Nutrition advice

I absolutely agree with Stacy. Having done 3 half marathons, and multiple 5 and 10 Ks, my routine hasn't changed much, over the years. To me, any race less than an hour doesn't require any special nutritional needs.

For longer runs, I carry gu, beef jerky, cut up protein bar. I never miss a water station, and keep water on my belt. I eat a balanced meal, the night before, and a few hours before a race.

I think carb loading, for a RNY person, before maintenance, is just asking for GI trouble. Nothing cuts into your PR like potty breaks

ETA: I am 15 years post, and in maintenance mode--No longer doing the long races, so carb loading no longer necessary, for me

I am a runner - I've done numerous 5ks, a few 5-milers and 10ks, and a half marathon.

First, you're training for a 5k, not your "first marathon." A marathon is a specific distance - 26.2 miles. You're training to run 3.1 miles. These are completely different things. A 5k can be done in less than 1 hour and will not break you down for a minimum of a week afterward. A marathon would take more than 2 hours (and more like 3-4) and leave you wrecked for at least a week. Training for them is also completely different. You can train for a 5k on three days of running a week. Most people train for a marathon with 4-7 days of running a week, or a mix of running and cross training.

Carb loading is completely unnecessary. Adding calories to compensate for exercise is completely unnecessary. You do not need to add ANY carbs or calories to your lifestyle in order to train for a 5k.

Run fasted, get a good meal of 20-30grams of protein into your body as soon after stretching as you can. Hydrate more than normal to account for the running. Remember to stretch. Your body will adapt to this if you make it adapt.

Please do not fall into these traps of believing you must carb load in order to run/race.

I agree with Gwen except for one point. I don't run fasted. I eat a small amount before a run, a spoon of nut butter, some overnight oats. But again, remember, I run farther than a 5k and I'm in maintenance

True! And for my long races (10k and the half) I've eaten a protein bar pre-race. But, like you say, those are not 5k!

Thank you everyone for the great feedback.

NOOOOOO please don't go the route of adding carbs in to compensate for jogging. The ONLY thing differently I did was if I were doing race I ate a little bit of almond butter as I was running. The reason for this is that I was getting light headed while running so I 1) drank a ton of water/adkins lift protein water and 2) brought a little snack protein with me.

Sports nutrition advice is almost always written for people who have not had WLS, so most of what you'll see does not apply to those of us who've had surgery. We're sort of stuck out on our own.

Unless you're experiencing low blood sugar or other symptoms while exercising, it's generally recommended that you don't eat back the calories burned while working out. At that point, our bodies generally have enough fat to keep us going.

If I'm going to be doing something that takes more than an hour, I will have some carbs; bonking midway through a long bike ride is no fun. I'll have a bowl of low-sugar oatmeal, or peanut butter on wheat toast, and something similar after about an hour. I don't "carb load" by eating that sort of thing for several meals, much less several days in advance.