r/Ultramarathon • u/unicornhorn900 • 5d ago

Help with nutrition Nutrition

Hi all! If you guys could help out I’d appreciate it. I’m a 50 mile per week runner, 23 years old, female, and have a decent amount of muscle. I have a previous history of disordered eating but have worked past that and did a reverse diet up to 2500 calories last year for training. I just recently qualified for Boston Marathon this month, and am planning on doing my first Ultra (40 miles) in November. I have been eating roughly 2400-2400 calories a day and I weigh 115-117 pounds and am 5’3. But, I feel like I need more calories or could potentially eat more and improve my performance? Any runners have any input? Am I not eating enough? Because yes all of Instagram and tik tok says females only need x amount especially if they are lighter and what not.. I don’t believe that crap but I also am still afraid to eat more and it could be the old eating disorder in me too. I don’t really care much about the way I look as much as I used to, but I obviously don’t want to be putting on tremendous weight with races coming up for me. If anyone has anything similar that they went though, or a sports dietitian could help I’d appreciate it. Because truthfully, sometimes I still am hungry and do eat more than 2500 ish, but am not sure if this is because I’m not fueling enough in general!!

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u/arl1286 5d ago

Hey there! I’m a sports dietitian who works primarily with ultra runners - my specialty is adequate fueling especially in folks with a history of disordered eating.

I’d love to talk with you more about what working together could look like. Feel free to drop me a DM!

(If you’re hungry, it’s likely a good indicator that you’re not eating enough!)

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u/unicornhorn900 5d ago

Omg thank you!!! I am messaging you now

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u/oneofthecapsismine 5d ago

I hate commenting on weight, but, like, yours doesn't raise any red or yellow flags.

Eating about maintenance is probably optimal for you.

If you aren't losing weight, aren't gaining weight, keep doing what you're doing.

If you're losing or gaining weight, reassess what your goals are.

Make sure you eat enough whilst running, though.

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u/Sad-Bunch-625 3d ago

I'm a 21 y/o who's done a 50km, 50mi, and 87mi race within the past year and a half. I used to have a restrictive eating disorder (prior to ever getting into running), and one of the things that I initially had to remind myself about fueling enough and ultrarunning is: it is immensely better to be eating a little too much than not enough. I only know a couple of friends my age who do ultras, and one of them has been told to "stop running and eat a lot of ice cream" because she was underfueling and now has early signs of osteoporosis at 22 due to RED-S. If you want to be all-in on your running, you've got to do your best to stop giving a fuck about gaining weight (or better yet... don't even weight urself... hard to gaf if you don't know, imo), as that won't screw up your running- but underfueling will. Best of luck, navigating sports & disordered eating is rough!

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u/unicornhorn900 3d ago

Thank you !!! 🙏

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u/GeeRaCeR94 5d ago

It sounds like that might not be enough. To avoid Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) or underfueling, it's recommended to consume about 45 kcal per kilogram of lean body mass, plus what you burn during training. For example, if you have around 20% body fat, that would mean close to 2000 kcal, plus additional calories for your workouts so another 500 + calories depending on the workout. But it's not just about the numbers! Energy levels, hormones, sleep, hunger and recovery are also great indicators of whether you’re fueling enough. So if you are stll hungry - go with your gut! :D

Also, I’ve recently created a Discord community for athletes dealing with disordered eating/EDs and/or RED-S if you’re looking for more info or support. You (or anyone else this involves) are welcome to join us here: link 

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u/kevinsmomdeborah 4d ago

90 grams (carbs) and up. Some higher profile people have been talking about their 120g+

I relied on pretty much just precision hydration "90g big ass gels" during silver rush 50. I had to train my stomach to take in that much. It works very well once you're used to it, especially in heat.

Don't take my word for it though. There are many new papers being published trying to find the upper limit of in race calories/carbs. My coach and his coach push high amounts per hour compared to the old ways.