic chain from your hip to your big toe. Because as Jay likes to say, it’s not just how strong you are, but how well you use that strength.
I was recently at a weekend physical therapy workshop (lol I was the only running coach) and learned how important (and rare) this simple movement is. Save 10% with code STRENGTHRUN10 at checkout at moboboard.com.
