Nutrition for Runners

My vision for OliveRunning is to provide white-glove service for healthcare. I want my clients to feel their absolute best. 

A huge part of that is nutrition.

I am not a dietician. I read research on nutrition for running, muscle building, body composition and overall general health. I can give you the information that is available to the public through research literature, but you need to do your due diligence to find out what’s right for you.

I just wanted to update you on what I’ve found in the literature regarding nutrition guidelines when you’re running, when you’re lifting, and when you’re just trying to be as healthy as you can be. 

I also want to note that, though we have a public health issue of obesity, there is a flip-side. So many athletes (especially female athletes) underconsume calories, which can lead to things like amenorrhea, bone loss and stress fractures. It’s a serious, serious thing, and I want you to have the knowledge to stay healthy and safe! 

So let’s break it down into little sections!!

First up: 

I. Fasting before workouts

For the past decade, folks have been talking about intermittent fasting and fasted workouts. I’m not quite so sure that these things are all they’re cracked out to be. Whether it’s safe or recommended to workout fasted is a very nuanced topic, based on individual preferences and physiology, but here is the evidence on performance: 

1. Fasted workouts don’t seem to improve fat loss or body composition (1) 

2. Eating carbs before a cardio workout definitely helps to optimize endurance performance (2)

Main point: If you’re about to do cardio, studies show that eating carbs 3 hours beforehand optimizes how long you can workout for, and how efficient you are at burning carbs. 

If you’re looking to improve performance, I would highly suggest eating before your workout. 3 hours is a little ridiculous if you’re a morning workout person, so just try to have a 200-cal carb snack an hour before you head out for your run. 

I also just think that if you’re running in the morning and not eating, you’re risking not having adequate caloric intake to protect against bone stress injuries or full-blown fractures, so please, please eat before your morning workout. 

Another thing to consider: Even if you’re not doing long-duration running or cycling in the morning, and you want to do a short lifting routine - if you’re feeling light-headed or nauseated during a fasted workout, I would definitely recommend trying to have a snack or meal before your lift. 

II. Macronutrients

1. Protein

Protein is having a moment on social media!!! This is wonderful, because all macronutrients are important, and protein is the building block of our muscles. As we age, it’s important to have adequate protein intake to maintain muscle mass and have less risk of falling. 

HOWEVER!!! You will not build muscle by simply eating protein. One study demonstrated that eating more protein (1.3 g of protein per kg of bodyweight, as opposed to the recommended .8g of protein per kg of bodyweight)  can potentially lead to decreased fat mass (which is awesome!!!) but the study didn’t show that simply eating more protein built more muscle (3). So if you’re looking to change body composition for aesthetics eating more protein may help, but it won’t necessarily give you the health-protective factors that lifting weights to build muscle will. 

You gain muscle mass through resistance training & systematically overloading your body, as well as eating protein to allow for your muscle to rebuild itself. Studies suggest 1.2 - 2 grams of protein per kg of body weight (or .54 - .9 g/lb of bodyweight) per day is optimal for getting developing lean body mass. (4)

A very important note for female runners!!!

It is generally recommended that if you’re exercising more than an hour and a half in a day, you should be eating 1.6g/kg of bodyweight in protein to maintain body mass and reduce risk of hormone imbalances and stress fractures (5). Please do not sleep on this information!!! A bone stress injury is a serious injury, and indicative of full-body health.

2. Carbs

I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve seen who are terrified of this macronutrient. I get it, because I used to be one of them!!! In high school and part of grad school, I shunned carbs because I thought the secret to being lean was eating nothing but meat and vegetables. But I think that’s why I could never run more than 3 miles. 

Carbs have been shown many times to improve performance and endurance for long-distance runners, and are what I mainly suggest my runners to eat before a run, because protein and fat can cause GI distress during cardio. 

Carbs before weight-lifting don’t seem to be necessary, but, like I mentioned above, fasted-strength training doesn’t seem to incur more benefits, and you do need to have a surplus of calories from protein to build muscle. 

A lot of people say “You have to eat within 30 minutes after your workout, otherwise you might as well not do anything at all!! Go eat some donuts instead!!!!” 

I’m more in the camp of “Just try to get your protein, carbs and calories in throughout the day, and yes…eating after a run does help with recovery. BUT I know your stomach may hurt after a 16-miler. So just do the best you can.”

3. Fats

Fats are essential to brain health, and Omega-3s may be protective against bone breakdown (5.) 

They can cause GI distress before working out. But they are essential to your diet. Try to aim for at least 20% of your diet in the form of fats (5.)

III. Calorie intake for female runners

I mentioned this before but I’ll say it again because IT IS SO IMPORTANT. Female runners have a different caloric necessity than the gen pop. It’s recommended to have about 20.5 calories per pound of fat free mass per day, in order to have enough energy availability to stave off bone loss or hormonal imbalances (5.)

In conclusion…

Dietary intake is largely nuanced and influenced by personal taste. But there are certain guidelines that can be helpful depending on your goals - are you trying for a goal marathon time? Are you trying to increase your muscle mass? Are you simply trying to age gracefully and reduce your risk of falls/chronic diseases later in life? 

No matter what your goals are, my wish for you is that you have the healthiest, happiest life you possibly can. I hope the information above helps you to do just that. 

Please reach out with any questions, or if you have a topic you’d like me to write about! If you know someone who needs information on nutrition as they navigate a health journey, feel free to forward this to them. And, as always, I’m here to help if you’re injured or looking to become a faster, more powerful runner. 

*A little disclaimer!!! When I say “carbs,” I don’t mean donuts and fettuccini Alfredo. I’m a big proponent of holistic health, and I know first-hand that the quality of food you ingest matters. For example: The night before my long or high- intensity runs, I tend to eat a wrap (with the highest-quality ingredients I can find) with rice, chicken, greens, salsa, and sweet potatoes. For breakfast (an hour before my run) I have a piece of Dave’s Killer Bread with a light layer of peanut butter, honey and raspberries. 

I will say, junk food for quick carbs like gummy candies is perfectly acceptable during long runs- your body seriously needs energy. I would not, however, recommend these things as a staple to your diet (but I’m human and not opposed to a treat now and then!)