Diet combined with marathon training
christopherpm
Posts: 75 Member
Here's a question - how should I balance my diet with training for a potential marathon? At the moment, I am overweight and am using myfitnesspal to keep track of my calorie intake. I'm a male currently on 1440 calories per day.
At the same time, I have put my name into the ballot for the 2013 London Marathon, and therefore I need to train for that in the hope that I get a place - however, my low daily calorie intake, whilst helping me to lose weight, isn't (I don't think) going to provide me with enough energy to do some decent running.
Any suggestions?
Ta!
At the same time, I have put my name into the ballot for the 2013 London Marathon, and therefore I need to train for that in the hope that I get a place - however, my low daily calorie intake, whilst helping me to lose weight, isn't (I don't think) going to provide me with enough energy to do some decent running.
Any suggestions?
Ta!
0
Replies
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To train effectively you're going to have to come close to maintenence.0
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Training for a marathon while at 1440 calories?
That seems low to me.
As long as you track your exercise / food calories and come up with a decent net calorie number, you'd be fine.
But if you only eat 1440 and you burn 400 calories while jogging, you're going to be really low. And probably feel like you have no energy0 -
Assuming you'll be averaging 30-40 mpw for marathon training you will need to up your caloric intake significantly. You are placing a lot of demands on your body and you need to properly fuel it. Don't be surprised if you end up gaining a couple pounds in the process. It's really hard to train for a marathon and lose weight at the same time.0
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You can still operate at a deficit for now. Your marathon training cycle will start 16 weeks from the race. Until then, you are just going to be in base building phase (35 to 60 miles per week, depending on your level of fitness) which won't require as much fuel. I'd say keep losing until you hit 12 to 16 weeks out, and then go to maintenance for the balance of the training.0
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You can still operate at a deficit for now. Your marathon training cycle will start 16 weeks from the race. Until then, you are just going to be in base building phase (35 to 60 miles per week, depending on your level of fitness) which won't require as much fuel. I'd say keep losing until you hit 12 to 16 weeks out, and then go to maintenance for the balance of the training.
^^ this
I have a half marathon coming up in a few weeks and eating at a deficit is just not on the table. Good luck on the draw for the 2013 race, I'm planning on taking the plunge a year from now too......(Ottawa Race Weekend May 2013)0 -
You can still operate at a deficit for now. Your marathon training cycle will start 16 weeks from the race. Until then, you are just going to be in base building phase (35 to 60 miles per week, depending on your level of fitness) which won't require as much fuel. I'd say keep losing until you hit 12 to 16 weeks out, and then go to maintenance for the balance of the training.
^^Yep this
London 2013 is 12 months away. Concentrate on weight loss for now and consider eating as you approach a 13 week mara training schedule (about Jan Feb 2013)0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good
I'm running 60 miles a week right now and my goal is 1220. I must be damn near dead. Or eating back exercise calories is keeping me alive.0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good
I'm running 60 miles a week right now and my goal is 1220. I must be damn near dead. Or eating back exercise calories is keeping me alive.
NET.
OP says he's eating 1440 gross. Or that's what's being implied0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good
I'm running 60 miles a week right now and my goal is 1220. I must be damn near dead. Or eating back exercise calories is keeping me alive.
NET.
OP says he's eating 1440 gross. Or that's what's being implied
You and I inferred differently from the OPs post.
No worries.0 -
You've got eight months before you get into serious Marathon training. You can work on a calorie deficit right up to Christmas - just don't aim for more than 1lb a week (sounds like you're on a bigger calorie deficit), and always eat your exercise calories. Bear in mind there's a law of diminishing returns - you don't quite burn twice as much running 10 miles as running five - so leave a margin of error.
As you get into the big miles next year, then up your calories to lose just 0.5lb a week, then for the final six weeks eat at maintenance.
Hope that helps :flowerforyou:0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good
I'm running 60 miles a week right now and my goal is 1220. I must be damn near dead. Or eating back exercise calories is keeping me alive.
