FOR RUNNERS ?

Do you power load on protein before you run ?  Do you drink a lot of water prior .  I joined a local group of runners and I am finding out I am running out steam .. litterally .. One person I talked to said to Carb load .. Carb load ?  I just want to build my stamina back .. and be able to run atleast a 5k .  And I must not lose anymore weight .. so I am at a loss ..  but I gota run ..  Nat

Nat - Here's info I follow.  Avoid high protein foods. Cleo

Morning workout Morning exercisers often make the mistake of thinking they can burn more calories by jumping out of bed and into the gym without stopping for breakfast. The problem with this thought process is that a good night’s sleep inevitably leaves your blood sugar low and your liver glycogen close to depleted. This translates into a weaker workout. Since intensity and quality of training results in a more fit body, there is no need to sacrifice a meal. Fuel up in the a.m. before you hit the gym with just enough to reap the benefits: Consume at least 25 grams (100 calories) of carbohydrate before hitting the gym and then eat a solid breakfast afterward.

• A few crackers 
• ½ banana and orange juice
• Yogurt
• Gatorade (or bring this with you): Studies show that 50 percent of people walking into their morning workout are already dehydrated. Make sure you rise and shine with some fluid to maximize your efforts in the gym. Consuming a sports drink, like Gatorade, fulfills both fluid and energy needs.

After your workout, eat a good breakfast. Exercise may initially inhibit appetite, but it stimulates appetite over time, especially for women. If you skip breakfast after you work out, you will be hungrier later and likely to eat more calories later in the day. Remember to distribute calories evenly throughout the day by taking your total and dividing it up. Two-thirds of your calories should be consumed by two-thirds of your day. If you need 2,000 calories, the meal after you work out will be about 300 to 600 calories, depending upon how you use snacks.

Breakfast after your workout depends on your size and the intensity and duration of your workout,  but here are some “core” ideas:

• Eggs, 2 pieces of whole-grain toast, OJ 
• Oatmeal with berries and nuts, tall glass of milk
• Whole-grain waffle with cottage cheese and berries on top

Midday workout If you eat a good breakfast in the morning and a snack around 10 a.m., you will be well-fueled for a midday workout. Afterward, eat a reasonable lunch at your desk. Since recovery includes protein to help stimulate muscle growth and carbohydrate to replenish depleted muscle stores, these are good examples of starch and protein for recovery:

• Salad with lean protein (chicken), beans and veggies, salad dressing
• Sandwich with soup

Evening workout Breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack around 4 p.m. prepares you for a hard, postwork workout. Recognize if lunch was at noon and work ends at 6 p.m, that's six hours without fueling. By the time you are done working out and get dinner ready, you will be famished for food, so that afternoon snack is important to remaining sane. Your workout will benefit, as will your mood. Remember, this snack helps to “bridge the hunger gap” until dinner:

• Mixed fruit bowl with yogurt and a few nuts
• Low-fat or nonfat latte and a Kashi granola bar
• Banana with peanut butter
• Trail mix

After your evening workout, eat dinner. You’ve earned it! If you skip dinner, you will be hungry tomorrow. Plus, eating helps recovery. However, if you have eaten well all day, dinner need not be a pig-out, but another reasonable meal sure to keep you satisfied as well as healthy.

Dinner after you work out:

• Stir-fry shrimp, brown rice
• Sweet potato, 4 oz. sliced steak, broccoli
• 1 cup penne pasta with 4 oz. chicken and spinach in oil

Avoid certain foods before a workout

These foods can interfere with your workout:

• Spicy foods
• Broccoli or beans
• High-fat foods
• High-protein foods

Even if a food is healthy, it does not mean it makes a good preworkout snack. Spicy and gaseous foods just don’t work. High-fat and high-protein foods won’t help your workout and can hurt it because they take longer to digest. If you’re going for a longer cardio workout, like a bike ride or run in the heat, protein can elevate your basal temperature, adding to the heat workload.

The closer to activity, the smaller amount of food you should consume, and the “purer” the carbohydrate. Because of the time it takes to digest a full, mixed meal, you should eat a true “pregame” meal three to four hours before play. The closer you get, the smaller the amount of food to be consumed.

