So far throughout marathon training I haven’t really noticed a change in my appetite. I have noticed that I have been way more tired, and more thirsty, but not really extra hungry.
However, I think it’s starting to catch up with me!
About an hour after lunch, my stomach started to growl. Granted, I ate a giant salad, but salads usually don’t fill me up for long. I was a snacking machine this afternoon!
I finished off the bag of mixed nuts…
…then grapes…
…and finally, a kashi granola bar crunched up in yogurt:
I have two classes on Tuesday/Thursday and my break is only 15 minutes. I seriously kept staring at the clock wondering when I could eat dinner. I was like dreaming about it in class!!!
This is so weird because I don’t normally daydream about eating food! All I could think about was “Give me food!!”.
Normally my 15 minute break is not long enough to walk to my next class and eat my whole meal, so I end up eating half at home. I SCARFED this down.
I packed the meal I left on the counter the other night, it was delicious!!
- couscous made in veggie broth (soooo much better!)
- broccoli
- chickpeas
- green onion
- spinach
I packed a container of spinach separately, and dumped the mixture on top. By the way, I ate it cold.
I don’t know why I was so much hungrier today, but I went with it!
I feel like I should sit down and learn about proper nutrition for marathon training. I don’t want to be underfueled and have my running performance suffer.
Any advice for this hungry marathon training gal? 
Alrighty, I’m hungry again!? Off to find some grub.
<3 MegaNerd
Filed under: Anything and Everything
hey megan,
i have run one marathon before and am training for another and honestly i think you are hungry because you are not consistently making up the calories your burn! it seems you are eating a lot of volume, but not a lot of substance. i am a volume eater too and often fill up on fruits and veggies so especially during marathon training i have to make a concerted effort to get in my kcals!! if you look at your day following the nut butter at breakfast, there was no fat in your meals and for lunch you had a big salad but with no carbs! i think it would help if you aimed to get fat, protein, and carbs at each meal. hope this helps and good luck!
I had a comment all sorted, but then i read mags’, and now I’ll just say “what she says!”
When I am in full on marathon mode, I eat way more “substance” food, like nut butters, loaves and muffins, bananas etc. I still eat my fruit and veges, but I don’t fill up on them as much.
Hey Megan,
I’m currently training for my first marathon too! I’m in week 8 right now and man, sometimes my appetite is normal, and sometimes it’s out of control! I don’t know if you’ve had this issue, but I notice that I’m not really that hungry on long run days, but the days following I’m a bottomless pit!
The best advice that I can give you, which comes from a lot of reading and personal experience, is to make sure that you get in your lean protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats in every one of you main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), and make sure that your snacking throughout the day to keep yourself satiated. Athough I’m not a big carb eater, (not because I follow a low carb diet, but because I just don’t crave them) I try and make sure that I get in complex carbs at least twice a day, and I eat a lot of lean protein (chicken, turkey, salmon, eggs, beans, tofu, etc), and a lot of veggies. Your body also needs protein for muscle repair, so it’s important to have it after your runs especially. Right now the important thing to remember is that food is your fuel and you need to make sure that you are keeping your body properly fueled so that your runs will feel strong and so will your body.
Hope this helps!! Good luck with your training!
Dayna
Hey girl – I tweeted you about it, but when I was training, I got VERY interested in fueling, and researched it a lot. In fact, that’s what I’m hoping to get into once I’m out of school – sports nutrition. Anyways, I highly recommend Nancy Clarks’ book for marathoners. I also really enjoy Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes.
I know it’s not great to get into calorie counting, but it might be worth it to keep track for a few days just to get an idea if you’re consuming enough. It’s really easy to underfuel! I also found that if I didn’t at a good sized amount of food immediately after running, I would be MUCH more hungry later in the day. And I always had late night snacks.
Hope that helps and good luck as you keep going!!
Yep, some days, I was ravenous and others just not hungry at all. Your appetite goes crazy when your training. No worries, you’ll figure it out in no time!
I think it is different for everyone so just do some research and listen to your body, you will find what works best for you. Good luck!
megan it is super important you are giving your body what it needs especially during marathon training because you don’t want to be underfueled! you need to make sure you are getting enough calories in for ALL the activity you are doing…which is a lot so you need even more calories girl!
jenna
I have never run a marathon but I definitely would second what others have said about eating things with substance. Also, try to always have some bars or other easy to eat foods ready if you are in class or somewhere away from your kitchen. I bring food EVERYWHERE. You can always find some Cheerios in my purse or a bag of pretzels, Fruit leathers from Trader Joes etc. That way you can always respond to your hunger when it comes
I have not trained for a Marthon before so I can not speak for that exactly but just looking at what you eat on a regular basis I would say you need more PROTEIN in your diet in order to “sustain” your longer……..I learned over the years of trying to eat healthier and lose weight how important PROTEIN is for keep you fuller longer, you will be amazed how it does just that!
For instance, eat a breakfast with whole-wheat toast, eggs, cheese and some fruit on morning……you should stay full for at least 3+ hours and then the next day eat just a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and some fruit………you will be hungry in like 2 hours if not sooner. Now, if you added some peanut butter to that bagel instead of cream cheese you might not get hungry for 2+ hours. However, I highly recommend “eggs”, they always keep me full the longest.
=) Laura
http://findingahealthybalance.wordpress.com/
I waited a little while to comment because I was curious to see what others said.
I find when I’m eating whole, natural foods its much harder to get the additional calories in that I need to sustain my activity. I guess nut butters would help, but a person CAN overdo it with healthy fats.
I also would agree with one of the other posters about not getting enough protein. Even if you choose not to get it in with meats, etc. maybe supplementing your diet with a protein powder would help,
Major props for marathon training! While it seems to pale in comparison, I am training for a half marathon (or something similar) and have found my oft-ravenous appetite to be quelled by black beans! (Newbie advice perhaps…)
But you’re probably already sick of ‘em! Good luck!
It looks like this is a popular topic on blogs lately! Actually, I have been thinking about this lately as well –I’m marathon training but haven’t been paying attention to how I’m fueling my body. I think I’ve been undereating after runs and overeating later on…I think I am going to turn to Nancy Clark and Brendan Brazier — that is, after I take the LSAT tomorrow! I’ll be glad to get the studying-induced, stress munching off my plate!
Do you ever just snack because you’re bored? Man I get in that habit really bad when I’m doing hw. I try to sip tea instead.
[...] need. (Which is just like Dean Karnazes – Dean, we’re so similar!!) I have noticed other bloggers writing about this issue, so I know it’s not just me who struggles to fuel [...]