Long Distance Running vs. eating Back Calories

mshawski

I'm beginning to train for a half marathon. Thou thought of eating back my calories when I'm burning off 1500+ in one run is mildly terrifying, as that would put me over 3,000 gross calories a day [still 1590 net, which is my goal]. Something about it just seems... wrong. Long distance runners who are trying to lose weight, does eating back all of your calories work for you? Or anyone who burns A LOT in one work out - what seems to work for you?

kevin3344

Simply put you won't be able to eat back all of your calories....just because it's not possible lol.

When I trained for a marathon I burned 1,500-2,000 additional calories! I just ate the same thing....drank more fluids, Gatorade, etc.

You'll be smaller, of course, but that's a good thing

Quickster34

I find that i HAVE to eat them back otherwise you are just dead.. I was a sprinter in college and would burn at least 1500cal in one workout and we would have 2 a days 3 days a week, needless to say i ate whatever i wanted and still maintained around 7% bf . those days are gone unfortunatley but I still train and when i do long runs ill get up there in the 700-1000 cal burnt range and absolutley need to refuel.. If you're puttting your body to work you need to fuel it, just like a machine

gmpearson

I find that on my longer run days, it is fairly hard to eat all of my alloted calories. However, I do make sure I eat a good amount of protein and a decent amount of carbs. The nice thing is that I can enjoy some of the foods that I might not normally eat because they consume too much of my normal caloric allottment. Then again, leaving myself in a caloric deficit for the day is mostly positive since I am trying to reduce my BF% anyway

I think the biggest thing here (as pointed out by others too) is that you sufficiently fuel your body for the exercise that you are doing. I don't know that it needs to be 1 for 1 (calories burned vs calories consumed), but I would think that you need to listen to your body and replenish the energy as needed and fuel up for your next run.

Greg

DanTTX

That's why I just love my Runs :bigsmile: I can eat some more since I'm using up so many cals now

mshawski

Thanks guys! My focus is cutting calories, so adding so many back just seems daunting. I feel like I'm cheating, but I'm not. You know? I needed a little reassurance, as I don't want to be that girl that curses because she didn't lose weight while she's eating 500 more than she should a day.

I AM looking forward to pizza not being forbidden on 13 mile days

Thanks again!

profladygrey

I find that I certainly need to eat more, particularly on the long run days, but if you are still trying to lose weight while doing so, don't hold your breath. When I hit 15 miles and above for my long runs, i finally actually started losing weight while feeling like I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted, but I know was not eating all that I was burning. Beware, though, once the race is over and you stop running that far, your metabolism will slow way down within 2 months and you'll start packing on the pounds if you don't limit your caloric consumption again. It's hard.

3dogsrunning

I AM looking forward to pizza not being forbidden on 13 mile days

Thanks again!

Thats exactly what I did with my long run calories. Some days I didn't get them all but I tried to plan my splurge day to coincide with my long run day.

mshawski

Beware, though, once the race is over and you stop running that far, your metabolism will slow way down within 2 months and you'll start packing on the pounds if you don't limit your caloric consumption again. It's hard.

Thanks for the warning! Haha. My goal is to constantly have 1 long run during the weekends, but that's probably not realistic in the winter. So I'll be back to eating NOT pizza.

rybo

You will find out real quick if you aren't eating enough when you have no energy to run. For me, I had to eat most if not all my calories back or my runs tanked severely. I also set my deficit to 1/2 lbs a week.

Nopedotjpeg

Eat.

kelzz193

I had to eat about 50--75% of my calories back or I would have absolutely no energy! It's important that when you start logging those long hours of training that you listen to what your body is telling you. If you are hungry for carbs & protein-- it's because you need them. You will still drop weight regardless, if nothing else from all the sweat and water you will loose. So hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! It's a really individual thing though so find your happy place and stick with it. Best of luck to you!

scorpio516

I don't burn that much in a single run - usually 1000 at most - but when I'm doing a long bike ride, I need to injest about 300 calories per hour of activity. When I'm biking, it's solid food, but I couldn't do that running.

Slightly different, when long distance hiking, you burn a tonne of calories too (walking a marathon+ a day while carrying 20lbs). Different in that you need to carry your food, but the idea is the same. Calorie dense food is the rule. Nuts, nut butters, certain grains, etc. All have a lot of calories per ounce of food.

BrianSharpe

I'm beginning to train for a half marathon. Thou thought of eating back my calories when I'm burning off 1500+ in one run is mildly terrifying, as that would put me over 3,000 gross calories a day [still 1590 net, which is my goal]. Something about it just seems... wrong. Long distance runners who are trying to lose weight, does eating back all of your calories work for you? Or anyone who burns A LOT in one work out - what seems to work for you?

Well, last Sunday I did an 18k training run and then followed it up with a 1000 cal breakfast (fresh fruit, yogurt, french toast, blueberries, maple syrup, sausage & OJ).

That's also one of the reasons you don't do 2 really long runs on consecutive days - to allow you to recover physically and nutritionally.

