Running Smart: Hydration and Nutrition

by Joe Geronimo

Long before I was inspired to be a runner I never really drank, water that is. To be honest I cannot even tell you why. I've been running now for almost three years and my hydration habits are horrible. Research shows that an average male weighing 200 pounds needs 70 ounces of water per day to replace just every-day water loss. That does not include any extra effort or exercise. I can tell you this I don't think I've drank 70 ounces of water on a hot summer day. Throw in my running routine and it's a potential date with disaster.

I have a rule, its my own and I think it needs some modification to say the least. If I was running or racing anything less than a half marathon I would not drink water during. I never liked the "sloshing" feeling. After my run or race I might have a 16/20 ounce bottle of water and that is pretty much it, then it was "beer me!" Like I've stated I really have not been a water drinker. During the New York City marathon I carried no water but did make it through a few water stops along the course.

Over the past year I have been battling muscle injuries in my lower half, hip flexors, glutes & calves. I attribute a lot of this to my change in running shoes. I went from a stability shoe "i.e.. Brooks Adrenaline" to a more minimal drop neutral shoe as in the Brooks Pure Flow. I'm a big boned guy who hits the pavement hard when I run so I believe that lack of stability did some damage. It also didn't help that I rarely took a day off over the past two years and I ran 99% of my runs hardcore with barely a slow run. Yes I over-worked myself and I am paying the price. Fall 2013 through winter 2014 I was running 200+ miles a month in bitter cold temperatures before I fell to my injuries. My last race, the 2014 Binghamton Bridge Run half marathon, I was in so much pain I think I was crying crossing the finish line.  Recently and I mean in just the past few days I've been looking at how I am truly feeling. Muscles constantly tired, achy and sore. It hit me like a freight train, "hey dummy something else is going on here." I thought to myself: I wonder if my lack of hydration is play an integral part of my issues? After some online research, conversations with my wife, friends and trainers pointed me in the direction of hydration as a huge culprit.  

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Over the past several days I have been working very hard at hydrating myself and as of today I feel pretty darn good. My muscles don't ache and I feel quite considerably less sore than they have in a long time. This revelation of hydration came to me after my long run this past Sunday, don't ask me why. Over the last 20 years my nutrition had been terrible. This is why I weighed over 300 pounds before making some life changes. I never met a drive thru I didn't like or a foot long sub that was too big, pass me a 55 gallon drum of soda with a side of fries. In 2012 I ditched the Whopper with cheese so to speak for a more thoughtful and healthier lifestyle and it changed my life forever. I won't bore you with the details but a 3 ounce serving is VERY small. I've never been really good with nutrition.  How could I be? I work for the railroad and we were on call 24/7 365 with only a 2 hour notice to come to work. We'd work 12, 13, 14 hours a day, rest for 10 hours, and right back at it. We were zombies and I remember packing enough food to make sure I could stay awake for those long hours. Sometimes that wasn't enough and we'd find a Mickey D's or a diner. That poor nutritional lifestyle finally caught up with me and I needed to make a change. Finally, I have managed to keep my weight down with good choices and exercise. Lately though I have had this idea wrestling around my head that since I'm a runner I can eat whatever I want, WRONG! I've let things slide as of late, eating way to much candy (damn you chocolate & peanut butter), pizza, burgers, beer, etc. I love my family to death but I know when we all are together its going to be days of eating like crap.  Hey, we're Italians and we like to eat. It takes my body a full week, yes 7 days to recover from an eat-a-thon. I've gained several pounds over the last 9-10 months using this "I'm a runner" mentality and its time for me to get back on track. Its ok to enjoy that burger, pizza, beer and so forth but I am now making it a once in a while deal rather than more routine as it has been.

Don't miss out on our Nutrition for Runner's Clinic!

Feb 8, 2015

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I'd like to ask you this, do any of you struggle with hydration or nutrition? If so I would love to hear about it.

Cheers!

