What Can You Eat Before Running?
What to eat before a run is a common question faced by many runners. There aren’t any nutritional requirements for running, but generally speaking some carbohydrates will help you to run further and stay fuelled for longer.
The carbohydrate fuels should be consumed before you start running and on the route, otherwise you’ll be running on empty.
Running can make you hungry, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead. Our bodies need a variety of vitamins and minerals to function properly, and it’s important you try to get them from your diet before a run.
In fact, some vitamins and minerals work together to help your body cope with exercise.
A light meal an hour or two before running will stabilize your blood sugar. Choose a slow-digesting food such as a bagel, banana, cereal, energy bar, or yogurt.
Getting the right pre-run meal can impact your performance, so it’s worth finding out what’s right for you.
Here’s our guide to getting the right pre-run meal.
1. Timing your pre-run meals
Pre-run meals are a vital part of your running training. They boost your performance, and help your body recover faster.
It’s always good to have a good mix of healthy meals pre-run, but some days you just don’t want to leave the house.
On those days, pick a good breakfast, and then pack your lunch and dinner the night before. If you have time to plan ahead, you’ll be more likely to stick to your diet during your runs.
- Pre-run snack energy boost
Enter the great tasting energy boost gel! Energy boost gels are a great pre-run snack for those who are looking for a healthy post-workout nutritional boost.
They not only provide you with a great tasting energy boost, they will also help replenish your electrolytes and other nutrients that your body is lacking.
2. Determine the nutritional demands of your run
Nutrition is sometimes seen as a taboo subject, especially when it comes to running.
It’s never been so easy to access all the information we need to know about nutrition. That said, there are so many myths, and so much misleading information out there.
First, let’s start with the basics. Every running plan consists of three major nutritional components: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Proteins are used in the creation of new muscle tissue, making them essential to building new muscle, and definitely critical to post-workout eating.
Fats are used for energy, and help to produce hormones, so they are also essential to post-workout eating.
Carbohydrates are the easiest to understand, as they provide the body with the energy needed to carry out daily tasks.
3. Find a food that sits well in your stomach
Not all foods ‘sit well’ in our stomachs. For some, they can make you feel sick, while others can cause lower energy, headaches, mood swings or even distress.
Sometimes we eat foods that our body doesn’t like because we feel hungry, so we end up eating more and it leads to weight gain.
My advice is to discover which foods your body reacts to badly – that way you can avoid them completely. And if you are truly struggling with your weight, then you should seek professional help.
Healthy snacks guidelines for a healthy runner
There are certain foods that you should never eat on a diet, and these foods are those that are high in fat and sugar. The best way to lose weight is by eating the right foods that take in fewer calories than they provide.
A lot of people get confused about what foods to eat and which to avoid on a diet. This is why you should always make sure to eat healthy snacks and stay away from unhealthy foods.
Here’s are some categories of healthy snacks you must know :
Small snacks
- Fruits
We all know that fruits are full of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. However, we often forget about the importance of fruits before we start our daily training routine.
If we are going to be running for a while, we need to consume them before the start of our training
- Fruit juice
A recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that people who drinks fruit juice before exercising have stronger immune systems.
By increasing antioxidants, which help fight inflammation, drinking fruit juice before a run will subsequently help to promote health and speed recovery.
Light ideal snack
- Brown bread
Is brown bread good for running? I would have to say “Yes”. After all, you get more energy from it, so it’s higher in calories.
It’s quite low in carbs too, and therefore it’s a good alternative for regular white bread.
- French bread binge
The French bread binge is a play on the classic bread binge, and the theory is, as the name suggests, that eating a whole bunch of French bread after a run will help you to recover and maintain your fitness levels.
- Healthy banana bread
This banana bread recipe is a great source of carbohydrates to fuel your body during a run. Bananas are also rich in potassium, which helps reduce cramping during physical activity.
The oats in this recipe help keep you feeling full for longer, which can prevent you from snacking before your next run.
- Highly-refined white bread
One popular way people lose weight is by eating less and burning more. White bread is a food that has gained a lot of popularity lately as a good substitute for carbohydrate rich foods.
This is because white bread is made from flour, which is made from grains, which is abundant in carbohydrates.
Low-fibre snack carb
- liquid carbs intake
The liquid carbs intake-are good for running. Your body breaks glucose into glucose and fructose (the latter is a simple form of sugar), which is then used by your cells.
The latter is then broken down into fatty acids and used for energy. This is why liquid carbs intake-are good for running.
Medium Snacks
- High-quality complex carbs
High-quality complex carbs snacks that will keep you fueled and satisfy your hunger. They’ll keep you full and energized for hours, which will keep you going strong throughout your entire training session or workout.
- Bagel with peanut butter
Bagels with peanut butter are a staple breakfast item for runners. They are easy to eat and provide a good dose of carbohydrates while not being too heavy.
They also have a low glycemic index and are a good source of fiber. They can be a good pre-run meal for an athlete who wants to increase their carbohydrate intake before a race.
- Wholemeal bagel
The wholemeal bagel is a great product for runners, not only for its nutritional benefits but also for its ability to help runners avoid the dreaded post-run digestive issues that are so common to runners.
Running hours common guidelines
Day to day training
Running is one of the oldest human activities around, and one of the most popular sports in the world.
If you train regularly, you’ll find that it’s one of the many things that you can do to maintain a healthy weight and maintain or improve your health.
- 2-3 hours pre-workout training
Runners and gym-goers alike often worry about getting to the gym or the track in time for a workout. But, the truth is, you don’t need to spend hours rushing around trying to get in a workout in time.
If you know how to structure your routine, you can get in a workout that’s just as effective in half the time. 2-3 hours of pre-workout training is all you need to get a solid workout in.
- 20-mile marathon training run
If you are planning to run a marathon in the future, you should be going through a 20-mile training run before the big day. It is recommended that you build up your running distance gradually over a period of two months.
Train for a 20-mile marathon by running about 20 miles every week (if you’re not a beginner) or by running 5-6 miles every day, week after week.
Aspects of training
You may think you know everything about running . But are you really running efficiently, pushing yourself to the limit, working optimally?
And if you are, is it possible to train smarter and more efficiently? Find out how you can improve your running technique and increase your overall performance.
Running is a sport that requires both physical and mental strength. A large part of the physical strength is to be the endurance runner.
Endurance is an important aspect of running that comes down to how long you run and how fast you run. There are many different ways to train for endurance, but the most common way is through running.
Training for running is a straightforward lifestyle choice that can be affected by numerous factors.
If you’re already an experienced runner but considering a new challenge, then you need to think about the type of training you’ll be undertaking and the benefits you’ll be gaining.
Pre – workout foods for training
Before your workout, you need to make sure that you are taking in enough calories for the day, and eat foods that will help keep you running strong.
The following foods and drinks are some of the best pre-workout foods for training, and you should aim to eat a balanced diet of these at least 30 minutes before you start your workout.
- Brown rice for breakfast
- Sports drink
- Take plenty of vitamins
- Consume high-fiber foods
- Drink 8 glasses of water everyday
- Avoid – High fat foods
Consuming the right pre-workout foods will help fuel you during your long run and give you the energy to push through the final miles.
