Blog Posts From Active Expert: Nancy Clark RD CSSD Tagged With food_guide_for_marathoners

Gluten-free carbohydrate-loading menu

guest — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:55:22 GMT

Even if you can not (or choose not to) eat wheat, you can still carbo-load!

The following 3,200 calorie high-carbohydrate diet provides about:

--3.5 grams carb per pound for a 150-lb endurance athlete (8 g/kg) .

The menu includes adequate protein (1 gram/lb or 1.8 g/kg) to maintain muscles.

The only “special” gluten-free food would be gluten-free oatmeal.

(Standard oatmeal can be contaminated with gluten if processed in a factory that processes wheat.)

For help creating your own carbo-loading menu using your favorite foods,

go to https://www.supertracker.usda.gov

FOOD	CALORIES
Breakfast
Oatmeal, Gluten-free, 1 cup dry, cooked in	300
Milk, 1%, 160z (480 ml)	200
Raisins, 1.5 oz (small box)	130
Brown sugar, 1 tablespoon	55
Apple cider, 12 oz (360 ml)	170

Lunch
Potato, large baked, topped with	275
Cottage cheese, 1%-fat, 1 cup	160
Baby carrots, 8 dipped in	40
Hummus, ½ cup	200
Grape juice, 12-oz (360 ml)	220

Snack
Banana, extra large	150
Peanut butter, 3 Tablespoons	270

Dinner
Rice, brown, 2 cups cooked	430
Chicken, 5 oz, sauteed in	250
Olive oil, 2 tsp	80
Green beans, 1 cup	50

Dessert
Dried pineapple, ½ cup (2.5 oz.)	220

Total	3,200

For more information on carbo-loading:

Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook

Eat well, run well, and have fun!

Best,

Nancy

Blogging to Boston Part 6: You’ve finished the race, now what?

guest — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:17:59 GMT

The Boston Marathon is over and we hope that you are proud of your efforts! You have spent many months preparing for this race both physically and mentally; it’s common to come to the end of the race and wonder what’s next. Many runners worry about how to adjust their eating plan. Here is a short guide on adjusting your eating after training.

Assess your weight and define your goals

Before adjusting your eating plan, assess your current weight. Did you lose, gain, or maintain your weight during training? Then, determine if you need to adjust or maintain your post-race weight.

Listen to your body

Your body is very good at adjusting your food intake for training. That is, as you increase your training, you are hungrier and as you decrease your training you feel less hungry. Therefore, within the week after the big race, your appetite should decrease. This is your body telling you to eat less.

Writing down what you eat for 3-5 days can be helpful to see when, where, and how much you are eating. Even better, record how hungry you were before and after you ate. This can help you understand if you are eating enough to prevent hunger, or perhaps you’re just eating out of habit. Food logs will show you where the best places are to cut back, or perhaps identify meals in which you aren’t eating enough.

Eat throughout the day

The best way to manage hunger and maintain energy throughout the day is to fuel your body on a regular schedule. People generally get hungry about every 4 hours, so try to plan meals or snacks at least every four hours.For example, breakfast at 7am, lunch at 11am, 2^nd lunch (or snack) at 3p, and dinner at 7p. For some it may work better to break this up into more, smaller meals in 3 hours blocks, so find what works for you.

Not eating enough at breakfast, lunch, or second lunch can lead to overeating at dinner. However, since you’re exercising less than you were during training, your body may be satisfied with smaller portion sizes at each meal. But, don’t skip meals! For example, instead of eating a large bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a large glass of orange juice at breakfast, morning runners maybe only need 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter, half a banana, and a small glass of orange juice (or just water). Pay attention to when you feel full – your appetite is a good gauge for how much you need to eat.

If your goal is to lose weight, fuel your body throughout the day and chip off 100-200 calories each evening. You can achieve this by eating a smaller dinner, choosing fruit for dessert instead of ice cream, or choosing to drink water instead of wine or beer. Eat a mix of carbohydrates, lean protein, and healthy fats at each meal. Choose fiber rich carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to keep you feeling fuller, longer. Protein and fat also help slow digestion, adding to a feeling of satiety.

Make an appointment with a registered dietitian

For a more personalized plan, make an appointment with a registered dietitian (RD). An RD can help assess your current weight and diet and provide you with the best eating plan to move forward. Visit the Sports,Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition (SCAN) website to find an RD that specializes in sports nutrition.

How do you plan to adjust your eating plan post-race?

Nancy & Sarah, guest blogger

For more information on how to manage weight:

Food Guide for Marathoners

Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebooks

Blogging to Boston Part 5: Eating the Week Pre-Marathon -- with sample carb-loading menu

guest — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:00:35 GMT

The Boston Marathon is one week away! The week leading up to the race can be exciting, yet nerve-wrecking. Tapering, an essential part of training, can be difficult for some runners. Figuring out what and how much to eat adds another challenge.

