Nutrition

Workout: 6 M to Mammoth Creek Park

          Since I only planned to do 75 miles this week, I had only 6 miles left for the week. My legs felt good today. I went to the Arts and Crafts Festival and saw some beautiful artwork and photography.

Dinner: chicken, brown rice, greens

           Being an athlete involves watching your diet closely. With every meal I usually eat lean sources of protein (eg. grilled chicken - no fat or skin, hard boiled eggs, seafood, plain nonfat yogurt, nonfat milk), carbs (eg. oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, wheat bread, wheat pasta), and veggies. I usually eat my food as is or put a light sauce on top. With every packaged food, it's important to look at the ingredients and nutritional information to keep out the added sugar, saturated fat, and sodium and keep track of your caloric and protein intake. Throughout the day, I snack on a variety of foods like fruit, almonds, veggies, crackers, or tortilla chips with hummus or salsa. About an hour or two before bed I also eat a snack like a banana with peanut butter or a granola bar because that's when I get hungry again and to give myself some extra energy for my run the next day since I don't eat anything in the morning before my run. I also drink lots of water throughout the day.

         

Breakfast: Perfect Bar (17 g), nonfat plain yogurt (22 g) with banana, Fair Life nonfat milk (13 g), kale banana smoothie. *Protein counts in parentheses. A breakfast high in protein is good for muscle recovery, and keeps you energized & less hungry throughout the day. 

            This evening, I watched a free movie at the outdoor Plaza called "Groundhog Day". I also treated myself to a kids size ice cream. It is okay to have something sweet every once in awhile, but in moderation (small serving size and watch the calorie count). My favorite desserts are fruit, dark chocolate, and 80 calorie vanilla ice cream.

           I would recommend watching what you eat even if you are healthy because clean eating really does energize you for the day, pick up your mood, give you the nutrients your body needs to perform well (both physically and mentally), and helps prevent diet-related conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes.