I Need To Eat More??????

Ok...now that I'm pretty much recouped from plastics and have started my running again, I am out to start working on my next goal.  So...to prepare for it, I saw the nutritionist yesterday, because I have decided to run in the Rock and Roll Marathon Labor day weekend.  I'm going to do the 1/2 marathon portion of it.  

So...knowing that my body is going to require alot of nutrition to get through the training and the actual run, I decided I would work with my nutritionist to get through this.

Currently, I take in about 1400 calories, 130 - 150 grams of protein and 50 - 75 carbs per day.  Plus, drink 7 (16 ounce) bottles of water.  Pretty good, huh???  Uuummm.....NOT!  I have to eat more......she said that I am too active now to be at these levels and need to add 25+ grams of carbs, we negotiated a cut back on protein to 130 (yes...NEGOTIATED - haha) and increase calories a little.

She wants me to start by changing my afternoon snack of protein to crackers w/ peanut butter 9as a start).  I agreed to have oatmeal 3 days a week (to start) instead of my eggs and turkey sausage.  I agreed to add a bit of sweet potato to my dinners a few days a week and even some brown rice.

Here's where I need help......the thought of eating more not only terrifies me, but I'm not sure that I can.  The nutritionist looked at my food journal and commented on the fact that I am constanly eating and could not figure out when I had time to work out - haha.  So...how do I eat more?

I don't eat wheat tortillas (like a wrap) because it gets stuck, I don't eat bread (same reason), but can go toasted bread (she came up with melted cheese on a toasted multi-grain english muffin), I eat very little wheat pasta and would actually prefer spaghetti squash instead.

One suggestion she came up with was change the foods that I eat.  For example...tomorrow we are having tacos.  Instead of 3 ounces of ground turkey, she suggested havine 1 1/2 ounces of ground turkey and add black beans and corn to increase my carbs without really increasing the amount of food intake.  Since I don't eat the shell, she suggested adding a bit of brown rice to the mixture.

So...I need the accountability that I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing, suggestions beyond adding granola to my yogurt (because I already do that) and the support that it's ok......

She said that if I don't do this, I will not make it.  My body will not have the fuel for these harder runs in preparation.  And when I figured out how many miles Iogged in last week in just running (forget the walking and dvd exercise) I can see where she is coming from.

I REALLY want to do this...I set this goal last year and have even pushed off my next plastic surgery until AFTER the marathon so I can run in it.

Thanks in advance.......

I'm not a marathon runner, but your nutritionist's advice is right in line with what I've heard and read from other people doing marathons.  She's absolutely right about needing more carbs; it's the easier food for your body to convert to usable fuel.  And with the amount of training you will have to do to run a marathon, you need that easily-convertible energy source.   I think if you try the things she suggests, you'll be amazed at the results.  It sounds like she is suggesting that you switch to some more calorie dense foods, so you can get in more calories while eating roughly the same quantity.  That's a good approach, especially if you already have a comfortable food routine in place. 

Carbs really aren't the devil.  Although I'm not a marathon runner, I do exercise 6-9 times per week (mix of strength training and cardio, with quite a bit of interval work).  I eat about 250 grams of carbs a day, and am continuing to lose.  (Started at 396, now at 192 and 26 months out from surgery; still losing 3-5 pounds per month.) 

Good luck on your continuing journey - and on finishing that marathon in style!!!

Kellie

The past couple months my energy levels dropped a lot.  My legs especially just felt like rubber.  I talked to my nut and told her I was eating over 2,500 calories a day but my cardio workouts had actually decreased and I was still losing.  I was still lifting weights though.  She told me that my pre-surery BMR was 2,700 calories and that I should try eating more if I could.  Since then I've been eating almost constantly as well as upping my fluids.  It's very hard to eat that much and use different foods but I do feel a bit more energetic. I don't worry about carbs and fat.  Sugar really bothers me so I watch that.  Just eat what you can.  You may have to resort to higher carb foods, but good carbs.  There's a lot of good leterature out there.  You may need to use protein supplements to increase that as your body is breaking down muscle when you run.