Protein isn’t the endurance athlete’s real problem.
On a normal day, I land around 350 to 400 grams of carbs, close to 3,000 calories, and 110 to 130 grams of protein — no shake, no extra effort. At 150 pounds, that already lands on the higher end of what research says endurance athletes need, roughly 0.5 to 0.9 grams per pound of bodyweight. It shows up without trying.
Add a shake, and that number climbs closer to matching bodyweight pound-for-pound in protein — which tracks with muscle-building research (roughly 0.7 to 1 gram per pound) more than anything pure endurance training calls for. That’s a different goal, though, with its own numbers worth looking up separately. If you’re logging serious mileage and still hitting the gym for muscle, wanting that extra protein isn’t wrong — it’s just answering a different question than this one.
Carbs are the part that actually takes work. Guidelines call for roughly 2.3 to 3.2 grams per pound for regular training alone, more on heavy weeks — and most athletes fall short there, not on protein.
That gap isn’t a minor performance ceiling — it has real health stakes. Roughly 80% of long-distance endurance athletes show at least one sign of RED-S, relative energy deficiency in sport, and low carbohydrate intake is one of the main drivers behind it.
During tapers or a real carb-load, I’ll sit closer to 500 to 600 grams. On the rare high-volume day, maybe once or twice a week, it’s 400 to 450 grams and closer to 3,500 calories total. Mostly pasta, sandwiches, overnight oat bowls with fruit, dolmas — Italian and Mediterranean style food, nothing exotic.
The actual work was never counting protein. It’s making sure enough food, carbs specifically, shows up every day, not only the week before a race.
What’s something that may be taking up too much of your attention when the bigger wins are somewhere you’re not even looking?
— Iggy
Not a doctor, not medical advice — this is what’s worked for me and what the research says, not a prescription. Talk to an actual professional about your own numbers.