This is the first article in the Running Warrior Performance Nutrition Series
By Dr. Jose Antonio, PhD & Sonja Friend-Uhl ACE Health Coach
- Eat Clean – limit your intake of processed foods (i.e. if it is in a package, it’s processed).
- Eat Lean – choose protein sources that are lean (the exception is fish; eat lots of fatty fish…if you are not a vegetarian).
- Eat Green – eat as much fresh fruits and vegetables as you can!
Foods You Should Eat Most of the Time (2 out of 3 meals should be ‘clean’)
| Protein | Carbohydrate | Fat |
| Wild Caught Fish
Local Farm Eggs (mostly egg whites; but 3-4 whole eggs/week is fine) Skinless Organic Local Farm Chicken Breast Canned Tuna (Wild Caught) Milk Protein (Whey protein, Casein protein; seen mainly in protein powders and ready-to-drink protein shakes) Almond, Cashew or Coconut Milk Lean Cuts of Grass Fed (Local Farm) Beef Rice, Hemp, or Isolated Soy Protein (in protein powders or drinks) |
Fresh Vegetables and Fruits of All Varieties
Dry Beans (Soaked first is best!) Steel Cut Oatmeal Brown Rice *Whole Grain Pasta *Whole Grain Bread Veggie or Rice Flour Pasta Quinoa Millet Amaranth Lentils Yams, Sweet Potatoes High Fiber Fruits *IF No Gluten Sensitivity Issues |
Fat from cold water fish
Olives and olive oil Almonds, Walnuts, Almond butter Flax Seed & Flax Seed Oil DHA/EPA supplements CLA Avocado Coconut Oil |
Foods You Should Limit Most of the Time
| Protein | Carbohydrate | Fat |
| Fatty meats
Processed meats (Hot Dogs, lunch meats) Sulfates Whole milk & Whole Milk Products |
White bread
White Pasta White rice Most Cereals Fruit juice Bagels Sodas Pastries Cookies Cakes Candy Crackers Any drink that contains calories Anything with lots of sugar Anything in a package! |
Butter
Margarine Fat from cold cuts, fatty meats Fats from fried foods Hydrogenated oils or trans fats (seen in lots of packaged goods) Whole Ice cream |
Turn yourself into a professional eater
You’re thinking we’ve lost our minds. A professional eater? Really, it’s just an analogy. If you’re on a full ride (e.g., track scholarship) during your collegiate career, you basically need to treat your body as your meal ticket. Train like it’s your job. And at the same time, eating (or how you fuel your body) is part of that job. Just as you wouldn’t fuel up a race car with cheap gas, why would you fuel up your own body with junk food? Treat your body like it’s a race car. Give it the best fuel. Hence, treat eating like it is part of your job. Don’t skip your meals, especially breakfast. Eat 5-6 small meals per day. Eat small meals, eat frequent meals. Grazing is better than gorging. Eat lean protein sources. Eat healthy fats. Eat unprocessed carbohydrates. Eat like it’s your job!
The cheat day or cheat meal
Aha! This will be your favorite day. Pizza, cheesecake, ice cream, and a bag of chips. Yes, eat these ‘junk’ foods and don’t feel bad about it. It’ll give you a break from the monotony of eating clean most of the time. There are two ways you can do this. Some people prefer to have cheat meals; others like to have entire cheat days!
Let’s say you eat 5 times per day; that’s 35 meals per week. If you had a cheat day on Saturday, that would be 5 cheat meals out of 35 meals for the entire week. Then you’ll have to eat like a saint the rest of the week. Probably an easier method is to have one cheat meal every day or other day. It’s spread out over the week and it might seem like you’re getting more cheat meals in than someone who does this on one day only.
If you’re the type of person who is a perfectionist, you might find it hard to have a cheat meal. You tell yourself, I’ve been eating so well, training smart, running fast, and my performance is constantly improving. Why should I cheat? Well the answer is, you don’t have to cheat. Psychologically, cheating gives you a mental break from having to be ‘perfect’ all the time. And one cheat meal per week is not going to adversely affect your training or performance. Our advice: have a cheat meal every now and then. Maybe it’s not once a week; maybe it’s once per month. But do it. You’ll be happier for it!
Parties and Holidays
You’re about to go home for the Thanksgiving holiday and you know what your mom has in store for you; unlimited turkey, gravy, buttered rolls, pumpkin pie, desserts, and a veritable smorgasborg of food. Should you pig out and chalk it up as a cheat day or days? Rather than being a party-pooper or the one who always has to eat perfectly, enjoy the holidays. If you want a hefty serving of apple pie, go on ahead. Thanksgiving is only once a year. Besides, it’s the most celebrated day of food gluttony. So celebrate. But, before the Thanksgiving holidays, make sure that your meals are as clean as a whistle. For instance, if you know that on Thanksgiving weekend, you’ll be eating non-stop from dusk to dawn, then in the preceding two weeks, you should refrain from having a cheat day or meal. Eat clean for those two weeks knowing that there’s a reward when you get home for the Thanksgiving break.
What about parties? Again, depending on what stage of training you are, you can always let yourself have some fun at a party; eat chips, soda, etc. But the days prior to that, just make sure you eat clean. So it’s all a matter of balancing when you eat clean and when you cheat. I guess you could live the life of perfection and never cheat. You’ll be the lone soul at the dinner table on Thanksgiving insisting that you eat skinless chicken breast with broccoli. And you know what, that’s no fun. And besides, it’s boring.