Good Marathon Nutrition - Essential To Your
Success
There is an age old equation that rings true every
single time and that is in order to lose weight you need to burn off more calories than you
consume. To gain weight you need to consume more calories than you burn
off.
Marathon nutrition is a little more complicated than this because you
need to consume more calories than you need, but at the
same time the likely outcome is that you will end up losing weight?
Because you will be burning off a lot of calories during
your training, it is essential to eat
more. If you have some weight to lose then this will
be a hindrance to your progress and shedding a few pounds will certainly help you to run faster,
longer and with less stress on the joints.
But perhaps the most important point here is that
your body needs good quality
fuel to get the best out of your training.
The ratio of nutrients needs to change for someone who is
running regularly. Whereas a typical weight loss programme might require somewhere in the region of
50 – 60 % carbohydrates, a distance runner will need anywhere up to 70% calories from
complex carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are your body’s first choice for
fuel, but you also need fats to produce energy and if
there aren’t enough being provided in the diet, it will be taken from your body’s own fat
stores.
Finally you will need an intake of good quality lean
protein to help rebuild and repair damaged cells, caused through training.
An optimal ratio of nutrient intake for
marathon nutrition is: -
Carbohydrates - 65%
Protein - 15% Fats -
20%
Always remember the quality of foods you choose is very important, so try to select foods as near to their natural state as possible with minimal
processing. Opt for low
fat and low sugar as much as
possible and once or twice a week have a treat.
If you’d like to learn more about
marathon nutrition, Marathon Training For Beginners’ is an ideal resource, it is also an easy
to use marathon training
schedule for beginners that want to run a
marathon in the shortest possible time. Click here to find out
more.
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