Kristin

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Rhode Island, United States

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Fuel for life

I love the term "food as fuel", because that is really what food is for us- fuel for our bodies in life and activity, even fuel for our minds. Thats why I feel good nutrition is so important- it's like putting premium gas in your car; it just gives it that little extra boost that's good in the long run. Ok, maybe that's more applicable to the nutrition aspect than to your car, but you get my point.
I used to not have a snack before I ran in the morning; just a couple sips of water and I was out the door. Now I realize what a bad idea this was. Your body WANTS food as fuel, and it NEEDS extra fuel- especially first thing in the morning when your stores are depleted and you need the energy to exercise. Now, I have a small snack each and every time I run- whether it be 1/2 a clif bar, some bread and PB, or this morning I had 1/2 a banana with 1 tsp all natural PB. Delicious, and I felt super strong during my great run!

I had hoped to be able to run outside this morning, but we had more unexpected rain, so I settled on a steady 35 minute run on the track, and then headed back for breakfast.
I'm finishing up my box of ezekiel cereal now that I'm doubling my portions of it, but it's still good while it's lasting! For extra calories I had 2 servings instead of my usual 1.5, with 1 cup hemp milk and the other half of my banana. PERFECT fuel for starting my day- I have a chem exam this afternoon, so I defiantely need those healthy carbohydrates to fuel my brain!

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

5 comments:

No Longer Using said...

hi kristen! just curious about your running. are you a racer? and when you run 35 minutes, how far do you usually go? [i guess the question is are you tracking distance and pace, etc.]. i love your blog, btw, i share a lot of your feelings about nutrition, food as fuel, and overall balance.

Kristin said...

I'm not a competitive racer but yes, I love to race! I try to race all throughout the April-November season. I usually run just about 37 minutes, I round it to 35- my pace is currently a steady 7:30 mile, and I run miles on the indoor track when I run my "35" minute run. My 40 minute runs are usually around 5.5 (whatever I can get in) and my 45 minutes are 6 miles!

I'm glad you enjoy the blog =)

Sarah said...

It's so true that food is fuel. Sometimes I have a hard time of thinking of it like that (it used to be food is the enemy) but I'm working on it...Just a small tidbit that I wanted to add is that in my nutrition class food and calories are always referred to as "energy" and to maintain weight you need to maintain a constant "energy balance" I just love looking at it that way---food is the energy your body needs to survive!

Matt said...

i have a question... you say you are upping your calories. about hoq much do you consume per day? i am a runner also and i shoot for 2800-3000.

Kristin said...

I'm actually not counting calories, because I used to be pretty restrictive about my eating so I'm trying to get away from that. I am a naturally small person, I'm only 5'1"- and I'm a female, so our calorie needs are quite different. I'm sure 2800-3000 calories is good for you, as long as your weight is staying steady throughout your training.
Personally, I am upping my calories to gain weight as well as being a runner, so my calories are defiantely much more than the average 5'1" girl, but not quite as high as yours.
I did a quick calculation of today; and I consumed about 2300 calories, give or take a few.