Joe

Eating Healthy is LAME!

by Matt Gawors

Nutrition, like exercise, is considered by many to be lifestyle, not a means to an end. What’s great about lifestyle is it can shift, but only in small increments. The human body craves nutritious and healthy food and good quality exercise. Yet because of the way we have evolved, it is easy to be self-destructive with the foods and activity patterns of modern society. I would like you as the reader, not to be defensive towards the ideas listed here. Read them, learn them, and even apply them if you wish.

I have been living a low sugar/carb, natural diet for a few years now. I stay away from most processed and high sugar foods. Though last week I visited my Aunt’s house in long island and fell away from my normal diet. She makes the greatest chocolate chip cookies known to man and just like crack-cocaine, the high of getting one is all about getting more. After eating about 12 cookies, I became nauseous (like I usually do) and felt sluggish for the next 2 days. It's easy to realize how un-healthy certain things are when you don’t have them often. But how can you move to a healthier lifestyle? It’s not as easy as a magical transformation or going cold turkey from all un-healthy foods… It’s about small lifestyle changes.

Below is a screen shot of a healthy lifestyle presentation I made for increasing athletic performance. The graph stresses the importance of taking small steps to change your lifestyle. You will notice you become stressed when your lifestyle shifts toward the less-healthy, you also become stressed (temporarily) when your lifestyle shifts to a healthier state. Only when this new stress dissipates and becomes part of your normal lifestyle should you include another healthy habit and stress the lifestyle again. (Athletes, does this sound familiar? Stress the body, rest, stress the body, rest)





How to: Try using the following steps to make small lifestyle changes healthier and happier living!

The LAME Method

Limit – Every 2-3 weeks, limit intakes of damaging nutrition. Find one “un-healthy” staple of your diet and greatly reduce your intake. Some examples would be Soda, Fast-food, or other processed foods that may be high in added sugars, hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils. This goes for activity as well, for instance, you could limit TV to two hours instead of three.

Add – Every 2-3 weeks, increase your intake of healthy nutrition. Find a healthier food to try to regularly add to your diet. These can include fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, olive oil, eggs, or even daily goals. Goals could be shown as “eating a fresh vegetable/fruit at every meal,” or eating a healthy non-sugar/carb-heavy breakfast every day. You can commit to add a 15-30 minute slow walk around the neighborhood after meals. These smalls decisions will add up over the weeks and months and slowly develop your lifestyle without stress.

Maintain – After your 2-3 week lifestyle shift ends and a new cycle begins, try to continue with the small lifestyle changes you had made recently and try to incorporate another cycle of changes with those. If you haven’t become completely accustomed to the new changes that were made, don’t incorporate anything new but take another week or two and get used to what you changed. It’s not perfect, but what lifestyle is?

Enjoy – You may find that over time you can’t imagine how you lived without the new changes. Your changes hopefully become routine and easy to remember over time. Just remember, it’s just a series of small, slow steps to healthier living. But the most important factor is to ENJOY what you are doing. If you don’t like tofu, try eggs, if you don’t like zucchini, try a cucumber instead. Tastes, preferences, and abilities all vary and there are endless possibilities to living healthy! Eat, Exercise, Enjoy!

10 Ways to Keep Off the Holiday Pounds (While Still Having Fun!)

It's that time of year again!  Those days between our Thanksgiving feasting and our New Year's binging that are full of delicious holiday treats, perhaps alcohol-laden beverages and holiday parties with lots of snacks.  This is the time of year when most of us put on a nice layer of padding that, while it may keep us warmer in the winter months ahead, none of us are too happy to see.  Who wants to give up our holiday fun and festivities when it really comes down to it, right?  So many of us rationalize our way into a bigger pants size every year.  Well, not this year!  Here's your guide to make it through this holiday season in the same pants size, while still having fun!

