Runner's World Essential Guides by The Editors of Runner's World Page A
Authors: The Editors of Runner's World
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backward,” says Coleman. She suggests calculating your daily calorie needs (on Web sites such as www.nutritiondata.com ). Evenly divide those calories through the day. If you need 1,800 calories and like to eat six times, make six 300-calorie snacks with a mix of carbs and protein. Have whole-grain toast with almond butter, an apple, and two pieces of string cheese, or half a turkey sandwich.
The Well-Planned Eater
Detail-oriented, you keep a food log and stick to a meal plan. But adhering too closely to that regimen can detach you from eating based on how your body feels. Planners eat something because their schedule says they have to, says Coleman, not necessarily because they want to.
Eat Smarter: Keep that food log—but write down what you eat and how you feel before and after meals and workouts, says Coleman. You may discover you need that postrun protein shake only after your toughest runs—not every run. On days you work out in the evening, you may find your usual dinner doesn’t fill you up and you need more calories. Being in tune to those feelings will help you create a more flexible eating plan that better meets your needs.
The Indulgent Eater
“Running is an accomplishment,” says Coleman, “but some think it means they can eat everything they want.” It is okay to indulge in high-calorie or high-fat fare, but regularly overdoing it will hurt your health and running by adding (or preventing you from losing) extra pounds.
Eat Smarter: If you like a sweet treat every day, you don’t have to give that up, says Coleman. But you do have to keep the portion size in check—a single square of fine dark chocolate rather than a whole box of cookies. If you find that’s just not satisfying, you can still have the three-scoop sundae—just make it a once-a-week or so indulgence, rather than daily.
Six Edicts for Eating
#1: Eat seeds or foods made from seeds
What makes seeds so special? Seeds—including whole grains, many beans, and even tree nuts—contain the crucial mix of nutrients necessary to grow a new plant, which means they are packed with health-boosting compounds. In addition to traditional nutrients, like protein and essential fats, seeds contain bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds and ferulic acid, which act as antioxidants.
Eating a diet with ample plant seeds has been shown to improve health and help maintain a healthier body weight. People who eat whole grains and beans have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, and they tend to have lower cholesterol levels than people who don’t eat nuts and seeds.
#2: Eat five different colored fruits and vegetables daily
You already know that eating fruits and veggies supplies your body with vitamins, minerals, and the carbs it needs to fuel your running. Fruits and vegetables also fill you up, but with fewer calories, helping you maintain your weight. But to get the most from your produce, you need to think in terms of color—yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple, and every shade in between. There are 400-plus pigments that light up the produce aisle, and each offers unique health benefits.
The rich red in pomegranate comes from anthocyanins, the deep red in tomatoes comes from lycopene, and the bright orange in sweet potatoes comes from beta-carotene. These and other pigments have been shown to lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s, while also improving your memory. And since most pigments act as antioxidants, they can help reduce inflammation caused by disease or heavy exercise. But new studies suggest that the pigments in produce need to interact with other color compounds in fruits or vegetables to produce their beneficial effects, which is why it’s important to eat a wide variety of colors every day. The results of these studies also explain why taking a single pigment, such as beta-carotene in supplement form, doesn’t lead to the same health improvements as eating the whole food
The Well-Planned Eater
Detail-oriented, you keep a food log and stick to a meal plan. But adhering too closely to that regimen can detach you from eating based on how your body feels. Planners eat something because their schedule says they have to, says Coleman, not necessarily because they want to.
Eat Smarter: Keep that food log—but write down what you eat and how you feel before and after meals and workouts, says Coleman. You may discover you need that postrun protein shake only after your toughest runs—not every run. On days you work out in the evening, you may find your usual dinner doesn’t fill you up and you need more calories. Being in tune to those feelings will help you create a more flexible eating plan that better meets your needs.
The Indulgent Eater
“Running is an accomplishment,” says Coleman, “but some think it means they can eat everything they want.” It is okay to indulge in high-calorie or high-fat fare, but regularly overdoing it will hurt your health and running by adding (or preventing you from losing) extra pounds.
Eat Smarter: If you like a sweet treat every day, you don’t have to give that up, says Coleman. But you do have to keep the portion size in check—a single square of fine dark chocolate rather than a whole box of cookies. If you find that’s just not satisfying, you can still have the three-scoop sundae—just make it a once-a-week or so indulgence, rather than daily.
Six Edicts for Eating
#1: Eat seeds or foods made from seeds
What makes seeds so special? Seeds—including whole grains, many beans, and even tree nuts—contain the crucial mix of nutrients necessary to grow a new plant, which means they are packed with health-boosting compounds. In addition to traditional nutrients, like protein and essential fats, seeds contain bioactive compounds, such as phenolic compounds and ferulic acid, which act as antioxidants.
Eating a diet with ample plant seeds has been shown to improve health and help maintain a healthier body weight. People who eat whole grains and beans have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, and they tend to have lower cholesterol levels than people who don’t eat nuts and seeds.
#2: Eat five different colored fruits and vegetables daily
You already know that eating fruits and veggies supplies your body with vitamins, minerals, and the carbs it needs to fuel your running. Fruits and vegetables also fill you up, but with fewer calories, helping you maintain your weight. But to get the most from your produce, you need to think in terms of color—yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple, and every shade in between. There are 400-plus pigments that light up the produce aisle, and each offers unique health benefits.
The rich red in pomegranate comes from anthocyanins, the deep red in tomatoes comes from lycopene, and the bright orange in sweet potatoes comes from beta-carotene. These and other pigments have been shown to lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s, while also improving your memory. And since most pigments act as antioxidants, they can help reduce inflammation caused by disease or heavy exercise. But new studies suggest that the pigments in produce need to interact with other color compounds in fruits or vegetables to produce their beneficial effects, which is why it’s important to eat a wide variety of colors every day. The results of these studies also explain why taking a single pigment, such as beta-carotene in supplement form, doesn’t lead to the same health improvements as eating the whole food
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