marathon trainig and eating back calories...I can't eat that

Angiebangie
Angiebangie Posts: 191 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm running about 50 miles a week right now over 5 days. MFP has me eating back all those calories, which I'm fine with except I can't eat that much food! I already eat very healthfully, tons of fruit and veggies, greek yogurt, grains are quinoa and muesli, etc, not hardly any bread or any cereals. Lean proteins, I hate fake food and won't do protein powders or bars. My problem is that on my run days (almost all 9-12 miles except for long run of 16-18) MFP has me eating all those back, can I instead carry them over to days when I'm not running, Monday & Thursdays? Those days I only get 1320, but would gladly add in another 500 that I wasn't able to consume on my workout days. Example was Tuesday, track workout of 12 miles, had me at like a total of 2717, but I only ate 2020. Can I carry some ot those over? Thoughts?

Replies

  • gemiwing
    gemiwing Posts: 1,525 Member
    I would absolutely carry some over to your rest days. Not all of them- but some of them, yes. With your long distances you'll have blood flow diverted from digestion for quite some time anyway, cramming all those cals in such a small window would make me sick too.

    Enjoy those recovery days and EAT :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    There are times I think MFP overcomplicates things.

    Average it out over a week and you'll be fine (in fact, I'm pretty sure if you worked out your TDEE and subtracted the desired rate of loss the numbers would be very similar to the averaged amount)
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    You could cook your own protein bars if you wanted ;) .

    but averaging over a week is a valid plan. It's how you get your daily goals anyway: 1 lb/wk is a 3500 cal deficit for the week, so average it over 7 days.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    What about nuts? 25g = 100 calories.
  • dandreii
    dandreii Posts: 15 Member
    You could also add a serving or two of nuts to add some needed calories.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I know that there are a lot of people that do the weekly average thing with calories, but that doesn't seem to work in my mind or with my body. Your body doesn't *really* know that you're using calories burned on Tuesday to eat extra food on Thursday. All it knows is that what you feed it Thursday and what you burn on Thursday. No, it's not a 24 hour clock that starts at 12:01am and stops at 12:00am, but it's also not going to "store" calories burned to apply to food eaten on a later day.

    Yes, some weekly averaging can be fine in the long run, but I've always had better results with just eating for the day itself. On some of my long run days I fell a little short of my net goal, but I still stuck to my normal calories on my rest days during training.

    What I usually did on my long run days was just increase amounts of the same healthy foods I was already eating. Instead of 20 grams of almonds, I'd have 40 grams. Instead of a single serving of brown rice with my lunch, I'd have two servings. And maybe add in a "treat" of having some real, natural, peanut butter on my toast instead of the PB2 I normally have.

    Or I'd make a special dinner for the hubby and I on my long run days. Something turkey burgers that were larger than I normally would do, with increased amounts of all the toppings like cheese, center cut bacon, caramelized onions, avocado, etc. And have some roasted sweet potatoes as a side along with the salads that we'd typically have. At it's heart, it's almost the same meal I'd have on a non-long run day, but everything is increased in amounts to make it more filling and more calories, but done in a healthy way.
  • Angiebangie
    Angiebangie Posts: 191 Member
    What about nuts? 25g = 100 calories.

    I already eat an oz. of nuts per day, I've come across different articles claiming you shouldn't overdo it with them, at MOST 3 oz. per day, and that's alot of nuts!
  • madamepsychosis
    madamepsychosis Posts: 472 Member
    You could try upping portion sizes of what you already eat and I think nuts are a great suggestion too, but if it's still not enough or it starts to make you feel bad, average it out! As someone else said on here, you'll probably carry over some of that extra energy to the days you do run anyway. I'm all for eating back exercise calories, but if it's really more than you feel you can handle, don't eat it all that day. Listen to your body. You don't want to make yourself feel sick.
  • Angiebangie
    Angiebangie Posts: 191 Member
    I know that there are a lot of people that do the weekly average thing with calories, but that doesn't seem to work in my mind or with my body. Your body doesn't *really* know that you're using calories burned on Tuesday to eat extra food on Thursday. All it knows is that what you feed it Thursday and what you burn on Thursday. No, it's not a 24 hour clock that starts at 12:01am and stops at 12:00am, but it's also not going to "store" calories burned to apply to food eaten on a later day.

