Runners should take care not only about the quality of their training. Extremely important is also a diet that will enhance the effect of regular running.
Basic rules for feeding a runner
The main principle of nutrition, intended for runners, should be a balance of energy costs associated with movement. Therefore, you need to know how many calories you burn in one run. For example, a person weighing 70 kilograms per hour of jogging burns about 500-600 calories, and when running fast over rough terrain - more than 1000.
In order to maintain the energy balance, we must monitor our body and the signals that it conveys to us. Too fast weight loss in subsequent training can mean the need to increase the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
It is extremely important to determine the number of meals consumed per day, to eat at a certain time, as well as to divide dishes into those that are consumed before exercise and those that can be eaten after.
What to Eat Before and After Jogging
Before the first type of food, the goal is to provide the proper level of energy during running, and before the second - the recovery of the body. Take food before jogging should be no later than 2-3 hours.
It is also desirable that the menu consist of products characterized by delayed absorption, such as oatmeal, wild rice or whole grain bread. To this basis it is necessary to add products containing protein - lean meat, cottage cheese or fish. Before exercise, it is best to avoid difficult to digest foods, including fatty and fried foods.
The food you take after a run is needed for your body to quickly fill the losses incurred as a result of intense physical exertion. The market has long been a special drink for athletes, but we can safely replace them with fresh multivitamin or vegetable juice. Do not forget about digestible carbohydrates, which together with fat-free protein products will be an excellent addition.
Nutrient ratio
If you are talking about other dishes, you can consume them during the day, but remember that carbohydrates in your diet should account for at least 60% of all incoming calories. They give energy before training and provide a normal regeneration after it. If you spend a day on your classes running for about an hour, the body needs about 6 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.
According to scientists, some storage of carbohydrates is stored in muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. Each time, performing physical exercises, we start the process of its decomposition and combustion, which is enough for several tens of minutes of training. Then the body looks for other sources of energy, using also fatty tissue. In this regard, a balanced diet is very important, which can provide us with a variety of types of sugar.
What products to eat runner
We can find the right ingredients in oatmeal, muesli and bread. A good source of carbohydrates is also boiled potatoes, rice, corn, beans, jam, honey, fruits and vegetables. We should not forget about the proteins that perform the construction function. These components are responsible for regeneration after training. They repair the destroyed muscle cells. Proteins are most easily found in dairy products and meat. Bean and fish dishes will also be their excellent sources.
If we are talking about fats, then runners should provide their body with up to 20% of calories per day coming from fatty acids. However, it should be remembered that excess fat can be deposited in the form of excess reserves - that is why it is important to choose the right fats in your diet. From vegetable, it is best to eat olive, rapeseed, linseed and sunflower oil. Of course, fats are necessary for normal brain function, immune system and blood, but in excess can damage.
Vitamins and microelements
Do not forget about vitamins and minerals when preparing a diet for runners. Especially the latter, since they are excessively washed out of our body together with sweat. This is very important to keep in mind, because such substances are very important components of our body, and even a small deficit can have negative consequences.
Among the micronutrients that we must provide to our body along with food, it is necessary to select chromium( its main sources are peanuts, grapes, yeast, spinach), potassium( vegetables, fruits, dairy products), iron( red meat, dark leafy vegetables,pumpkin seeds, prunes, raisins, watermelon, cabbage), magnesium( soy, bananas, parsley, leafy vegetables), phosphorus( spinach, asparagus, oatmeal, potatoes), calcium( dairy products, apricots, broccoli, parsley, beans), zinc(nuts, whole-grain bread, dairy products), and manganese( brownrice, nuts, algae and grains).
In addition, one must always remember about the need for sufficient hydration - the body needs to supply the liquid in the right amount.