]My goal is to constantly have 1 long run during the weekends, but that's probably not realistic in the winter.

Winter running is great (as long as you dress properly). Running on snow and ice has really helped me shorten my stride which results in an improved midfoot strike.

laurcampbell

When I am training for long distance I usually have 1 long run a week and I do enjoy what I eat that day and eat most of my calories back, my favorite after race treat is a whole wheat turkey sub! (if training for a marathon I usually don't eat all of my calories back because that becomes 3000+ on some days).

I would just warn to be careful and track your calories because it becomes very easy to snack or say "I am carbo loading" and add on way more calories than you want. Your body will do a pretty good job of telling you if you need more. Also dont get frustrated if you notice the scale go up a bit after long runs - you will store water weight and I always struggle not to get frustrated with it.

Best of luck and so excited for you!

MSeel1984

Was going to ask this same question (even though it seems it's been asked a million times)...but mostly because I'm working on fueling DURING my run...my blood sugar drops (to dangerous levels-I'm a type I diabetic) during the middle-end of my run and then I can't accomplish the mileage I want...
I consumed a LOT before and during my run...then my sugar drops throughout the day (working out these issues with my doctor) but I find I DEFINITELY get hungrier days I run. I need those extra calories and carbs...if I don't fuel during and throughout the rest of the day, I'm just dead.

MeanderingMammal

I find I struggle to eat back enough on my long run days, but that gives me a bit of scope to go over on other days. I tend to look at how it balances out over time. That said, my loss goal is only 1/2lb per week at the moment.

I do have to be sensitive to fuelling, so go over the night before a long run.

Subject to your plan your long runs will mainly be around the 8 mile point, a couple at 10 miles, so you're really not looking at many really big days.

ES110791

How do you burn that many calories? A 13 mile run for me burns like 1200, how far do you run to burn 1500, and how often are you doing it?

But yeah, as other people have said, make sure you at least eat enough to fuel your performance. I personally would not use long distance running to lose weight. Long distance running its not the same as a HIIT workout or something, that kind of exercise is really taxing on your body and you're not going to re-fuel yourself properly, even for just general life, if you're eating a deficit. Not to mention if you want to perform your best. But that's just my opinion based on my own personal experience.

I've been half marathon training the last 2 months (it's next week omg) and I ate 2600+ calories on many long run days and it still left me with an appetite. If I ate less I would feel a significant drop in my functioning. Running 60+ km a week, think of how much fuel a car would need to go that distance. There's nothing wrong with eating a lot (even 3000 calories) if you are using that energy.

Zekela

You kind of have to see what works best for you. I eat until I'm full. However, when I'm training for a really long run say a marathon or longer, I try to run on empty occasionally. Not particularly to lose weight, but to train my body to go for longer without fuel (I have a tendency of not being able to eat much during a race). So, see what works for you... in training is the best way to experiment. If you are out of fuel, then eat more.

blackcloud13

I do eat them back when I am doing a lot of training, otherwise I just lose too much weight. Even if you are deliberately losingweight, you should still eat back to your target.

Like you, I try to coincide the largest meals with actual run days - but I am also ok with achieving balance over a weekly cycle. Today is a classic example - I don't feel like eating an extra 3, 000 cals to compensate for my cycle; but I've been eating my way up to it!

nancytyc

Okay....here is my two cents based on my own personal experience. Not a runner, but a long distance cycler. Today, I did a run that was just short of 60 miles. I burned over 3500 calories on that 5 hour trip. My macro is set to sedentary (so that on off days, I don't overeat). Therefore, for example, my calorie consumption for today could be as high as 4500 calories if I wanted. But, here is the thing with my body....I am trying to lose weight (still have 50 pounds to goal) and when I eat anything over 2400 - 2500 calories, even on days when I do 100 mile plus rides and could eat 10,000 calories in a day.....I gain weight and it sticks to me like it has been super glued on. It takes me several weeks to lose the pounds I gain from the long rides when I try to eat back too many of the calories (which, as I said, is much over 2400 - 2500 calories total for the day).

Now, no one has been able to explain this to me in a believable and intelligent manner that is supported with research. A long ride (100+ miles) has caused me to gain (on the scale) anywhere from 5 to 11 pounds immediately after the run and it takes some time to get that weight gone off the scale. While I realize that SOME of the weight gain is muscle, some is water from tissue repair....even so, the weight persists beyond muscle repair and no way it could all be muscle. I have found that I can not cycle long distances in a Ketogenic state. It does not work for me, even though I am LCHF and T2 Diabetic. I do fuel with Gu and other carbs during my long rides and that works for me, as I have found the balance to fuel with carbs and still find myself in Ketosis by the next morning.

So, it really DOES have to do with how your body responds. I will end by saying that, even though I do gain weight per the scale, there is a very very marked difference in the fit of my clothes soon after a long ride. So, while the scale is doing its thing, the body does seem to have shed significant fat stores. Which, in the end, is the true tale of your efforts.

