You Are What You Eat Pt 1

Happy hump day!

            I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! I love food and I have always struggled with deciding what to eat before a workout or meet. After four years of being an avid runner, I have come up with these helpful tips and I hope they benefit all of my fellow athletes:

·      Eat carbs: This was a major food group that was stressed to athletes in my sport’s teams. In cross-country we would always have spaghetti dinners the night before a meet. Eating carbs the night before creates and stores energy that is beneficial for a quick and fast workout. The best foods for this group would include whole wheat noodles, bread, rice, oats and even potatoes.

·      Light meals: In the summer I highly enjoy running in the early morning. The down side of running in the morning is you usually don’t have food in your system. I have tried many different choices on what to eat before a workout but my greatest piece of advice has been small meals.

Normally in the morning I am not hungry but I usually force myself to eat. My pre-workout meal normally consists of one plain toasted Eggo waffle and a half of a banana. This meal is just heavy enough for me to get some substance to gain energy and not vomit during the workout.

·      Water: Water is a runner’s best friend. Every since I have become a runner/athlete, water has been an essential part of my life. Some people believe that if you just drink water slightly before and after a workout you will stay hydrated. That is not true. The best way to stay hydrated is to drink water constantly though out the day. My coach used to always say “if you don’t have water on you, you aren’t a true athlete”, and I now take that very seriously.

The best rule of thumb on drinking water is that you should drink fluid ounces of water according to a specific formula.  Women should drink their body weight * .31.  Men should drink their body weight * .35.  (This is according to Runners World). It is totally acceptable to drink more but try to drink no less than this amount.  The benefits of drinking water are less cramps and just an all around better workout.

Since I have been in college and I don’t get to enjoy meals with my family I seem to miss out on praying before a meal. The verse that my family would reference during our prayers was Luke 22:19-20 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.”

Praying before you eat may seem like a hassle and awkward at times but it is humbling to take a step back and be thankful for what we are blessed with. I challenge you this week to when you are grabbing a quick snack in between classes or eating food in the union to just take 30 seconds and say a quick prayer thanking Jesus for the food you are receiving.

Have a blessed rest of the week!

Jamie