Advice on recovery, fuelling for hard sessions and races, and how to make the most of your supermarket trips during lockdown.

These days, many of us have extra free time on our hands. For athletes, this poses the risk of overtraining, but it can also be an opportunity to work on the small weaknesses that tend to plague our training. Do you usually lack sleep? Do you struggle to find the time to do your stretches and conditioning? Did you never quite get around to putting together a strength training plan? Now is the time!

For many of us that weakness is nutrition. Getting our diet and our food right is absolutely crucial not just to get the most out of our training, but also to stay healthy and perform at our best on race day. So we teamed up with nutritionist Anya Mustard, Head of Nutrition at Pure Package, and asked our athletes to send in their questions. Along with her expert professional opinion, we’re treated to a few pictures of her recent homemade meals as suggestions for lockdown cooking. Let’s tune into our bodies and get that feeding right!

What is the best recovery meal?

How well we perform is as much about recovery as the training we put in. After exercise it is important to replenish depleted glycogen stores. Interestingly, training in itself causes an increase in glycogen synthesis (the replenishing of stores) post-exercise which lasts approximately 2 hours. So, it makes sense to take advantage of this window to refuel. Although, unless you are going to be running again within 24 hours, it is likely that you will have enough time to replenish those glycogen stores over a longer period of time. So if you are a long distance runner smashing out big mileage every day (or even twice a day) you need to stay on top of those glycogen stores!

Basically, when we go from rest to exercise our body switches from burning a combination of fat and carbs to predominately carbs although training at low intensities induces a higher level of fat burning. Post-training, however, our body switches to burning fat and sparing our glucose to begin replenishing our depleted glycogen stores. Taking these factors into account, focus mainly on replenishing those glycogen stores with complex carbohydrates and pairing this with lean protein and healthy fats.

Refuel - have a small protein and carb-rich snack after training or racing. It should contain the magic 20g protein for optimum growth and repair of muscle.

Repair- within 2 hours eat a substantial meal combining carbs, protein and healthy fats.

Rest - get a good night sleep as this is when most of your muscle repair will occur.

When and what should I eat before a hard session or a race?

Depending on the type of training/race, different factors – such as intensity and time on feet – affect how you should be fueling your body. This is because these will dictate how your body uses its energy. Most athletes do (and should) focus on carbohydrate as their main fuel source to ensure that you have full glycogen storage in your liver and muscles. During training and races your body will be predominantly using carbs, whether it be for longevity or intensity.

As a rule of thumb, feeding with carbs prior to exercise should be done several hours or even 24 hours in advance. For example, if you train in the mornings, it may be better to carb load the evening before. Aim for a balance of complex carbs/foods that appear low on the glycaemic index (GI) (e.g. oats, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, quinoa, beans, etc) combined with lean protein (poultry, fish and legumes) and healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados). Higher ranked GI foods (e.g. sports drinks, gels, bars) may be a good idea closer to the time of exercise (around 30mins) or after 60mins of exercise to top up glucose levels, but they won’t particularly impact glycogen stores (more on that later).

How many calories should I be eating on a big training day?

This question is very specific to each individual and there are many things to consider. First of all, the amount of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) that you require is calculated when we know 2 things: your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - that is the number of calories that your body requires to perform basic life-sustaining functions; and your total energy expenditure (TEE) which is the amount of exercise you do weekly. Therefore, to answer this may take a bit of background research.

Bear in mind, however, that when you do high intensity and endurance training, although the calorie content is important, the specific components of your diet should be addressed. That is, the ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat has to be dialed in properly to make sure you are fueling for your performance. For example, 1,000 calories from grapes is unlikely to help you perform as well as a fully balanced meal.

I'm sat near the kitchen all day and the urge to snack all day is bigger than ever. What could I make or buy to have close by as an alternative to biscuits?

We’re all feeling the temptations at the moment with working from home becoming the norm. What many of us have not adjusted to yet is the change of routine which includes our eating habits. When snacks are only a couple of steps away rather than being at our local coffee shop, it’s much harder to say no. First of all, I would say that snacking is not bad in itself. Just be mindful that every time we eat is an opportunity to fuel our body. This is an especially important factor to remember for athletes.

First off, address why you are snacking. Is it boredom, a craving or just because someone else is having a snack? It has been argued that cravings are actually signals from our body telling us it is deficient in something, but the counter arguments suggest that they arise to satisfy our mind rather than our body. Intuitive eating may be a good concept to follow in this respect. Ask yourself if you really need something before reaching for the biscuit tin.

If you do want to regularly incorporate snacks into your routine, embrace the opportunity to fuel your body the right way. Think of making healthier swaps from your usual vices. Swap biscuits for low sugar oatcakes. Nairns make some delicious ones, for example. When you do have time, homemade snacks are by far the preferred option. High protein snacks are great to satisfy a sweet tooth and keep you fuller for longer. Try greek yogurt with a handful of nuts, hard boiled eggs and half an avocado, medjool dates stuffed with a little nut butter, homemade flapjacks or crudités with hummus. 

We're making limited supermarket trips, so what's good to buy that is both long-lasting and high in nutritional value?

