How Can I Tell if I'm Underfueled?

Cottonshirt, someone who doesn't eat enough on a daily basis doesn't just magically replenish his glycogen. If he's losing weight and his workouts are poor, chances are he's not eating enough.

Of course, full glycogen storage should be enough to cover some 20 miles at MP.

Awesome Blossom has given no indication he's not drinking enough.

Awesome Blossom, the answer is simple: carry a couple of gels with you, take them when you start to feel off, and if you feel better then you know it's a fueling issue. If not, consider you may lack recovery.

Mizuno fanboy wrote:

Awesome Blossom, the answer is simple: carry a couple of gels with you, take them when you start to feel off, and if you feel better then you know it's a fueling issue. If not, consider you may lack recovery.

Yeah totally. Like you said, this really shouldn't be that complicated. But our "fuel" (happy now Qwertu??) needs change especially when we're ramping up our training. I want a rule of thumb because I don't want to be gobbling down gels for no reason. Especially if the problem is something else or if the problem is in my head.

I'll ask again. What do you eat in a normal day?

Awesome Blossom wrote:

Clarifying again: the dizzy feeling I felt was NOT from 12 milers.

Also, these are 12 miles with 4 mile tempo finishes.

I guess he is talking about two different things. Can anyone translate to English?

Qwertu wrote:

Just came here to remind everyone that people don’t consume “fuel”. They don’t get “underfueled”, because again, animals don’t use “fuel”. A person might be underfed or in a caloric deficit. You all sound like you’re in a stupid Gatorade commercial. The use of “fuel” in the context of sports nutrition is so lame.

God. People like you are the worst. While your not wrong, I was going to make the same point, but better than you. What I wanted to post was:

If you're underfueled, the needed points at "E" and a little light comes on.

awesome blossom wrote:

Mizuno fanboy wrote:

Awesome Blossom, the answer is simple: carry a couple of gels with you, take them when you start to feel off, and if you feel better then you know it's a fueling issue. If not, consider you may lack recovery.

Yeah totally. Like you said, this really shouldn't be that complicated. But our "fuel" (happy now Qwertu??) needs change especially when we're ramping up our training. I want a rule of thumb because I don't want to be gobbling down gels for no reason. Especially if the problem is something else or if the problem is in my head.

Here's a rule of thumb - you're underfueled, eat more through the day.

Unless you want to complicate your life counting calories, play it by ear. I don't like gels either, just said it as a quick and easy way to find out if carb depletion was indeed your problem. Having a Coke or some cookies would do the trick as well. Again, I'm not saying you do this every day, just as a test.

If you feel weak two days in a row, just eat bigger portions or increase the amount of carbs in your diet. It's not rocket science!

Really Bro wrote:

Awesome Blossom wrote:

Clarifying again: the dizzy feeling I felt was NOT from 12 milers.

Also, these are 12 miles with 4 mile tempo finishes.

I guess he is talking about two different things. Can anyone translate to English?

Yes: 1) the times I had gotten dizzy were times where I knew there was clearly a fueling issue. These were longer runs in a different training cycle.

2) the runs I'm talking about right now are 12 milers. 8 miles easy, 4 mile tempo. But I haven't been feeling good for any part of the run so I doubt it's the tempo at the end that's making me beat

Track runna wrote:

I'll ask again. What do you eat in a normal day?

My answer probably won't help since I can't provide serving size information.

What I ate on Saturday:

Pre-run: Honey Stinger Waffle

Post-run/breakfast: 3 fried eggs and a bagel with peanut butter

Lunch: Chipotle carnitas bowl

Dinner: 8 pork dumplings and a handful of chips

What I ate Sunday:

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: vegetarian bean and corn enchiladas

Dinner: two pieces of garlic bread and turkey/wild rice soup

Snack: handful of chips

I usually know for sure that I didn't eat enough if I wake up in the night hungry. That hasn't been an issue and I didn't feel deprived throughout either of these days.

awesome blossom wrote:

Really Bro wrote:

I guess he is talking about two different things. Can anyone translate to English?

Yes: 1) the times I had gotten dizzy were times where I knew there was clearly a fueling issue. These were longer runs in a different training cycle.

2) the runs I'm talking about right now are 12 milers. 8 miles easy, 4 mile tempo. But I haven't been feeling good for any part of the run so I doubt it's the tempo at the end that's making me beat

I will ask again. You don't seem to understand how important this question is in relation to your problem. What do you eat in a day?

Track runna wrote:

awesome blossom wrote:

Yes: 1) the times I had gotten dizzy were times where I knew there was clearly a fueling issue. These were longer runs in a different training cycle.