NET.
OP says he's eating 1440 gross. Or that's what's being implied
You and I inferred differently from the OPs post.
No worries.
I don't think he's started running yet so I took the 1440 is gross calories0 -
He's eating 1440 total now. 30 miles a week is 4.2 miles per day. 4 miles at 12/mile is 48 min = approx 500 calories.
He'd be netting less than 1,000 per day as an adult male.
Not good
I'm running 60 miles a week right now and my goal is 1220. I must be damn near dead. Or eating back exercise calories is keeping me alive.
NET.
OP says he's eating 1440 gross. Or that's what's being implied
You and I inferred differently from the OPs post.
No worries.
I don't think he's started running yet so I took the 1440 is gross calories
Either way, as long as he is eating back those exercise calories, he'll be fine. Agree?0 -
Training for a marathon while at 1440 calories?
That seems low to me.
As long as you track your exercise / food calories and come up with a decent net calorie number, you'd be fine.
But if you only eat 1440 and you burn 400 calories while jogging, you're going to be really low. And probably feel like you have no energy
CarsonRuns0 -
Training for a marathon while at 1440 calories?
That seems low to me.
As long as you track your exercise / food calories and come up with a decent net calorie number, you'd be fine.
But if you only eat 1440 and you burn 400 calories while jogging, you're going to be really low. And probably feel like you have no energy
CarsonRuns
Reading. It's fundamental.
I think I'll try it.
Cheers.0 -
I'm in the final stages of marathon training for Edinburgh later this month. I found I was able to keep up with the weight loss while training for half marathons in the past and until a couple of weeks ago in my marathon training. But now that my mileage is really high, I need all the fuel I can get to recover and build up my glycogen stores. And my body seems to be going into storage/weight gain mode. But that's cool, because I just want to do a good race! Next time, I'll plan to be down to race weight before I kick up the final training stages. Besides, if you're planning on next year's marathon, you've got plenty of time to lose weight while you build up your basic fitness. Good luck!!0
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You can still operate at a deficit for now. Your marathon training cycle will start 16 weeks from the race. Until then, you are just going to be in base building phase (35 to 60 miles per week, depending on your level of fitness) which won't require as much fuel. I'd say keep losing until you hit 12 to 16 weeks out, and then go to maintenance for the balance of the training.
This.
I've not run a full (my first will be in October), but during training for the halfs I've done, I couldn't make the calorie deficit work with training.0 -
You've got eight months before you get into serious Marathon training. You can work on a calorie deficit right up to Christmas - just don't aim for more than 1lb a week (sounds like you're on a bigger calorie deficit), and always eat your exercise calories. Bear in mind there's a law of diminishing returns - you don't quite burn twice as much running 10 miles as running five - so leave a margin of error.
As you get into the big miles next year, then up your calories to lose just 0.5lb a week, then for the final six weeks eat at maintenance.
Hope that helps :flowerforyou:
Words of wisdom!!0 -
When I train for a marathon I get so hungry that I have always gained 10 lbs during the training due to eating so much. One of the reasons I am so excited about MFP is to give me have an idea of how much to eat to maintain my weight without overeating. I couldn't even imagine training for one on a deficit. And that really is only for 3 months out - before that when you are building up a base you should be fine.
My appetite ramps up exponentially from 13 miles up.0 -
i have been training for the half coming up this weekend in cincinnati...and have been running at a deficit for over 3 months now (totally not bragging by any means, just stating my trend) ...i have lost alot of weight for my frame and height...HOWEVER, my point is that when i know that I have a LONGER run during this training I boost up prior to with carbs (nuts mainly) and have always been able to pull that off.
i havent had any "negative" affects doing it this way and my times are awesome...but everyone is different....thats what makes the world go round!!0 -
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?0 -
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.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're on very low calories for a man on that 2lb a week loss, so do please eat all your exercise calories.0 -
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!0
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