Lately numerous people have been asking me questions about diet, weight loss, and proper nutrition. In an effort to point people in the right direction I thought I better do some further research and discover what some of the nutritionists and coach’s are saying.  Greg McMillan owner of McMillan Running has a great article and develop tools which can help you design and choose the diet and nutrition path you need to hit your goals. Here is the link or you can continue reading below: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/nutritionguide.htm

Runner’s Guide to Nutrition
by Greg McMillan, M.S.

Nutrition is rapidly becoming the next frontier that many scientists, coaches and athletes are exploring and manipulating for improved distance running performance.

This article will discuss the basic principles of good nutrition with a detailed examination of the primary nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water) as well as the recommendations made by exercise scientists and nutritionists as to the proper amounts of each nutrient that should be included in your diet. I note right up front that nutrition, like training, is very individual. You need to experiment and listen to your body to find the right mix of nutrients and the timing of your nutrient intake to see what best fuels your running.

Vital to the improvement of your diet is evaluating (1) the amount of calories that you obtain per day (called your total daily caloric intake), (2) the proportion of these daily calories that are supplied by carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Armed with this information, you can evaluate your nutrient intake and even adjust your caloric intake to acheive your weight loss goals. This evaluation will also reveal your dietary strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to compare your diet to what the diets recommended by various experts. To help you, we’ve created the Runner’s Nutrition Calculator.

And finally, you’ll learn how to use your calculated nutritional needs to analyze your diet. This analysis will allow you to correct your nutritional weaknesses to ensure that you are eating properly, thus optimizing your chances at distance running success.

The Primary Nutrients

There are four substances that the body requires in large quantities in order to function properly. These four substances are called the primary nutrients and include (1) carbohydrates, (2) fats, (3) proteins and (4) water.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates, also known as sugars, are the primary nutrient and dietary source of quick energy for distance runners. Experts recommend that runners’ diets consist of 50 to 70 percent carbohydrate. The zone diet recommends 40 percent and a low-carb diet reduces this even further.

The sole purpose of carbohydrates in the body is to provide energy. The standard unit for the energy our bodies use is called a calorie. Each gram of carbohydrate provides four calories.

The carbohydrates that we eat can be classified as either simple or complex. Simple carbohydrates are the most basic form of sugar and consist of only one or two molecules. These simple sugars include among others, glucose, fructose and sucrose. Examples of foods containing this type of carbohydrate include candy, fruit, milk, sports drinks and energy gels.

Since simple carbohydrates consist of only one or two molecules, they are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. While this fast absorption is great for providing a quick “shot” of energy during periods when the blood sugar level is low, it also induces what exercise scientists call an insulin response.

Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, facilitates the removal of sugar from the bloodstream and places it in the cells. As a result, the blood sugar level is returned to a low level resulting in both decreased energy and performance. Athletes have to be careful with their intake of simply sugars to avoid this spike and fall in blood sugar. The typical American diet is full of simple sugars which may be a contributing factor in the epidemic in diabetes. We’ve all experienced a “sugar crash” so you’re well aware of the potential for this to interfere with your everyday life and your running.

The second type of carbohydrate is the complex carbohydrate. Complex carbohydrates, unlike the simple sugars, are composed of several glucose molecules linked together. As a result of their more complex structure, they are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream, providing a more favorable slow and steady supply of energy, thus avoiding the pitfalls of the insulin response.

Since complex carbohydrates maintain a more consistent blood sugar level than do simple carbohydrates, experts recommend that the majority of the calories obtained from carbohydrates be in the form of the complex carbohydrates. Examples of foods that are high in complex carbohydrates include cereals, pasta, breads, rice, potatoes, and vegetables.

