Training consequences of having a bad diet?

seandominguez

I run about 5 miles a day 6x a week but I'm going to train for a marathon in June.

I originally got into running for weight loss but do it now because I love it and I want to get faster. Not going to lie though, I love "bad food". To me, life isn't worth living if I can't enjoy it, and I really can't see my life without carne asada burritos, Dr. Pepper, beer, and cupcakes.

I don't abuse these things by any means. If anything, I feel so fulfilled after eating a burrito and drinking a coke that it actually curbs my appetite. I remember losing 5 lbs eating a burrito and coke 4x a week and routinely eating decadent sweets all the time.

At the same time, I'd like to murder this marathon and finish sub-3:40. Weekly mileage and time commitment doesn't matter to me - running is so integrated into my life that I know I can do that. However, parting with my precious sweets, steaks, and beer, that's another story.

Can you provide me with your personal experience with diet or some articles? I read the book Race Weight by Matt Fitzgerald and really, the only explanation he was giving for x food over y was based on satiety - people who eat bad foods tend to eat worse foods. If that's not the case with me, does that mean I should go #YOLO all day on burritos?

Thanks in advance. I challenge you to find another post that mentions burritos as much as this one.

mitchyinge

I lost 9kg last year on my personal Elite Taco Nutrition Plan

3 have come back since reading Matt Fitzgerald's thoughts on diet quality

MinimalistShoeAddict

I started running in the fall of 2012 and eat many of the foods you describe, sometimes in large quantities. I was able to obtain (and maintain) my ideal running weight with such a diet. I moved up in distance from 5k and ran my first marathon in 2013.

This year I plan on running my first ultra marathon and improve my speed at every distance. My bloodwork remains perfect and I see no reason to change my first.

RunnerElizabeth

If I have burritos and beer and cupcakes the night before my long run (in the 10-15 mile range) I'm slow and sluggish for my run. If I have 4oz of meat, a mashed sweet potato, steamed broccoli and mixed greens with a bit of balsamic vinegar and 2 32 oz bottles of water after 6pm, I feel awesome on my long runs. Once I realized this, I never had a bad long run until the holiday season when I started eating a bunch of junk. But during the week when my runs are less then 5 miles, I eat whatever I want. Works for me.

rduhlir

If I have burritos and beer and cupcakes the night before my long run (in the 10-15 mile range) I'm slow and sluggish for my run. If I have 4oz of meat, a mashed sweet potato, steamed broccoli and mixed greens with a bit of balsamic vinegar and 2 32 oz bottles of water after 6pm, I feel awesome on my long runs. Once I realized this, I never had a bad long run until the holiday season when I started eating a bunch of junk. But during the week when my runs are less then 5 miles, I eat whatever I want. Works for me.

This is pretty much how I am as well. I always have to have something light the night before a long run or I get runner's trots half way through, or I just feel like crap lol.

RunConquerCelebrate

I will be honest if I eat bad before my long runs I can feel the difference in my running, I have a hard time finishing and have to push myself harder. If I eat good and eat for fuel than I feel lighter and can go without struggling. After a long run and after I have earned those calories I will indulge in some bad food.

seandominguez

This is good to hear I'm not crazy. I mean, I ate pretty horribly from Thanksgiving to New Year's but I've also clocked some of my fastest times [ and gained a few pounds, too ]

essjay76

LOL! One of my best runs recently was done after eating a Chipotle burrito the size of a new born baby. I ate it at 4pm that day, with a whole bag of tortilla chips, and two tubs of guacamole. I was full the rest of the day, and even until 2pm the next day. Then I went out and ran one of my best 10 milers ever. It was glorious. I had so much energy.

Of course, I had to let it rest. Didn't want to get runner's trots or anything. LOL! (Sorry for the TMI).

Lillyloooo

I have a half marathon march 23rd. Would you mind sharing any advice or training regimes? Also how how you found your weightloss since running ?

coronalime

I think your eating will get you farther in running then something like low carb or no carb diets. I'm doing a no sugar no carb thing right now and my running sucks!!! My dh qualifies for Boston on beer and junky food. We eat predominately well compared to most. We hardly eat out and I cook a lot but we love to drink and he loves snacks and I love sweets so..

