Fueling for a marathon without gaining weight

Pinkranger626

Hi everyone!
I just took the plunge and registered for my first marathon (Walt Disney World in January 2016). I don't have to start my training until July but I'm trying to figure out fueling and such beforehand so I have a plan going in.

How do you make sure you're fueling properly for recovery and to complete your long runs without eating too many calories? I usually use the TDEE method because the eating back and logging and such got confusing for me to figure out how many calories I was aiming for. I like to have a set goal every day. During my training I'd like to maintain, although if I could lose a little bit more I'd be ok with that too.... but it's not my main focus.

I'm also planning on continuing with my lifting until later in the training when my runs get longer, then possibly switching to maintenance strength training if I don't feel good with heavy lifting or am having a tough time recovering.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

MeanderingMammal

Six months training for a marathon is quite a long plan.

What's your current mileage and how many days per week do you run?

I suspect your best bet is to suck it and see really, tweak as required based on how things are developing.

lporter229

I also use TDEE method. It took me some time (trial and error) to get an idea of what my TDEE is. I look at what my average weekly mileage was during that time period and use that as my base. When I am training for a marathon, as I increase my weekly mileage, I increase my TDEE accordingly. For example, if my TDEE is based on an average of 30 miles per week, when I increase to 40 miles per week, I add 100 calories per day to my TDEE (I burn about 70 calories per mile, so 700 extra calories per week). I do not usually spread them out throughout the week though. I tend to eat a little less during the week and then I eat a huge amount the day after a long run because...hungry! Anyway, as long as I average out for the week, I maintain my weight.

Keep in mind that TDEE is not an exact number and most people will maintain on either side of their TDEE up to +/- 200 calories. At least this has been my experience.

glevinso

Since you say you are good with maintaining, this is not that hard to do. It *is* easy to gain weight while training for a marathon but that usually only happens to people who aren't already used to watching what they eat and tracking calories. Since you are already on board with your nutrition, you should be able to figure out how to eat back what you need to. I can't help you with the TDEE thing, though. I am not sure how that would work. Perhaps figure out how many miles you run in a week, multiply that by 80, then divide by 7 to get daily? The thing is your mileage will increase as the training plan progresses, so the TDEE concept may not really work out as easily as tracking calorie burns per workout.

AllanMisner

This is a hard thing. I always seem to gain weight when I train for a long run. Given that you have some time between now and then, what are your thoughts on cutting for a few months, and then if you do put on a couple of pounds fueling for your longer training, it won’t mean so much?

Pinkranger626

I'm currently running 2-3 times a week. I have been training for a 15K which is this weekend so I'm averaging around 10-15 miles per week. I've run 4 half marathons without a problem, but the marathon seems like a totally different beast to me.

I printed out the Jeff Galloway training plan from the RunDisney website which worked well for me in the past. It starts off very low mileage and slowly picks up. I like to have a plan to follow, otherwise I find I get lazy and don't log the miles that I need to so 6 months is fine for me. It looks like I don't get up into the teens until the end of September anyway.

As you can tell, I'm a planner so naturally nutrition and fueling is a big focus for me. I know a lot of people that have trained for a marathon and gained weight because they ate too much. Seems easy enough, don't eat too much right? But on the flip side of it I also want to make sure that I'm not cutting calories too low either. Since I've never logged mileage over 13.1 before I'm feeling anxious about increasing calories too much. lporter229, I will have to try your tactic, it sounds less complicated then some of the articles that I've found.

rjmudlax13

Good for you! Running a marathon is such a great goal to aspire for. It is a very exclusive club.

If you use the TDEE method then set your activity to the highest level (i.e., "heavy exercise" or whatever) and eat that everyday and maybe a little less on rest days. However, trust me when I tell you that you will be ravenous during training. Remember that you will be burning 2000 to nearly 3000 calories during your long runs. You need to replenish your body properly! So, I recommend eating about TDEE+400 to 500 calories during long run days. As your long runs increase add about 100 calories per mile increase. Also, make sure you are eating enough carbs. Low carb during marathon training is a BAD idea!

So to summarize:

1) Figure out your TDEE at the highest activity level
2) Eat your TDEE or slightly under for "short" running days
3) Eat TDEE-10% on rest days
4) Eat TDEE+400+ on long run days
5) Increase 100 calories per mile as long runs increase
6) Track your weight and listen to your body
7) Drink plenty of water and consume enough electrolytes

sijomial

I would have thought the the MFP eat back exercise calories method would be a far better fit - running calories are pretty easy to estimate.
Fiddling about with an ever changing TDEE just seems over complicated to me.

bostonwolf

I think a little bit of trial and error and you should get it figured out, seems like you have a good grasp on TDEE. That will work for you, but given the different and probably increased workload it will take some time. And unless you are super lean to start, you probably should lose some weight training for a marathon. It's a huge amount of running. I lost about 35lbs when I trained for Boston back in 2000 (not a qualifier, I worked for the sponsor)

Pinkranger626

Thanks everyone! This is all very helpful. After I registered I started thinking about fueling and all the stuff I had read and it's very overwhelming. I also went to a seminar on sport nutrition and that made everything seem even more complicated. Sometimes too much information can be detrimental.

sijomial, I tried the MFP way at first but I am also a personal trainer and group exercise instructor, plus I lift heavy and cross train a lot. There were some days it was having me eat 3,000 calories! Then I knew that the exercise calories burned weren't always accurate and then having to figure out how much to actually eat got really confusing to me. So I found TDEE much easier, one number every day, no math to figure out what I've actually eaten versus what I've netted etc.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to balance things out a bit when I get into it. like you said Bostonwolf, trial and error.

glevinso

It probably doesn't apply to someone training for their first marathon, but in the past I have made the mistake of trying to cut weight while in the middle of training for a 3:15 race. I got to race day a bit "depleted" feeling even though I stopped actively trying to cut weight 3 weeks ahead of the race, and didn't really come close to my goal time. I think the 4 months spent in a purposeful calorie deficit wrecked my race day.

Pinkranger626

that's what I'm afraid of! Which is why actively cutting is not something that I want to focus on. I don't have a time goal for this race... mostly just finish without feeling like I'm going to die

glevinso

I love marathons. I hate marathons...

Finishing your first is an amazing experience. For some reason they become addictive despite the fact that they hurt like hell

Pinkranger626

I'm an OCR addict so I expect to get hooked on marathons too.... any physical challenge that really pushes me to the brink tends to get my attention.

lporter229

workoutgrl87 wrote: »

Thanks everyone! This is all very helpful. After I registered I started thinking about fueling and all the stuff I had read and it's very overwhelming. I also went to a seminar on sport nutrition and that made everything seem even more complicated. Sometimes too much information can be detrimental.


I'm hoping that I'll be able to balance things out a bit when I get into it. like you said Bostonwolf, trial and error.

Don't over think it. Sound like you know how to eat. Just trust your gut (pun intended) and eat when you are hungry. You will be fine.