Healthy Eating For A 5km Run Kick Start Your Diet

Looking for some motivation to help you improve your eating habits and get more active, why not use your Treeathlon training programme as the perfect excuse to kick start a healthy eating plan too?

Having a goal provides great inspiration. With the right training, combined with a healthy diet, not only will your fitness levels improve but you can learn to make some healthy changes that will really benefit your overall health and wellbeing in the long term. So where should you start?

Fuel for running

Think of your body like a car – if it is filled up with the wrong type of petrol it won’t go very far! The body is the same – if we eat the wrong types of food and don’t top up with important nutrients that we need every day, the body will also begin to run at less than its best. To maximise your energy stores you need to keep your muscle energy stores topped up each day, try these 5 top tips:

1.Whatever your activity level it is important to base your meals and snacks on starchy carbohydrate foods, this provides the main fuel for exercise

Breakfast choices – breakfast cereals e.g. wholegrain cereal with semi skimmed milk or soya milk and chopped banana or wholemeal toast with reduced fat margarine and jam or a small can of baked beans on thick sliced toast
Quick snack ideas – Sandwich made with a low fat filling such as ham salad, tuna with low fat mayonnaise, houmous and salad, or try jacket potato and baked beans, pasta salad (but watch the mayonnaise!), bagel with low fat cream cheese
Main meal ideas – pasta with a vegetable based sauce, chicken stir-fry with rice or noodles, spaghetti bolognaise or chilli con carne made with extra lean mince, grilled salmon with new potatoes and salad. For dessert fruit or fruit salad or low fat dairy or soya yogurts make good desserts or snacks anytime of day

2. A word about fat Watch the amount of fat in your diet. Fat is converted to energy much more slowly than the carbohydrate and our body normally has plenty of this fuel in reserve so there is no need to eat a lot! Although some fat is essential eating too much can lead to weight gain and may lead to heart disease. Cut down on fatty foods especially those high in saturated fat, choose lean cuts of meat, chicken and fish and use lower fat dairy foods or soya dairy free alternatives. Remember to fill up on plenty of fruit and vegetables – go for the 5 a day goal.

3. Don’t forget your fluids! Keeping hydrated is important for us all and we should aim to drink at least 8 glasses of fluid each day (juice, squash, water or tea all count). The more active you are the more you need to drink. Make sure you are well hydrated before you go for a run, and then take drinks during the run. Use training sessions to grow used to drinking during exercise.

4. Food and drink before the run Fuelling up with a small snack an hour or so before a run will help top up your energy reserves. Stick with foods you're familiar with and ones that aren't too high in fat or fibre. Don’t leave it until the last minute, you may get a stitch on the run !

5. After the run After running try to take a high carbohydrate snack and plenty of water immediately after to replenish those tired muscles and to rehydrate. Then sit down later to a well-deserved healthy meal

Healthy snacks for after exercise

• banana
• bagel or slice of toast
• malt loaf
• fruit smoothie
• dried apricots
• cereal bar
• Alpro soya dairy free alternative to yogurt
• Bowl of breakfast cereal
• Alpro soya Shake

A 3 day menu plan

A healthy diet is all about balance and including soya in your diet is a healthy decision. Soya is low in saturated fat, naturally lowers cholesterol and is a good source of Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids.

Alpro soya produce a range of delicious soya products including alternatives to milk and yogurt as well as drinks and desserts. So why not take a healthy decision by including some soya in your diet.