20-year-old nutrition

Dude, the key to life is moderation, not obsession. Just what what you want when you are hungry. But don't overdo it. Don't stuff yourself all the time. Don't eat sugary stuff all the time. Don't eat junk food all the time. Eat a balance and in moderation. Learn this and it will serve you well in life.

If you are not a lady, not 24 years old yet, and not trying to get a pro contract or anything, I wouldn't worry about diet or nutrition. Yeah, make some generally smart decisions and only enjoy things in moderation but live it up and eat and drink what you want, while you can. As a guy, when you are mid-20s, it's fairly easy to lose weight and make those lifestyles, but don't do it now while you're just 20.

At your size and weight you are quite lean, underweight for a normal person, optimal for a distance runner. There is no need to count calories. If at all, losing weight at this point could even be detrimental to your performance.

Don't pay attention to how much you eat, just think about what you eat (healthy food).

BTW, I'm 5'7" and 18 years old currently running around 60/70mpw.

Bump....anyone else?

Eat more at every meal and eat real food. I eat cereal on weekday mornings and eat until i am completely full. I usually need some nuts and a banana after a couple of hours but then eat a lunch that is leftovers from a previous dinner. I also eat bags of raw veggies dipped in sour cream dressing that i cut up on sundays. Snacks in the afternoon are yogurt and granola, bars and more nuts.

Dinner has 2 vegetable courses like a salad + sauteed broccoli along with meat and potatoes or rice.

weekend breakfasts are potatoes and eggs. since it's after a long run, it's late enough that i don't usually eat lunch except for a snack.

i have no idea how many calories i eat and how many grams of carbs and protein etc. some people make eating so complicated.

The key is that if you eat enough nutritious foods, you don't want to eat the junk and you get the fuel you need to run.

it takes time to plan to have meals you cook. but it's doable and it's a good habit to get into cause it's much cheaper than eating out.

I eat breakfast a little after I wake up, unless I’m working/running hella early then I have some time after that. Breakfast foods, usually. Then I get hungry around lunch time and eat something. Usually I get hungry before or after lunch, and have some sort of snack food. I may save some sort of snack with some more protein in it for right after a lift/hard workout. Then I have dinner around dinner time. I usually have some sort of snack after dinner if I’m still hungry before bed. Make/eat food that you find to taste good and not make you feel like sh*t afterwards, and don’t sweat the details. Except maybe try to eat some veggies and fruit every day to stave off the scurvy. To gain any serious weight while running any appreciable amount, you gotta be feeling pretty stuffed all the time, or you’re drinking too much soda. My .02

What would you consider an "appreciable amount" of running?

Running most days, for like 5ish miles or more. I was kinda tipsy when I wrote that though-the main takeaway I’d recommend is to do what you mentioned, namely eat according to your hunger. Trial and error is healthy and normal, don’t be afraid of ‘overeating’ while you’re 20 and in training. As long as you still feel good when you run, it’s probably a necessary amount for your body to do it’s thing and continue growing to it’s normal maturity. Learning to listen to your body takes some time after calorie counting, but it’s very worth it.