Introduction and Our Goal

We are two students interested in increasing runners knowledge of their nutrition and how to maximize their body. Our goal is provide information about nutrition, diets for endurance runners and the best mix of different nutrients. Our blog is aimed at endurance runners but the information is useful for anyone interested in a healthy diet and living life to the fullest.

Bibliography-Matt/Zach

http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/nutrition/

http://peakperformance.runnersworld..com/2007//05/to_lose_weight.html

http://www.wikipedia.org

Explanation-Matt Bryan/Zach Barahal

The first two days of our diet plan are standard training days with high calorie intake. The recommended caloric intake for a teenage runner is as high as 2500-3500 calories. A good portion of our calories come from carbohydrates as they are long term energy.

The 2nd night and 3rd morning are pre race meals. Endurance runners load on carbohydrates before races as fats and proteins take 3-5 hours to digest while carbohydrates only take 1-2 hours making them an easy efficient source of energy. Before a race it is recommended to eat a light, high carbohydrate breakfast or to wake up several hours before the race, eat a normal breakfast and carbohydrate load closer to the race.

Three Day Diet Plan-Zach

In our situation the morning of day three has a race.
Day One Day Two
Breakfast: Eggs, Toast and healthy cereal Breakfast: Yogurt, cereal and toast
Lunch: Sandwich with meat and vegetables Lunch: Fruit and sandwich
Dinner: Steak, rice or bread, vegetables Dinner: Pasta with meat, rice or bread
and a dessert with carbohydrates low on fat. vegetables and a high carbohydrate dessert.

Day Three
Breakfast: Healthy cereal, toast
About an hour before race: Carbohydrates
After race: Bread, fruit
Lunch: Sandwich and fruit
Dinner: Italian or chinese food

Nutrients and Runners-Matt/Zach

For runners the most important nutrient is carbohydrates. In endurance exercise carbohydrates are the primary source of exercise and are efficient. When you are endurance running the high calories from carbohydrate loading is important as the amount of energy lost from training requires a higher calorie load. Fats and proteins are important as well but before workouts and races they should be eaten sparingly as they take longer to digest. A common strategy for endurance runners is to load up on carbohydrates the night before and the morning of a race as they digest quickly and provide long term energy. Simple carbohydrates are not recommended, most of your carbohydrate should be complex such as the ones from pasta or rice.

Fats - Matt Bryan

Fats are made up of glycerol and fatty acids which come from our food.  People with unhealthy food in their diets can build up fat.  Fat insulates organs and provides us with glucose energy.  Fats can be a solid or a liquid.  Some example of fat that is edible are lard, fish oil, and butter.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fat

Carbohydrates-Zach Barahal

Carbohydrates are a nutrient composed of sugars. Its role in the body is long term energy and when the body requires energy sugars are its primary source. Carbohydrates are the highest percentage of your recommended diet, 35%-65% and grains, fruits and vegetables are a source of this nutrient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrate

Proteins - Matt Bryan

Proteins are a nutrient made up of amino acids.  The amino acids given from food are a type that our bodies can not naturally produce.  These acids need to be absorbed through your diet.  Some foods that give us proteins are meat, nuts, and eggs.  A daily amount would be around 18g per kilo of body weight.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_in_nutrition