Runners that need some nutritional accountability

Elise4270
Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
So I'd like to not clog up the running challenge thread with hot dog talk. If you'd like some honest support with your diet choices, just make that known here.
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Replies

  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Me first. I need to really dial in that balanced diet. My model is the DQS system by Matt Fitzgerald. I'm also loosely overlapping that with the 21 day fix portions.

    How you can help me? If I eat something that's not such a great choice, just please offer a better alternative.

    Now @karllundy, this is for you. :wink:
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    My biggest challenge is lunch and pre planning. I usually buy a Chick-fil-A salad at lunch and have a tuna sandwich from Quiznos on Fridays.

    Is there an easy way to make this cheaper? I could pack lunches, but I'm so bad about it. How can I make it easier or get in the habit?


    @karllundy I notice you seem to have a higher carb diet. Is that what you are going for? What are your goals with your food? I know you're probably the primary care taker and that often poses some challenges.

    I do rice cooker meals and crock pot to help with planning. Throw something in and by time lunch rolls around we have rice, veggies with lean ground turkey. Last week I did a sweet potato, black bean, turkey chili in the slow cooker. It went over well.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    I agree with you @MobyCarp. I can't see sustaining an extreme diet.

    Matt Fitzgerald is one of my favorite influences. He has, I think, a reasonable system that has a lot to offer.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    @Elise4270 in terms of planning lunches, I have no choice. I work in an old barn about a mile from the nearest shop, which sells only junk. The nearest town is three miles away and I only get half an hour for lunch.

    Lately I have been making salads (alternating salad duties with my housemate). Sometimes I might make a rice salad base, and then add different things to it each day. So before I go to bed each night I have a little ritual of putting my lunch together. A small jam jar works for a dressing. Today I have a salad mix of beetroot, salad leaves, tomato, peppers, olives, chicken and halloumi. I don't always add a starchy carb mix to it but sometimes I feel I need it.

    I like the variety I get with this system for lunch - I can mix and match the protein element and I get something fresh and healthy. I used to bring leftovers from dinner the night before but found I was over-eating.

    It really is about getting in the habit. Some people put something together on the weekend for the week, but I find what works for me is actually putting something together whilst I'm preparing dinner. So I cook dinner and get everything ready for salad whilst I'm in the kitchen anyway.
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    I agree that extreme food choices don't work for everyone. I looked at Food Combining (trophology) for a while and one of the things I learnt from it is that people tend to be either protein-based people or starchy vegetable-based people.

    I do much better on a protein-focused diet. I find if I don't get some decent protein at breakfast, I remain hungry. So toast and jam doesn't cut it, but toast and scrambled egg will do fine. I naturally lean towards plenty of protein and fats, and few starchy carbs, and will feel 'heavy' if I eat lots of pizza.

    I also love vegetables (I actually feel really lucky that I dream of a big bowl of vegetables rather than pizza!!) so tend to pile my plate up with so many vegetables there's little room for a mountain of rice. Having said that, I also notice when my body wants or needs carbs. So my breakfast is a mix of seeds, muesli, oats, cottage cheese and yoghurt which gives me that morning carbs boost.

    I don't avoid fats (I actually welcome fats as they help satiety), don't do low fat anything, and lean towards fresh fruit and vegetables, limited food processing, and ethically produced meats.

    What @MobyCarp says about some foods being dangerous due to behaviour - yup, peanuts are a bad thing for me to buy.

