I had the opportunity to meet runDisney's nutritionist,
Tara Gidus, at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon meet up. She also spoke to the group about the importance of post race nutrition. As Tara spoke, I thought to myself, wow--this is something I never have really thought about. I track WHAT I eat--I use My Fitness Pal to track my calories, fat, protein and carbs. But, I never really thought about WHEN I eat.
Tara told the meet up group that we all need to eat something within 30 minutes of a run. This is something that I never, ever do. I get my run in, I drive home, sometimes run a few errands, I take a shower ect. I usually do not eat until about two hours after I run. It seems I was doing it all wrong! If you think about it, it makes sense that we need to eat right after a run. Our body are dehydrated, zapped of carbs and our muscles are weak. We need to give our bodies back what we lost. While talking to us, Tara asked the group: "What should you eat within 30 minutes of running?" Most of us, including me, answered "protein." Wrong again!
From listening to Tara, I learned that in the first thirty minutes after a workout, we do not need protein, we need carbs! Our bodies just depleted our stored carbs. Right after working out, we need to rehydrate and restore our carbs. Then, in a meal about two hours later is when we need our protein. The protein is needed to rebuild and restore muscle after a run. Tara likes the trend of drinking chocolate milk right after a workout because of its perfect ratio of carbs, protein and fat.
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| I got some one on one advise from Tara while waiting to meet Tink! |
I am not much of a chocolate milk fan, so I thought about what I will try to eat right after a run. My first though was my Shakeology. I love the stuff, plus it has a good ratio of protein to carbs. Some other options I though of is an apple and a hand full of almonds, a cup of oatmeal, or a Luna Bar.
Do you always eat within 30 minutes of a run? What do you eat? I am looking for ideas!
A dream is a wish...
--Amy
I don't always eat within 30 minutes of a run but when I do chocolate milk is my go-to.
ReplyDeletei always eat within 30 min of a race! i am starving once i am done and i can feel my body screaming for nourishment! i like to eat a banana, i am gluten intolerant but after a long race i sometimes have to have bread of some sort, but generally a banana and lots of fluid! my fiance actually loves chocolate milk after a workout!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on Tinkerbell! Are you doing Double Dare Dumbo in CA?
ReplyDelete