How many calories should a female runner eat in a day?

A female runner’s energy needs are dependent on many factors (such as age, weight, height, training load, and goals), and can vary between 1,500-3000+ calories/day.

It’s important to ensure that calorie intake meets expenditure, as a female runner needs enough calories to fuel exercise, maintain and build muscle, and support hormonal and reproductive health. Energy needs may be above normal in certain conditions, like extreme cold or heat, fear, stress, high altitude exposure, some physical injuries, increases in muscle mass and possibly the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle [

3

]. In contrast, calorie intake may be lower with training reductions, decreases in muscle mass and possibly the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle [

3

].

In general, the recommended macronutrient breakdown for female runners is protein (1.4-1.6 g/kg/day), carbohydrates (8 g/kg/day), and fats (0.5–1.5 g/kg/day) [

1

,

2

].