What are you eating? (Read 1548 times)

Very good question! But what is your goal? Weight loss or peak performance (or both)? I don't claim to know a great deal about nutrition, but it seems to me that the answer will vary a bit for each runner depending on his/her goal. To answer your question (in detail), I'm working on performance (and I'm a young guy) so I eat A LOT! I try to consume as many calorie-rich carbohydrates as I can (pasta, cereals, bread), along side lots of fruits and vegetables. I probably eat a LARGE plate of pasta (or two) for dinner around 4-5 times a week, with a side fruit or salad and some bread. I have cereal/bagel +fruit for breakfast nearly every day. Lunch is usual leftover pasta (again, about 4 days a week) + fruit + cheese + crackers/granolabar. The other days (for lunch and dinner) I tend to eat less healthy... (Thai food, Chipotle Burrito, etc). I don't really drink soda, mainly orange juice (and beer). And lots of water all day long! Before a long distance run, I generally eat a Clif bar (or a small peice of toast with peanut butter and honey) and drink gatorade. I drink water +/or gatorade during and for very long runs I'll eat some PowerGel after 10 miles and every 4-5 miles after (not my favorite, I'm looking for an alternative). After a long run, I drink lots more gatorade/water and often will crave a whole can of chicken soup (warmed of course) with lots of bread. I think the salt is what I crave most. ANOTHER QUESTION: For those of you who run REALLY heavy mileage (ultra runners, everyday runners, etc), I wonder if you ever see yourself losing too much weight due to the huge calorie expenditure involved in your training? If so, how do you counteract that effect? Eat more often? Change what you eat? (Higher carb, higher protein, or higher fat content?)

My girlfriend keeps a log on this site and she is a nutrition major... maybe I can convince her to post on here...

"Lynn can answer the ultra related question, and I would like to hear his long list of foods that he eats during a race. How much do you have to eat to replace the 13,000 Calories lost, and how much weight do you lose?" Well, let's see... Two categories, 1) eat during races/long runs and 2) eat the rest of the time... 1) during races/long runs - pretzels, gummy bears, boiled potatoes, chocolote chip cookies, potato chips, fritos (salty stuff is awesome)...basically anything to get a little something in my stomach that might provide some electrolyte replacement, generate energy from the sugar, etc. There is a maximum rate at which your stomach can absorb calories (about 200 carb calories/hour) and anymore just sits there, doing you no good, probably making you nauseous. It takes a lot of experimenting to know what works and what doesn't work. I use electrolyte replacement capsules pretty religously, particularly in the heat. For drinks, I pretty much stick to water, with a little pepsi/mountain dew thrown in for the bubbles and the sugar/caffine. I did take a break one day last summer during a 30 mile training run for a hamburger, fries and a pepsi . For the really long stuff, depending on the weather, potato soup, noodle soup, chicken broth, spaghetti, meat loaf sandwich, whatever tastes good is OK in moderation...refer back to the max calorie rule. 2) the rest of the time - I guess if I think about what I eat, the thoughts are mainly on white meat instead of dark, try to eat my veggies...not much beyond that. Leading up to a race, I will focus on protien for the first half of race week and switch to more of a carb focus in the two days prior to race day. One watch out is how out of whack the metabolism gets after the really big races. After the February 100 miler, I ate everything in sight that wasn't bigger than me! With the reduced activity that followed the next couple of weeks, I gained about 8 pounds (181 lb starting point). Didn't lose weight overall during the race. But I would put my calories burned closer to 10,000 with the calories consumed a little under half that (based on stuff I have read). My weight can flucuate a lot, particularly in hotter weather, but that is almost exclusively water weight (+/- 6 lbs easy). Weight loss in a race/during a run is most likely driven by hydration, not nutrition! I know that doesn't really answer your question about eating, but truth is, I don't think that much about it...blood work during annual check up suggests everything is OK....biggest watchout is a BP in the pre-hypertensive range which is most likely driven by the excessive amount of caffine I drink. As long as that is the case, I refuse to worry that much about it. Take care and be safe! Lynn B

OKay, I have a question for Lynn or JessJess1018 or anyone else who has an opinion: Is there a book (or other source of info) that you'd recommend regarding nutrition for peak endurance performance (not for weight loss)? For example, Lynn's fact that you can absorb 200 carb-calories/hr... That's GREAT info... where did you find that out? I'd like to learn more about stuff like that (preferably from a book or journal that can cite sources, etc).

"For example, Lynn's fact that you can absorb 200 carb-calories/hr... That's GREAT info... where did you find that out? I'd like to learn more about stuff like that (preferably from a book or journal that can cite sources, etc). "... I read some of it in running periodicals like UltraRunning or Trail Runner magazines, websites like http://www.peakfitnessnow.com/ (I know some of the folks who publish their e-zine), etc. There are some good resource materials on the Hammer Nutrition site...one particularly good download is at http://www.e-caps.com/downloads/fuelinghandbook.pdf. An exerpt... "With some allowances provided for very large athletes the human body can only return (from the liver to muscle tissue) about 4.1-4.6 carbohydrate calories per minute, or about 250-280 calories per hour. When an athlete consumes more than 280 calories per hour from carbohydrates during an event, the excess remains undigested in the stomach, or passes unused into the bowel, where, in the unmincing words of Dr. Bill Misner, “they accumulate in gastric or intestinal channels in 100-degree temperatures and putrefy in time.” Yes, you may be burning up to 800 calories per hour, but your body cannot replace that amount during exercise. Trying to replenish calories at the same rate as depletion only causes problems. Instead of having more energy available, you’ll have a bloated stomach, and perhaps even nausea and vomiting. You’ve seen it happen, but it’s not a necessary aspect of intense competition; more likely it’s the result of improper caloric intake." There are a few gems in there, but you do have to wade through a lot of their sales pitch. The paper includes references... Hope that helps, good luck, Lynn B

Lynn, In the excerpt you provided, it said that a person can consume up to 280 carbo Calories per hour, that implies you can take in calories from fat and protein. Do you know how many total calories can you take in during a run?

Not really, but I don't think it is anywhere near 280! If I'm going over 20, I usually will eat something. It isn't uncommon to stop off for a sausage egg and cheese bisquit with fried potatoes and coffee before a long slow run on a saturday morning! I might not eat anything for 4+ hours if I am running unsupported (only water, maybe some Pepsi or Mountain Dew). I will try and get some calories in me quickly after the run (with a focus on protein), as I believe it is better for recovery...burgers and shakes are awesome for that! When I'm running in supported races, I will make a point to eat something from every aid station. These are usually 3-5 miles apart, but I have seen races with 10 or more miles between aid. That something might be a small boiled potato with salt, a handful of pretzels, bananas, a couple of squares of pb&j sandwich, bagels, noodle soup, grilled cheese sandwich, etc. As you can see, these are all pretty carb-intensive. The fat/protien calories are much harder to digest (I believe I read that somewhere), and are more taxing on the stomach. The carb calories are much more readily transferred to energy your body so badly needs. It isn't uncommon to have to force yourself to eat, as most food sounds pretty unappealing after 14 hours on your feet! According to Eric's calories burned calculation, I burned 13,000 in my recent 100 mile race. If I ate 280 per hour for the duration, I would not have replaced half that much...but of course I ate everything I could get my hands on for the next 6 weeks! The body is an amazing creation! Take care, Lynn

A great book about nutrition from runners world. Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners: How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&isbn=1594862184&itm=1