SillyC2

Can someone explain to me what's wrong with a burrito, nutritionally?

TheBrolympus

There isn't anything wrong with a burrito.
When I have a burrito and try to load it with veggies and lean meat.

If I eat a burrito loaded with cheese, fatty meat, and more cheese, I will feel like s**t for several hours and it will have effect my run the next day.

ATT949

Can someone explain to me what's wrong with a burrito, nutritionally?

Endurance athletes need carbs so the tortilla will provide some of those as will the beans if it's a bean burrito. On the other hand, a lot of places make their refried beans with lard. Even if the beans are made with oil, there's a lot of fat in a bean burrito.

If it's something other than a bean burrito, the amount of fat could really take off.

Bottom line for me is that burritos, like convenient to eat foods, can be very high in fat and fat is not what we need for fuel. That's not to say that we shouldn't eat burritos or any other particular type of food but that we need to be aware of what we're putting into our body and make sure that we're getting the right macronutrient percentages.

Matt Fitzgerald's book "The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "the Wall" " touches on this topic and it's a good read.

Now, it's back to lunch for me. Like many other days, it was salad (carbs) with avocado (fat) and pinto beans* (high order carbs),



*the pinto bean being the bean that's used to make refried beans. :-)

PeteWhoLikesToRunAlot

I'm with the OP. I've got running near the top of my to-do list for 6 days out of the week most of the time, but I've struggled with clean eating. I've been plateaued for quite a while, and I'm sure it's due to my craft beer habit. I wish the good tasting stuff wasnt upwards of 250+ empty calories.

That being said, I find that my diet doesn't really seem to affect my running adversely. That being said, I used to try to push the pace for almost every run (for me, that'd be ~7:30 pace for up to 6M, ~7:45 for 6-12M, 8:00 pace for 12M+ for anything more). I've since backed off the pace by 0:30-1:30 for the majority of my runs, but have increased the mileage to build aerobic base. As a result, I think I'm a little more tolerant of a not-so-great diet because I'm holding back for much of my work.

I actually PR'ed a 5M race after "accidentally" downing 4 beers the night before.

GiddyupTim

Isn't food only "bad" if you overdo eating a particular type? So, it seems to me, it would follow, that there is nothing wrong with a big fat burrito, or a greasy burger, or canned tomato soup, for that matter, unless you eat any one of those things all the time. But, a BLT with extra mayo or an slice of chocolate cake once a week is probably even healthy.
Perhaps it is more healthy than abstaining. Didn't they find, for instance, that people who drink alcohol moderately tend to be healthier than tea totallers? And, doesn't chocolate have some serious health benefits?
I remember reading once that pizza, actually, is a very balanced meal according to the proportions in the old food pyramid. It had dairy, meat, vegetable, and grain. The only shortcoming pizza has is that it is high in fat.
Besides, if you are running a lot, sometimes you do have to make up calories by eating things that are calorie rich. At least, I do.

HappyRunner34

This has been interesting reading. I love food - like most..and the things I've really learned is to just pay really close attention to how you feel after you eat certain foods. it is known that foods that are processed, like a lot of cheeses and many meats, are simply bad for you. Your body wasn't meant to digest them and it takes a lot more of your internal resources to do so then natural foods. As well, when I read ingredients on foods, if I can pronounce one or more of them, I don't eat it. To me its not so much you should or should not eat something, its more - be aware of what you're ingesting and how it makes you feel. I can totally feel the different between a pre-race dinner of fish, Quinoa and broccoli versus one of pizza (which is my weakness). I don't train hard for a half or full marathon to throw it all away on a bad diet. But that's me. And yes, you gotta live! So find those comfort food that sit with you best, and indulge when it makes sense.

SillyC2

Okay, thanks on the burrito question!

Mine are typically bean burritos packed with tomatoes and greens and slices of avocado. I'm a vegetarian so typically have a high fiber / lower fat diet anyhow.