Eat right, run slow

An avocado a day keeps the doctor away...

I have finally got a copy of the book "Racing Weight", and it is very interesting reading. The diet part focuses mostly on eating foods that are dense in nutrition. The idea is to put as much nutrients as possible in our body per calorie. Even before starting to read the book, I started to change some of my eating habits. Trying to eat foods that are as little processed as possible. Paying less attention to calories and more attention to what good a particular food does to the body. Fortunately I am surrounded by many friends who know a lot about nutrition, and I am learning a lot from them.

Interestingly, nutrition advice among my Norwegian running friends and that among my Turkish running friends is of different type. In Bergen the discussion is mainly about foods that enhance performance, with red beets being the star of the show. I have strong belief in red beets, and in periods I use it in powder form (Stamox) before training and races. In Istanbul, though, the discussion is more about what foods are good for runners in the sense of repairing the body. There the star of the show is turmeric. It is supposed to have anti inflammatory effects and very good for joints and tendons. So I try to add it to my dishes as much as possible. I bought it in powder form, and it does not have a very distinct taste. Among other things that I have made a part of my diet are avocado and hemp seeds, full of proteins and healthy oils. I try to eat an avocado a day, and I sprinkle hemp seeds on almost everything nowadays.

When it comes to weight management, it seems that cutting down on meats, even lean and clean ones, is a good idea. There is a lot of evidence that replacing lean meats with lean fish is beneficial, not only for the weight but also for cardiovascular health in general. Also trying to get some of your proteins from beans instead of meat or fish could be wise. It turns out that our diet is too acidic, and meats add to the level of acidity in our blood. Trying to achieve a more alkaline diet seems to have many benefits, in particular for runners. Running can result in inflammations and toxins, and an alkaline diet aims to reduce these. On top of all that, with an alkaline diet our body is supposed to be able to burn fat easier.

Speaking about burning fat: I am running too fast. "Don't boast" you're thinking now. But it's not a good thing. Most of my training is too fast and too hard. I know just too well that all longer runs should be at easy pace, and hard effort should be limited to short intervals, but I have hard time implementing it. This is what a long and slow run does:

1. Burns fat
2. Does not make you exhausted
3. Does not make you hungry

A tough run does quite the opposite. You burn mostly carbohydrate, you get exhausted, and you are super hungry for the rest of the day. You might easily end up eating more than you burn. My goal now is to be more strict in sticking to my own plan for every run, and not get carried away when I am running with a group of friends.

Find out what is right for your body, and do it.