Nutrition CAN be Simple
Just as important as your running workouts are, a VITAL component of your training is your nutrition. How are you fueling yourself? What are you fueling your body with? How much are you eating? Are you eating enough or too little or somewhere in between?
These are all great questions to ask yourself as you view your approach to nutrition. Something that I think we, as runners, get confused with is how to handle nutrition. There are SO many theories out there on what is best and what is the ‘magic,’ way to eat > but, today, I want to simplify it for you.
I try to keep my nutrition and my athlete’s nutrition as SIMPLE and effective as possible and the exciting thing is that is can be simple. Don’t over complicate it! A super, simple approach to nutrition that I encourage my athlete’s in and myself is this:
1. Eat whole, real foods.
2. Not too much
3, Mostly plant based
So, let’s break this down a little >
1. Real, whole foods: a simple definition of this is that at one point this real, whole food was alive. Anything that doesn’t come in a package and would mold within a few days is real food. These foods are usually found on the perimeter of the grocery store (not the middle isles) and are the best. Eat real food and your body will thank you for it. Even some of the ‘health’ foods that are out there, are not really ‘real, whole foods.’ Make sure to read the ingredients of the food you are buying. PS. Real, whole foods, don’t have many ingredients. (think 1-2 ingredients)
2. Not too much > this goes along with “not too little either” Make sure that you are eating enough during the day, that you are fueling your body well with three, solid meals a day and that you are getting enough carbs/fats/and proteins in each of those meals. Lets keep it simple. Take a look at the inside of your hand. For each meal, try to eat portions of meat and carbs that are about the size of your palm. Now try to incorporate some healthy fat about the size of your thumb. Lastly fill up the rest of your plate with veggies.
3. Mostly plants > this is pretty self-explanatory, but eat plants. A lot of plants and enjoy the delicious variety of vitamins, minerals, and macros that plans have to offer. I do eat some meat, but I focus on eating plants, high quality meats, fruits, seeds, some starch and some grains.
Don’t over complicate nutrition and don’t fear nutrition either! Experiment and see what works for you! Nutrition can be such a game changer for your running and your overall health.