hi there,

So I am 3 weeks on Monday in, I have kept active and this week have stepped up running as I am due to run a 10K on Sunday, I have run a 5 and 7K this week without increasing calories, in fact most day my fitness pal warns me I am not having enough as I do cycle and walk also. I feel I might need extra fuel for Sunday or not, its hard to judge. When I am running I can tell that my energy is lower which I equate to no carbs, but I am just back running after an injury..

Any advice greatly received.

Hi Saloh

I run regular 5 k and the odd 10 k but don’t find I need more than about 40 g of seeds/nuts as fuel just before a run. It is not much volume and therefore I don’t feel it heavy in my tummy, but find it gives me the energy I need. Not that I am fast, about 30 min for a 5 k but I found that I ran faster as the weight came off – initially I was much slower! I am now doing a second round of 800cal to drop the extra weight I have, prob 10kg but I’ll be happy to lose 7kg. First round it didn’t seem to matter being on the 800cal – I always run faster first thing in the morning before breakfast anyway, rather than after a day in the office (definitely a lark not an owl!)

Julia

Hi all, I could also do with some advice with running. I started about 10 weeks ago on the NHS C2 5k and now run 2-3 times a week (5k-10k) and have signed up to do a 10 mile run in April. A friend of mine regularly runs marathons and says you need to eat lots of carbs in the days before a race. I’ve cut out potatoes, bread,rice and pasta and since doing so my blood sugars have really dropped as has the amount of insulin I take.
What can I replace the starchy carbs with so that I get enough fuel for a race?

Runners carb load to increase their glycogen stores. Generally (if I remember correctly) these stores only last for about 90mins and carbs are eaten (as in gels) at intervals to prevent running out aka hitting the wall. However, if you become fat adapted, as happens with the BSD, you can run without running out of fuel as there is more fat available in the body than glycogen. Keeping hydrated is important though. There are many recipes for healthy home made energy bars that do not use sugar. Trail mix or nuts and seeds can help too. Try googling fat adapted running ther’s lots of info on it. As you probably know, you need to trial the best nutrition, refuelling strategy well before your race. Not a good idea to leave to the last minute. And not a good idea to suddenly start carb loading in the days before your race if you are very low carb generally as your stomach may well rebel. Good Luck for April I hope it goes well for you.