To this:
I got two of those Luna protein bars in my Zooma goodie bag a few weeks ago and found them both tasty and satisfying. So, I bought a whole box and started eating them for breakfast every morning. For a good couple of weeks, I found that a Luna bar plus a smaller mid-morning snack could actually carry me into lunch comfortably...
...until I ran 10 miles on Saturday. This was my first 10-mile run since the Annapolis Striders' Cherry Pit 10-miler on April 11. Since then, I had done at least four 6-7 mile runs, but nothing longer. It was pretty rough. I was grateful that my running buddy Val was saving her energy for a race the next day, because I was definitely slowing us down.
I was prepared for Saturday's run to be tough, especially after suffering through the Father's Day 10K the weekend before. I was not prepared for it to zap me instantly back into the state of perpetual hunger that I was in during the final few weeks of my half-marathon training back in March. Yet, that's where I seem to be. On Sunday morning, I ate the usual Luna bar around 6:30am and was ravenous by the end of the first church service at 9. I went to my parents' and ate four pancakes between the two services, but I was ravenous again by the time the second service finished at 11:30am. Then, I went for brunch at Ram's Head in Annapolis where I devoured an entire plate of steak and eggs, plus toast and fruit, and followed that with two scoops of ice cream. Thankfully, that got me through to dinner.
Today, though, the hunger is back. I had a Luna bar at 5:30am, followed by the gym, then a Smart Ones black bean quesadilla at 8:30am and a banana at 10:30am. Now, its just before noon and I am literally counting the seconds until lunch. I'm hoping that this hunger will abate a bit once my body adjusts to the training demands because all of this food isn't doing me any favors. Despite the crazy amount of exercise I get, I've actually gained a couple pounds in the last few months. Plus, I doubt that I can hang on to my super-healthy cholesteral numbers if I start consuming huge amounts of red meat.
Gotta go, time for lunch.
Ha! Welcome to marathon training and all the interesting discoveries that come along with the grueling schedule. Your increased appetite is to be expected but you do not need to worry about gaining weight. A couple of observations. A Luna bar, though tasty , is not a meal. It is something to eat while you are on your way to actually eat something. Great way to tide yourself over on your way home from a long run. Within 15 minutes of finishing your run, you want to take in some sort of recovery calories. Chocolate milk, yes, chocolate milk is an excellent recovery beverage. Water with protein powder is another option, along with a banana or a handful of those sweaty pretzels we put out. Once you are home, hopefully within an hour of finishing your long run, you need to get a good post-run meal. A ratio of 4:1 carbs to protein is your goal. (Eggs w/ lean meat) I usually have a bowl of oatmeal with some yogurt, fruit and nuts. Or scrambled eggs with a ton of vegetables stirred in, some soy sausage patties or Canadian bacon and some toast. Many times I will find myself hungry the rest of the day, ravenous on some days. Try to keep hearty salad things around. Grilled chicken, bags of lettuce, cut up vegetables. I was addicted to the frozen mango chunks at Trader Joes for quite a while. You can eat all day as long as you are not eating all the calories you burned that morning. Oh, and Smart Ones do not have enough calories! Eat a salad or some fruit on the side. Hopefully this isn't to rambling. Drop me an email if you want more details. Don't ask Bob , the guy lives off Diet Coke. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan! All good advice. In terms of the calorie counts, though, you have to factor in the fact that I'm a pretty small person. I count everything in terms of Weight Watchers points since losing a ton of weight with them a few years back (and learning to eat much more sensibly). So, the Luna bars and the Smart Ones may not seem like much in terms of calories, but its substantial for me (about 1/4 of my total for the average day and the equivalent of a good 30-60 minutes of running). My whole family is blessed with small builds and slow metabolisms, so we all have to work hard to balance everything out. Nutrient-dense foods are definitly our friends, though we all forget that sometimes (see steak and eggs and ice cream).
ReplyDeleteP.S.: Please let the record show that the vast majority of the food I eat is fresh, whole, and made from scratch. The Luna bars and SmartOnes are a concession to convenience which my schedule sometimes demands, but I eat like that as rarely as possible. So, don't get the wrong idea. :)
ReplyDeleteNo judgement at all! You are definitely doing the right things for your body. I don't want you to be alarmed that your appetite will only increase with your mileage. That being said, there were a couple of Saturday afternoons that found me and Katherine at Five Guys.
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