    I'd not heard of that DQS thing from Matt Fitzgerald before, but it makes a lot of sense. I'd like to think I'd score highly but I probably should check that before I get a nasty shock!!
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Thanks @girlinahat ! I need to just get organized and have that yummy salad! I love beets. I suppose I can go shop and buy about half of what I think I need, so it doesn't go to waste. And get in the habit of making my lunch the night before. Like, 8pm is now make your lunch time. :smiley:

    I love the DQS app. It was 1$. And you can use it online free. There are apps that are similar but I felt like it was worth the dollar to support it. So far my best score is about 22. Of course, I've had a few 3 days! Yikes!
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    OK, I'm in. @Elise4270 - I'm not so worried about high vs. low carb at this point, but I need to cut out the high level of sugar and overall amount at this point. I go over almost every day! Like @girlinahat said, I definitely don't worry about fat. I find that full fat dairy, especially, does a great job of filling me up.
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    My biggest challenge is not overeating / making poor choices in the evening. I tend to get tired and then grab whatever is fast and nearby (at home, not necessarily out). Also, I should probably try to cut back on diet soda, but not too worried about it now.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    I just try to make better choices one meal at a time.

    Like adult cereal with less sugar and throw in some chocolate whey protein, and I found Halo top ice cream to be a nice treat without all the sugar and 20g protein, or making a whey protein shake with frozen blueberries, coconut/almond silk, and flax seed. Ground turkey instead of ground beef, and grass feed beef when possible.

    I buy steamer bags for snacks too. Just add a little lemon pepper and coconut oil.

    Light baby bell cheese and low sodium V8 are a nice snack too.

    I try to decide what I can have before I want something bad. Thats been the biggest challenge for me, planning. I have so many great cookbooks, but don't make the time to cook out of them like I should.
  • cburke8909
    cburke8909 Posts: 990 Member
    @Elise4270 My biggest challenge is lunch and pre planning. I usually buy a Chick-fil-A salad at lunch and have a tuna sandwich from Quiznos on Fridays.

    Is there an easy way to make this cheaper? I could pack lunches, but I'm so bad about it. How can I make it easier or get in the habit?

    I try to make the salad the night before. The salads I make from home are much better than anything you'd buy and they usually are much lower in sodium. I suggest mixing things up by adding avocado, dried berries and low fat feta. As a big fan of mustard, I combine brown mustard with apple cider vinegar and create a very low calorie dressing. Leftover meats can be used as protein but if your out then a simple hard boiled egg will do.(If you only use the egg white then you save calories and greatly reduce cholesterol.) Fresh local vegetables have a way a making a boring salad a delightful adventure. A key to packing the night before is having a good lunch bag that keeps things cool.(Salads that satisfy will take up much more room then your average lunch box and you can pack the dressing separately.) Another small trick to packing my salad is to do so while I'm cleaning up dinner. This is helpful when your using leftovers because instead of packing them away your making them into lunch. Lastly, I would say that if you want to pack salads think about a midweek additional shopping trip. Fresh greens are essential.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    Thanks @cburke8909 ! I like mustard and that dressing sounds good. It all sounds good really.

    I'm going to make goal to make salad, maybe this week, but definitely next week.

    I'm so jealous of those of you that are so disciplined to make dinner and pack lunches. I'm up to making dinner once or twice week. Dinner before was nachos, tacos, pizza, and fend for yourself stuff.

    Okay. Adulting in the kitchen. I can do this.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    @karllundy I was gonna inquiry about what you were thinking when you had those Mike and Ike's. But all is forgiven with the hefeweizen. But now I want one..
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    Well @Elise4270, I work from home so I have no excuse... I do make salads and have lots of veggies to snack on with some hummus or salsa. I also make my own dressing but mostly because I just don't care for as much oil as most prepared dressing have. I use mustard and shallots and some minced fresh garlic with a bit of oil and the vinegar. Sometimes I get a flavored vinegar (pomegranate is my favorite) just to change it up. One thing I find that helps, even when I am working from home, is to make a big bag or bowl of torn lettuce for the week on Sunday evening along with cutting up a variety of veggies to add in. I don't mix them together until the night before or in the morning because it tastes fresher to me that way. I add in my protein when I am ready to eat... could be left over chicken or whatever we have on hand. Canned chicken or tuna both work in a pinch and sometimes I add in some Gorgonzola or bleu cheese and maybe a bit of bacon.

