Knowing how to eat is extremely important for those who run a marathon or do any other physical activities, since much of the performance you have when it comes to activating your body for sport will depend on how nourished the body is and how well you train. If you are going to run a marathon and you need to know how to eat to run a marathon, here we will tell you how.
Instructions for fueling for a marathon
- To fuel yourself properly for a marathon, you should start your diet 12 weeks before your competition. You must have a strict schedule in which you will meet 3 to 5 meals per day. Every day after running, you will need to eat something high in protein so as not to affect your muscle development.
- A lean beef steak 30 minutes after running will suffice. After 1 hour, you can already eat in better quantity. Give preference to pasta and rice that will provide carbohydrates to your body, which is what it needs most.
- Eliminate fat as best you can. It is important not to confuse a lot of protein, a lot of carbohydrates, and a lot of calories, with fat. Avoid eating saturated fats and fats in general. These will not give you energy or nourish your body; rather they will damage your gut.
- You can consume butter or olive oil as an alternative, but never exaggerate their consumption.
- Also avoid the consumption of alcoholic beverages, soft drinks with gas, sweetened or with artificial flavors, refined flour, and refined sugar, junk food such as pizzas, hamburgers, fried chicken, French fries and vegetable fat. Consuming this kind of food will only provide substances to your body that will make your digestion more difficult, fatiguing you, constipating you and slowing down your performance when running a marathon.
- Give preference to natural fruit juice, natural water, beverages without preservatives or prefabricated products with artificial flavors and sweeteners (unless you have diabetes, in which case it is correct to look for another alternative to common sugar).
- Eat cereals such as oatmeal, flaxseed, wheat, rice and corn. Eat fruits and vegetables, fish, milk, eggs, lean meat, preferably beef, and above all, drink plenty of natural water. These are the foods you should eat before a marathon.
- With a good diet before the marathon you will be able to perform better in the toughest moments and get more strength and run faster in the moments in which you feel better physically.
What do you need to fuel for a marathon?
- Constancy
• Discipline
Tips for fueling up for a marathon
- One day before your marathon, eat a lot of carbohydrates, you don’t have to stuff yourself with food, but you do have to eat pasta, for example.
• On the day of the marathon it is recommended that you eat something light, a ham and egg sandwich is an excellent option.
