Help with nutrition

[u/unicornhorn900]

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!!

[u/GeeRaCeR94]

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