Running And Carbs... How do you do it?

ashzacher · March 2013

Hi everyone!

I am currently training for my first half marathon - in the process, I'm also trying to lose some pounds! I have a small frame (about 5'3") but that extra mid-section is what gets to my current weight of about 142.

I have been losing about a pound a week, which is OK with me, but I also want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to do it right.

I run four days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Usually a 3-4 miler on Monday & Thursday, 4-5 on Wednesday, and a long run Saturday - I'm following a training plan.

My concern is this -- I want to make sure I'm taking in enough calories and carbs, and I also want to make sure I'm not taking in too many, either. I try to eat as clean as I can, but I'm nowhere near perfect.

----

Here is an example of what I usually eat each day..

Breakfast: Either egg whites and cheese with a slice of whole grain bread, or oatmeal with fruit/nuts.
Midmorning: Either Greek Yogurt, fruit, apple with peanut butter, or something like baby carrots.
Midday: EIther some veggies and chicken or shrimp (usually leftovers), or a chicken salad. Usually have fruit on the side, or maybe a yogurt, or some crackers.
Midafternoon/pre-workout: Usually if I'm not running (Tuesdays) I won't be too hungry before dinner. But if I know I'm running, I'll have half of a Larabar (they're fruit and nut bars if you're not familiar, no added sugar or anything).
Dinner/post-workout: If I run, I'll have something like pasta, quinoa, or brown rice with either fish, chicken, or shrimp, and then a veggie.

Generally, I eat more in the first half of the day than the second. I usually only have 2 servings (sometimes even 1... oops) of a truly carb-y thing such as bread, pasta, or rice, each day. I usually eat veggies with both lunch and dinner, and I usually have one serving of fruit each day.

I am just concerned that as I get into longer runs, I won't have enough energy to continue because I'm not eating enough. But, I also don't want to eat too much to hinder my weight loss progress.. This is a tough situation! I am upping my carbs - I used to only eat carbs at breakfast (when I say 'carbs', I mean bread/pasta/rice, not fruit or yogurt). I usually stay around the 1200 calories a day, but I fear that as I burn more (today I burned over 500 on a 5-mile run), my body will need more food, but I just don't know how much to give it before going overboard! I am generally slightly under for fat intake, pretty far under on carbs, and over on protein. What do you all recommend??

Thanks!
XOXO
Ashley

ashzacher · March 2013

Bump??

juliekins64 · March 2013

Hi, I run Mon-Fri for about 5km/day.
I will eat a piece of fruit and a couple handfuls of trail mix 1 hr before my run for energy.
I have found that this helps me keep my energy up better than what I eat the rest of the day.
My normal day is approx: 100g carbs, I think about 40 g fat and 100g of protein.
If you are running longer than an hour at a time you could bring one of those gel packs or bags of gatorade for added energy.

msrootitooti · March 2013

I am also training for my first half marathon on May 5 (well, technically my second but the first was over 10 years ago). I naturally have a higher carb diet but usually they come from fruits and veggies. I don't necessarily change things for running but I would recommend that you up your food intake. You will have trouble sustaining at 1200 and your training will likely suffer. I currently have my goal set to 1450 but I also eat back most of my exercise calories. I have a lot to eat back on my long run days and I definitely eat them back. My weight loss has slowed with my training but I have lost 25 pounds since Sept. and have only a few more to go. I don't necessarily eat clean but I try to eat healthy and my meals tend to look a lot like yours. I just eat more later in the day...

ExRelaySprinter · March 2013

As suggested earlier, maybe have a piece of fruit (a Banana perhaps) or i normally have a slice of wholemeal toast with Peanut Butter about an hour before i exercise.

majope · March 2013

I find when I'm training for a half-marathon (my sixth is coming up in May), I run short of energy unless I keep my deficit small. When I was heavier, that was a 500-calorie deficit for a goal of a pound a week weight loss, now that I'm not as heavy it's 250 for a goal of half a pound a week. I eat back my exercise calories, and keep my carbs around 50%.

About a week or so before the race, I'll go to maintenance calories to make sure I'm fully fueled up for the event.

It'll be really clear if you're not fueling yourself enough for longer runs--even with trying to make sure I'm eating enough, I've had a couple of runs this training cycle where, for instance, I just had nothing on the last two miles of an 8-miler. I finished, but felt like crap the rest of the day. And it taught me (again! sometimes it takes multiple lessons) to pay better attention to the relationship between running and food.

Best of luck with your training and race!

travishalogod · March 2013

You need to play with your diet and your running.. everybody is very different.. The rule of thumb is to carb up before a long run 1-2 hours before. and if it is goign to be over an hour long, take a gel shot with you, like stated above..
Personally, when i began a running program, i didn't change my diet at all, I just kept my general healthy eating up, i dropped 40 pounds in a month, just from my running. When i would have a long race or would go do a 5k or something, i would make sure I had a good complex carb in the morning about 3 hours before the actual run, this always improved my time but the distance of that run was nothing and not that big of a conern if you are eating normally.. i personally would be fasting otherwise.. so i would eat something small to feel better.

So yes, there are general guidelines, but in the end you need to figure out what makes you feel good or depleated.. also be careful with your electrolytes too.. people get stuck on carbs, but if your electrolytes imbalance you're in for a terrible day.

