Diets for Runners

I struggle sometimes too, and I'm not even a college kid. I try to eat at least 5 servings of fruit and vegetables every day. With that, it eliminates some of the junk. I also try to eat a salad every day of my life.

There are some OCD people here about their diets, which maybe is good for running, but won't help you if you aren't able to stick to a strict diet. Just start with some smaller steps, like always eat a breakfast. Also if I feel like I'm getting into a bad food rut, I keep a log of the food I eat. It just gets me back on track.

Thanks for the log tip...I might try that soon.

I was in the same boat a while back. I was running a lot of miles and performing well, but I ate like crap. When I decided to try out a better diet, I really didn't know what to do, since I'd been eating junk most of my life. I came across a book called The Paleo Diet for Athletes that really focused on what to eat when and why, with endurance athletes in mind. I'd say that's as good a place to start as any.

http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Athletes-Nutritional-Performance/dp/1594860890

I'm sure somebody will come on here and let me know just how dumb this book is and why I shouldn't listen to the author, since it's letsrun, but it worked well for me. I'm healthier now, able to train at a higher level, and I generally feel better.

Breakfast: I have oatmeal EVERY day, lol...

Snack: Luna bar (if I woke up at 5 a.m. & am very hungry)

Lunch: Options: PB&J OR Smoothie (Soy milk, strawberries, banana) OR Hummus on whole wheat

Snack: 2 slices whole wheat toast w/ 1/2 tbsp margarine OR luna bar (if I'm stuck at school all day)

Dinner: Egg white/spinach omelette OR boca "chik'n" salad OR Vegetarian Chili salad, w/ side of veggies

Snack: Bag-Low fat Kettle Korn

that diet isn't very healthy...you're eating Margarine (trans fats), not enough calories, not enough fat at all, not very much protein.

Not to mention that most of what you're eating is heavily processed.

Ticktock wrote:

...you're eating Margarine (trans fats), not enough calories, not enough fat at all, not very much protein...Not to mention that most of what you're eating is heavily processed.

I agree with you about too much processed food, but how do you know how much calories the poster is getting when he doesn't include portion size? And I think that diet has plenty of fat.

yosoy wrote:

And I think that diet has plenty of fat.

What? Who? Where?

List the good fats in that diet.

I think i would starve on the above diet.

Keep a log and add up sugar and things. Its kind of depressing to see you consume 150-200 grams of sugar a day. well, it was...

wow...I didn't know my post was so controversial...well, PB for one...

I also eat a lot of tempeh...forgot to put that, for some reason (a good source of healthy fat & protein)

Also, I keep an online food journal, and fat/carb/protein ratio usually ends up something like 20/65/15 (+/-5 for each category), so I think I'm doing okay...

Yea, I know luna bars are overprocessed, but, when I'm stuck at school, my options basically consist of normal college "junk" (pizza & white bread sandwiches) or severely overpriced healthy food ($3 for fruit...no thank you). At least I can manage to get a bit of protein/fiber from them...

Lucky you! bmi=19.3, which is probably heavier than most of you. If I eat more, I gain weight.

Unless he's eating tons and tons of food at dinner, there's no way he's getting even 2000 calories. And he's cut out almost all the fat in his diet.

ttt

Yes...it's very easy to say that you have to eat a Luna bar or some other type of "bar" if you're in a busy environment. A better solution is to make your own trail mix or just eat nuts. You can mix almonds, cranberries, and yogurt covered raisins in an appropriate ratio if you like - this should be about the same cost as the "bars" or maybe even a bit cheaper. Almonds are fantastic. You can make several bags of them on Sunday for the week.

Get in the habit of going to the grocery store and buying what is on sale. I am lucky in this regard because I have a grocery store within a 1 minute walk and I can pretty much pick up my dinner on the day I eat.

For breakfast, I usually eat cereal with Soymilk and I usually throw in a banana, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, or whatever else is lying around my cupboard and looks appealing. Coffee, multivitamin, etc.

For Lunch: Some sort of pasta with plenty of vegetables thrown in or couscous with curry and vegetables including protein from nuts and beans (dry beans from local farmers market--a very cheap way to get quality protein). Multigrain bread or whatever bread is on sale at the farmer's market here in Atlanta. It depends on how my income looks for that week.

Dinner: This varies but I always try to incorporate plenty of vegetables into whatever I'm making.

I have found a vegetarian diet makes me feel better as a runner, but this is not the case for all or most runners.

Also, some of the stuff I listed takes a lot of preparation time (ie soaking beans overnight). However, I'm a grad student and I find time.

I try to avoid eating out unless I am really pressed for time. If you cook for yourself, you will be more conscious about what you eat, I think.

I like dried fruit for those kinds of situations. Apricots and cherries are my favorite.

yosoy wrote:And I think that diet has plenty of fat.

question marked wrote:What? Who? Where?List the good fats in that diet.

This is how a classic LetsRun argument starts: Person one makes a statement, and person two alters the statement a little to suit his needs for the argument (in this case, adding the word "good").

The original statement was correct - there is clearly a reasonable amount of fat in the diet presented, which all "yosoy" wanted to get across.

"question marked" knew this, and added "good" to give himself ammo to argue a point that no one was arguing against to begin with.

A steady diet of high mileage, tempos and speed

I'm a senior in high school, run between 50-60 mpw and try to eat pretty healthy...

B: 1c oatmeal cooked with 1c skim milk/1c of frozen berries(measured for consistenvy...hate thin oatmeal) and 2 scrambled eggs with spinach

snack: Low fat yogurt with berries and granola

lunch: PB and banana sandwich, sweet potato, salad with vinegarette dressing, and a glass of skim milk

snack: granola bar and an apple

-workout-

dinner: something like chicken, rice, some frozen veggies, and a salad

snack: bowl of cereal and some fruit maybe