Surgeon said not to change my diet---so whats the best way to fuel my running?

I am 8 months post RNY. I started running about 2 months post op at the direction of my surgeon. I have an ultimate goal of doing a half marathon. However, I can't seem to get above 4.5 miles. I just burn out and have zero energy to keep going and have super bad cramps/side pains. I mentioned that to my surgeon and gave my thought of needing to eat a little more to give me some extra fuel. He said absolutely not. Do not intake more carbs (I am

I would have him refer you to a dietitian that specializes in both WLS and sports nutrition.  You do not need to 'carb' load.  Much of that is old school training but you do need some carbohydrates for fuel.   Protein and fat just doesn't break down fast enough to fuel endurance sports.   Looks like part of your message cut off.     Good luck with your goal!   Your surgeon is probably trying to be careful because you are still in the honeymoon phase of your program.   I would also seek out other WLS folks that have done events.   Dan Benintendi is on OH and his is also on facebook.  He does not only marathons but triathlons and I thin ultras  

You don't need to eat more carbs in general but you do need to fuel the actual exercise. Any workout that is longer than an hour should be fueled and it needs to be fueled with simple carbohydrates primarily. Two different kinds are best as each will increase the absorption of the other.

What I do is eat a bariatric friendly diet for my regular eating -- breakfast, lunch, dinner, but then I eat  a more typical endurance athlete diet as fuel pre-, during and post-exercise. I wrote an article about it on my blog a while back that you might find helpful:

http://fattyfightsback.blogspot.com/2010/04/endurance-traini ng-sleeve.html

I think the main thing is not to let the exercise be an excuse to overeat or to eat crap. A lot of people do this and I think this probably what your surgeon is worried about. Plus, eating more carbs for breakfast is NOT going to help a run that happens in the afternoon or evening. If you want to help THAT run, you have to consume something DURING that run. Or right before it, at least.

If you have your veggie/fruit for the day in the hour before your run (that you were going to have anyway) and then during the run you have a small amount of a sports drink or suck on a sports gel to give yourself another 200-300 calories per hour of working out, I bet you can break the 4.5 mile mark.

And to start you may only need 100-200 calories for these shorter runs, especially if you have a 100 calorie snack right before ...

I have not used this product I just happened to read about it in a facebook posting by the guy who owns the place I buy my running shoes. He uses a product called Extreme Endurance. I don't know what it is or what's in it but worth looking in to. This guy runs many miles a week and the posting was credible.

http://xendurance.com/

RIght now your exercise should propel you towards weight loss and ease you towards your marathon.... meet with a dietitian but concentrate on eating habits that will make the most of your weight loss window

I met with my NUT a couple months before my first Half Marathon and will post my quote from my blog of what she advised me. Granted, now that I'm training for a full Marathon (in 12 days!) I don't actually eat much different from my normal habits whenever I've run Halfs - - usually just add a protein shake or two thru the day, especially for recovery in the first 30 min after the Half, and during I'll sometimes run with one of my Amphipod bottles with either G2 or Powerade Zero and possibly take either a GU after mile 9 or chew on some GU Chomps starting around 9-11 miles. Good Luck in your first Half!

ETA: intestinal cramps while running can sometimes be gas (or poo) moving around, so I often take GasX chewables before I run. And make SURE I poop before running (b/c it's not uncommon for running to *ahem* encourage bowel motility). For side stitches, practice deep breathing during your run.

"Normally I should be shooting for about 1200 cal/day if I didn't do any exercise, maybe increase to around 1300-1400 with more intense exercise, but DAY OF I need to consume 1600 cal! The (conservative) breakdown, according to sports nutrition, according to my NUT is:
1600 cal -
100g protein (400 cal)
65g fat (585 cal)
154 g carbs (615 cal)
Things to focus on for the day of the marathon is prehydration, pre-carbs, during carbs, and post carbs. She suggested trying out new foods during training to see how I tolerate them, including bananas, fruit, dried fruit(no sugar added), granola bars, cliff bars, fiber bars, regular yogurt, cereal, peanut butter, and a mixture of G2/regular gatorade"