Half Marathon - Best Things To Eat or Avoid

iandeslow1

Hi

I'm starting training for a half marathon in December and more in 2016 and looking for some advice of what types it food to eat and what to stay clear of!

Any help gratefully appreciated

JTick

This will vary widely based on the person. It will be trial and error - believe me, you'll learn quickly which foods to avoid.

Patttience

Carbs are good because they are your main energy source. But keep your nutrition up. That means eat your fruit and vegies to maximise your general health.

Of course protein is good because you are likely to burn up all the calories you eat through training and unless you eat enough protein, you will lose muscle mass which you don't want. Spread your protein across all your meals fairly evenly. At least 20grams per meal and mostly likely more becuase you are a guy and doing a lot of exercise. Anyway how much you eat matters.

Minimise junk food. This rule applies to everyone regardless of what you do.
Avoid sports drinks they are bad for your teeth. You might want to use them in a race or on a training run but they are not good for you so minimise them.

Eat carbs and protein snack as soon as you finish your race. Banana is good carb for this. Protein could be anything really. Cheese, milk, meat, whatever.

I don't approve of energy bars and that sort of thing as they are processed foods and not the most healthy nutritious thing out there. You get a lot more bang for your buck if you eat whole foods most of the time. Energy bars are just convenience but i don't think they are very satisfying.

I have had periods of my life when i did a lot of running so I am talking from experience. I never used energy bars or sports drinks. But you must keep hydrated when you are running because with 20% less water you will lose speed and get more tired. This does not mean you need to overhydrate yourself either. Watch your body salts. These two things are probably the most important thing to get right when you are doing so much exercise.