Friday, October 21, 2011

A Second Slice of Pie (for Charity)


Wednesday, I was about to get on a call with a writer for Oxygen Magazine about, of all things, whether or not to eat before exercise. As I sat at my desk reviewing my notes, I received an email from a client. She forwarded something she received from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s marathon and triathlon fundraising group Team in Training (TNT). Many years ago I ran a marathon with TNT and even conducted sports nutrition lectures for a few them. While I have not worked with them in many years, I have the utmost respect for what they do both for research and the individuals they train. Many participants are first timers who complete in half marathons, full marathons and even Ironman races. 

While I do think TNT is great, that was a little bit of fluff, here is what the email said and it’s not pretty. I'll paraphrase but you can read the whole thing here.

Subject: You’ll earn an extra slice of pie
Though not a pie person, they pulled me in. The email starts with “the holidays are nearly upon us”.  Thanksgiving is over a month away so I’d have to disagree there.  They go on to say, “while everyone else is feeling guilty about that second slice of pie, we say, “Go for it!”  TNT coaches will get you in great shape “training to do something extraordinary while you’re making the difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families.”  And then there’s the list of “exciting events” you can sign up for.

Translation: If you sign up and agree to raise money for one of the races below you can stuff your face this holiday season and end up like one of the overweight people in the accompanying photo. They are smiling because they have a massive sugar high and have not yet crashed. The have medals around their necks are for not only having the suggested second piece of pie but the whole friggin’ pie (a Runner’s World approved food).  Didn’t you hear when you run a marathon you can eat whatever you want? Yep, it’s true and when you run one for charity you can double that.
Give me a break, this is a recruitment letter. Some PR team penning it felt they could bank on the promise of eating food, sans guilt, getting people to sign up. My issues with this strategy are numerous. They are playing off of many people’s holiday anxiety. A month ahead of time they are telling us to blow it. “Go ahead…indulge.” They do not mention treating yourself to a piece of pie or your favorite food they want to have two. They tell you that despite indulging your coaches will get you in great shape. And the kicker? They throw cancer in there. As my client said, “this is bait and switch in the name of charity.”

If you run a marathon or raise money for charity do it because you want to get in fantastic shape or because it’s a cause you really believe in. You can’t eat whatever you want when training for a marathon or any other time. Guilt or no guilt indulging without restraint leads to weight gain.  And if you really want to “earn” or burn off two pieces of pie, plan on running 9 miles.
Do you find exercise makes you eat more or less? What do you think of Team in Training’s strategy with this email? If you think it’s sneaky, tell them. In their words “Go for it!”







20 comments:

  1. Super sneaky! Boo.

    Love "They are smiling because they have a massive sugar high and have not yet crashed." Too funny!

    I struggle constantly with finding a balance between exercise and eating. I like to eat enough to fuel me, but not enough to gain and even though I work out a ton, it's a slippery slope. It's so easy to think, "I can just burn this off tomorrow" when in fact...no, you can't. It's not that simple.

    I could go on and on...

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  2. I absolutely agree with you here. Luring people in this way just reinforces the idea that when you're active, you can "afford" to consume food in high quantity...but nowhere do we talk about quality!

    I ran my first half marathon a few weeks ago, so I was able to test on myself what I recommend to others. Although towards the end of training, you are burning an excessive amount of calories, it's important to understand how to compensate without going overboard...because once the training stops, and the race is done...well, let's just say it can be like taking candy from a baby- if that's what you've gotten used to!!!

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  3. I completely agree, if you get used to eating poorly in training, you will most definitely not get away with it after. Congrats on your half!

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  4. I also agree w/ you. I don't like how they say while everyone else is feeling guilty ... go ahead and overeat!
    There's just so many better ways to attract people to this event!!
    I'm all for running for cancer but not to have a second slice of pie =)

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  5. Ahhh! My biggest pet peeve. People would always say to me "you can eat whatever you want, you are training for a marathon" it is up there with telling a pregnant woman she can eat double cause "you are eating for two". While you do burn a significant amount of calories training you can not stuff your face without expecting some extra pounds in addition to your medal. An ob/gyn friend of mine tells her patients that "yes, you can eat more when pregnant...300 calories more or a bowl of cereal".

    As an aside I do like TNT, ran a marathon with them and think in general they are a great organization.

