No wonder I'm fat. Drew Hunter only eats ~2500 calories/day.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

are you sure? wrote:

seems like a very meager amount of food.. only 2500cal?

Yeah, no way. The average person needs 2500 calories a day and he's burning off 1000+ from running. He's also a young guy that's likely to have a strong metabolism.

That kind of reasoning is why Americans are so fat.

You really only need 1250-1500 caps a day.

coachcommentsnicely wrote:

SDSU Aztec wrote:

Yeah, no way. The average person needs 2500 calories a day and he's burning off 1000+ from running. He's also a young guy that's likely to have a strong metabolism.

That kind of reasoning is why Americans are so fat.

You really only need 1250-1500 caps a day.

Can you link to an article that supports your 1200-1500 calories per day?

are you saying an athlete of this caliber only needs 1250-1500 calories per day?

you're insane

SDSU Aztec wrote:

are you sure? wrote:

seems like a very meager amount of food.. only 2500cal?

Yeah, no way. The average person needs 2500 calories a day and he's burning off 1000+ from running. He's also a young guy that's likely to have a strong metabolism.

Average person needs more like 1500-2000 calories and you figure he is burning 1000-1500/day from exercise. 2500 might be right if he is at the low end of everything but it also could be 1000 calories low.

One thing to remember is that people are really bad at estimating calories.

is one of a zillion papers out there that suggest people tend to be off by 20-30%+. Unless he is weighting everything take the numbers with a grain of salt.

are you sure? wrote:

are you saying an athlete of this caliber only needs 1250-1500 calories per day?

you're insane

He said average american who is a person who doesn't exercise much. 1500 is in the range of reasonable. (1200 I assume would be for a woman). Add in the 1000-1500 calories for a someone running 80-100mpw and we get up around 2500-3000 range. Obvioulsy a lot of personal variation with things like weight, exercise, and misc activity (i.e. do you spend the other hours sitting on your ass or do light work like walking around).

jamin wrote:

Someone in the Comments wrote

Rough calorie and macro estimate:

Calories: 2429 kcal

Protein: 112 g (~25%)

Carbs: 235 g (~52%)

Fat: 103 g (~23%)

so I'm going off that number.

So basically it is a made up number that is like +-30-50%?

Get Woke wrote:

In Recovery wrote:

...now you know one of the reasons why Hunter is hurt many times

I was surprised by how terrible his diet is. Not only does it seem like he’s not eating enough but the food that he is eating is garbage.

I bet Tinman/Schwartz is pissed ? at how Drew still feels the need to consult his mother for his dietary needs. Time to cut the apron strings mommy...

Whoever is saying they eat 5000-6000 calories a day is way overestimating their needs, bodybuilders who compete in the Olympias eat this much, and lifting hard plus HIIT burns more than aerobic mileage. Remember, the better you get at distance running, the better you get at performing actions with less energy. Most weight loss programs have you HIIT rather than distance running. In addition, your body will shape itself to adapt to your training.

Drew hunters current diet seems good for a pro distance dinner: good balance of high carbs with enough protein to prevent muscle breakdown and recovery, and good amount of fats for hormone regulation. Snacks to top everything off.

Forgot to add on the adapting part: if you eat a ton of protein, you won't magically get huge, the high mileage running will shape your body to get where it needs. Same with lifting: to grow, you need to focus on hypertrophy: focus on getting the full stretch and then full contraction at the top. Lifting for runners probably focus on stability muscles, as well as building strength, not size. Instead of metabolic stress, this is a CNS adaptation. Runners should focus on getting stronger without getting bigger.

dude i'm 6 ft 1 and ~140lbs no matter what. I was like that before I started running, and it hasn't changed since I started running. I can eat garbage or eat clean and it doesn't matter.

You 100% aren't eating enough, 100%. Eat 5 meals a day, eat a meal every 3 hours for MONTHS, don't skip a meal, and you'll gain weight 100%.

I'm not talking small meals, i'm talking chipotle sized meals 5 times a day. That's 5000 calories. Finally, just because you are dirty for a week doesn't mean you'll get fat. Getting heavier/ skinnier requires CONSISTENCY for WEEKS to notice results. This is the reason most people can't make their weight goals: they want to see results ASAP, and give up after a month.

LateRunnerPhil wrote:

I'm at 5000-6000/day (160 lbs), if I eat less I would be hungry and also increase my risk for stress fractures. Jordan Hasay was self-reported to eat 5000/day, which seems more believable/realistic for a pro runner.

5000 calories for a 28 year old 100 pound 5'4" female is enough to support over 300 miles per week by my calculations.

these ‘what I eat i a day ‘ videos are entertainment, not necessarily reality. I figure that you tubers usually show you what their meals are for the day, and the stuff that is the most hip and healthy and trendy. I Bet he eats a bunch of other stuff throughout the day, or at least hope he does.

I didn't think there was anything too crazy about this video. If all he was doing for training that day was a 45-minute bike, seems about right... If he's running 80-90mpw, the main quibble to me would be just a BEC might be a bit small on a post-AM run. Probably want some fruit as well to balance it out. Lunch feels about right with maybe a small snack before his workout. Pasta is a good one after the PM workout, just be generous with those portions and have it be a 1200 calorie meal that gets you through the morning run as well. Also, have a salad...don't know if that was neglected as sides often are.

Only thing that was a bit surprising to me here was the amount of processed meat/pork he's eating. I'm not exactly a person who eats super-healthy, but I try to eschew meat at breakfast/lunch when possible and have a lot more chicken or fish than red meat or pork when possible.

Too many readers apparently think that Drew must eat the same basic diet every day. Of course he doesn't. This was just one day in his life, even though he talks generalities about other days. Nevertheless, HE DOES NOT EAT PASTA SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. He said he usually eats a big breakfast, and probably HE DOES NOT EAT A BACON/CHEESE BAGEL SANDWICH SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

And yes, this is meant to be a relatively fun video that is informative and sometimes silly (I like that Drew isn't afraid to be a goofball, as are most of us at times), and not a no-nonsense manifesto on "how a pro distance runner eats with great nutrition every single day". Take it with a grain of salt...sea salt, that is. Assume that it's just a hint at what Drew consumes, but not a report on his full-time eating habits that he would swear to on a Bible.

Most of my family is skinny like I am. Some of them start to gain weight when they reach their 40's. I eat enough, I've counted calories before, I just have a crazy metabolism.

He was illustrating a typical day. He probably doesn't eat pasta every day, and not bacon/cheese bagel sandwiches, but he would be eating similar foods, like a pizza one day, ice cream another day, maybe beef instead of the pork one day and so on. He is not a nutrition coach/expert, there are some runners who actually are certified nutritionists or got a lot of experience with proper fueling.

Keep in mind that Hunter recently was injured and for many months and missed Doha, which was his dream. People in the forum blamed his coach, Tinman, but anyone who knows something about Tinman is that his training is so easy it is extremely unlikely to get injured doing it. I have already said it back then - it's probably not the training that got him injured, but other stuff - lack of strength training/PT, improper nutrition, lack of sleep, etc. Now they shared a typical day of nutrition of the TME and even without nutrition experience I can say that this is rather on the bottom of what a pro-runner should typically eat in a day, one slice of lettuce doesn't make a bacon/cheese bagel healthy. Might have been a contributor to his injury.

Haven’t went through the thread, but this is probably why he’s had injury issues. That’s not enough calories unless you’re super meticulous about every micronutrient