How Much Should I Eat When Training?

Fuel Your Training

To fuel your training, consider your planned workout(s) in terms of the time of day, duration and intensity. For example, if you train in the morning, eat a little before you train and then have a good-sized breakfast within 30 minutes of finishing. The same applies if you train at lunch or in the evening. You want to eat your biggest meals after workouts and ensure you're not hungry before you start. This will help you recover quicker and maintain your energy levels.

Balance

During a workout, your carbohydrate stores will typically run out entirely after 90 minutes (2 hours at most) of exercise. After this point, you'll feel weaker and more tired. You'll train better and recover quicker if you replenish your stores.

Think of carbohydrate as your go-fast fuel and fat as a long-lasting slow fuel.

On your long workouts, you'll burn calories at a ratio of 65% carbohydrate to 35% fat. We all have enough stored fat to not need to consume more during exercise.

You can consume any carbohydrate during your long workouts—energy gels, sugary drinks, or whatever you like. These things aren't typically good for you, but during endurance exercise, they are what your body needs.

How Much?

During endurance workouts, you should consume around 30-40g per hour of carbohydrate. The smaller you are, the less you need to consume. 40g is the same as about two energy gels per hour. The body can absorb up to 90g of carbs per hour (for bigger athletes). 

Taking protein supplements is not usually necessary, just eat some protein with most meals. Consumed protein provides no energy during training, but it does play an essential role in repairing your body afterwards, along with carbohydrate and fats.

Looking for a more personalised approach?

You can benefit from expert nutritional guidance tailored to your training plan and specific needs, with Fuelin - the nutrition app for people who do endurance sports.

Fuelin syncs with TrainingPeaks and is programmed to recognize MyProCoach workouts. So that you can have a nutrition plan matches your MyProCoach training plan, enabling you to consume the right foods and drinks at the right times.

Get 30% off with the discount code "MPC30". Please note this is a one-time use code available for monthly, quarterly or annual subscriptions). 

You can also check this article and read more nutrition advice in Coach Phil Mosley's Blog.

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