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  6. Running in the Midwestern heat makes my appetite plummet. This year I've begun eating more frequently throughout the day, so I'm concerned when I catch myself munching now that training has ended. The tactic they're using sounds as if it was written by people who may not be the best training coaches, which I think is adverse to their plan. From what I hear, they do a good job training people, so I'm surprised this one slipped through the net.

    Likewise, many Turkey Trots do the same thing on Thanksgiving Day.

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  7. I completely agree and am a bit surprised they said that.
    During training for my half, I paid a lot of attention to what I ate since I wanted to do well.
    I do shorter races for the cause but 10Ks and more I love the challenge..not so I can reward myself after.

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  8. I used to exercise so much and then eat so much because I was starving! When I stopped that vicious cycle I lost 10 pounds. Now I do an hour of exercise a day but I'm doing yoga and walking instead of killing my knees on the elliptical...and I am in my best shape ever.

    Eating more pie shouldn't be a reason to do a race!

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  9. I definitely don't like their tactics. I totally agree with you that they are playing off people's holiday anxieties. I also agree with the above commenter in comparing it to pregnant women and 'eating for two'. That's how people gain an excessive amount of weight.

    I think that if you are training for a marathon instead of thinking about what indulgences you 'can' have you should focus on fueling your body with the best possible foods to keep yourself healthy and able to continue with the intensive training :)

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  10. Wow. A perfect trap for so many who eat because they "deserve it". Bad day, I deserve a treat, happy day, deserve a treat. Train for a marathon AND raise money for charity? Definitely deserve two slices of pie! Sadly the relationship between deserving an eating is the downfall of so many!

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  11. Michele you hit the nail on the head, it's the entitlement card. Don't we "deserve" to be fit and eat mindfully?

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  12. Lauren, you made me laugh with " they are smiling because they have a massive sugar high and have not yet crashed." :)

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  13. I've been reading a lot lately about people who gain weight while training for a marathon. I always thought you would inevitably lose but I think some people just get more hungry when they are training; however, I don't agree with the promotion of eating more, especially from a company wanting to train you for a marathon.

    It's funny though, I find I have a difficult time getting both my eating and exercising on track at the same time. It seems like I either have the eating down pat or the exercise but the two rarely coincide. I've had my moments but it's something I strive for everyday and if I were to train with someone like TNT I would hope they would make it about the whole picture and not just about being able to run a marathon.

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  14. Jenny, I think it's very common to have 1 or the other on track but yes, if you were to commit to something like a marathon with coaching you would hope they at least aim to help you with the whole picture, right?

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  15. I find that the more I exercise, the better I eat. I guess I think more about my body when I'm exercising regularly, and that translates to being more aware of what I eat. So you'd think that being healthy would be easy; just exercise more and let everything fall into place. If only it WERE that easy!

    re: 2 pieces of pie, I don't think that there's anything wrong with indulging once in a while. But when did "the holiday season" become three months of overeating? It drives me crazy that we're talking about "the holidays" well before Halloween. It's all about money and profits. So frustrating. /end rant

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  16. Interesting tactic here. I would hope people reading it, would have good sense to realize that you can't eat whatever you want just because your training for a marathon or half marathon. I can't stand that all or nothing philosophy towards eating anyway. I tend to eat about the same whether I'm exercising a lot or jot, but I know many people who eat a lot more when they are exercising a lot. Thanks for sharing Lauren!

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  17. Stephanie agree, "the holidays" becomes something larger than it should be. EA it is a tactic that encourages poor eating and justifies it.

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  18. i love this post! why? because you are being super honest. you are right-these people are a bit on the heavy side and it is because they feel they can eat anything they want just because they are exercising. it is the whole idea of i deserve to stuff my face which is infiltrating the minds of most people and that is why we have obesity. no i do not eat what i want to eat even though i run, bike, etc. infact, i really have to watch what i eat to maintain or lose weight. i think i like running early in the morning because i forget that i ran 5 miles and don't eat like i did :)

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  19. I honestly don't think my appetite changes when I am exercising more often. I might eat more in the form of post workout refuel but that is about it. My appetite through out the day is more affected by the food choices I have made. If I eat something carb heavy it equates to me being more hungry through out the day etc.

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  20. Allison- agree some foods spark your appetite more than others.

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