By: Dr. Sarah Vincent, ND

You get out of your body, what you put in, so the focus here should be on nutritional quality. In order to achieve your personal fitness goals you should be on good quality, clean, whole foods.

Pre-run Fueling

When preparing for your run, you should place emphasis on high carbohydrate, low fat, low protein, low fiber, eaten 2 hours before. The timing here is strictly dependent on the state of your digestion and speed of your overall metabolism, so this will be different for everyone. Ensure what you eat is easily digested and absorbed. Cooked, steamed, or liquids are easiest to digest.

A few examples of what you could have, are:

1) A berry/shake with a little protein (half a scoop)
2) Oatmeal with yogurt and berries
3) Quinoa with chicken and veggies
4) Turkey sandwich/wrap with veggies
5) Almond butter and banana wrap

Carbohydrate Loading

This is useful for long bouts of endurance exercise, meaning 60 plus minutes and is only useful if muscles are already trained to store and use extra carbs.

The majority of a runner’s carbohydrate intake should come from fruits and vegetables because they are nutrient dense and of higher quality. Foods such as refined grains (and for some people even whole grains) and processed carbohydrates, such as pastas, breads and cereals will give “more” in terms of volume, but are not as nutrient dense and will likely drain your energy.

Depending on estimated energy expenditure of each person, ideal carbohydrate distribution is illustrated below:

1)     Fruit (1-3 servings)
2)     Vegetables (4-8 servings)
3)     Beans/legumes (1-2 servings)
4)     Whole grains (1-2 servings)

Generally avoid high fat, high fiber foods as they require more energy to digest and will likely sit heavily in your stomach throughout your run. Also avoid coffee because it can stimulate digestion and possibly cause diarrhea in the middle of your run.

Fueling During Your Run

For most people somewhere between 30-60 grams of carbs per hour are necessary during runs, that go longer than 60 minutes. Fueling can come in the form of gels, chews or bars and is necessary to keep you energized! Sports drinks are not enough!

If you’re new at fueling during your runs, start small and have half of a gel pack the first time and see how your body feels. If you give yourself too much, too fast, it may produces undesirable digestive effects such as diarrhea or cramping.

                    In my previous blog post, 'Speaking Body Language and Posture Fundamentals' it was made known that good posture and strong body language can enhance one's mood, confidence, and success attainment. 

On the contrary, chronic poor posture limits our potential to be fully optimal as it reduces our mental alertness, energy, cognitive and physical function. Slouching postures place strain on the muscles and joints of the body. Overtime biomechanical imbalances develop leading to compensatory changes that cause the well known symptoms of joint stiffness, achy muscles, and generalized pain. 

Sluggish body postures are usually coupled with tight frontal muscles resulting in shallow constricted breathing. This forward flexed position inhibits optimal lung function which consequently decreases gas and nutrient exchange. This slows the natural rate at which toxins can be removed from our body. 

Let's explore 7 ways to mend bad posture and improve our body mechanics!

1) Be conscious; mind-body awareness 
    The biggest limitation to better posture is the lack of mind-body awareness. Far too often, we are bombarded with external stimuli and tend to neglect what our body is doing or telling us. The first step to improving posture is adopting a conscious mind that persistently reminds our body to readjust its position. Whenever you find yourself beginning to slouch, make the minor adjustments to correct and bring your body into optimal alignment. Movement is your friend, laziness is not! 

2) Exercise 
    The best thing we can do for posture is to get on a regular workout plan. A well balanced regimen consisting of cardiovascular exercises and resistance weight training will build muscle systems to better support our framework. Stronger muscles are more resilient to fatigue. Building back and abdominal endurance is key to spinal stabilization and injury prevention.  

3) Get assessed and treated by a Chiropractor
     It is always a good idea to have your posture and spine assessed by a chiropractor. Similar to how you get your teeth checked by a dentist, going to a chiropractor will help you stay preventative and on top of your spinal health. Having proper posture is important for spine mobility and nervous system function. Addressing muscular imbalances, joint motion, connective tissue pliability, ranges of motion, and functional mobility are some areas that chiropractic can help with. Ask your chiropractor for exercises to strengthen postural muscles, stretches to help your flexibility, and spinal adjustments to improve your mobility.