Fitness Depot » Diet And Nutrition

Eating habits of professional runners

WeightLoss — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:45:01 +0000

Good food is one of the sublime pleasures of life – that’s what we work & earn for. Since our childhood, we all are brought up with a very common proverb – “You are what you eat”. For a normal human, this proverb may be casual – but for a runner, good-eating translates into an efficient way of running faster and longer.

If you are a runner, or if you have done enough research on a runner’s ideal diet, you might know that diet of a runner needs to be comprising carbohydrates to pump in energy required by body for the workouts. But do you know that not all runners share a similar diet?

Your diet must match the degree of your running

For instance – while reading more about Michael Phelps, I was surprised to know that he eats staggering 6 times more calories a day than a normal human being. But the fact which needs to be analysed before reaching any conclusion is – he trains for 6 hours a day, 6 days a week without exceptions. Now that explains his diet. Similarly, the professional runners have their own diet requirement which is in proportion to their daily workout routine. On a general note, a healthy diet for a professional long-distance runner is the one which consists of approximately 60% carbohydrates, 25% fats and 15% proteins.

Blaine Moore, a professional runner, mentions on his blog that:

Carbohydrates should be the backbone of any runner’s diet, with 6-13 servings a day, mostly coming from grains and fibre-rich food.
An average professional athlete can go with 90 to 120 oz water per day.
Proteins should be between 12 to 15% only. Otherwise the excess protein will either get excreted through urine, or get stored in body as fat.

Ann Gaffigan, a professional runner and 5th in USA Champion 2005 who works out averagely 20hrs per week, mentioned in an interview – the myth that professional women runners don’t eat or don’t eat much is not true. She mentioned that she used to plan her meals with an attitude of what meal is required for body to recover. She also stressed on the aspects that there is a thin fine line between healthy and unhealthy food for a professional runner and there is no single magic formula for this.

A good nutrition plan is necessary, when running long distances

When we look at the marathon runners, we notice an aspect that they need to maintain running long continuous hours – thus requiring them to have a diet that increases body endurance. To increase efficiency for marathon runners, they need to develop a comprehensive nutrition plan covering the aspects like before, during and after running; quality and quantity of meal; and basic meal vs. optimum meal.

A good nutrition plan shall be developed for individual needs and shall be based on the intensity and frequency of trainings and training volumes. A marathon runner must also avoid the synthetic food and supplements because most of these products will simply give you extra pounds rather than required minerals. Instead, try to replace the synthetic supplements with fruits and vegetables that provide carbohydrates and proteins.

An example of running meals For Professional / Marathon Runners

Before:

A runner requires food that gives optimum calories and carbs to burn while running, otherwise a runner may experience dizziness and lack of energy.

Have loads and loads of carbohydrates during dinner, the evening before the event. Good meal sources for carbohydrates include – whole grain breads, potatoes, pastas, rice, vegetables, cereals, fruits and oats
Approximately 2 hours before running, have a good amount of fruits and vegetables. Bananas are a good choice
Have wholegrain cereals as main breakfast meal.
Approximately30 minutes prior to running, a runner can have
- A cup of cooked beans or lentils which is worth 230 calories and 40gms carb and about 16 gms proteins
- A 6 oz non-fat yoghurt which contains approximately 100 calories, 19 gms carbs and 5 gms proteins
Have a lot of water

During:

A lot of body fluids are lost due to more-than-usual sweating & breathing. Make sure you hydrate well.
Avoid dairy products like cow milk, otherwise you will most likely get cramps, and feel sick in your stomach while running.

After:

It is important to fuel up the proteins and fluids in the body. Some experts also suggest to take 1.5gms Carbs per Kg within 30 minutes after completing the run.
Proteins which help in rebuilding and repairing the muscle tissues must be taken as a meal within 1-2 hours of the run. Also ensure that your post-run meal contains some degree of fats that will provide joint-lubrication, absorbing fat soluble vitamins and energy production. Good meal sources for protein & fats include nuts, beans, avocados, fish, skinless chicken, eggs, lean meat, tofu and other soya products, and various cooking oils (like sunflower oil and olive oil).

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Yeast Infection, Candida, Diabetes and the Raw Food Diet

Ray Gill — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:54:49 +0000

The reason that tied candidiasis, fungal infections and diabetes with raw food is that all three of these things can be cured with raw food. And Type 2 – diabetes. Do not believe me? Do a quick search on Google "first" for 30 days, and diabetes. "People with diabetes are more prone to candida too.

Candida is the cause of fungal infections, to cure your candida, you automatically get a yeast infection, and release. Candida, the symbol of candidiasis, is caused by hypertrophy of Candida albicans in the body. Sugar, stress, stress, antibiotics, the pill is the reason that the peak of the population and can cause problems for your body. The sugar is what fuels, ie people who eat a diet high in sugar, probably. People with diabetes, probably a history of high consumption of sugar, so a risk to the risk to others.