In the week leading up to the race, you need to build up your glycogen stores so you have as much available energy during the race as possible. This will help you avoid “hitting the wall” and will improve your race performance (and marathon enjoyment).

Building maximum glycogen stores is usually accomplished by training less (AKA the taper), and consuming a foundation of carbohydrate-rich foods at each meal. Aim for 60-65% of your calories to come from carbohydrates. This should include fruits, vegetables, grains (whole grains are preferred), and legumes. The best way to do this is to include carbohydrates at every meal and snack, rather than loading up only at dinner.

Here is a sample carbohydrate-rich menu (Notice it still includes a little protein at each meal.):

Breakfast: 2 pieces whole-wheat toast with 2 tbsp peanut butter & 1 medium banana

Morning snack: Medium apple & 1 serving pretzels (or crackers)

Lunch:Turkey & Swiss cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread with 1-cup minestronesoup

Afternoon snack: 1-cup plain yogurt with 1-cup strawberries and ½ cup low-fat granola

Dinner: 11/2 cups whole-wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce and 2 turkey meatballs, aside salad & small whole-wheat dinner roll.

Evening snack: 1 Orange & 1 oatmeal raisin cookie

Note: Thisis an estimate based on a 2,500-2,600 calorie per day diet. Depending on your gender, body size, and training load, you may need more or less calories throughout the day.

The original “Ahlborg” method of carbo-loading included a depletion phase, in which the marathoner would increase training intensityabout 7 days from the race, while decreasing carbohydrate consumption, thereby depleting glycogen stores. Then, 3 days pre-race, the runner would increase carbohydrate consumption and decrease training to re-fuel. However, research has now shown that this period of depletion is not necessary.

In the week pre-marathon, you want to eat similarly to how you’ve been eating throughout your training. This is not a time to try new foods or new eating patterns. You also don’t need to eat more than you’ve been consuming throughout training because you will be exercising less. Your body will simply store more of the carbohydrates in your muscles (muscle glycogen) instead of burn them off.

It’s common to feel slightly bloated, and even to gain up to 3-4 pounds during the week before the marathon. Don’t worry! Carbohydrates are naturally stored with water. Therefore, as you store carbohydrates, you will add water weight and volume to your muscles.

Lastly, and most importantly, on the night before the marathon, eat what you’ve eaten the night before your long runs. This is not the time to try a new food; you don’t know how your stomach will react the next day.

Best of luck to all of you running the Boston Marathon!

What’s your favorite meal to eat the night before a big race?

Eat well, run hard, have fun. Welcome to Boston!!!

Nancy Clark & Sarah Gold, guest blogger

For more information, enjoy this "how to" easy reader:

Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions

Blogging to Boston Marathon: Fueling During Long Runs

guest — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:41:39 GMT

Part 3 in a series by guest blogger Sarah Gold.

Now that you know what to eat before your long run (and have hopefully been practicing), it’s important to figure out your fueling plan for during the race. When exercising for more than 60-90 minutes, it’s important to consume quickly absorbing carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable throughout your run. Here are some recommendations on what and when to consume during long runs and race day.

How much to consume?

The amount of carbohydrates needed will vary from person to person (body size, speed, intensity, and training will all effect this), but aim for between 150-250 calories of carbohydrates per hour. This can be from a mix of sports drinks like Gatorade and food like Gu, candy, or dried fruit.

What to consume?

The goal is to consume food that is primarily made up of carbohydrates. When running for many hours, such as during the marathon, you will want to vary your food choices to keep you from getting tired of eating the same thing for 4+ hours. It’s easy to get through a half marathon relying only on Gu, candy, or dried fruit, but it’s difficult to keep that up for twice the time. You’re likely to get “sugared out,” meaning your taste buds or stomach may not tolerate the same food for that many hours. Varying both flavor and texture can help you get through the race without feeling like you can’t eat as much as your body needs. So, try out a few different options during your longer training runs to see what your stomach and GI tract tolerate and what gives your body the most energy.

Engineered vs. Real Food

The big advantage to engineered food such as Gu, Chomps, Sport Beans, and the like, is convenience. Most come in pre-packaged 100-calorie servings, and they are easy to carry with you. However, real food can work just as well, particularly for slower marathoners who will be pounding the pavement for more than four hours. Here are some common choices among runners:

- Raisins,dates, dried cranberries—or any dried fruit

- Swedishfish, jelly beans, gummy bears, or other chewy candy

- Pretzels

- Driedcereal

- Minipeanut butter and jelly (or honey) sandwiches*

- Banana(with peanut butter or other nut butter)*

* If you choose foods that aren’t convenient to carry inyour pocket, ask friends or family to stand along your race-day route at pointswhen you know you will need fuel.