2) the runs I'm talking about right now are 12 milers. 8 miles easy, 4 mile tempo. But I haven't been feeling good for any part of the run so I doubt it's the tempo at the end that's making me beat

I will ask again. You don't seem to understand how important this question is in relation to your problem. What do you eat in a day?

Sorry. Just seen your post

Track runna wrote:

I will ask again. You don't seem to understand how important this question is in relation to your problem. What do you eat in a day?

Sorry. Just seen your post[/quote]

Does that actually help? I'm not able to count calories in my head. I have no clue how many calories I'm burning so I have no clue how many calories I need.

awesome blossom wrote:

Track runna wrote:

I'll ask again. What do you eat in a normal day?

My answer probably won't help since I can't provide serving size information.

What I ate on Saturday:

Pre-run: Honey Stinger Waffle

Post-run/breakfast: 3 fried eggs and a bagel with peanut butter

Lunch: Chipotle carnitas bowl

Dinner: 8 pork dumplings and a handful of chips

What I ate Sunday:

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: vegetarian bean and corn enchiladas

Dinner: two pieces of garlic bread and turkey/wild rice soup

Snack: handful of chips

I usually know for sure that I didn't eat enough if I wake up in the night hungry. That hasn't been an issue and I didn't feel deprived throughout either of these days.

Low quality processed foods. Try to get a variety of color (think rainbow) each day of whole fruits and veg. Micronutrients are important to process your fuel sources

awesome blossom wrote:

Track runna wrote:

I'll ask again. What do you eat in a normal day?

My answer probably won't help since I can't provide serving size information.

What I ate on Saturday:

Pre-run: Honey Stinger Waffle

Post-run/breakfast: 3 fried eggs and a bagel with peanut butter

Lunch: Chipotle carnitas bowl

Dinner: 8 pork dumplings and a handful of chips

What I ate Sunday:

Breakfast: oatmeal

Lunch: vegetarian bean and corn enchiladas

Dinner: two pieces of garlic bread and turkey/wild rice soup

Snack: handful of chips

I usually know for sure that I didn't eat enough if I wake up in the night hungry. That hasn't been an issue and I didn't feel deprived throughout either of these days.

Sounds like you undereat to me. I probably eat three times that. Are you a girl?

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

Low quality processed foods. Try to get a variety of color (think rainbow) each day of whole fruits and veg. Micronutrients are important to process your fuel sources

oatmeal, beans, corn, turkey, peanut butter are low quality processed foods? Trust me, if I add anymore fiber to my meals I'll be doubled over with stomach cramps. I'm also mildly lactose intolerant and either accidentally or intentionally ingest some sort of dairy most days. My stomach needs some easy digestion every once in a while.

zzzz wrote:

Sounds like you undereat to me. I probably eat three times that. Are you a girl?

No not a girl. As I said to the poster who had recommended that I post my typical meal, this means nothing without any serving size information.

Every time someone posts their typical meal someone makes a comment about the meal being unhealthy and someone makes a comment about the OP not eating enough.

You did try to provide serving size information though. If the pork dumplings are like pot stickers, I'd probably eat 20 for dinner plus vegetables and other stuff. And lots of ice cream for dessert. Two slices of bread and no matter how much soup would be like a snack for me. When I was in college and on the meal plan my first couple years, I didn't snack so as to save money. I needed to spend a hour each meal in the cafeteria, doing homework or whatever, to eat enough... literally plates and plates of food to keep myself at 135 lbs (5'10") doing maybe 100 mpw (or 150 lbs and 2-3 hours of cycling per day my first year). Have you seen how Michael Phelps eats?

awesome blossom wrote:

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

Low quality processed foods. Try to get a variety of color (think rainbow) each day of whole fruits and veg. Micronutrients are important to process your fuel sources

oatmeal, beans, corn, turkey, peanut butter are low quality processed foods? Trust me, if I add anymore fiber to my meals I'll be doubled over with stomach cramps. I'm also mildly lactose intolerant and either accidentally or intentionally ingest some sort of dairy most days. My stomach needs some easy digestion every once in a while.

Those are not processed, but not high quality either minus the turkey. You are lacking red colors found in red onion, beets, greens such as spinach. You need vitamins and minerals. Your stomach will adapt to the fiber, may take a month. Likely cause your stuffed up colon from the processed foods. Also make sure that peanut butter is natural

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

Those are not processed, but not high quality either minus the turkey. You are lacking red colors found in red onion, beets, greens such as spinach. You need vitamins and minerals. Your stomach will adapt to the fiber, may take a month. Likely cause your stuffed up colon from the processed foods. Also make sure that peanut butter is natural

This is absolutely not true. You're making a lot of assumptions about my diet. Not sure how you're so certain that I don't eat beets, greens, or other colorful vegetables. There are certain high fiber fruits and vegetables my body simply cannot process no matter how I often I consume them.