Raw Food Diet

In any case, try to wait for the consumption of raw materials for 30 days and life changing results. Raw food has been introduced to Tyra Banks Show, and even material Woody Harrison Foodista – bet you did not know, you must complete an incredible amount of energy, lose a few kilos and detoxify all at once. With the first I do not want raw meat or dairy products. The media, including raw foods such as pineapple, young coconut, avocado, pomegranate, melon, tomato, etc. There are more nutrients in cooked foods and has much less sugar. If you do not know what to eat stir the mixture with fresh fruit. Or in a salad with nuts, fruits and vegetables.

A conscientious diner

While the first step in a diet is the best way to make a conscious diner. It's not only food in my mouth. Avoid highly processed foods like white flour with nothing inside. Junk food with lots of sugar, fruit juice, cola drinks, fried foods. At Coca-Cola, a drink of water. Participation of more and more fruits and vegetables in your diet changed completely into you. Be sure to eat enough calories.

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Raw Food Diet – The Best Weight Loss Program For Over Weight American

Ray Gill — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:56:15 +0000

You may already heard that raw food diet helps you to lose weight in conventional and nutritional supplements perspectives. Today, you are introduced to another view point – how you can get rid of your weight once and for all.
Although Traditional Chinese medicine has never endorsed raw food in their treatment of diseases, because raw food is yin pathogen and yin in nature and some of them also are considered containing dampness, which is one the many causes of diseases, including arthritis.
Since most overweight America are considered eating too much fried and greasy food, refined, products and artificial ingredient, etc., these types of foods are considered hot, damp and excessive yang in nature. They heat up the stomach and speed up digestion, thereby inducing hunger. If you are youth and exercise, the excessive energy can be removed from you body through sweat, urinary excretion, etc. Unfortunately, many over weight people are lack of exercises, leading to fat accumulated in the body organs and tissues.

Traditional Chinese medicine views overweight is a problem of Spleen deficiency, due to the stomach inability to digest the food properly and the accumulation of turbid can not secret properly caused by over heating stomach as a result intake of hot, damp and yang food.

When food enters the stomach, it is divided to 2 parts. The food qi is absorbed by the Spleen immediately, the other part- food material is digested and divides into fluid essences and turbid. Fluid essences once again are absorbed by the Spleen and the turbid are secreted through the bladder and large intestine. Over intake of hot, excessive yang, hot and damp foods for a prolonged period of time causes the abnormal function and Spleen in qi and fluid distribution and transformation, resulting in extra energy and dampness building up in the body, leading to heat cooking up the dampness into phlegm (fat) that deposit as fat into the body organs and tissues.

Raw food diet is yin pathogen and cool in nature (Be sure to avoid raw food with high amount of dampness), as it enters the stomach, it reduces the heat in the stomach that slowdowns the digestive process and curves appetite, thus giving the Spleen time to eliminate the extra energy and fluid slowly, resulting in restoring the Spleen function in fluid and qi distribution. The process may take a while, but it works. If the accumulated dampness is gone, slowly all phlegms will be secreted through bladder and large intestine and you finally achieve your weight loss once and for all and return to the range of normal weight according BMI index.

Remember as soon as your weight return to normal, it is the best time to reduce the intake of raw food and replace some of them with cook food due to its yin pathogen and cool in nature in order to prevent the opposite effects.

"Let Take Care Your Health, Your Health Will Take Care You" Kyle J. Norton I have been studying natural remedies for disease prevention for over 20 years and working as a financial consultant since 1990. Master degree in Mathematics, teaching and tutoring math at colleges and universities before joining insurance industries.

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Video: Best oils to cook with for health

WeightLoss — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:43:55 +0000

Best oils to cook with for health.

First and foremost I understand that certain oils are needed to cook with for certain meals but let it be clear this article is written for the health conscious in mind. When you cook with most oils they are either unhealthy or become unhealthy in the heating process. Hydrogenated oils are what most oils become under high temperatures. Hydrogenated oils are trans fat and known now to be a factor in heart disease.

Read the article in Runner's World

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Video: A longer leaner life with Paleo Diet

WeightLoss — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:36:29 +0000

There are many types of diets marketed towards athletes. One of the newer and popular ones is the Paleo Diet. This diet has been formulated by doctors and trainers, and claims to be a healthy diet for athletes.

The term, Paleo Diet, is short for "Paleolithic Diet". This short term has developed as an abbreviation, easily pronounced and remembered, in the past 15 years or so. With Dr. Cordain's book, The Paleo Diet, published in 2002, it has become the most widely used popular term when referring to our ancestral ("paleo" means old) diet, that preceeded the advent of modern agriculture.

