~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story

One of life’s great pleasures is food. It is the fuel your body needs to get through the day. When not training for an endurance event, you can get away with bad eating habits. But food now has become essential to successful training.
These are some simple guidelines to help you train for a marathon. They are not meant to be detailed, but simple and easy to follow. Remember, each of us is an individual. Our bodies are unique. It is up to you to experiment with your dietary needs during the training season. You will discover what works best for you personally. While some things are true for everyone, you are you (as Dr. Seuss puts it) and you need to know what works for your body. Now is the time to experiment. Don’t wait until race day. When that day comes, you will not be trying new things. You will already have a plan and stick with what you know works.

Basic tips to eat well
1) Eat 3 types of Food at Each Meal
2) Eat 2 types of Food at Each Snack
3) Eat on timeline- evenly through the day
4) 80-90% of Calories from quality foods
10-20% from Sweets and treats









Breakfast – Meal of Champions
Eating breakfast is the first step to eliminating “bonking”
If you are not hungry in the morning, don’t eat so much at night.
Breakfast eaters tend to:
-eat a more nutritious, lower fat diet ( can reduce urge to eat junk food at night)
-have lower blood cholesterol levels
-enjoy success in weight control (88% lost weight and kept it off)
-are mentally alert and more productive
-more energy to enjoy exercise either in the morning or later in the day

Guidelines for eating
Pre-exercise meal – (carb rich, low to moderate protein & easy to digest)
Suggestions:
Hot/Cold Cereal with Low-fat Milk
Fruit and Low-fat Yogurt
Peanut Butter and Jelly or Lean Meat Sandwich
Pasta or Rice based dishes (red sauce)
Energy Bars
Consume 1-4 hours prior to workout
- allow digested carbs to be absorbed and stored and decrease stomach discomfort
- Meal 2-4 hours prior, Snack 1-4 hours prior
- Hydration is a must, make sure you drink plenty of fluids during this time period

Post-exercise meal
Your training is not done until you have re-fueled
During workout glycogen stores are depleted and muscles sustain tiny injuries.
Eat 200-400 calories (50-100g of Carbs, 10g of Protein) within 1 hour.
Repeat every 1-2 hours for 5-6 hours
Good Choices include:
Fruit Yogurt Chocolate Milk Cereal with Milk
Energy Bar (3 to 4 times carbs as protein) Trail Mix (nuts and raisins
Bagel with peanut Butter Chicken dinner with rice and vegetables
Turkey on a bulky Roll Spaghetti with meat sauce
1 Nancy Clark’s Food Guide for Marathoners
Eating throughout the day
Make breakfast the largest meal of the day (about 25% of your daily calories)
Eat three main meals and two snacks every day
Fueling all day will give you more energy and has been shown to aid in weight loss
Try to eat “two lunches” one about 11:00am and a second about 3:00 pm
First lunch should be about 25% of your daily calories and contain 3 types of food
Second lunch should be about 15% of daily calories and contain 2 types of food
2nd lunch should keep you from craving high fat high calorie treats

Bulk of calories should be consumed during peak activity times, this is when your
body needs and uses them.

Dinner and post-dinner snack should be a smaller portion of daily calories.

-Use healthier oils (olive or canola) instead of vegetable oil
-Whole grain 2 times a day
-2.5 cups of Vegetables and 2 cups of Fruit (Various colors) (2,000 calorie diet)
-Frozen Vegetables and Fruits are fine.
-24 oz of Calcium (low fat milk, cheese, yogurt)

Vitamins are essential for the body to maintain energy and perform at top level
“ Carbohydrates are the fuel for the engine, vitamins and minerals are the spark plugs”

Hydration & Hyponatremia info