Half Marathon eating?

[amberlyrose]

DH is about to start a HM plan and I'm wondering if I need to change up our meal plans for him.

Currently, this is what we do:

B- Egg whites with veggies and a wheat tortilla or a high protein cereal with almond milk, coffee with creamer

S- He usually has a protein bar

L- Tuna with crackers or a Subway sandwich

S- He always forgets to eat his afternoon snack, so it doesn't matter, but he has protein bars in his desk

D- If we eat at home: Some kind of protein (bison, chicken, salmon, or white fish), rice or sweet potato, steamed veggies, and we split a bottle of beer.

Do I need to add more carbs in the morning when he plans on running? Since he doesn't eat his afternoon snack, would a piece of bread with peanut butter be good for a pre-run meal?

Any suggestions?

[Deleted]

I've got no advice (but interested in what people recommend) but just wanted to say you are amazing for being so supportive. Go you!

[taratru]

:::waves::: hiiiii!

He probably won't need anything different until he gets into higher mileage.

As far as mornings, I don't do anything different before or after runs. If I have a long run on Saturday, I might eat a couple pieces of toast on Friday night.

[Susie]

Portion size matters a lot, so it's hard to say just based on a list of foods. The types of food look good, but I'd look at how many calories the portions actually add up to, and compare that to an estimate of how many calories he's burning to make sure it's enough food. Peoples' stomachs vary so much in what they can handle pre-run that it will probably be a little trial and error to see what works for him.

[taratru]

Oops! I'd also cut out that many protein bars. Lots of calories for not a lot of oomph. He'd do better with easy food - string cheese? Almonds? Something he doesn't have to think a about since he already had trouble remembering.

[ebeth]

Seems good to me. He might need more food as his weekly mileage increase but the types of food looks fine.

I like to have something kind of carbier than usual the night before long runs, like some beer or white potatoes or wine or pasta or something. Sometimes more than one of those things

[clseale]

When is he going to do the bulk of his runs, in the evening, or in the morning before work? I usually have to get my runs in after work, so a late afternoon snack is a must. I usually wind up eating a kashi granola bar, fruit, or veggies & hummus. On the rare occasion that I run before work, I am starving within an hour of getting to work. I always have a mid-morning snack, but if I run before work, my appetite is really revved up for the rest of the day. With that in mind, I would need more fat with that breakfast. I'd do full eggs (lots of good fat & vitamins in the yolk), or I would add avocado slices.

[naldridge]

Half-marathon eating is what I have been doing all day and I'm not training. Just eating

Haha. I don't have any real advice but that, depending on portion sizes, I would be hungry and I work out pretty moderately. I'm also probably a lot smaller than your husband, so it may be worth considering upping the total amount of food and calories, especially when he gets into higher milage.

[amberlyrose]

Dec 27, 2013 13:54:31 GMT -5 taratru said:

:::waves::: hiiiii!

He probably won't need anything different until he gets into higher mileage.

As far as mornings, I don't do anything different before or after runs. If I have a long run on Saturday, I might eat a couple pieces of toast on Friday night.

Hiiiii!!

I'll look into something else for his snacks. I've been cutting out dairy, so I didn't think about string cheese. 
He'll probably be running in the morning, so I think an evening beer should give him enough carbs for the next day I think when his mileage gets higher, I'll just up the portion sizes until he says he's really hungry and then I can come back for more suggestions.

If I don't tell him what to eat, he eats terribly. He is going to officer training school in March and is trying to get back in decent running shape before he leaves, but I don't want his nutrition to suffer.