Question for long distance runners

xgg2rs

I am new to MFP but have lost over 160 pounds without counting calories until now. I am now trying to keep track with MFP to see if I can lose this last bit of fat in my mid section.

My question is about exersize calories. I ran my first 1/2 marathon last year and am now completing the training for a full marathon. What percentage of your exersize calories are you eating back? I don't have a HRM yet so just using the calorie totals generated by MFP for running, but I am thinking if I am running 10 or more miles in one day, I am not going to eat that many calories back in that day.

I am not in maint. mode and still hope to lose a few pounds.

Taylerr88

eat as much as you need to stay within the 500-100 deficiency. Do not ever put your self in starvation mode.

therealangd

I eat as many as I need to eat to satiate my hunger.

Yes, I have eaten 1000 extra calories for a 10 mile run. And I enjoyed every single one of them.

LorinaLynn

I haven't run any further than 7 miles, but I eat about all my exercise calories. They're delicious!!!

xgg2rs

I am currently eating to satiate my hunger, but still find on those long run days I am considerably under my alloted calorie goal.

I typically eat an extra bowl of cearal and maybe an extra banana for the day and then feel full. I am trying for now just to go by how I feel.I will typically eat a little extra the night before my big run days as well. (Cereal is my carb of choice to carb load)

Thanks for the feedback.

987Runner

On my long distance days (10+) I can't eat all of my calories back. I don't know if you run everyday, but I don't. I take Monday's and Friday's off. On those days I tend to go over my 1400 calorie limit but I don't care because when it's all counted up by the week, I'm always under my weekly goal. I'm not the type either who thinks that because I have 1,000 extra calories to eat that I can run down the local burger joint and binge eat. I still eat very carefully and it's very hard to eat that many calories healthily and not feel stuffed!

Good luck on your marathon! I'm hoping to do my first marathon this fall.

987Runner

I am currently eating to satiate my hunger, but still find on those long run days I am considerably under my alloted calorie goal.

I typically eat an extra bowl of cearal and maybe an extra banana for the day and then feel full. I am trying for now just to go by how I feel.I will typically eat a little extra the night before my big run days as well. (Cereal is my carb of choice to carb load)

Thanks for the feedback.

If I'm needing to carb up, cereal is my choice too! Yum!

lauehorn

I am currently eating to satiate my hunger, but still find on those long run days I am considerably under my alloted calorie goal.

I typically eat an extra bowl of cearal and maybe an extra banana for the day and then feel full. I am trying for now just to go by how I feel.I will typically eat a little extra the night before my big run days as well. (Cereal is my carb of choice to carb load)

Thanks for the feedback.

You may end up eating over on the off days, which is perfectly fine, too. Look at the training week as a whole, rather than each individual day. You will have elevated calorie intake most days rather than one spike day for the long run. Nutrition is extremely important for endurance athletes - it has a huge impact on performance - so listen to your body and eat (QUALITY calories) when you are hungry. Most endurance athletes eat more in the days leading up to long runs as well as taking in calories every 45 minutes or so throughout the long training sessions to ensure adequate fuel for performance. Also, it's difficult for many to lose weight while training for marathons, so try incorporating some weight training a couple times a week and keep an eye on what types of foods you are using for fuel - that will make a big impact on body composition, which seems to be where you are now. Good luck on your marathon!

xgg2rs

On my long distance days (10+) I can't eat all of my calories back. I don't know if you run everyday, but I don't. I take Monday's and Friday's off. On those days I tend to go over my 1400 calorie limit but I don't care because when it's all counted up by the week, I'm always under my weekly goal. I'm not the type either who thinks that because I have 1,000 extra calories to eat that I can run down the local burger joint and binge eat. I still eat very carefully and it's very hard to eat that many calories healthily and not feel stuffed!

Good luck on your marathon! I'm hoping to do my first marathon this fall.

Thanks, you pretty much are following what I am trying to do currently. I am planning on running my first full marathon this fall as well. When I did my first 1/2 I trained twice before I ran it, once in the spring and then once in the fall before running it. That is my plan for my first marthon, this is sort of my pratice training.

