Question for my fellow runners re: calorie deficency and car

mrsrunnerchick

Hey everyone,

For the ones trying to lose weight while training for long distance races, are you following the recommended mfp settings or are you doing more of a 50/25/25 split for your macronutrients? Also are you just trying to just 1lb a week or again are you following mfp settings for a higher calorie cut?

Thanks for your input!!!

Chenoachem

I have reached my goal, but when I was loosing and running long distances I did make some adjustments.

I used the recommendation I saw on MarathonRookie.com and other websites to switch to 60% carbs/25% fats/ 15% protein.

I also switched to only 1lb per week loss.

I always do my runs in the morning so I make sure I don't go to bed feeling hungry. I would try to have some protein before bed so my muscles could rebuild while I slept.

Good Luck.

mrsrunnerchick

Did you eat all your exercise calories burned?

SHBoss1673

depends on a lot of things. How much weight do you have to lose? How serious are you about the race? How long until the race? What do you consider long distance?

If you're really serious about training, you shouldn't really be at a deficit, the two don't go together very well, it won't hurt to have a very small deficit (including exercise calories), but you should expect to be a little tired if you do. Basically, the lower your body fat %, the less available energy your body has to draw on during long distance jaunts (by long distance, usually we are referring to over 10 miles) and therefore you need to give your body as much usable carbs as you can pre-race without going over the edge into fat storage. It's a bit of a high wire act with distance running if you are running for time.

paul100

Generally the more running you do the higher the proportion of carbs you should have in your diet. If you skip carbs you'll find you lack energy to run.

Chenoachem

Did you eat all your exercise calories burned?

Yes. Almost all if not all and sometimes I would go over after long runs if I was still hungry.

rybo

From personal experience, do not try and carry a big deficit while training for a race. Eat your exercise calories and if you do carry a deficit, make it a small one.

While training for my half I figured I could take a few weeks drop some weight quick & move on. That lasted barely a week, my runs suffered tremendously. I finished out training not worrying about calories. After the race, I continued running while holding a slight deficit and the weight came off slowly while I still had energy and strength.

mrsrunnerchick

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm just trying to maintain a 50/25/25 split and eat until I'm satisfied. It seems to be working and as long as my runs don't suffer that's all that matters to me for now.