I would like to tell you as a runner and athlete that I have always eaten well, not at all. As a college & high school basketball player, I ate everything. Especially in college many of us have free reign, most of all, drinking, partying, and eating whatever was convenient. Now we also ate pasta, chicken, some fruits, sports drinks (more as a hangover cure), maybe vegetables as in french fries.
When college was completed, I was responsible for cooking and shopping for myself. Eating out or having food delivered was a common occurrence. Shopping consisted of buying things that were convenient, microwavable, or just heat on the stove. Real cooking or semblance was grilling meat. I got older and reactivating my exercise, not running yet, but moved to AZ and was outside and much more active physically with hiking, mountain biking, and swimming. I tried to learn how to cook better. Improved my grill game, shopping skills, and trying new ways to cook meals. Now I still needed improvement.
Becoming a runner, you realize you need fuel. After more than an hour of running, I would be ravishingly hungry. My cooking skills were the same, but the quantity was increased. With my training programs, I was running 3-4 days a week and eating mountains of food. I believed that carbs were the fuel I needed, the runners idea or phrase of carb loading. A fair share of beef, chicken, fruits & vegetables, but a large amount of rice, pasta, and pancakes. My run times got better in the beginning but then plateaued for years.
About a year ago, my nutritional outlook changed. It's common thinking that what goes in, determines what goes out. Feed yourself crap, you are going to produce crap results. Training can't overcome bad diet, duh. With diet change added to the training routine, I feel better everyday, energized, and look much better physically. Eating well has shown with the physical effect and time I put in with a stronger, sexier body. Honestly, I look better than I did 5-10 years ago and my race results have improved.
How is this done? Make simple changes, gradually. If you have ice cream, sugary cereal, and donuts in the house, make those in the house the last ones ever in the house. When you go shopping the next time, don't buy that type of stuff. If it's not in the house, it takes a lot of effort on a night to go get that stuff. Shop for simple things to replace it. Fruits and vegetables work well. Try cutting apples and put them in a crock pot for 2 hours for dessert instead of ice cream. Fruit smoothies cure the sugar cravings. Hummus is great for snacking with celery, carrots, peppers, or radishes. The same thing for soda, this you should eliminate immediately. Read a Pepsi or Coke can, it's sugar and chemicals. Now people usually say, "I need a boost mid afternoon at work" or "I don't like coffee". Make iced tea at home (unsweetened, obviously). I love coffee, but I mix in a little coconut oil and coconut milk for flavoring, spin it in the magic bullet and away you go. You just need to retrain your brain. I hate sweet potatoes because as a kid they were always offered to me with brown sugar and/or honey. Now, I cook them with turkey bacon or shred them and cook them as a hash brown and put eggs over top of them. I try to drink 3-5 smoothies a day. Sometimes with kale and banana, other fruits typically used are pineapple, raspberries, mango, papaya, blueberries, strawberries, honeydew, watermelon, even kiwi. Play with different fruit with coconut milk in a magic bullet or blender.
My biggest change has been that I haven't drank alcohol now for a year. My first reasoning was you go out have a few (or many) and the next morning or afternoon you may skip a workout or if you can make that workout you under perform. I had done that many times, I wanted to see if quitting alcohol would show improvements in the race results. I trialed this for 6 months. In that time, two sub 2 hr half marathons (first time in 6 years) and PR'd a half marathon (first time in over 6 years). Are those results good enough to convince you? Did I mention with my exercise regimen, healthy eating, and not drinking alcohol, I look stronger, sexier, and more energized. I'm also happier but because I feel better and seeing results. Convinced yet?
In future blogs and Instagram posts, recipe and ideas will be posted. The banana taco is killer!!
Instagram - MarathonEmer