Food For Running A Marathon To Fuel Your Body

Your food for running a marathon is as important as your breakfast: the most important meal of the day.

We’ve all heard that old saying, but there’s actually a lot of truth to it. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, people who skip breakfast are four and a half times more likely to struggle with obesity.

Breakfast is especially important for runners. Running burns a lot of energy, and if you don’t replenish that energy when the run is over, you’re not going to benefit from the exercise as much as you could. Eating food can help you recover. It can also help you lose weight and keep it off.

It’s important to eat within thirty minutes of finishing a run, because otherwise the body starts to break down lean muscle, and that just turns your efforts in to a waste of time. Your post-run food should be between 400 and 500 calories, with a mixture of carbohydrates and proteins. The carbs replenish glycogen in your muscles, keeping them supplied with energy, and the protein helps to build and repair muscle.

Things have changed in the frozen food aisle, and there are a lot of healthy choices that weren’t there in the past. For this suggestion, take a frozen whole grain pancake, heated up according to specs. Top it with five ounces of fat-free vanilla flavored Greek yogurt, 2/3 cup of blueberries, and a tablespoon each of crushed almonds and crushed hazelnuts.    

The carbs in the pancake restore energy. The whole grains reduce the risk of chronic disease. Greek yogurt has twice the protein of regular yogurt, and vanilla flavor isn’t as loaded with sugar as other flavors. The blueberries provide antioxidants, which can help fight disease and inflammation. The nuts are rich in vitamin E, which helps to reduce abdominal cramping. These three are perfect food for running a marathon as it replenishes you after a run.

Things have changed in the frozen food aisle, and there are a lot of healthy choices that weren’t there in the past. For this suggestion, take a frozen whole grain pancake, heated up according to specs. Top it with five ounces of fat-free vanilla flavored Greek yogurt, 2/3 cup of blueberries, and a tablespoon each of crushed almonds and crushed hazelnuts.

With this little feast, the tomatoes and onions provide antioxidants, which reduce free radicals that attack cells after intense exercise. Red bell peppers have 60% more vitamin C than their green cousins, and the tapenade is full of healthy fat from the olives and olive oil. The bacon and cheese provide protein, which helps you to feel fuller, longer.

This is really more of a parfait than a sundae, but it’s healthier than both. Take eight ounces of fat-free vanilla flavor Greek yogurt and slice a banana over the top. Add in two tablespoons of peanut butter, one cup of high-protein cereal (something with at least 5 grams of protein and fiber per serving) and two teaspoons of cinnamon.

High fiber cereal (like Kashi Go Lean Crisp) helps fight fatigue better than low fiber cereal. Bananas are high in potassium, which decreases muscle cramps. The yogurt is packed with calcium and lactoferrin, a protein that helps increase bone strength. The peanut butter is full of energy-rich monounsaturated fats, which are heart healthy. Last but not least, the cinnamon may have combat diabetes.

Take a whole wheat tortilla and wrap it around warmed-up black beans, quick brown rice, one scrambled egg, one cup of spinach, a quarter of an avocado, some low-fat cheddar cheese and two tablespoons of salsa. Add a sprinkling of cilantro over the top, and you’ve got a southwestern-inspired snack that’s as good as it tastes.

The egg and the beans provide protein that promotes muscle rebuilding after the workout making it a great food for running a marathon. Beans also have fiber, and the brown rice, another fiber source, also has manganese, which can help convert carbs into energy. The spinach has 90% of the daily recommended serving of vitamin K, which improves bone strength, and as a green leafy vegetable, it’s also packed with iron. You can’t go wrong.

In a blender, combine one cup of low-fat peach flavored kefir, one cup of low fat or skim milk, one cup of canned crushed pineapple, two tablespoons of dried coconut, a package of plain instant oatmeal, and one cup of frozen raspberries. Blend it all until it’s smooth.

Kefir is thought to help reduce histamine reactions to allergens and can also help lessen the severity of respiratory illnesses. This is because kefir contains the probiotic lactobacillus. The oatmeal can lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, and the raspberries are loaded with the antioxidant quercetin, which may help increase your endurance.

This is a delicious food for running a marathon .Toast a Thomas’s 12-Grain English Muffin and cut it in half. Spread one half with two tablespoons of cashew butter, two tablespoons of mango chutney, one tablespoon of golden raisins, and one cup low-fat whipped cottage cheese. Add the top half of the muffin to the stack, and you’ve got a sandwich so sweet you’ll think you’re eating dessert.

The cashew butter is a good source of monounsaturated fat, and it will keep you feeling fuller for longer. The muffin is high in protein, with at least six grams of protein in each serving. The raisins provide carbs for energy, and the cottage cheese provides more protein and a dose of sodium to help balance your electrolytes.

Here are some suggestions for foods that will give you an ideal amount of calories, carbs and protein. They’re quick, easy to make, and best of all, they’re tasty!

Spread a single slice of whole-wheat bread cinnamon raisin bread with one tablespoon of mascarpone cheese and one tablespoon of blackberry jam. The cheese keeps you fuller for longer, and the jam provides quick-digesting carbs that can fire you up right away.

Spread a whole grain waffle with one cup of pumpkin and two tablespoons of ricotta cheese. Top with pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar. The waffle’s carbs will be stored as energy in the long term, the ricotta cheese will give you protein and fat to make you feel full, and the brown sugar is a quick pick-me-up of immediately available energy.

Mix one cup of one-minute oatmeal and a cup of strawberries, which will help reduce inflammation. Sprinkle the mixture with one tablespoon of dark chocolate chips, which will provide those all-important antioxidants.

Take a medium sized apple, core it, then drizzle it with honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Put it in a microwave for four minutes. It’ll come out piping hot and soft like the apples from a pie. Fill the empty core area with two tablespoons of high-protein granola. The combination of sugar from the apple and the honey along with the protein from the granola will help power you through your run.