When dieting, what's the shortest run that requires an increase in caloric intake?

Question

I'm an average weight person trying to lose 5-10 pounds, but possibly like a lot of people, I tend to use the fact that I exercise as a good excuse to eat more. "Oh, I'll need the extra energy later today or tomorrow when I run." That makes sense if you're about to run a race and need top performance out of your run. But when you're trying to lose weight, there must be a balance point between not consuming more (so you'll burn more than you take in) and eating enough to avoid passing out halfway into your workout.

So, assuming a person of say, 35, with an average weight and in reasonably good health is running a moderate pace on a flat surface, where, on average, is that point at which s/he needs to increase intake? I would take the answer in either distance or duration.

Answer 1

In answer to this:

So, assuming a person of say, 35, with an average weight and in reasonably good health is running a moderate pace on a flat surface, where, on average, is that point at which s/he needs to increase intake?

If you are in good health and running less than 15km in a single session I wouldn't bother with a special diet. Humans literally evolved to travel long distances on little food. If it's less than 25km I wouldn't even bother with special mid-race meals or gels. A weekend warrior who isn't aiming to place should be able to do a half-marathon (21km) on a moderate bowl of pasta the night before, a small bowl of white rice about 1-2hrs pre-race and whatever sugary electrolyte drinks are around the track.

If you are the kind of person that considers a light run to be an excuse to "refeed" it's unlikely that you actually need any special pre-, mid- or post-training nutrition asides from your regular meals.

Answer 2

Any amount of extra exercise consumes additional calories. 1 mile or 1 meter, it doesn't matter.

You don't need to increase your intake to compensate, especially if your goal is weight loss and not performance.