The Lunchtime Crowd
People who run during lunch hours sometimes find that hunger gets the better of them. That's because if you ate breakfast at 6am, you've gone six hours without food. By noon, your fuel from breakfast is long gone and your blood sugar may start to dip. Rather than increasing the size of your breakfast (which may just leave you feeling sluggish), you should bring a light, pre-run snack to work.
Remember the following three points as you run:
1) Timing Eat one to four hours before your run to allow enough time to food to leave your stomach.
2) Quantity Eat 100-400 calories, depending upon your body size and what you had for breakfast.
3) Content Select foods that are rich in carbohydrate, low in fat and moderately high in nutrients. Try these mid-morning snacks:
•A breakfast or energy bar with five grams of fat or less
•One slice of whole-wheat toast topped with fruit spread
•A 75g serving of dried fruit with a can of vegetable juice
•One packet of instant oatmeal made with skimmed milk
Post-run lunch
The obvious problem with lunch-hour exercise is that you don't have time for lunch. But you need fluid and food to recover and fuel your brain for the rest of the working day. Packing your own lunch becomes a must - unless you have a work cafeteria where you can grab food for desktop dining. Packed lunches don't have to take a lot of time. Try these tips:
•Opt for convenience and shop for lunch items that save time, such as yoghurts, raisins, nuts and cereal bars
•Always add fruit. Toss one or two pieces of fruit in your lunch bag for a reliable source of nutrient-packed carbohydrate
•Make the most of leftovers. Choose any food from the previous night's dinner that you've already packed in a sealed container ready for transport, reheating and eating.
By Liz Applegate
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