A balanced diet (a fortiori an athlete’s diet) should be based not only on the proper distribution of nutrients, but on the regularity of meals throughout the day. This caloric breakdown is essential to ensure energy requirements and avoid both excessive weight gain and nutritional deficiencies.
For the runner, in particular, breakfast is not only important, but essential. Foods eaten in the morning may be able to improve sports performance. Breakfast should account for 15 to 20% of daily calories, (no less than 12-13% and no more than 20%)
Since in the life of amateurs it is necessary to schedule workouts according to daily commitments, it is most important to allocate nutrients according to the time of day when the running session will be carried out. The most frequent situations in the life of a runner, can be basically three: it may happen to run early in the morning, in the lunch break, in the late afternoon or in the evening.
In fact, the time of day when training takes place can affect the athlete’s entire day, starting right at breakfast. Three totally different moments that require a different kind of breakfast. Today I’m going to explain what breakfast to have if you run as soon as you wake up. For each moment I propose two alternatives: a “classic” breakfast and one for those who practice the Zone diet.
Running on awakening (fasting)
If you are an early morning, fasting runner, the first thing you need to know is that you have “scraped the bottom of the barrel” on carbohydrates. In fact, glycid reserves are at their lowest. During the night, in fact, part of it is consumed to support brain activity. Aerobic training (such as running) performed in a fasted state contributes significantly to the depletion-that is, the almost total depletion-of stores. The choice to run fasting and waking is often made by marathon runners to adapt the body to use lipids, thus inducing glycid savings. In any case, if you are an “albarunner,” your post-workout breakfast should be aimed at replenishing carbohydrate stores.
“CLASSIC” BREAKFAST:
- cup of tea or coffee + 5 g of sugar (1 teaspoon)
- 30 g of jam
- 60 g of whole wheat bread (about 3 slices)
- 100 g of fruit (e.g., an apple or a small pear )
- 125 g of whole yogurt (one jar)
Total 380-400 kcal (carbohydrates 71-75 g , protein 12-13 g)
Advantages: the high carbohydrate content, (especially simple), provided by this breakfast allows for the restoration of muscle glycogen stores, which are almost depleted (or nearly so) if the training session has been conducted, in whole or in part, at a medium to high pace.
“ZONE” BREAKFAST
- 8 balanced cookies
- 3 almonds or walnuts
- 250 ml semi-skimmed milk (1 cup)
Total 380-400 kcal (carbohydrates 38-40 g, protein 26-28 g)
Benefit: As recommended in the Zone diet, this proposal is designed to keep insulin levels low. Dried fruits provide not only an important supply of vegetable fats, but also useful minerals for the runner. Compared with the other proposals, the protein intake is higher in percentage, but not in absolute value as it does not result from a real increase in protein share, but from a consensual reduction in carbohydrates and total daily energy share.
In the following insights, I will explain the appropriate breakfast for those who choose to run during their lunch break or late afternoon/evening.
Editor’s note: The meals listed refer to an average male runner who is 1.75 m tall with a weight of 68 kg (BMI 22.2) who trains 3 times a week and are given for illustrative purposes.
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