Help with Running Nutrition

sufikitkat

I am writing this in hopes of finding some fellow marathon runners that have some hands on advice about calories and such. I find it difficult on most days to eat "enough" calories. My typical breakfast is Whole wheat toast with Organic Peanut Butter and Bananas, lunch and dinner vary as I try to mix it up, but my diet consists of organic or whole food that do not contain dairy due to an allergy. My snacks are usually Fruit and veggies, and those are included in my meals too. On most days, my calorie deficit can be in upwards of 500 or more, especially when I run. I LOVE food too, I definitely do not have a problem with eating. I also have no fears about treating myself to a glass of wine or a craft beer, and I am still under calories! Of course, I do realize that snacking on fruits and veggies will ultimately mean less calories, but it still concerns me. Does anyone have some personal experience with this? I worry that I am not eating enough to sustain my training properly! But on the flip, I am not losing significant weight, something I do not want to do at this point (5'3" and 137 lbs, 24% Body Fat...I definitely do not want to drop much more!) I guess I am just wondering how much of a deficit is too much and how do I change this without going overboard on "bad" calories?

Mrs_TrimWaistFatWallet

Unless you're at a deficit of 1500 or so on a consistent basis, I wouldn't worry. It sounds like you're at maintenance already, so its possible that either

1. Your body is fine with your intake
2. MFP is quoting too high of a burn for your runs, so you're actually consuming your intake

My one question would be how your performance is doing? When I drop to a net of -1500, my performance suffers. But between -800 to +300, my performance improves..

PS I use a BodyMedia FIT 24/7 which tells me my actual burn, hence the specific numbers

sufikitkat

I manually enter my runs based off of my RunKeeper because it is always different than what MFP tells me. My performance has been improving...in the last two months I shaved down to a 9 minute mile out of no where for my 5Ks, and I had a 8:30 pace at my last one but had a mini asthma issue so I dropped the pace. So my performance is good for sure. I have a slower pace on long runs, but that's typically anyways. I forgot to mention that I also feel hungry all the time...even if I eat whole grain pasta i am hungry again for something an hour later. I hope that is just an effect of being a runner! Maintenance could be the cause too, I wouldn't mind like two more pounds but with my Body fat where it is I am happy :-) Thanks for the input!

Samerah12

What about adding more nuts to your diet? Small volume, high calorie, good fats! If you're hungry and you're consistently under cals you probably should be eating more!

sufikitkat

Oh i do...I love almonds! and peanut butter haha. And I just started tracking sugar...I am ALWAYS over thanks to fruit and the days I long run thanks to energy gel. I'm trying to not worry about it...but alas it worries me lol. Maybe I overanalyze...wouldn't surprise me at all! But either way, I am a foodie. Even before I began marathon running I always thought about my next meal. Now it's just times ten!

NatalieWinning

Oh i do...I love almonds! and peanut butter haha. And I just started tracking sugar...I am ALWAYS over thanks to fruit and the days I long run thanks to energy gel. I'm trying to not worry about it...but alas it worries me lol. Maybe I overanalyze...wouldn't surprise me at all! But either way, I am a foodie. Even before I began marathon running I always thought about my next meal. Now it's just times ten!

Even my store brand has a "natural" peanut butter. No sugar added variety. Does that help?

sufikitkat

I eat Organic Peanut Butter that is the only way to ensure no added sugar. Even natural varieties can still have HFCS added to it in some form. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) is not organic in any way, but natural products can fool you! Plus, the organic PB tastes a million times better! The one day at work I forgot my PB so I used one of my co-worker's, and it was so sweet and salty compared to mine.

But in regards to tracking sugar, I am going to stop. The reality is MFP does not consider being an endurance runner or athlete. It's all based off an average what they give you. Every source I have looked at says that if you are an endurance athlete, those sugars are not bas as long as they are consumed before or after your sport. I just really hope still that I don't lose anymore weight...my wallet can barely handle buying new clothes as it is!

rybo

I've gone to trail mix and some of the all natural granola mixes to add some good calories. I am at a point where I dont need/want to lose anymore either, but have a hard time eating only good food to make up the calories. Luckily I have a sweet tooth so I can always down a bowl of ice cream to help sometimes too.

sufikitkat

I wish I had a sweet tooth but I really don't! Plus, I can't have dairy period so it makes it hard to find food that I can eat, afford, and will last long enough since I live alone. I'm glad I am not the only person that has this issue though! Since I can't do weight watchers, I have started to look at the extra calories like my friends on that look at their extra/leftover points...go by the week and if you save some, don't eel guilty about eating or drinking something you usually wouldn't. It's worked for them, so I figure why not for me right?