    I have a different challenge for my diet... I had been having issues with extremely low energy which was affecting my ability to run and it just felt so hard every time I tried even a short run. After working with a nutritionist and many tests I have been diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. Essentially my adrenal system is not functioning properly after many many years of severely limiting calories and other external stresses. I have never really eaten poorly but I wasn't eating enough of the right foods. The less I ate, the less energy I had (of course) but I also wasn't able to lose the 5 pounds that I had gained when injured and not running. So I tried eating less carbs and more protein to see if that would help but apparently all that did was put even more stress on my kidneys and adrenal system... seems your body (simplistically) uses carbs to produce many of the hormones that keep us healthy and functioning. That along with 1200-1500 calories being not enough and my body was shutting down. So at the doctors recommendation I have worked my way up to 1600 on rest days and 2000 on running days. All that said my running is coming back to being fun and enjoyable most of the time as long as I eat enough. The downside though has been a gain of 15lbs and my clothes are starting not to fit. I need to find a way to balance what and how I am eating to fuel my body and maybe start to lose a few pounds! My plan for now is to continue as the nutritionist has instructed until after my race at the end of the month and then revisit with her to determine a plan going forward to start to lose those extra pounds.

    Also the split for Carbs/Protein/Fat that I have been given are 150g Carbs, 110g Protein, 100g Fat... much higher on all counts than I have eaten previously. I used to try eat 100g protein and much lower carbs and fat. I am still not really getting there - my carbs are higher with eating more fruit and veggies like sweet potatoes but I am not getting close on the fats - even with peanut butter and avocado...

    And there are days like today where everything was off, I did n't get to really eat before I ran, then had to jump into meetings for work and ended up with breakfast at almost noon and no lunch... so my calories are way too low for the day and the macros while proportional are also of course too low.


  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    @shanaber sounds challenging! I feel for ya. I'm back and forth on the energy. I do fine for a bit (on cymbalta for nerve pain/antidepressant) and that helps. Then I don't take it and I'm down and so so tired. I did better on hormone supplements, the pellets. But I don't like messing with my hormones too much. They are out of whack though and I thought about birth control to help. But I'm 47, and I hate that pelvic exam.

    So with any luck, like you, I can regain some energy through my diet. I'm inclined to think that much of it is menopause/natural changes coming on. I opted for coffee and a handful of multivitamins today rather than the tea.

    I hope the 15 pounds comes off easily, which I'd think it would once you get lined out. I'm not awake.... I wanna say more but I can't think right now... Haha!
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    @Elise4270 - Yes, the Mike and Ikes and Hot Tamales got me. The Hefeweizen was while I grilled the chicken for dinner. I think I am gonna shoot for 2400 calories / day, regardless of exercise. Also, try to be more mindful of sugar. @shanaber - if you need more fat, look at dairy - cheese, full fat yogurt, etc. It has a lot, but without some of the other stuff you may not want and it is nutrient dense.

    Started of this morning ok. We'll see how the evening goes - son has a baseball game, which makes dinner tricky.
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    @Elise4270 - those menopause changes are the worst but once you get through it, it gets better. It is just really miserable for a while and tough not to hurt someone
  • shanaber
    shanaber Posts: 6,373 Member
    edited July 2017
    Well *kitten*! I had an entire post written and apparently MFP doesn't like the iOS emojis because it dropped off everything I typed from that point on :disappointed: Guess only theirs are allowed here...

    I will recreate when I can get to my computer....

  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    shanaber wrote: »
    Well *kitten*! I had an entire post written and apparently MFP doesn't like the iOS emojis because it dropped off everything I typed from that point on :disappointed: Guess only theirs are allowed here...

    I will recreate when I can get to my computer....

    Yup. Same with Android
  • karllundy
    karllundy Posts: 1,490 Member
    edited July 2017
    Confession - just scarfed a donut...it is my family's post-dentist tradition going back 30+ years. It was good! :smiley: