How can I fuel for running when eating a calorie deficit

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ES110791
ES110791 Posts: 43 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I really believe I need to eat at least maintenance calories while running regularly if I want to perform at my best. It only makes sense that if your body is using all the energy you consume for daily activities it won't have much to spare for running. But I have gained some weight recently on a holiday (totally worth it, European food wow) and I'd like to lose it again, but in also training for a. Half marathon so I don't want to compromise myself by not eating enough. I cut down on food last week and my performance suffered.

Any tips?

Replies

  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    I really believe I need to eat at least maintenance calories while running regularly if I want to perform at my best. It only makes sense that if your body is using all the energy you consume for daily activities it won't have much to spare for running. But I have gained some weight recently on a holiday (totally worth it, European food wow) and I'd like to lose it again, but in also training for a. Half marathon so I don't want to compromise myself by not eating enough. I cut down on food last week and my performance suffered.

    Any tips?

    Eat.

    Seriously.

    Generally you burn around 100 calories per mile ran. If you are running 10 miles that is around 1000 calories. To fuel up you can still be on the good side by eating 300-500 calories. More fuel, still at a def.
    ALso may want to look into foods that provide sustaining energy.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    Keep a small deficit.
    Are you a competitive runner? If not then decide if weight loss or a few extra seconds off your time is the greater priority.
  • neil929
    neil929 Posts: 9
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    Have a banana it's great food for a healthy energy boost IMO
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    I really believe I need to eat at least maintenance calories while running regularly if I want to perform at my best. It only makes sense that if your body is using all the energy you consume for daily activities it won't have much to spare for running. But I have gained some weight recently on a holiday (totally worth it, European food wow) and I'd like to lose it again, but in also training for a. Half marathon so I don't want to compromise myself by not eating enough. I cut down on food last week and my performance suffered.

    Any tips?

    Eat.

    Seriously.

    Generally you burn around 100 calories per mile ran. If you are running 10 miles that is around 1000 calories. To fuel up you can still be on the good side by eating 300-500 calories. More fuel, still at a def.
    ALso may want to look into foods that provide sustaining energy.

    This^^

    You're only 22 and have a goal loss of only 5lbs. You should be within 200 or so calories of TDEE anyways. If you're looking to lose the weight you lost on vacation....it's almost all water anyway.

    I gained 8lbs on a cruise and lost it all in 4 days.
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
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    Two different goals may require two different approaches. You can still eat at a deficit just figure in your running calories and adjust accordingly. I have read quite a bit that it is tough to lose weight while actively training for a race and I have found this to be very true.
  • sld12dy
    sld12dy Posts: 1
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    I have a follow-up question to this. As I am an avid biker (both road and mountain) I worked with a nutritionist 2 years ago while training for an 11 hour mountain bike race. She stated to keep my energy up, i should only be concerned about my Carb intake. 60-75mn/hour. This is the energy side of your exercise.

    I am now trying to cut 25-30 lbs and find that between swimming, biking and weight lifting, during my biking I am TOTALLY depleting any energy stores I have. So much so, that I totally bonk and can take up to a day and having to increase my carbs just to make it through a work day at my desk.

    How do you manage trying to cut weight, exercise to get stronger and burn more fat and keep your energy levels up to where you don't bonk?

    Any help would be great!
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
    Options
    I have a follow-up question to this. As I am an avid biker (both road and mountain) I worked with a nutritionist 2 years ago while training for an 11 hour mountain bike race. She stated to keep my energy up, i should only be concerned about my Carb intake. 60-75mn/hour. This is the energy side of your exercise.

    I am now trying to cut 25-30 lbs and find that between swimming, biking and weight lifting, during my biking I am TOTALLY depleting any energy stores I have. So much so, that I totally bonk and can take up to a day and having to increase my carbs just to make it through a work day at my desk.

    How do you manage trying to cut weight, exercise to get stronger and burn more fat and keep your energy levels up to where you don't bonk?

    Any help would be great!

    There is a difference between fueling for optimal performance and trying to lose weight with said workouts.
    If you are training for a competition then it is more important to fuel for those workouts/event. If your goal is to lose weight then you necessarily dont have to fuel up for your workout. If you feel you are bonking out late in workouts then look into eating something about an hour before a workout to help but personally I never have had the need to refuel before just working out to get energy. You body, believe it or not, has alot of "stored energy" that can be used for normal workouts.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I really believe I need to eat at least maintenance calories while running regularly if I want to perform at my best. It only makes sense that if your body is using all the energy you consume for daily activities it won't have much to spare for running. But I have gained some weight recently on a holiday (totally worth it, European food wow) and I'd like to lose it again, but in also training for a. Half marathon so I don't want to compromise myself by not eating enough. I cut down on food last week and my performance suffered.

    Any tips?

    Your thought process is logical but you're forgetting that you already have energy banked in your body (that's what fat is....) so assuming your estimates were reasonably accurate (both intake and expenditure) and you were consuming 500 cal per day less than you were expending you'd be getting the difference from stored fat.

    If you're training for an endurance event aim for a modest deficit and closely monitor how you feel.......if your performance starts to suffer you know your deficit is too big (or you're not getting enough carbs.....)

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