learning - Nutrition

So far, this is the weakest link.  I have drank/eaten too fast/too much in the Black Bear, the NYC tri, and the Poconos HIM; leaving me feeling bloated on the run.  I have read how you can lose 600-800 calories per hour in a triathlon, but your body cannot take in more than 200-300 calories per hour.  I was trying to adjust my nutrition plan to that calorie count but I never even come close to eating everything that I put in my bento box and still feel full/bloated.

I have felt satisfied with my pre-race hydration plan - I have drunk just Gatorade in previous races, and during the HIM, I also took in some Nuun tablets in my water.  I wonder if that is why I look like I am 20 lbs heavier in the HIM photos.  As soon as the race was over, by the next day,  I lost that bloated, fat feeling I had been having....maybe too much sodium? 

I like to eat my usual oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries, approximately 3-4 hours before the race start, then a piece of toast with butter and jelly a couple of hours later.

I have generally used Cliff bars; Cliff shot blox; more recently, I have tried the honey waffles.  During this last race, I did not feel much improvement in energy except when I ate 1/2 a banana at a couple of different points in the run.

I have to find out if the calorie counts cited above apply to a woman who is 5'2".  Most triathlon data assumes the reader is a young male; so maybe the caloric needs are less...