10.Plan Christmas Activities That Don't Revolve Around Eating

Cookie-making is an obvious and fun activity for Christmas, but the temptation is there to eat as many as you possibly can, especially during busy days where it's hard to find the time to cook healthy meals. Instead of spending days baking all kinds of calorie-heavy treats, consider doing some holiday crafts instead!  A hand-made ornament for the tree or hand-made Christmas cards are lovely holiday gifts that can be made in place of the traditional cookie plates.  Pinterest is a great resource for all kinds of holiday craft ideas and many are very simple and fun to do! Here are some craft ideas for your family to try together:

• paper snowflakes 
• making origami ornaments
• dried fruit ornaments
• stringing popcorn for your Christmas tree

9.  Take Advantage of the Snowy Weather

Despite the groans and complaints when the snow starts to fly, those of us living in areas that are lucky enough to get snow have the advantage of variety in our outdoor environment. Since variety is the spice of life, let's take advantage of it!  Whether it's going downhill or cross country skiing, winter hiking or snowshoeing, making a snowman or just taking a walk out there in our winter wonderland, getting out there in the snow to be active will not only burn calories from the act of doing whatever activity you've chosen, but just being out in the cold can burn calories simply by way of the body needing to heat itself.  Beyond that, being cold can increase your metabolism overall!  So go ahead, get out there and take advantage of the natural metabolism boost that you can gain from cold climates. 

8.  Go Caroling!

Taking a walk with a group of friends and singing Christmas carols is a quintessential Christmas activity that has mostly been lost in this day and age.  It not only gets you outside, which as we've already discussed is great for burning calories and boosting your metabolism, but walking is a great calorie burner, as well.  According to About Health, 

"A rule of thumb is 100 calories per mile are burned for a 180-pound person and 65 calories per mile for a 120-pound person"  

They also have a handy calculator for figuring out exactly how many calories you could be burning on your walk.  Most of all, you're creating fun holiday memories with your family and friends.

7.  Take a Walk (or Run) to Enjoy the Christmas Lights Instead of Driving

During this time of year, most of us venture out at least once to take a look at the Christmas light displays our neighbors have provided.  Why not take the opportunity to walk or run to see the Christmas lights instead?  In the Binghamton area, we have a group run planned to go enjoy Christmas lights as a group, but there's no reason you have to wait for someone else to plan this.  Don't forget that you'll want to dress in bright colors and reflective gear so that you're visible to drivers at night.


6.  Start Your New Year's Resolutions Early

There's no reason to wait that extra couple weeks to start in on your New Year's resolutions.  In fact, starting them immediately and then boosting your resolve when they New Year rolls around will encourage you to have at least a month of consistency with your resolution and more likelihood of keeping it up, long term.  It takes about a month of consistency to make a lifestyle change become a normal part of your life, but make sure to set reasonable goals.  Instead of broad or vague resolutions like "stop eating sugar" or "lose 10 lbs", try creating positive and smaller goal steps like "eat 5 kinds of vegetables per day".  It can also help to have a progressive plan where you add additional small goals over time to progress to your goal instead of trying to dive in headfirst.

Most areas also have a "Resolution Run": a 5k race planned on New Year's day (or sometimes New Year's Eve).  Starting a couple weeks ahead can give you a head start on being able to complete or compete in such an event.  Why not sign up now to keep you motivated to keep the calories down and the exercise up through the coming weeks?

5.  Sign up for That Event NOW, Not Later

I know, I know, most of us are a little short on cash this time of year.  Despite that fact, signing up for a spring event, whether it be your first 5k or half marathon, a triathlon, or a relay with your friends, it can be enough to motivate you to be mindful of your eating and exercise over the coming weeks and bring you through the New Year without a lot of weight gain. Remaining healthy is always an excellent use of your money.

