Without knowing your daily nutritional habits it's hard for us to give advice on what you should be doing with your diet during the time that you are training with us.  We thought we would share 5 rules you can bring into your life over the next period of time that will help you achieve good energy via nutrition as you take on this 5km challenge. 

 

• Don't drink energy: Remove all the drinks in your life that have calories in them. If you are unsure which drinks have calories check out the labels. This doesn't mean you have to always drink water, just try to find calorie free/sugar free options. For example, if you like fizzy drinks always choose the zero option.

• Training doesn't mean you can eat more: You've added up to 4 exercise sessions a week to your life, you may think that "surely I can eat a little more because I had a great run tonight!". The answer is no, if you are trying to lose weight don't let the inclusion of exercise be a reason to eat more.

• Restrict alcohol to one or two days a week: While a lot of people love a glass or two of wine every night to help relax this does add a lot of energy into you body. By restricting alcohol to one or two days, you will remove a lot of excess energy that you may not need.

• Food isn't a reward: When we do well we want to reward ourselves - which is a good thing!. But don't use food as the reward. Instead of having a chocolate bar or banana choc-chip muffin because you had a great run you could instead buy yourself a new training top if you go three weeks without missing a session. Remember giving yourself positive affirmations around the good work that you are doing could be enough of a reward.

• Stay away from processed foods: Try to eat unprocessed foods. These foods will often come at a higher calorie cost and they don't deliver the best nutrients. Plan your meals or snacks around natural foods that will have a healthier effect on your body. Read the labels on the back of your food - if there are lots of ingredients in there you don't know or can't even pronounce - ditch it!

• Stay away from "low fat" labelled food as often these include high levels of sugar to make up for taste.
   

You'll find that the training you are doing will create a change in your body over the next period of time but if you are trying to lose weight these rules will be a good guide in helping you achieve this.  They are good rules to maintain for the long term and they apply to most of us!. 

 

What about before and after runs?
Ideally you want to make sure you have a healthy carbohydrate snack around two hours before a session. For those of you doing morning sessions it is harder so aim to get some small amounts of carbohydrate in when you first get up in the morning, eg. a banana. How your body responds to the volume of food differs for all of us so it's a bit of trial and error. Aim to put a little bit in (half a banana?) and then see how you go, if it feels ok you can add a little bit more. 
 

After the run session we are looking to add some protein (for muscle repair) and carbohydrates (provides energy) back into our body. A protein shake with a banana is a good option and remember to hydrate with water!