{"id":3925,"date":"2018-02-16T12:33:12","date_gmt":"2018-02-16T12:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/?p=3925"},"modified":"2021-09-07T08:35:19","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T08:35:19","slug":"me-running-and-my-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/club.runthrough.co.uk\/me-running-and-my-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Me, running and my food…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Me,<\/p>\n

Me, running and my food…<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have never liked food or eating much but that doesn’t mean that I have been super slim throughout my life. My vice was sugar – cakes, chocolate, biscuits and liquorice<\/em>. For the past years, I have tried to go without any sugar. However, a couple of times a year it has happened that I ‘lose<\/em>’ myself, and slowly get into a habit again, but then I’m able to stop. I’m lucky, because this wasn’t the case in the past – it used to be extremely difficult to stop eating sweets once I had started<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I got more control over my body and mind when I stopped drinking alcohol five years ago<\/strong>, and it has been one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I keep thinking that maybe alcohol just didn’t suit me, I have been wondering is it possible to be allergic to alcohol … hmm<\/em>? I didn’t feel particularly bad whilst I was drinking but much better when I stopped: now I have better sleep at night, I seem to have more willpower and more control over my body and mind, and I just feel somehow cleaner and fresher than before!<\/p>\n

Well, needless to say that after I skipped alcohol and sugar from my diet I have never had any worries about my weight. It has been quite stable, around 63-64kg<\/strong>, and I am 1.70cm<\/strong> tall. Well, until this month, when I suddenly put on three kilos<\/strong>!!<\/p>\n

The reason is that since January I’ve been running a bit more than last year. 3-4 times a week<\/strong> instead of 2-3 times a week, and I’m trying to include one long and one fast run in my weekly training. I have lined up a couple of half marathons<\/strong><\/a> over spring and summer and a full marathon in September.<\/p>\n

Well, I was two weeks into training, when I noticed that I constantly felt hungry, no matter how much I ate. The hunger kicked in as soon as an hour after a meal, and I almost got obsessed with my food – I planned my daily activities around food and meal times.<\/p>\n

I just continued with three meals a day, but never missed one, and when I was about to go out, I made sure that I had something to eat before.  My portions got bigger, though and I tried to add some extra calories. Like peanut butter on the top of honey with my morning yoghurt and more nuts. I just love to add pine nuts to any meal I’m having. I felt justified to have some chocolate now and then, but with chocolate – if I’m not conscious about it, then I would have a piece more and more often, and the number of pieces increases seamlessly.<\/p>\n

I went on to feel free to have pizza, maybe once a week, plus smaller snacks in between the meals. It all happened quite slowly not overnight, and it didn’t cross my mind that maybe I need to adjust my diet wisely, not according to my training load. I just felt happy to have a good appetite and I was happy that I liked food and eating.<\/p>\n

Now, I haven’t checked whether the weight gain is mainly fat or possible muscle growth. By visual observation I’d say 2:1, to fat<\/strong>. I can’t say I am worried about my weight gain.  It’s more about the fact that I could have managed my increasing appetite with more care by being conscious of what I’m eating. Luckily, my enormous appetite stopped on the 6th<\/sup> week of training, it was also the time I realised I have to plan what and how much I’m eating.<\/p>\n

Well, after some research on the internet and my previous knowledge about nutrition and my personal experiences, I came up with a solution, or diet plan if you wish, that suits me. I understand that we are different, our bodies and tastes, some people are more into carbohydrates and some into protein, but this works for me.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Divide breakfast<\/strong> into smaller portions and two parts. Breakfast is a very important meal for me as I am usually quite hungry in mornings.<\/p>\n