Nutrition

Running means all carbs all the time, right?  Not so fast!

Many of you have heard of carbohydrate loading before a training session or race, but you should also know that over doing it can actually have some negative side effects.  First off, overeating anything can leave you feeling sluggish and bloated.  The last thing you want to do as you train and eventually run or walk the race is have a lack of energy.  Choosing too many carbs and especially the wrong type of carbs can also cause weight gain.  The real important thing here is to make sure that we are choosing the right kind of carbs to eat.  As a general rule of thumb, the more processes a food choice is, the less nutritious it is.  For example, you will get a far greater benefit from eating a baked potato (Skipping the bacon, cheese and sour cream of course) than eating a snack size bag of potato chips. 

Choosing carbs that are high in fiber like oatmeal, fruit, and vegetables should make up the greatest percentage of your carb intake as they are slowly digested and give you longer lasting energy and leave you feeling fuller, longer.  Before a work out, however it is okay to reach for lower fiber carbs, such as white rice and pasta that can process quicker in your body giving you the energy you need now.  I find eating a bagel with a little peanut butter is a good pre-workout snack as it provides those fast carbs along with some protein and healthy fats.  Swapping out things like white bread and white pasta with the whole grain varieties that contain more nutrients will have positive effects on your heath.  Afraid you won’t like the taste, try using whole grain pasta for a time and then go back to white pasta, I bet you would find that the whole grain pasta actually tastes better.  Small changes like this are easy to do and can have some amazing benefits in controlling your health. 

Carbs shouldn’t be the only thing on your plate, don’t forget about lean proteins and even fats.  Lean proteins help rebuild those muscle fibers that we are constantly damaging during our training (running, walking and cross training).  Examples of lean proteins include chicken, fish, lean red meat such as tenderloin, nuts and seeds.  Eggs are also a great source of protein. 

Fats play an important role as well.  Besides being a good source of energy, fats also provide nutrients such as vitamin A, D, E, & K.  We want to make sure though that we are limiting the amount of saturated fats and focusing our intake of fats on the unsaturated varieties.  Food choices like olive oil, avocados, nuts and even some fish (Omega-3) are good choices of fats.  Note also here that food preparation can add unhealthy fats to your diet.  Avoid this hidden fat by choosing to have your food baked for example rather than fried. 

Bottom line is that just because you are in a full blown training schedule that doesn’t give you the excuse to eat whatever you want.  Make every piece of food you put in your mouth count and choose those foods that give you the best nutritional value.  It’s okay to have that bowl of ice cream, but don’t treat food as a reward for your hard work.  Choose a reward that will enhance this experience like a new pair of running shoes. 

Have a great week!