Many nutrition scientists now agree that it is a way of eating for optimum health. The reason this way of eating promotes optimum health is because it is mimicking the way our Paleolithic ancestors ate. Over a 2 million year period our genes adapted to a diet in which all food had to be hunted, fished, or gathered from the natural environment. Though this environment has changed dramatically, the human genome has changed less than 0.02 percent in the past 40,000 years. Thus, most people eat a diet that is not in sync with their genetic needs, and sooner or later end up with health conditions that are largely preventable.

Read the article in Runner's World

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Video: foods to avoid on the Paleo Diet

WeightLoss — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:30:24 +0000

The Paleo Diet believes in the limited use of salt. It can be difficult to avoid salt altogether; however, in personal cooking, the official website of the Paleo Diet recommends substituting salt with garlic powder, chili powder, lime/lemon juice, pepper and any other type of herb. Dried celery is a good substitute because of its natural-occurring high sodium level. Vinegar should be replaced with lemon or lime juice. Vinegar was not present during the days of Paleolithic man, thus prohibiting its use in the diet. Butter and fats like lard are prohibited for people using this diet. Butters and fats can be replaced with olive oil and other fruit and vegetable oils, because the human body is designed to digest these oils without strain on the body. Sugars should be avoided; even naturally occurring honey should be limited, as Paleolithic man did not have sugar as a staple in his diet. Alcohol was not used during the Paleolithic era; however, the Paleo Diet recommends moderate wine, beer or mixed drink usage with meals. Wine is recommended for cooking purposes.

Read the article in Runner's World

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

The Paleo Diet in a nutshell – Part 2

WeightLoss — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:22:40 +0000

The Paleo Diet promotes the consumption of lean meats, those that contain less fat. For example, chicken breast is a lean meat. Lean red meats include cuts with less of the marble effect, which is when you see the white fat mixed with the red meat. These cuts include, but are not limited to, sirloin, strip steak, top round and T-bone. Chicken eggs are a highly recommended food choice on the Paleo Diet. Ideally, the eggs come from organically raised chickens. The high protein in the Paleo Diet is good for athletes, as protein is used to repair stressed muscles. The lean meats provide healthy protein with little fat. Seafood is a very healthy and important aspect of this diet. Seafood provides lean protein, and salmon, a highly recommended fish, provides omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for brain and joint health.

Read the article in Runner's World

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

The Paleo Diet in a nutshell – Part 1

WeightLoss — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:15:19 +0000

The basis of the Paleo Diet is to consume the foods humans are most biologically adapted to. The Paleo Diet gets its name from the Paleolithic period of human civilization. During this period, humans consumed mostly lean meats and vegetables. Carbohydrates like wheat and rice were not invented; therefore, they are not included in the diet. Dr. Loren Condain, author of "The Paleo Diet for Athletes," stipulates that human beings are genetically programmed to flourish on the hunter-gatherer type of diet (Paleolithic-era diet). An athlete on this diet is believed to flourish because food digested is designed to promote peak human bodily performance.

Read the article in Runner's World

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Raw Food Diet – How it Affects a Person’s Fertility With YIN Constitution in TCM Perspective

Ray Gill — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:54:27 +0000

I. Introduction
A. What is a typical American raw food diet
The raw food diet is defined as a type of diet of which at least 75% of the daily diet must be unprocessed and uncooked foods or foods can not be heating above 115 degree of Fahrenheit or 40 C, including fresh fruit and vegetables and raw meats. A typical American raw food diet contains mostly yin and dampness pathogen, including mostly raw fruits, vegetables and nuts and seeds.

B. What is a person with yin constitution
According to traditional Chinese medicine, yin constitution is genetic passing through pattern which you inherited from either one of your parent. It represents in the deep layer in your body. A person with yin constitution tend to have
1. colder hands and feet
2. You tongue pale
3. Chill easily
4. etc.

It is for your benefit to take more of warm foods to counter the affects of excessive yin.

II. How raw food diet affects fertility
Since raw food diet is considered as yin and dampness pathogens, it affect a person with yin constitution in different ways

1. Digestive system
Spleen is one important organ needed to break down the food and transform them to energy for keeping our body active. A person with yin constitution already has access yin in the under layer of his or her body, while raw foods are also yin pathogen, it further declines yang qi in the body and weakens and the digestive system in absorbing vital vitamins and minerals, leading to severe digestive disorder and nutrients deficiency.

2. Circulatory system
Blood are always important to carry oxygen and nutrients for replenishing the depletion of energy lost due to daily activity, dysfunction of spleen causes inability of liver in blood transformation, leading to not enough blood to supply for our body system, causing blood to divert aways from the reproductive organ resulting in delay menstruation, irregular period. In some severe case, it cause infertility.

