running and nutrition

janie4ever

Hey everybody...im a runner and the night before races I eat a good amount of pasta and bread so I will have extra energy in my races. On the days right before my races i eat more calories than what is needed to lose weight because i don't want to jeopardize my race. I have 2 races a week so I do this twice a week. However, does this mean I am jeopardizing my weight loss success?

miss_september

Hmm...I don't necessarily consider myself a runner, but I do run 5Ks and a couple of sprint triathlons during the summer. I wouldn't say I am at a truly competitive level, as I am still on my weight-loss, athletic-improvement journey, but I do compete against myself =-). Anyway, I too have a couple of "spike" days, as recommended by a nutritionist I spoke with, and so far what seems to make the biggest difference for my weight loss is an overall picture of the week. I don't know how far over calories you go, but some days I will go as high as 500 over when I know I am getting ready for a big workout, and by maintaining around what I need for the rest of the week (I try to eat back exercise calories, but don't always) I am usually able to stay more or less on track. I am happy if I lose 1 pound, even if I am set up to lose 2, but sometimes I end up losing 3 lbs one week, then 1 the next. So far I haven't had any negative effects. I just try to make my extra calories/carbs be nutritional (pasta or bread over sweets, that sort of thing). Not sure if that is helpful, but that is my experience so far.

janie4ever

thanks for the advice...that was actually quite helpful and gave me some a different perspective