Good luck on your first full marathon as well

xgg2rs

I am currently eating to satiate my hunger, but still find on those long run days I am considerably under my alloted calorie goal.

I typically eat an extra bowl of cearal and maybe an extra banana for the day and then feel full. I am trying for now just to go by how I feel.I will typically eat a little extra the night before my big run days as well. (Cereal is my carb of choice to carb load)

Thanks for the feedback.

You may end up eating over on the off days, which is perfectly fine, too. Look at the training week as a whole, rather than each individual day. You will have elevated calorie intake most days rather than one spike day for the long run. Nutrition is extremely important for endurance athletes - it has a huge impact on performance - so listen to your body and eat (QUALITY calories) when you are hungry. Most endurance athletes eat more in the days leading up to long runs as well as taking in calories every 45 minutes or so throughout the long training sessions to ensure adequate fuel for performance. Also, it's difficult for many to lose weight while training for marathons, so try incorporating some weight training a couple times a week and keep an eye on what types of foods you are using for fuel - that will make a big impact on body composition, which seems to be where you are now. Good luck on your marathon!

Thanks, I currently am doing strength training 3 days a week as well. I really try to only eat the healthy calories, I have been doing so long enough now that I actually feel like crap physically when I "Cheat" and eat bad food. That's motivation enough for me to stay eating healthy foods. Funny thing is people who knew me 5 or 10 years ago would never believe that compared to how I used to eat.

Maystar80

A really good solution is the technique used by the group "eating for future you". It's great for people who work out so hard that you can't eat all those exercise calories in the same day. I have the same issue. This technique basically takes into account how many calories you burn without exercise, how many you burn with your exercise routine, and creates a weekly total of calories burned. Then it divides that total by the seven days per week and you can get an average number of calories you need to eat everyday. Unlike mfp's strategy, it makes it so that you have a consistent calorie goal everyday. But unlike most diet programs, it takes into account all your exercise so that you're not undereating. You should find that you're very comfortable with your daily goal. I am. I'm set to eat about 2000 calories every day. that way, if you're a little bit over or under your net cals in a given day, it all evens out in the end.
So look up "eating for future you" in the groups section. HeyBales is the user who came up with it. He even has an easy to use spreadsheet where you can plug in the hours you usually spend weekly on hard, moderate, and easy activity so all the math's done for you. And your calorie goal is based on what your goal weight bmr is plus your activity calories, so it's meant for weight loss.
I highly believe this will help you as this is meant for people with a fairly consistent exercise routine. And it makes things soooooo much more simple.
Here's the link to the method:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/477666-eating-for-future-you-method
Best of Luck!

xgg2rs

Thanks, I'll check that out.

donnam40

You'll soon know if you are not eating enough anyway. The long runs are murder if you do not have enough fuel in the tank. I also agree with the post about looking at it from a weekly perspective. Most Saturdays I run 22 - 25kms and find I don't eat all that much on Saturday, but boy am I hungry on Sunday. I figure it all balances out in the end.

Enjoy your marathon. Having done 3 fulls myself I can only offer two pieces of advice - respect the distance and remember it is an achievement just to make it to the start line!

Donna

714rah714

The human body is very effecient when it comes to running, so for my 9 mile run at my current weight of 196lbs, I log 1300 calories burn.

WittneeT29

I agree with the posts that you need to eat to fuel your body during recovery and during long runs. Have fun with it--crossing the finish line is the best feeling in the world, no matter what your time!!

Do keep in mind that it is REALLY easy to overeat after the marathon is complete (and I do not mean the day of). I have run two full marathons, and it was hard to get my eating back down to what it needs to be when I am not running x number of miles a week to train.

Good luck! You will do great!

taramaureen

I eat anywhere from none to half of my calories back. I use my watch and the largest ammount of calories I have burned is about 1,000 but the day to day is around 300. Since it's such a small ammount I don't feel the need to eat them back.