Diet for a Runner

[Brishen]

Oh my God, how depressing; I had already written out this post and then my computer died. And it was full of such wit and insight, too. Gosh... darn, you'll just have to take my word for that....

So anyway, as I was saying, I am looking for diet advice. (No waaaaay!)

I started running again two months ago and now run 5 to 6 days per week at 45 minutes to an hour per run. I also do a short workout on my arms, back, and abs with a few squats thrown in - about 3 days per week. I lead a pretty active lifestyle, as I play basketball and volleyball recreationally and am frequently seen having long, philosophical conversations with my dog as I hike through the woods. My fitness goals are largely about health - HAHAHA, oh man, that's rich! I want an ass that can crack walnuts! But seriously, I am active for my heart and stuff. But when it comes to weights, it's all about proportion. I build muscle in my legs easily, so I leave that mostly to running, but I am learning more about lifting so that I can have some shape.

Where the confusion lies is in the "Holy Crap, There's a Lot of Conflicting Information Out There About Diet" arena. I am uncertain how to best fuel my cardio-intensive lifestyle and build more muscle. My goal isn't to lose weight but to have more lean body mass. (My body fat right now is around 22%.) And eventually to have arms like... like... I don't know, somebody with muscular arms. (Chyna? Noo, not quite....)

I am researching nutrition in a more chemical and biological light, right now, learning about how the body responds to nutrients. I hope it will shed some light on what my body needs. But I am wondering if anyone can give me a general idea of how my diet should be broken down? The well-publicized debate between Atkins and that heart guy who was on Oprah yesterday have me quite confused.

Jess

PS I am so intimidated. Any one of you could easily squash me with a flex of your pec.

 

[Brishen]

Distance, definitely. I am slow but steady. I used to run a great deal more and did sprint for a while, but then I got sick and lazy, but I guess "muscle memory" isn't a myth?

 

[muskles]

Brishen,

I like your style girlie

I'm not one of the ladies who could crush you with my pec , but I have learned a ton about diet in the last couple years.

I definitely wouldn't do an Atkins type diet with all your cardio. You could probably do a 50% carbs / 40% protein / 10% fat split.. that's depending on your bodyweight and height, though.

The general rule of thumb to calculate by around here is 1.5g protein per pound of bodyweight, and you could probably go with 14 x bodyweight for total calories since you'll burn off a lot of the calories every day.

 

[Gladiola]

Hi Brishen!

I agree with Muskles recommendation of 1.5 gram of protein per body weight (in lbs) - with 1 gram per lb being a minimum (based on what you're eating now, you may find 1 gram/lb difficult to achieve, I know I did at first).

I would suggest 50%carbs, 35%pro, 15% fat - I'm having about 20% fat now & that's difficult to achieve!!! (I'm not getting to have peanut butter only flax). If 1g/protein per lb is more than 35% based on your total cals, then cut the carbs a bit to adjust. Just make sure you get *enough* cals. You can use www.fitday.com to calculate all this - it's great, but double check it sometimes (the amounts it gives for some foods).

I noticed you don't work your chest - I hope that was just something you forgot to type - don't want to create imbalances in your body.

I also am a 'mesomorph' who had thick thighs from only *step aerobics* & occasional running - I didn't want them thicker so I didn't do lower body strength training. I got over that You'll find it helps if you want the hard ass! I'm not much thicker either.

As for the nice sculpted arms - train hard & lift heavy!!! How often do you lift now? What's your split like?

 

[Gladiola]

I just realized we didn't talk about WHAT to eat! That's important too, as well as the #'s. What do you eat now?

 

[Brishen]

Thanks for the in-depth, intelligent answers! I eat pretty clean already (aside from a massive sweet tooth - yay dried fruit?), but I don't eat very many complex carbohydrates at all. Most of my carbs come from vegetables and fruits. So I ought to include more, then, eh? Because I'd say that only 20% of my diet comes from carbohydrates at this point, with at least 50% being protein, largely because I was curious about the whole high-protein schtick and how my body would respond to it. But I think you're right. Without the carbs, I'm not going to be able to keep up the lifestyle, eh? Do I need more complex carbohydrates, then? I can deal with whole grains, oatmeal, etc.

I'm seeing a trainer next week who will help me put together a more rounded lifting routine, because no, I haven't been working my pecs! I can see that I definitely need some help in the lifting area.

Thanks again!

 

[Realgains]

IMPORTANT!....If you are a long distance runner(more than 30 miles per week) then you MUST take an Iron supplement as running does indeed result in some distruction of reb blood cells and that combined with the fact that women loose blood each month anyway = anemia for sure.
If you are on steroids then you may not need to supplement your diet with Iron.

 

[Brishen]

ROFL, I'll let you know if my healing-from-smokin'-lungs ever recuperate enough to go for 30 miles per week! Aw, well, I'm sure the running will speed up the healing process.

TOBACCO BAD, KIDS!