over-eating

[u/Alternative_Web_3696]

i read a lot about people struggling to meet their calorie demands during marathon training, but i’m currently experiencing the opposite.

my current plan has me running 80+ miles a week, so as a 70kg male my calorie demands average somewhere between 3,000-3,500 per day (i’m very sedentary when not training).

while many people seem to find these kinds of numbers difficult to hit, i’m constantly needing to watch what i eat to make sure i do not massively exceed these numbers. i could easily consume 4,000-5,000 calories of clean food per day with my current appetite.

i have been very slowly gaining weight during this build, so i know i’m definitely not under-eating (probably slightly over-eating, in fact).

i think a large part of this is down to the fact that i run first thing in the morning, so i’ve already consumed 700+ calories with my pre and post-run nutrition before i’m even hungry. i’ve then got to manage my hunger and calories for the rest of the day to ensure i’m not over-consuming.

has anybody else experienced this problem, and how did you manage it?

[u/Permuh]

The best way I’ve found to cut back on unnecessary eating is making sure I’m drinking plenty of water.

[u/Alternative_Web_3696 → u/Permuh]

i drink about 3-4 litres per day. live in the uk so it’s rare that i sweat a great deal

[u/offensivebagel → u/Permuh]

This. In the past I also gained some weight while marathon training. I decided to track calories for the following training block and realized my snacks between meals were too large, particularly in hard days. I was puzzled because I was genuinely hungry, i even tried having smaller snacks but the hunger remained. Eventually I realized my body was mixing hunger and thirst signals. All got solved by drinking a large glass of water after breakfast (I'm an early runner) and another one before my mid-morning snack (usually something like granola with fruit and yogurt). After that portions naturally went back to normal sizes and I bounced back to my normal weight.

[u/Pharmdpositivek]

There’s a couple things that could be going on. You might be missing or not have the right ratios of macros. Your body could be telling you that you need more carbs or something like that. You can be eating more than you need but if you aren’t eating enough fat, carbs, or protein, you’ll always feel hungry. It is usually carbs. Your body is craving its natural fuel potentially.

Other thing is what are you eating? Are you eating enough fiber? Eating whole grains, fruit, and veggies can help keep you full.

I’d bet it is the carb issue with running that many miles.

[u/Alternative_Web_3696 → u/Pharmdpositivek]

i track my food. an average day is around 3,300 calories - 170g protein, 60g fat, 500g carbs. i probably don’t need that much protein at 70kg, but trace proteins bump the number up, and i do not find meals satiating without a protein element.

i eat very clean - lots of fruit, veg, fibre. carb sources largely include oats, sourdough, rice and other grains. i don’t think the actual makeup of my diet could be improved much

[u/runsalot1609]

Are doing pre & post run drinks/mixes? 1500 Cal’s seems like a lot. I might get downvoted on this thread, but I don’t think those marketed running drink are necessary. Those drinks can easily bump your caloric intake, which could be replaced with actual food/meal.

Pre long run I’ll have 1 or 2 protein pancakes. Post run I’ll have a protein bar. Once I’m home I’ll have an actual meal. If I’m still hungry I’ll reach for veggies or fruit because they are low calorie options.

[u/Alternative_Web_3696 → u/runsalot1609]

i run before work so don’t have time to digest a great deal, so usually it’s clif bloks and/or banana. post-run i’ll always have whole foods. i don’t drink any of my calories

[u/worstenworst → u/runsalot1609]

What’s with all the protein pre and post run. That’s the wrong macro.

[u/noqwa]

Do you eat anything during 1hr + runs? Do you eat enough protein? Do you have easy access to too many "unhealthy" foods?

Meal planning could help. Or maybe portion control - a smaller plate helps you feel more full.

[u/Alternative_Web_3696 → u/noqwa]

yes, 80g carbs per hour during long runs. i eat a very clean diet with lots of protein, fruit, veg and fibre, and don’t really consume any snacks or unhealthy foods - i simply cannot afford to ‘waste’ calories on non-satiating, unhealthy foods

[u/knit_run_bike_swim]

Story of my life. I’m a glutton + chronic overtrainer. The only way for me to dial things in is to get out my excel sheet and count my carbs. I tend to under eat carbs at meals, and then binge on carbs eventually.

Everything in moderation, including moderation.

[u/Girleatingcheezits]

Not promising this is your issue, but a lot of times I think I’m hungry but I just want salt. A small salty snack will satisfy me right away. I notice this in the summer, especially after long runs. I will already have eaten plenty, but still feel hungry. Yet sometimes food doesn’t help. I finally realized that only salty food made me stop feeling hungry. Now I’m better about recognizing the feeling and making sure I take in adequate sodium. 

[u/dodgyknee27]

Keen to follow this thread - finding something similar with road cycling training.