With that said, rating carbohydrates purely as “simple and complex” may be too limiting as there is a continuum of insulin responses to varying carbohydrates. For example, there are some complex carbohydrates that elicit a greater insulin response than some simple carbohydrates. To get around this, the Glycemic Index was created. Foods with a high glycemic index cause a greater insulin response than those with a low glycemic index. Your diet will contain both but you may want to shift your eating habits to include more high glycemic index foods when you want a greater insulin response (immediately after a workout for example) or more low glycemic index foods when you want a minimal insulin response (throughout the day). Google “Glycemic Index database” for a listing of Glycemic Index values for thousands of foods.

When this supply begins to run out and/or when the blood glucose level drops, the liver, which also stores glycogen, releases glucose into the bloodstream where it can be carried to and used by the working muscles. This supply, like the muscle glycogen, is limited and can also become depleted after fast running or one to two hours of moderate running. A key adaptation to training is that your muscle cells begin to store more glycogen as a result of being depleted and replenished through training.

Fats

The second primary nutrient is fat. Like carbohydrates, fats provide energy (nine calories per gram). However, fats also serve a variety of other functions in the body. These functions include (1) offering protection for the other tissues (i.e. the major organs of the body), (2) allowing insulation from the cold, (3) storing the fat-soluble vitamins, and (4) comprising the major structural component of cell walls.

Fats can be classified as (1) saturated, (2) poly-unsaturated or (3) mono-unsaturated. The saturation of each type of fat is based on the number of hydrogen ions attached to the fat molecule. Saturated fats have the most hydrogen ions attached, the poly-unsaturated fats have less, and the mono-unsaturated fats have the least hydrogen ions.

Saturated fats are the least healthy of the three types of fats and are characterized by remaining solid at room temperature. Common examples include lard and butter. Even though this type of fat is the least healthy, it is still required by the body in small amounts and therefore should not be totally eliminated from the diet.

Poly-unsaturated fat is healthier than saturated fat and is characterized by being semi-solid at room temperature. Many of today’s margarines and butter alternatives are made with poly-unsaturated fats and thus require refrigeration.

Mono-unsaturated fat is the healthiest of the fats and remains liquid at room temperature. Examples of mono-unsaturated fats include most natural oils, such as olive oil.

Food items that contain mono-unsaturated fats but have been hydrogenated (meaning that hydrogen ions have been added) are less healthy than non-hydrogenated fats. One must be careful to read the ingredients of each food eaten to watch for mono-unsaturated fats that have been hydrogenated called partially hydrogenated oils.

Shortly, food labels in the US will also list these “transfats” in the food item which will help us avoid this potentially unhealthy type of “hydrogenated” fat.

Experts recommend that distance runners obtain 20 to 30 percent of their daily calories from fats. In addition, approximately one-third of one’s fat calories should come from each type of fat (saturated, poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated).

All excess fat in the diet will be stored as adipose (fat) tissue, which increases “dead” body weight and decreases performance. Examples of foods containing significant amounts of fats are lard, butter, meats, some dairy products and most varieties of oils.

Fats should be avoided prior to a race or hard workout. Fats are slow to empty from the stomach and may cause cramps, due to the decreased blood flow to the stomach which occurs during running.

Protein

The third primary nutrient is protein. Experts can’t agree but the ranges recommended are from 10 to 30 percent of their daily calories from protein for runners. The average American eats two to three times the protein requirement each day but finicky runners (and those who break down easy from hard training) may need to focus on their protein intake.

Proteins are composed of small substances called amino acids. They function as the major component of every structure in the body and also provide four calories of energy per gram, though you hope that you don’t regularly have to ‘burn’ protein for energy.

As a result of training and racing, our muscles and tendons experience small tears or micro-traumas which are repaired by the protein in our diet. This fact is why we even see a renewed focus on adding some protein to the traditionally carbohydrate-loaded recovery drinks. Some athletes even find that supplementing with protein powder aids their recovery. Excessive protein in the diet places great strain on the kidneys so there’s no need to eat like a body builder. Meats, beans and nuts are common examples of foods which contain significant amounts of protein.

Water

The fourth and final primary nutrient is water. Although water does not provide any energy (or calories), the body requires large amounts of it in order to function properly.