First of all, making fewer trips is not only recommended but cheaper. It just takes a little more planning. Making a weekly meal plan can give your shopping some structure so you don’t find yourself needing to go back to the shops later in the week. In addition, the way you store your food really affects its shelf-life. For example, storing your mushrooms in brown paper bags, leaving your tomatoes out of the fridge and adding an apple into your bag of potatoes extends their lifespan.

Long-lasting foods live in the pantry so stock up on whole grains, nuts and seeds, tins of beans, legumes or tuna and jars of nut butter and tahini. These are highly nutritious and can be added into loads of dishes. As with the fresh foods, the following seem to last the longest: onions, cabbage, garlic, squash, apples and beetroot.

Use your freezer! Either buy already frozen veggies or portion out fresh foods and pop them in there. When buying meat or fish, reach to the back of the shelf to get a later expiration date. Foods such as avocados, berries and salad items can go off quite fast. But that doesn’t mean they are useless. You can try eating them differently. Try making a quick guacamole with that brown avocado, a berry compote with those soft raspberries, whizzing old fruit into smoothies or grilling your sad-looking lettuce leaves or adding spinach/rocket straight into your sauces so they wilt a little.

What are your thoughts on trendy diets such as keto, paleo, low-carb or high-protein? Is there such a thing as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ calories?

This is one of my favourite topics, so thank you for a great question! These are often called ‘fad’ diets because they are often short-lived and unsustainable in the long-term. Low-carb diets such as the keto or paleo diets can be useful in the short-term for some people. Those wanting to lose weight, for instance. You may have also heard of some ultra-endurance athletes who are following the keto diet. In that context the diet is designed to help train your body to function on its fat stores rather than using glycogen. This is called ketosis. It’s important that when considering placing your body into ketosis that you keep your running goals in mind as it is only really beneficial for the ultra-distance event. Under ketosis, you’re very likely to actually hinder your performances over the traditional distances such as the 5k, 10k or even marathon because your body won’t have the glycogen it needs to push hard and run fast. Therefore, I wouldn’t recommend this diet to an enthusiastic club runner doing a bit of everything all year round.

A high-protein diet may be beneficial for those wanting to gain muscle and may help your body to burn more fat. It’s important to note that when you increase one macronutrient the other two are lowered. For a high protein diet, this would mean that you carb and fat intake would also be reduced to meet your daily calorie goals. Again, this is purely training-specific. If you have function on high weekly mileage, carbs and a normal protein intake are going to be key to your performance.

To answer the point about good/bad calories, think of calories as units of energy - whilst technically all calories are equal, getting your calories from carbs, protein or fats will undoubtedly impact the body in different ways. For example, carbohydrates are mostly used as our main source of energy. Protein is vital for the growth and repair of muscle after workouts and fat is a secondary source of energy and supports the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. It’s therefore important to base your meals and snacks around your lifestyle and what you are looking to achieve.

What signs can I identify in my body to diagnose if I am effectively balancing my macro nutrients?

Macro nutrients refer to carbohydrates, protein and fat and, yes, there are certainly tell-tale signs if you are deficient in each one. A lack of carbohydrates can present itself in the short-term as general fatigue due to low blood sugar levels- mentally and physically. This would be especially noticeable when exercising. Long runs, for example, would be extremely challenging. Other physical symptoms include mood swings - because carbohydrates play a major role in the production of the ‘feel good’ hormone serotonin. Eating few carbs and vegetables may also start the domino effect of slowed digestion, bloating and constipation due to a reduced fibre intake. In addition, without enough glucose your brain functions begin to deteriorate and you may feel lightheaded, foggy and have a short temper. To avoid these unwelcome effects, base your meals around whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Whilst most people do manage to meet their daily recommended amount of protein, those who are malnourished or follow a strict exercise diet may have an insufficient intake of protein. When we are deficient we typically see a decrease in muscle mass synthesis, ultimately altering body composition. It also increases the likelihood of experiencing stress fractures. Other changes you may notice would be brittle hair and nails, in part because the body shuts down hair and nail growth to preserve its protein stores for other more essential functions. Find protein in meat, fish, tofu, dairy products, nuts and seeds as well as beans and legumes.

Fat is often overlooked by runners, however, I cannot emphasize enough just how essential it is in balancing your macronutrients and your health in general! With over double the number of calories per gram of food in comparison to carbs and protein, fat is extremely energy-dense. I do want to outline the difference between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ fats. Often if you are seeing the signs of a fat deficiency in your diet it is likely due to a lack of healthy, omega 3 fatty acids coming from nutrient-rich foods such as salmon, nuts, avocados and seeds. ‘Unhealthy’ fats, on the other hand, are commonly found in animal products high in saturated fat such as butter, red meat, cream, cheese and processed foods (which contain trans fats). Do bear in mind that these foods can also have a place in your diet and that it’s all about balance.

Obvious signs that may indicate a fat deficiency include feeling more hungry than usual, experiencing prolonged inflammation in the body (like joint pain), dry skin or rashes, brittle hair or even hair loss and a lowered immune system. A little extra note to be mindful of is the fat soluble vitamins - A, E, D and K. These are all essential to protect us from some of the deficiency associated health issues mentioned above. Whilst most of these vitamins are found in fruits and vegetables, we can increase the absorption of them by increasing the amount of healthy fats to our diet (e.g. olive oil, avocados, salmon).