A Quest for Food – Eating for Activity

Hi guys! My name is Andrea and my little place on the web is called Off Her Cork. Our favorite Lori is off being the fabbo globetrotter that she is, so she asked me to do a little guest post for you all. Of course I agreed!

Since running is still new to me, I’m still figuring out how my body works and responds to the activity. I’m currently training for my second half marathon which will be next month (eeep!), towards the end of October. Because I run and do martial arts, fueling properly is pretty important. One of the things that is drilled home for runners is that you need carbs. Carbs are good for you and you need to load up!

From my experience, I have to put a twist on this and say:

Find what works best for your body and make sure to eat smart carbs. Smart carbs are carbs that come from whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa), fruit, whole grain or whole wheat bread, and whole wheat or whole grain pasta. Not basic white semolina pasta. Not white rice or white bread. These are not beneficial and are just empty calories. If you work your body, you need to feed your body and feed it well.

Of course I’m still learning as I go along, but I have found for me personally carbs are okay but not enough. I need protein as well. To help my body recover from a run, I need three things:

Protein
Carbs
Small amount of fat

After a good run, no matter what the mileage, I will typically have a glass of chocolate soymilk as my recovery drink of choice. The length of the run and the intensity level will determine how much I have. Short runs equal a small glass. Long runs or runs where I sweated a lot, sometimes will get two glasses! Chocolate soymilk has it all, protein, a small amount of fat, and simple carbs to help give my body fuel and repair itself. I don’t drink milk, but chocolate milk would also work too.

And yes, I said the F word. Fat. I need it and so does my body. Fat helps me feel more satisfied and content. Which is what I want after an intense workout, otherwise if I feel empty all day long, I will eat to fill that void thinking that’s what I need. Which could lead to taking in too much and then I just blew my workout. Fat is not the devil and it is not bad when used in moderation and it is good fat that is eaten.

I follow the same rule for my long runs, which are Sunday mornings bright and early! A long run for me is anything over 5 miles. My favorite recovery and refuel meal after a long run is:

2% Fage (Greek yogurt)
Granola
Dash of maple syrup or jam

This also gives me exactly what I’m looking for. I get protein and fat from the yogurt, carbs from the granola, and simple sugar from the maple syrup or jam. YUM! And it does the trick of refueling and keeping me satisfied until Sunday breakfast so I can refuel with some more real food. During the week when I do shorter runs, I will eat oatmeal or oatbran for breakfast with a banana mixed in and some sort of additional fruit.

With my training, I have learned that protein is what I need more of as my miles increase and intensifies. I prefer to get my protein from seafood but will occasionally have meat as well. I also turn to nuts and nut butters for additional protein intake. Protein helps keep me satisfied and feeling strong.

The night before, my pre-race dinner is a combo of protein, fiber, and carbs. Whole wheat pasta, cheese, and lots of veggies. Or maybe pizza because is a great fuel source! And then on race day, it’s oatmeal with nut butter before heading to the starting line.

All of us are different and it makes sense that all of us are going to require different things to recover and refuel.