LisaGNV · March 2013

I rarely "carb load" unless my run is going to last longer than 2 hours. I have played around with different small meals before a long run and find that 1/2 a bagel and some peanut butter do great for me. I put Nuun tablets in my water and carry a gel if I really feel like I need it but find usually I don't. Of course, 2+ hours running and it's a different ball game...

digitalsteel · March 2013

My thoughts on this would lean twards not carb loading. Your glycemic stores are for emergency bursts of energy, not sustained activity. That is what stored body fat is for. If you eat foods that promote using your body fat as fuel vs glucose, you should do better.

etafeen · March 2013

I just ran my third half marathon this past Sunday and find that I do not carb load before a big race as it just weights me down since I am not use to consuming so many carbs. I always eat half a bagel (usually whole wheat or plain) and half a banana to help prevent cramps and that fuels me through my half marathons. In terms of daily runs I find that I eat my carbs during lunch time more so than after dinner or at breakfast. I work in an office where we order out often and while I bring my lunch I will sometimes grab a slice of bread to eat at lunch to help those longer runs. Just play around with what works for you but know that probably the few days leading up to your race and on race day do not do anything different than what you trained doing or else you will pay for it during your run or immediately after.

MartinaNYC · March 2013

Hi! I'd switch you dinner options with your lunch options- you should have most of your carbs BEFORE your run a proteins AFTERWARDS. I believe your food choices are really good, I just would have the pasta/quinoa/rice with chicken and co. for lunch and the rest for dinner. Oatmeal and nuts for breakfast is a great choice! Also, I got a very particular stomach, so on the days I run I won't have almost any proteins for lunch before training because I feel slowed down from them (carbs are digested very quickly/ proteins very slowly). My lunch options are: white rice with 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 3 tbsp parmesan cheese or a whole wheat bagel with 1 tbsp of peanut butter and a banana. Then I'll eat lot of proteins for dinner for muscles recovery! Hope it helped

dbmata · March 2013

Going to add a little info that is worth exactly what you're paying for it..

When I was running and hiking more, I was limiting to about 70 grams a day, and heavy runs days I'd up to 100g, no more. I'd also up my protein intake, taking from my fats. (While still keeping below maint.).

I'd be fine, but I wasn't running a half. My body was more used to working on low levels of carbs, and pulling activity energy from stores, and available fat and protein from what my daily intake was. I'd be fine until I'd be 6 or 7 hours into a hike, and then I'd load back up with some almond butter and a little jerky.

ashzacher · March 2013

Thanks everyone! I respect all of your opinions and am definitely taking your advice to count.. It's true, you never know the relationship with running and food until you have to deal directly with it! Thanks for your help :-)

Bigboss54 · March 2013

I do a lot of runs of 5, 8, 10, 14k and half marathons. I found that having a protien shake before my training runs give you that burst of energy you need at the end of the run. What protien you do not uses is excreated from the body. When it comes to race time I increase my carbs the night before such as a pasta meal then two hour before the run I have a piece of fruit and protien shake. This give plenty of energy to complete the run. At run race day you are not looking for weight lose although it does happen as your metabelism goes into overdrive. All the carbs you have consumed will be burnt and more. The thing about carbs is what you do not uses is converted to glucose and stored as fat.

Jeff

action_figure · March 2013

If you're in active training and getting a lot of exercise, I think 1200 may be a little low. When I started doing MFP I told it I was sedentary, because that was true. My recommended intake was 1270 calories. I had slowly been adding lots of exercise though, and I was just hungry all the time on that. I changed my activity level to active, which increased my calories to 1450 and I set my protein at 100 grams. Now I'm not hungry even on days that I weightlift and hike 5 miles. I am just getting started in running though, so I don't have anything more specific to add. It's just for someone who's legit working out and training hard, your calories seem awfully low. You don't want to be in a catabolic state.

daj150 · March 2013

What you are doing sounds fine. I am in the middle of triathlon and half marathon training right now. A nice general thing you can follow is having your carbs be around 50% of your calories. Percents aren't really something to follow, but a nice guide. My wife is around your height, and she is half marathon training as well. She basically does 1200 calories as well...HOWEVER, she eats back her exercise calories. So, net, she is doing 1200, but her total caloric intake is closer to 2000 on typical days.

Personally, here is what I do for pre, during, and post runs.

Pre: Protein shake, 1-2 scoops (30+ min before), plus some energy supplements from my GNC Endurance VitaPak
During: Water, with long runs (10+), I will usually have a Gatorade with me as well (low sugar though, regular dehydrates me)
Post: Well balanced meal OR Quest Bar OR another shake (usually don't do the shake because it doesn't work as well)

My wife follows a similar routine as well, although she doesn't seem to need the Gatorade for her long runs, lucky, lol.

Good luck in training...and remember...ALWAYS listen to your body. Even though you want to lose weight, if you are feeling too tired, you will end up hurting yourself if you aren't getting enough energy.

SassyCalyGirl · March 2013

I cannot run on a full stomach-so I have a protein shake before. I do not carb load for half marathons-no real need. But I do drink "Prolong" (an athletic performance drink) while running a half. It delivers a dual source of carbs and electrolytes plus protein for sustained performance. It also reduces my need to stop and water stations for a better time!

good luck to you on your first half

Running And Carbs... How do you do it?

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