    Yes, some weekly averaging can be fine in the long run, but I've always had better results with just eating for the day itself. On some of my long run days I fell a little short of my net goal, but I still stuck to my normal calories on my rest days during training.

    What I usually did on my long run days was just increase amounts of the same healthy foods I was already eating. Instead of 20 grams of almonds, I'd have 40 grams. Instead of a single serving of brown rice with my lunch, I'd have two servings. And maybe add in a "treat" of having some real, natural, peanut butter on my toast instead of the PB2 I normally have.

    Or I'd make a special dinner for the hubby and I on my long run days. Something turkey burgers that were larger than I normally would do, with increased amounts of all the toppings like cheese, center cut bacon, caramelized onions, avocado, etc. And have some roasted sweet potatoes as a side along with the salads that we'd typically have. At it's heart, it's almost the same meal I'd have on a non-long run day, but everything is increased in amounts to make it more filling and more calories, but done in a healthy way.

    This seems to be what I figured would be the right answer. I also have my MFP at me losing a pound a week. I don't really NEED to lose any, maybe 5 pounds still, but my ticker at the bottom is from the last time I was tracking all this years ago. I have it set that way so I don't over eat, which is sometimes typical while running high mileage, due to overestimating burned calories or underestimating consumed calories.
  • jamielynas
    jamielynas Posts: 366 Member
    I usually run between 75 - 80 miles a week (stress fracture is stopping me just now) I don't feel like I HAVE to eat all the calories back, I just tend to base it on actual hunger.
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Why are you only eating 1320 calories a day with that much exercise? If you have your activity level to sedentary, you should change that to active with all of that running.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Try drinking more calories, juice, milk, shakes, no where near as filling and full of calories. On top of that avoid lite and diet foods and opt for the full calorie versions.

    Instead of entering exercise, try changing your activity level to very active and eat that many cals everyday. this would have you eat under on long run days, but over on short or rest days
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Smoothing it out over week by week, rather than day by day basis seems quite reasonable.
  • Angiebangie
    Angiebangie Posts: 191 Member
    Why are you only eating 1320 calories a day with that much exercise? If you have your activity level to sedentary, you should change that to active with all of that running.

    The activity is just your "normal" daily activity. I manage a dry-cleaners, so it's light active. I add in my running when I do it.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
    Without trying to scare you, yes you need to eat those back. I had the same "I'm not hungry" (and I wasn't, I'm not a hungry runner) during my marathon training last fall. As a result my BMR dropped to less than 900, and I gained 5 pounds. I wasn't trying to lose or gain, I put the scale away to just focus on how I felt as it's common to carry water weight during marathon training...and it'll stick around for a while. It's not an uncommon reality, but just shoot for a net weekly goal and you'll be alright.

    Oh and try to set MFP to lose 1/2 pound a week, that's what's sustainable for a marathon training plan. Runner's World has a good article by Jenny Hadfield on losing while training for a marathon.

    On you LR days, try to net above 500 though :)
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    What about nuts? 25g = 100 calories.

    I already eat an oz. of nuts per day, I've come across different articles claiming you shouldn't overdo it with them, at MOST 3 oz. per day, and that's alot of nuts!

    Hm, to be fair, 3oz is a lot of nuts. :D

    Seeds? Or just hit the meat. Cold last-night's roast chicken. :D
  • Ironman2be
    Ironman2be Posts: 140 Member
    I eat less the days I run or cycle big miles, but on my rest days, i PIG out!!! I just listen to my body, not so much this sites numbers.
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