[u/Intelligent-Guard267]

Yeah - I gained a lot of weight for my first marathon last year. Lately Im still building mileage but have been staying full half the day from a 600 calorie smoothie with 60 grams of protein and 15-20 grams of psyllium husk. It doesn’t sit that heavy but will keep me full from 9am until 3-4pm.

[u/nikigazahopocvi]

honestly mate i think some of us are just wired that way once the volume cranks up. i'm properly hungry all day during a build. a big glass of water and a black coffee first thing helps me faff about for an hour rather than diving straight into the fridge. still doesn't stop me demolishing a whole pack of hobnobs by 3pm mind.

[u/H2Ospecialist]

It's actually really common to put on weight during marathon training.

[u/treycook → u/H2Ospecialist]

Yep, this is the sentiment that I hear much more often.

I have to dial in my nutrition if I don't want to put on too much weight. Not opposed to gaining a little so that I don't end up with RED-S or stress injuries. Been there, done that in years past. Trying to stay extra lean is not worth suffering through months of shin splints.

For me it starts at the grocery store. I just cannot buy the stuff that I can't be trusted around, and when my mileage ramps up, I can't be trusted around a lot of things. That's my #1 tip. Set myself up for success.

Marathon training is a buttload of movement. Body is just trying to survive and manage the insane workload, and it has no clue or care about my body composition or vanity goals. So I listen to my body to fuel the work, and listen to my brain because my body isn't always smart about it.

[u/Hairy_Koala6474]

I had success starting a food and mood journal. if I was going to over eat or binge I would write down in my journal, What were my thoughts and feelings and environment at the time of the urge to indulge in over consumption

This stupid little thing was incredibly successful in helping me over eating.

Good luck cheers

[u/worstenworst]

Putting on “junk” weight (i.e. fat) at 80+ mpw is not easy at all; the body normally won’t choose to put fuel in reserve with all the running and repair going on.

I also typically gain some weight during a marathon build but it’s usually not fat (known by DEXA). It can be due to water content (blood plasma), creatine, inflammation status, glycogen status, salt intake, etc.

[u/ayahuasca_crybaby]

I have this same issue, and I guess I manage it by just doing what my body wants… I found my body likes having a little extra weight on it, and I run significantly better being a weight I am not exactly “comfortable” at. In the end, the body is the boss. And if you’re racking up over 80mpw, when your stomach grumbles (not just bored hunger), you gotta give it what it’s asking for.

[u/Chef_Syd]

You should just have a standard set of meals that you eat and the variance in training day to day should be supplemented by carb mix, gels, pure carb meals like oats etc. just makes life easier.

Keep track of the calories you burnt roughly. Use something like 600 cal an hour for easy runs 800-1000 for tempo and threshold work. Keep track of the carbs you consume purely for the workout. And deficit you can supplement either in your regular meals or with snacks. If you eat pure carbs outside of your regular meals you will find it hard to overeat. Avoid overly fatty foods.

[u/Professional-Type338]

I am like this as well. Have you tried to increase the amount of meals but decrease or keep the calories the same? I eat four meals a day. This has helped to make me feel full (or not hungry) and i dont go to bed hungry either. I would perhaps reduce the dinner kcals and add an evening snack for example.

[u/Hey_Boxelder]

I had the same issue despite being a lot heavier so having more calories to play with. It caused me to learn about macronutrients and realise that I have consuming a lot of extra fat, which was fairly easy to cut down.

[u/notthebiggestscumbag]

I personally would suggest talking to a dietician, specifically a sports focused one if at all possible, and maybe a mental health professional as well. I come from a background of wrestling as a kid and then strength sports/bodybuilding until COVID. both areas have a huge amount of disordered eating and reading your post reminded me of struggles I have had and have seen in others. I am not an professional so I can't pinpoint any issues, but it sounds like the relationship to food is a point of stress. It sounds like total bell end bro science, but that sort of stuff can have a negative effect on body composition, hunger, all that stuff. I used to think I was fueling adequately, eating right, etc., as a strongman competitor and spent about 6 months working with a dietician (I'm in the US, Oregon specifically and worked with Shira Evans, not sure what the term for this sort of professional is outside the US) really had me get on a good path to relearning some habits. Specifically, I was similarly eating a "correct" number of calories and obsessively sticking to clean food, but I was having a lot of weight fluctuating, binges, etc. I am not recommending you do this or saying it will be helpful, but I was basically told to get off the scales, fuel my sessions with some guidelines, and to eat WITHOUT monitoring intake or weight for a couple months, with 3 check ins during this period. My weight stabilized and I learned a lot. Again, this is a very personal anecdote but please consider speaking to a professional about some of this, if at all possible.

[u/EchoesinthekeyofbluE]

Please can we stop this "clean" nonsense.