Help with nutrition for half marathon training?

Can someone help give me some ideas for nutrition with all of the exercise I’ve been doing lately? I’m about 3.75 months post-op and I average about 500-700 cals/ day (today, if I eat everything I have planned, and cram it all in, will be about 720 cals). Protein is usually about 70-75/day, so I should be ok on that for awhile. The problem is, I just started working on the beginning of training for my half marathon in April. I feel ok- not overly tired or burned out, etc.

I added up all the exercise I have planned for today and I should burn roughly about 800 cals- so I’m burning more in exercise alone than I’m eating! Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of trying to train, when I won’t be eating enough food? How can I get stronger and get better times when I don’t have enough food to go on? The big problem is, I struggle to eat even the 500-700 cals a day that I do. I’m very ambivalent toward food and could care less if I ever eat- I do it because I know I have to, not because I want to, ya know?

I asked my nut at my surgeon’s office and her response was to eat more protein and eat more calories. Um, that doesn’t help! I struggle to eat what I do now. I’m literally stuffed on 600-700 and don’t know if I could do more than that, unless I added in fats like dressings, butter, and those are just empty cals and won’t help me. I tried looking online but they’re not geared toward WLS patients, just regular runners.

 

Can anyone help me with what they did when they were post-op, still losing, and training at the same time?

 I feel your pain.  I too have the same dilemma.  I was in our local running shop today asking the same question and I've asked the Nut. and Surgeon too.  I'm interested to see what answers you get.

Duane

 I saw my nutritionist last week and asked what I should be eating the week before my half marathon.  I have a lapband though so my advice might be different than your nutritionist would tell you.

She suggested the week before I add a couple 150ish calorie snacks to my day that have carbohydrates - such as a baked potato, pita chips, dried fruit....  But woman also don't store like men do so we don't have to carboload as much.

For my activity level - she suggested aiming for 1500 calories a day (my gowear fit has me burning about 2100 calories during the week and close to or over 3000 calories on the weekends) and the week before the marathon adding another 300 calories a day.

I did most of my training for my first triathlon on 750 calories a day. I had plenty of energy. I ate a lot of protein (80 g at first, 100 g by the end) and I think that helped.

But we have stored energy in the form of fat and, if we let it, our body will use it. If we eat more, it uses that instead.

Your posts makes it sound like you won't have enough energy because it won't come from food. Energy is energy whether it comes from stored fat or food!

Now, if you start to get draggy and tired, that's another issue. I did end up going up to 120 g of protein a day that got my calories up to 1200. But I was farther out then and I could eat that much. I sure couldn't eat that much at 3-4 months out.