3. Nervous system
If there are not enough blood to supply the central nervous system in information transmitting and regulating the body function, including hormone secretion, it causes nervous system, such as over production of certain hormones, leading to stress, tiredness, fatigue, irregular menstruation, etc.

4. Secretory system
Since raw foods are considered as dampness pathogen, it also interferes with the spleen in controlling the internal dampness caused by impairment of water metabolism within the body or spleen, leading to impairing the spleen yang and the development of interior damp-cold, resulting in qi and blood stagnation, leading to delay menstruation and menstrual pain and cramps.

Since Kidney yin is defined as the foundation of the yin fluid of the body, therefore it helps to moisten, nourish the organs and tissues and maintain the body fluid balance with fire of kidney yang. Raw foods are yin in nature, prolong intake of may decrease the yang qi in the kidney, leading to symptoms of heat, causing fluid imbalance, irregular menstruation and in serve case, causing infertility

III. Treatment
a) Cooking your food or counter it with some warm foods and avoid over consumption of hot foods which may contribute to cool heat in your body.
b) Moderate exercise is always recommended in traditional Chinese medicine to increase blood flow.
c) You make sure that you relax and rest a lots to avoid the abnormal production of certain hormones

All rights reserved. Any reproducing of this article must have the author name and all the links intact. "Let You Be With Your Health, Let Your Health Be With You" Kyle J. Norton I have been studying natural remedies for disease prevention for over 20 years and working as a financial consultant since 1990. Master degree in Mathematics and BA in world literature, teaching and tutoring math at colleges and universities before joining insurance industries. Part time Health, Insurance and Entertainment Article Writer.Part time Health, Insurance and Entertainment Article Writer.

Click here to like this post.

Unlike

Raw Food Diet: the Co-relation With Love and Consciousness

Ray Gill — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:54:22 +0000

Everybody knows that Mum's home-cooked meals taste better. Why? Besides the fresher ingredients, the care for hygienic measures, there is an ingredient called "love".

"Love" is an intangible and yet unmistakable ingredient which is lacking in all our commercially available food products.

There is a whole world of difference between eating commercially processed foods produced by machines, and raw organic produces cultivated with care and love for Earth.

We all know that due to commercialization and profit-maximization, the quality of produces have deteriorated tremendously.

Right at the bottom of the food chain, we have the corn industry, which feeds the cattle industry. With the inflated Big Buck Brother Oil, how many farmers can choose to feed their cattle with high quality organic corn?

There had been news of farmers whom, in their efforts to shorten growth processes, resorted to unspeakable farming methods.

Not only did this accumulate negative vibration in the animals, but also bring forth hygienic concerns.

The dairy industry, which uses products from the cattle industry (and therefore inherits all the associated factors) is another huge interest today.

Eating clean, organic foods is similar to eating Mum's cooking. These produces are cultivated without harsh chemicals, taking care of Earth and basically – "love".

"Love" for both the environment, and the crops itself. It has been long known that plants are alive and they resonate to human contact. Plants flourish with Tender Loving Care.

In organic farming, more effort and care are required – mainly because man had done some pretty bad damages to the ground over the years.

Only the true crop farmer will know that our ground is no longer like what it used to be. It has become harder for crops to flourish.

All organic farmers know the pain of losing crops due to soil infertility, pests invasion and natural calamities.

Organic farmers want their crops to live! Every organic farmer wishes for its crops to live and flourish, so much so that it seems almost like a silent prayer.

So how does raw and living foods fit into this?

Making use of only clean, unprocessed organic ingredients, raw vegans concoct all kinds of gourmet dishes.

In their attempts to "beat" conventional processed food laden with additives and all the harmful stuffs, they put extra heart into planning the details for flavors, textures, colors and presentations.

Having loved ones, friends and family to enjoy the food together is priceless. Nothing rewards the raw vegan chef more than appreciating looks of satisfaction on their eaters' faces!

Lots and lots of "love" are put into designing raw food. It's like an art, and who knows, maybe this could be a subject in college after 10 years!

Minus the negative vibrations, additives and preservatives, add in "life" from freshness and "love" from Consciousness, we have a "Super-Food"!

Have you had the chance to eat 1 raw meal today yet? Let me know if you did, so we can start jumping in joy

Linda has always been passionate about the Science of Nutrition for beauty, weight-loss, energy & longevity. She is also a successful Raw Foodist & Certified Raw Food Chef and is ever so delighted to share this gift of knowledge with fellow health enthusiasts! Visit http://rawfoodlifestyles.com/ for more free juicy information on how you can eat your way to a flawless complexion, a sexy body, AND abundant energy now!

Click here to like this post.

Unlike