Healthy Eating: Carbs and Recovery

Hey Flyers! I’m very excited about my debut of series of blogs speaking to the topic of healthy eating!! Overall, my objective is to create awareness of healthy foods, the ease of preparing them and, and how your body and performance will benefit from the change in your nutritional behavior. Not only will your body function better, but your energy level, pre and post a race or workout should improve. I would also like to add that I am not a certified nutritionist, but this is a subject matter that has been an interest of mine for a while. So those also interested in this topic, please feel free to comment at the end of the blog, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

“Our bodies are like well oiled machines”. I’m not sure who said that, but it’s important to take care of ‘our machines’ in the very best possible way. We are focused runners and athletes, we set goals, show up for races despite frigid or sweltering temps. Let’s put just a little more focus on our intake. An analogy I thought of this week was, humm….if I bought a brand new Jaguar, would I pull up to the gas station at Costco and fill the tank with Regular, the cheapest, lowest octane gas on the planet? I think not. Gimme high octane!

There are three phases of our training that require correct nutrition. In “The Athlete’s Plate” (by Adam Kelinson), he mentions that proper nutrition before, during and after the activity is the key to success and it’s important to be diligent towards your own personal needs. Creating an overall plan and attending to it will help you to feel great, and allow your well oiled machine to run flawlessly.

So, with that being said, Lets talk carbs! Since this is such a large part of a runner’s diet, (definitely the before, and sometimes after) it’s important to know, the list of the healthiest carbs. Fun fact: Did you know that whole grain pasta is at the bottom of the top 10 healthiest carbs? (According to “101 Healthiest Foods” by Price and Davie). From high to low the top 10 are, Barley, Beans & Lentils, Breads, Buckwheat, Bulgur, Corn, Freekeh, Oats & Muslei, Quinoa and Whole-Grain Pasta. When you’re preparing your next carb meal, try one of the above carbs with some protein. The recommended pre-race fuel is 4:1 carbs to protein (according to Dr. John Ivy from the University of Texas). Don’t forget to add a few ounces of protein to that pasta dish, as protein is important and helps to transmit the carbs into the muscles and reduce muscle damage. (oh! no damage to my Jaguar, please). Don’t overload on the protein, just make sure to add some of it to your meal. Grilled chicken breast, lamb, grilled fish is delish too. Salmon is a wonderful source of muscle-building amino acids.

Now, that you’ve run a great race, let’s talk recovery. The best thing you can do for yourself after all of your hard work is recover appropriately. After all of your hard work, get your body in gear to start your next workout. Training on a depleted body is a bad recipe, which I’m sure we’ve all tried at some point in our running career. Enjoy a recovery drink, protein shake, rehydrate the way
you’d like and be sure to refuel with protein, eggs, yogurt. For a spring/summer treat, try low fat yogurt with your favorite fruit and some healthy cereal like Kashi Go Lean. If you are still hungry, repeat. - Anne H.