RUNNERS-Calorie Breakdown ? for you

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runner_girl_120
runner_girl_120 Posts: 47
in Food and Nutrition
What do you have yours set at? Carbs, protein and fat....60-20-20, 55-30-15....? What have you found the best success (weight loss while continuing training/running) with? I read that a dieting runner needs more protein then a runner maintaining weight, so I was thinking to set mine with the higher carbs, then protein, then fat? What do you do?

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  • momof3and3
    momof3and3 Posts: 656 Member
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    bump
  • sissamae
    sissamae Posts: 232 Member
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    I am new to running and would like to hear the answers as well :)
  • meli_medina
    meli_medina Posts: 594 Member
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    How far are you running? I have been training for a half marathon and have my macros set to 40/30/30, though I was using MFP's default for a while and sticking under carbs by about 1/3, so if I had 300 available carbs for the day, I ate 200. From what I understand, the only times to really worry about carbing up are the week leading up to a marathon or other high-endurance event. If you're just doing 5Ks, a 40/30/30 won't hurt you, and will give you plenty of both protein and carbs in order to maintain lean muscle. :)
  • runner_girl_120
    runner_girl_120 Posts: 47
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    I run 35-50 miles a week. I'm on my college's cross country and track teams. I've always just kind of followed what MFP had set, but want to set it to optimize my weight loss and running!
  • NitaCB
    NitaCB Posts: 532 Member
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    I run about the same distance as you do, roughly. I have mine set to 50 carbs, 30 protein and 20 fat.
  • CoraGregoryCPA
    CoraGregoryCPA Posts: 1,087 Member
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    Those running distances are awesome!
  • runner_girl_120
    runner_girl_120 Posts: 47
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    thank you for an answer! haha
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
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    I've been running for only a few months now (June). As is my wont when I'm new to something, I've done a little research on this and the answers are very close - 50/30/20 or 55/25/20.

    When I was losing weight, I upped my proteins to about 50% so, when I started running, it was hard to eat carbs. I really didn't want to eat them! It took a few weeks for me to "get it" and now I eat basmati rice and make my own whole wheat bread.

    One of the great things about running is that it really helps reinforce the idea that food is fuel for the body.

    Oop's - I forgot this - Runner's World has proven to be a really good resource.
  • AriannaTiyen42
    AriannaTiyen42 Posts: 86 Member
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    bump
  • lurelw
    lurelw Posts: 11 Member
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    I run half and full marathons, and I train 50+ miles/week. I follow the advice from Peter Pfitzinger, author of Advanced Marathoning, for macros during training, which is 60/20/20 (c/p/f). Another way to look at it is getting 0.55-0.75 g/lb of body weight of protein and 3-3.5 g/lb for carbs (not sure what that is for fat, but I generally keep it pretty low). Also make sure you get at least 0.5g/lb of carbs in you after a longer run to keep those glycogen stores up.
    During the off season, such as right now, I am trying to maintain my endurance with running as well as lower my bf%/lose weight/gain muscle. Currently my macros are 50/30/20 but that might change if I hear a better suggestion with good reasons. I figure that I still have enough carbs to run, but also have more protein in there to assist with maintain/building muscle.

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