The major function of water for distance runners is the regulation of the core temperature of the body. As warm-blooded animals, our bodies must remain around the same temperature at all times. If our core temperature rises or falls too much, significant damage can occur.

During running, the working muscles produce large amounts of heat which must be dissipated or the core temperature will rise dangerously high. To dissipate this heat, our bodies perspire, using large amounts of water.

Your goal as a distance runner should be to consistently hydrate yourself during both warm and cold weather so that you never become thirsty. By the time your thirst mechanism is activated, your body is already suffering from dehydration – hurting your performance and putting you at risk. You don’t have to drown yourself in liquids but just make hydration a regular part of your day.

It also appears that since most of the body’s chemical reactions occur in an aqueous environment, adequate water intake (but not too much) is essential for maximum performance.

Runner’s Nutrition Calculator

The foundation of proper nutrition is obtaining the proper amount of calories (your daily caloric intake) as well as the correct proportions of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in your diet each day.

Researchers have developed several precise formulas that you can use to determine the specific amount of calories that your body requires as well as the proper proportions of each nutrient that you need.1

Incorporating these formulas, The Runner’s Nutrition Calculator allows you to determine (1) the specific amount of calories that your body requires at rest (called your resting metabolic daily caloric need) and to maintain your current weight and training level (called the calories you burn each day), (3) the specific amounts of each of the primary nutrients needed each day (called your daily primary nutrient requirement) and (4) the amount of each sub-type of carbohydrate and fat needed daily (called your daily primary nutrient sub-type breakdown) and (5) the target daily caloric intake to achieve any weight loss goals you may have.

The Calculator yields accurate and individualized results because it’s based on your individual age, sex, height, weight, percent body fat and training level. Using your results, you will be able to closely monitor your diet to ensure that you are following the recommendations of exercise scientists and nutritionists. And, using our partner, Nutrax.com, you have a handy online resource for tracking and analyzing your diet.

Click HERE to launch the Runner’s Nutrition Calculator. Simply input your information in each section then hit Calculate. The results are displayed in the area below the input area.

Reviewing Your Overall Dietary Analysis

Now that you have calculated your specific daily nutritional goals, you can perform your own dietary analysis to see how well your current diet compares to the recommendations set forth by exercise scientists and nutritionists.

Using this analysis, you will be able to change specific aspects of your diet (such as increasing the amount of complex carbohydrates or decreasing the amount of saturated fat) to improve your overall health and fitness, giving yourself the greatest chance at distance running success.

The first step in performing your analysis is to keep a thorough food record of all the food items eaten for three, five, or seven days. This record should include at least one normal weekday and one normal weekend day of meals.

The food record should include the following information on each food item: (1) the number of calories, (2) the amount of grams from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, and (3) the amount of grams from simple and complex carbohydrates as well as saturated, poly-unsaturated, and mono-unsaturated fats.

From this record, you can calculate a daily average for each of these values. After completing your food record, tally up the total calories as well as the calories (or grams) from carbohydrates, fats and protein (include the relative sub-types). You can then compare this with your results from the calculator. thecarrot.com/ makes this all a lot easier as you can better track and monitor your dietary intake using their advanced nutritional software.

Summary

One of the most important factors in achieving top performance is consistently optimal nutrition. With an understanding of how the general nutritional guidelines should be adjusted for competitive distance runners, you can ensure that you are getting both the proper amounts and proportions of calories and primary nutrients.

Using the Runner’s Nutritional Calculator and information in this article, you can determine your specific nutritional needs based on your age, sex, height, and weight. This information can be used to maximize your nutrition and gradually elevate your training and racing to a new level.

References:

1 Roza, A. M., et al., “The Harris Benedict Equation Reevaluated: Resting Energy Requirements and the Body Cell Mass,” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1984, 40, July, pp. 168-182.

2 Howley, E.T., et al., Health/Fitness Instructors Handbook, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1990, pp. 137-140.