4.  Think "Less" not "None"

It's a huge bummer to get to a holiday party and think "I'm not allowed to eat any of this."  Holiday willpower is hard enough, but add in an alcoholic drink or two and and suddenly it's completely out the window.  Instead, at that Christmas party buffet, consider just taking half a spoonful of the things you would normally want to eat and then mindfully savor every bite.  According to Mireille Guillano, author of the book French Women Don't Get Fat, the key is not to avoid the delights that life brings along, but to take a small amount and savor it slowly and fully.  Where we Americans tend to just shovel delicious things into our mouths faster, Guillano suggests taking tiny spoonfuls and focusing on really enjoying the flavor while it's in your mouth instead of immediately swallowing it in order to shovel in the next mouthful.  Mindfulness in eating can really slow you down and keep your calorie intake lower while still enjoying all your favorites this season.

3.  Eat a Healthy Snack Before Heading to That Holiday Party

This is really standard but great advice that we all need to remember during the holidays.  Arriving to a holiday party hungry is just inviting overindulgence.  The best way to combat this is to fill your stomach with some healthy alternatives before you go.  It doesn't need to consist of a full meal, but a healthy snack before you go can go a long way to help you wait a while before starting in on the buffet, while also making you more capable of serving yourself smaller portions. 

2.  Alternate Calorie-laden Drinks with Water

Most of us forget that calories taken in liquid form are still calories, but they can really pack a "punch".  Alcohol, itself, has 7 calories per gram.  That's more than carbohydrate or protein have, and nearly as many calories per gram as fat!  Most favorite holiday beverages, like egg nog or punch, include fat AND sugar in them, as well as alcohol.  Instead of continuously enjoying your favorite beverages at the holiday party, start with a tall glass of water, and then alternate a glass of your favorite calorie-laden drink with a glass of water.  Not only will this help you cut back on your calorie-intake, but it'll stave off the holiday-hangover, while still allowing you to enjoy your Christmas favorites.

1.  Use Exercise to Reduce Holiday Stress 

We all have it, this time of year: Holiday Stress!  With so many holiday preparations and parties, many of us become stressed out and exhausted by what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.  We forget that we need to take time for ourselves.  It's important to carve out time in your busy schedules to de-stress.  Whether it be a scheduled yoga class, a consistent group run, or just some time by yourself out in nature, it's important to think of yourself so that you can be relaxed and present for everyone else this time of year.

Your turn to share: What are your tips and tricks for keeping off the holiday pounds?

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses... Go Run!

Who doesn't LOVE the holidays? Spending time with family, friends and all the food (hello pie!!). However, it's usually always right in the middle of a training block or can totally screw up your workout routine. You know what I'm talking about. Here's a few common 'excuses' and some plans of action to limit them!

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Holiday Distractions

Excuse : With all the holiday distractions, I'm not motivated to exercise.

The Fix: Make a realistic plan and be consistent. Take time to set some concrete fitness goals for yourself during the holidays and share them with your family. Or commit to a road race or triathlon - Holiday races are a fun time for everyone and typically donate to a local charity.

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Holiday Travel

Excuse : I can't stick to an exercise routine because of all my holiday travel. 

The Fix: Be flexible and think ahead. Find training partners in the community or connect with local running clubs. Further, neighborhood gyms often offer special deals for travelers or mix up exercising by doing fitness routines from your favorite magazines or trying something new, like yoga!

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Holiday Meals

Excuse : I can't resist huge holiday meals.

The Fix: Cut yourself some slack, but be smart. If you're watching calories, have a plan before you indulge. Also, don't commit the common blunder of going for a long run or ride before the big feast. With a revved up appetite, you'll eat even more. Better to go to dinner with normal hunger, then burn off those carbs with a long workout the next day.  

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Finding Time

Excuse : I can't find the time to exercise.

The Fix: Get up early and enlist group support. Of course, there will be times when the best plan gets sidelined, but just keep moving- a little is better than nothing.

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Snacking and Packing

Excuse : With all these treats and goodies around, I'm constantly snacking.
The Fix: Control your cookie monster. While a few holiday meals won't set you back, constant snacking can be detrimental. But it does help to know a few tricks - Eat a small meal before you go to a party to avoid overindulging. Stay away from the bar--that glass of pinot could cause you to eat more. Fill three-quarters of a plate with healthy foods, saving a small space for treats.