You can eat right up to exercise as long as you can eat some simple carbohydrate. If you eat a full mixed-meal that includes plenty of fat and protein, blood will be diverted to digestion instead of your working muscles. If you are lifting hard, some protein before, during and after may be beneficial for hypertrophy

Thanks I will definatly print this out .... and read over it . Looks very intereresting .  I sure would have thought more runners would have posted to this .. maybe it is because they are our running >>>>>>>  Thanks again !  Tink

Cleo provided you with some good information on basic nutrition when increasing your physical activity, but, there are a mirad of issues that could be causing you to "hit the wall" as we runners call it....  Basically...running out of steam! You don't indicate how long you have been running for, or what speed. At what distance are you going ka-put?   What are your current calorie, protein and carb levels?   Are you smoking, in-taking alcohol, caffine, prescription medications, or lack of sleep 24 hours prior to your run?    Nutrition is certainly one factor, but there are many other factors that can affect your stamina. Need more info.....  

I hit a number of walls starting out. a. you gotta keep your protein  and water up to have energy.  Muscles need protein to build and mend during recovery.  Carbs are for fuel to burn during the run. b.  I had to up my protein intake form 60 gms a day to 120, then 180.  I now do about 180 to 220 daily.  Remember your malabsorption only allows yo to absorb about 60% of what you intake, so becaue you are consuming it doesn't mean you are getting the benefits of that amount.  c.  I found it beneficial to increase my B12 and B vitamin intake significantly.  I now take a 2500mg B12 in the morning and 100 mg at lunch time if I go more than 5 miles for my run. d.  I had to increase my iron due to the energy and calories I was burning.  I now take two prenatals multi-vitamins with 28 mg of iron per morning and another regular Walgreens brand with 18 mg at lunch. I also found I needed a potassium supplement to avoid dizziness and feeling weak and a magnesium supplement that helped with leg pain and cramps.  Taking Vitamin D with your calcium helps it to absorb better and getting your calcium in daily helps your body to utilize the iron it consumes to move the oxygen to your blood more efficiently but if you take then together, the iron prevents the calcium from being absorbed effieciently in the digestive tract. That being said, I am a guy and you a girl, I am at age 50 and weighing 236-238.  I have to take a Diovan 160 for my blood pressure control and the amount of running and or other stuff are all factors.  I learned what I know from experience over the past 14 months as I started training for my first 10K in Jan 07 (surgery in Sep 07). I started walking and didn't get to jogging for two months. I go to walking 6 miles before my weight would let me jog without shin-splints. So, its kinda of a try-stuff-and-see-what-works-for-you based on how you feel and what your symptons are.  I referenced my nutrition stuff from RNY (supplements, aminos, and vitamins) and got some good guidance from the Main board before I knew about the Mens and the Fitness and Exercise boards. Good luck with running, its tuff but very rewarding.  Let me know if I can be of any help. Joe [email protected]

Not to hijack, but thanks Joe. Your experience is pretty relevant to me. I find that I am hitting walls lately. It just wears we out to run every day, so I am down to doing it 2x a week now. I do the other 5 days on the elliptical machine, which oddly isn't a problem. I do have a dreadfully bad knee (having had both my MCL and ACL rebuilt and a still-torn PCL), but it really is an energy thing. On the days I run, though, I am doing 5 miles in under an hour now. I was thinking of talking to my nutritionist, but I don't see her for another 2 months so I was planning on a call. This thread just sort of reminded me. I am also in a weird spot because I still have 45 lbs. to get to my goal, so I am trying to juice up while trying to lose.

Well you have my respect.  Its taken me over a year to get close to trying to get to 5 and 6 miles (10K) in an hour or less. And I don't have the damaged wheels.  You are doing well. Keep going with whats working for you.

Just for the record, I stand corrected too on the calcium helping to proces the iron to move more oxygen to the blood.  That should have been vitamin C.   Calcium is still very important to energy production but besides Vitamin C being an immune system strengthener, I also recently learned of its value to enhance the oxygen carrying capabilities between the iron absorption and blood carrying abilities to move oxygen more efficiently to the muscle cells for burning and fighting the buildup of lactic acid and h onset of feeling muscle fatique. Just want to get that correction out there. Joe 

What group of runners??