Good luck. Hope that this helped you or someone else.

lemurcat12

I don't do well eating back huge run calories and then eating much lower calories on off days. (I would only ever do about half usually anyway, because otherwise I seemed to be eating just to eat.). This was a problem I had years ago training for the marathon, and now that I'm regularly doing 13 mile long runs and 2-3 hours of biking on the weekend I started to experience it again. I switched to TDEE method to average my calories through the week. I'm leaving room to still budget more on a big workout day--added 200 extra today because I was hungrier than usual--but this is working much better for me so far.

Samstan101

I don't do well eating back huge run calories and then eating much lower calories on off days. (I would only ever do about half usually anyway, because otherwise I seemed to be eating just to eat.). This was a problem I had years ago training for the marathon, and now that I'm regularly doing 13 mile long runs and 2-3 hours of biking on the weekend I started to experience it again. I switched to TDEE method to average my calories through the week. I'm leaving room to still budget more on a big workout day--added 200 extra today because I was hungrier than usual--but this is working much better for me so far.

The same for me. TDEE - % is much easier to manage and if I have an extra hard work out (like the HM I had yesterday) I may have a few extra cals if I'm hungry.

r_kraft

I just did a 1/2 marathon yesterday and boy did I eat after. I am not as careful as to what I eat, I just listen to my body and if I am hungry I eat. I still end the day with a net negative. After that I just go back to a more normal way of eating. That is the nice thing about your long runs you can use that as your cheat day. Just don't go too crazy.

mitch16

I'm having the same problem. My half marathon is in 3 weeks and I take my long run on Sunday. It totally kills my appetite--my deficit yesterday was more calories than I even take in on a normal day! I know I need to eat more to fuel my body, so I guess I'll just have to eat a bit more during the week (and I'm planning on taking a break from actively losing during my taper).

davert123

I eat most of mine back. As people have said I need to or else I can't train and I feel starving. One bit of good advice is to eat a lot of them before you run so you burn off what you have eaten - should give you better training sessions. I would recommend you get a book on sports nutrition to work out when to eat :-) good luck

mseel2

mshawski wrote: »

Thanks guys! My focus is cutting calories, so adding so many back just seems daunting. I feel like I'm cheating, but I'm not. You know? I needed a little reassurance, as I don't want to be that girl that curses because she didn't lose weight while she's eating 500 more than she should a day.

I AM looking forward to pizza not being forbidden on 13 mile days

Thanks again!

The notion of needing to "earn" your calories and food is a very dangerous one...

This is coming from someone who has completed 4 half marathons and was training for a full while not eating enough. I wound up with stress fractures that would haunt me for 1.5 YEARS...not to mention an eating disorder.

sijomial

If you were driving your car a long distance wouldn't you need to put more fuel in the tank compared to when you are just driving locally?

I really don't get this mindset that exercise calories are an extra, a bonus or even cheating. They are just a perfectly valid energy requirement for a healthy body.

Seems a real peculiarity to me that exercise calories are seen as somehow different.
Most people would agree someone with a very physical job should eat more than someone with a desk job, a big person should eat more than a small person but bizarrely people don't seem to get that someone doing a high volume of exercise not only can eat more - they should eat more than someone who exercises a little.

When my cycling burns get exraordinarilly high (highest daily TDEE was 6,500) then sure it's a real struggle to eat that much despite have the cycling advantage of being able to fuel to a degree while riding but I'm certainly going to be taking that day's deficit into account on the days before and after.

It's easy to get a perfectly reasonable calorie estimate for running so don't see why people don't trust the exercise part of CICO but are happy to work with the BMR and activity multiplier parts of the estimation - niether of which are perfectly accurate (like exercise estimates they don't have to be).

To answer the final question - yes eating back all my exercise calories while losing weight worked perfectly, lost on schedule, very little impact to training performance (unlike being under fuelled).

heybales

For that issue of huge eat-backs on big training days, and not always feeling like it, I would use a combo TDEE-MFP approach as mileage ramped up.

I'd figure TDEE on only 1 hr of workouts on the 4 or 5 days normally done.

Eating goal based on deficit to that.

And then on days where the long run or ride occurred, I'd figure the extra calories for what happened over the hour, and totally be able to eat them back that day - because it usually wasn't that much extra.
Not once you counted in the extra fuel eaten during the ride or run, usually about 100 per hour, so 3-4 hrs, and then an easy 100 afterwards of chocolate milk or such.

spiriteagle99

I know this is an old thread, but the question does come up often. I eat back all my exercise calories, especially when race training. Not necessarily on the day I burn them, but over a few days they get eaten. One thing I usually do is save my dinners out for long run days. It is very easy to eat 1500+ calories with a restaurant meal.

apullum

I ran 12 miles yesterday. I ate back all those calories plus some I had banked earlier in the week and hadn't already used. I want to be absolutely certain that I'm fueling both my run and my recovery properly. Remember that recovery is just as important as training, and your body needs proper nutrition to replenish glycogen and repair muscle.