Your Nutrition Questions Answered

Should I up my protein intake as a runner or is this only for body builders? First off, you wont bulk up unless you are lifting very heavy several times a week consistently while simultaneously eating a high protein diet - this is anabolic. This is not us! As endurance athletes we are catabolic meaning our sort literally eats muscle tissue as we train unless we fuel it to equilibrium.

So, Yes- give or take depending upon how much and what you are training for- 1 gram per pound body weight. If you fail to consume enough protein when training hard, your body will break down muscle to fuel your body on training runs. BUT KEEP IN MIND ALSO, that if you fail to consume adequate CARBohydrates, your body will use the excess calories from protein to fuel your runs which will fuel fine but this is not the optimal fuel for feeling your strongest and performance your best- I.e. your performance will suffer. This is why aiming for protein; unprocessed carbs; healthy fats; and fruits and vegetables in balanced amounts as a steady flow throughout the day (every 3-4 hours) will produce the best recovery and performance benefits - not to mention overall well being and health rewards. Endurance training with the correct amount of protein will simply facilitate faster recovery and allow you to train harder on workout days by repairing and growing lean muscle mass.

Should I be intermittent fasting as a runner. I know many runners who will run 10 miles and live off coffee until noon? The thing with intermittent fasting is it is basically a tool for restricting calories which is fine if you are trying to do that but for most endurance athletes - they are already under-fueling and fasting is very stressful on the body - its a subtle stress but this still impedes a runners much needed recovery process in order to show up to your next run optimally. Any type of running - slow, fast, trail, track - is stressful on the body- it can be good stress if we allow the body to recover and therefore repond by getting stronger, but with this fasting - we are basically in a state of stress most of the time -during and after our runs- this is particularly wreaking havoc on our hormones- probably causing sleep, moods, less energy, and a host of other issues we seem to be looking everywhere else for. So, I would ask you, why are you intermittent fasting and is it working well? If you tell me that your mood, energy, sleep, performance is all great than change nothing - continue - we are all unique, but if in reality you are having a hard time moving the rest of the day, are overeating once you do finally allow yourself nutrition, or are not a nice partner or too short of fuse lol- you may be under-fueling and overly stressing your poor body with running and under-fueling=no recovery. If this is you, start by adding nutrition before and after your workouts - If it is hard - think about how hard it must be on your dear body, mind, and relationships!

Can I be under-fueling even though I am not underweight? YES!!!!! Our bodies are so smart and compensatory. The body will figure out how to stay alive and in homeostasis in any way possible. So If I eat one huge meal overeating and then nothing else- restrict or fasting, the body will hold on to the extra fat because it is so frightened of not getting fed again, and if its still not enough- then metabolism slows, body will eat muscle tissue for fuel ( what! I worked hard for that! plus muscle burns the most!) and will not remodel bone to build stronger causing injuries, hormonal dysfunction ect). The less you eat, the less your body will require - the body even has a way of getting you to tire and slow down for the rest of your day because its trying to conserve. I dont know about you, but I dont live to run, I run to live. If you like running and then sitting and chilling rest of day fine, but I know I have a lot of demands and people I care about and love desiring for me to be apart of their worlds. I hope this convinced you to care and love for your body.