Diet combined with marathon training

christopherpm

WOW! Thanks for all the replies - I didn't expect so many...

I do currently exercise - normally 6 or 7 days a week, and currently around 6 or 7 miles per session either on the treadmill or outdoors as I'm going to do a 10k in September.

At the moment, MFP suggests 1440 calories for me based on my goal of losing 2lbs per week and my current weight, so when I exercise, my daily calorie allowance goes up by around 700-900 but I don't normally eat anywhere near that amount extra.

Basically, I'm concerned that at 15st 4lbs, I'm a bit heavy to run a marathon, and I'd like to come down to a weight of around 13st which is why I'm trying to lose that 2lbs per week, but at the same time I am also aware that I need fuel in the tank in order to run any great distance!

So bearing in mind I know that I'm going to earn approx 700 calories from a run, can I assume that it's better for me to eat those calories a couple of hours before I run?

BerryH

So bearing in mind I know that I'm going to earn approx 700 calories from a run, can I assume that it's better for me to eat those calories a couple of hours before I run?

You need to figure what suits you and what time of day you run. I usually run in the morning so I'd have porridge for breakfast, energy gels on the go if it was a long one and a good carb/protein mix meal when I got back.

You're on very low calories for a man on that 2lb a week loss, so do please eat all your exercise calories.

rjbram

I've been on MFP for a few months during my marathon training, now in the final taper phase. Had tried loss setting of 1 lb per week, but it was too hard, finally succeeded in reaching goal weight using loss of 0.5 lb per week. I agree it is essential to eat back spent calories, and MFP was critically valuable for estimating how much that is. In my opinion, better to eat after runs, rather than before, so you can get used to running when glycogen depleted. Save the use of gels until very near the actual race. Good luck to you!