If you drink Gatorade or other sports drinks, remember that this contributes to your carbohydrate intake. Just pay attention to how much you are consuming so you can adjust your food intake. Diluted fruit juice can work well for some too.

When to consume?

Your breakfast will likely get you through the first hour to hour and a half of the race. So, most runners like to start consuming carbohydrates whether it’s from a sports drink or food beginning at 45 minutes to an hour into the race. But, pay attention to how you feel during your long training runs to figure out when is a good time for you to start fueling. Some runners choose to start slightly earlier or later. Earlier signs of hunger (or fuel needs) include thinking about food, reduced energy, or tired legs.

As noted above, plan to consumer 150-250 calories per hour.You can spread this out over 15-30 minute intervals, and mix it up between drinks and food.

Remember that it’s important to test this out during your long training runs to avoid any race-day surprises!

What’s your favorite fuel during your long runs?

For more information:

Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions

How to fuel for a 5:00 PM race

guest — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:48:00 GMT

Nancy. I'm training for the Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon in December, which starts at 5:00 pm. I've never run an evening race before and have no idea how to eat that day. I'd love information about how to fuel for an evening race -- breakfast, lunch, pre- and post-race nutrition.

Thanks! Kimberly

ANSWER

Because each runner has differing abilities to tolerate foods and fluids before, during and after a running event of any distance, offering one-size-fits-all sports nutrition advice is difficult. That’s why you want to figure out DURING YOUR LONG TRAINING RUNS what eating pattern will work best for your body.

I highly recommend you plan to do several long training runs at the same time as the race, 5:00 p.m. That will give you the opportunity to practice your fueling strategies. Those training runs, however, will not evoke the same gut-troubling level of stress and anxiety that you may have on the day of the event…hence, your first evening half-marathon will really be your “practice” one.

• The week before the half-marathon, you will want to:

--taper your training, so your muscles have time to heal and get fully fueled with carbohydrates.

--enjoy carb-based meals to provide the fuel needed to carbo-load your muscles. {Protein builds and heals muscles, but fruits, vegetables, and grains are best to fuel your muscles.)

--drink plenty of fluids, so you enter into the event well hydrated.

• On the day of an 5:00 p.m. event, if you are afraid you might be too nervous to eat close to race-time, plan to enjoy a hearty carbohydrate-based brunch (pancakes, French toast, or tried-and-true cereal-banana-bagels-fruit) at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. and then a 3:00 pm, have a lighter snack (energy bar, banana, pretzels, bagel, sports drink) or what ever seems like it would settle well and digest easily.

• If you are less fearful of intestinal problems, enjoy your standard breakfast, a hefty carb-based meal such as pasta at noon, and then a bagel (with peanut butter) or turkey sandwich at 3:30-4:00ish, to curb pre-event hunger.

• If you will be running more than 90 minutes, you will want to fuel during the half-marathon, targeting about 150-250 calories per hour, starting after the first hour (or sooner, if you have been unable to eat for several hours pre-event.) How many calories you need will depend on your body size (bigger runners need more fuel). Drink enough sports drink or water+sports foods to quench your thirst, but stop drinking if your stomach is “sloshing.”

• After the half-marathon, enjoy a nice recovery meal that suits your cravings. Preferably, it should be carb-based, to refuel your muscles, with a side of protein to repair your muscles. Some people like burgers or steak, as a change from carbs. If that’s your case, just be sure to enjoy some potato, rolls, veggies and other carb-based foods alongside the protein.

Because you will unlikely be running again the next day, you need not fret about recovery; your muscles will have plenty of time to refuel before your next training session. But a proper carb-based diet with a side of protein plus extra fluids will optimize recovery so you feel great sooner than later.

Have fun!

Nancy

For more detailed information, please refer to my Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions (www.nancyclarkrd.com).

Is marathon training a good way to lose weight?

guest — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:51:11 GMT

More often than not, I talk with novice marathoners who assume they will lose weight once they start training for a marathon. After all, if they are running for miles and miles, how could they not lose weight???

Well, guess again, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting. In a survey of 64 participants in a three-month marathon-training program, only 11% of the runners lost weight and 11% actually gained weight. (The rest remained at a stable weight.) Of the 7 who gained weight, 6 were women. They got hungrier and ate more!

Among the entire group of runners, three-quarters of the women reported eating more while training, as compared to only half of the men. It seems that Nature works hard to defend women from losing weight! After all, in terms of evolution, a woman’s job is to be fertile.

Hence, if you are a woman who decides to run a marathon, be sure the primary goal of your training is to improve your endurance, not to lose weight. If you want to do both, you have to carefully manage your appetite. All too often, marathoners can convince themselves they deserve to eat several extra cookies because they just ran a few miles…

Eat wisely and run well!

Nancy

For additional information, see Chapter 15: Weight Reduction and Runners in Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions