Question:
I need some nutrition advice on
the following situation:
Next week I start an 18 week marathon
training plan.
My plan will have me running 4 days
a week. Mon/Tues/Wed/Sat with Friday
as
a cross training day (1 hour of
swimming) and Thursday and Saturday
as rest days. I will run 15 miles
the first week with a peak of 36
miles in or around week 13 then
tapering down from there.
I am on an eating plan that has
me eating 2300 Calories a day with
50-60 % of my calories coming from
Carbs and 20-25 % from Protein and
20-30% from fat with no more than
10% of those fat grams being saturated
fat. This plan is designed for weight
loss.
I lift weights 4 times a week to
increase strength as well as raise
metabolism in order to burn fat.
I am a male and I weigh 229lbs with
height of 6'2. My question is am
I eating what I need to eat to have
the energy levels to accomplish
these rather ambitious goals? Am
I eating enough protein to increase
muscle m thus increasing my strength?
Answer:
I would not try and lose weight
while training for a marathon. Do
one or the other, and if you pick
marathon training and you happen
to lose weight along the way, so
much the better. If you want to
lose weight, go on a diet, then
train for your marathon and try
and maintain your weight.
If you're training for a marathon,
I'd run first and lift later, or
skip the lifting entirely. As far
as your protein consumption is concerned,
eat your bodyweight in protein to
avoid losing muscle.
Your goals
are overconstrained: you want to
gain muscle/strength, lose fat,
and achieve a high level of cardiovascular
fitness all at once. I don't know
if this is achievable. Choose 1
(count 'em) of these goals and go
for it. Good things will happen
in at least 2 of the directions
you want to go. Later on, you can
attack a different goal, which will
further push you in the right direction.
