help with food diet

superbad50

Hi all ,

As explained in a previous forum , I always feel sick , constant colds , sinus infections , mucus discharge etc etc .

I started training for the marathon approx 12 weeks ago and to be honest I have had these symptoms the whole time . I would be more of a marathon recreational runner than a serious runner but none the less ive managed to get myself up to 18 miles . I always had a basic level of fitness , ie playing soccer , going the gym. here is what i have being eating . I dont think you will be impressed so here it goes

brekie : weetabix or blanflakes with linseeds , plus coffee with one sugar and a glass of smoothie

mid lunch - maybe a tracker nut and chocalate bar with a banana

lunch : would either have a chicken salad roll or go for a dish in the college , could be anything from lasagne , burger and fries to carvery style dinner , such as bacon , veg and potatoes . If still hungry i would then have a vegetable soup

some more coffee after lunch

dinner : either rice , pasta , or potatoes with fish or meat , mostly chicken . i would eat fish maybe twice a week , the same with chicken

before workout i would take , either an isotonic sports drink or a preworkout supplement in the form of jack 3d . After workout i consume a post recovery drink in the form of RAM3, which consists of 30 grams of protein and 60 grams of carbs , high sugar carbs

To add , I suffer with a anxiety related illness . I feel my immune system has taken a bashing .

Supplement front i take 2000mg of b comples, 1000mg of vitamin c with bioflavonaids , some garlic and omega 3 .

on the alcohol front Most weeks i would consume under the recommended weekly allowance of 20 units , dont binge drink , maybe have 2 or 3 pints twice a week

Right lads / ladies . hit me . how to i far in terms of my diet ? go easy:)

EileenG

Rubbish diet, and explains why you are sick so frequently.

I know marathon runners are told to carb load, and that's obviously what you are trying to do, but you are loading at the expensive of good nutrition. You have very little fresh food in there, your carbs are processed and you have nothing like enough protein and fat.

Try eggs for breakfast instead of all those carbs. Make a big omlette with eggs and mushrooms, peppers, spinach, whatever else you fancy. Eat your fruit whole, not as a smoothie. Try to stick to Irish fruit, not ones with lots of air miles.

Try a handful of raw nuts or a cottage cheese instead of tracker bars. You know they are rubbish.

Cut back on the amount of bread you are eating. If you must eat, then keep it for your pre-workout meal.

I would add some vitamin D to your supps. You are not getting enough from your diet, and in this weather, you are not getting it from the sun.

superbad50

EileenG wrote: »

Rubbish diet, and explains why you are sick so frequently.

I know marathon runners are told to carb load, and that's obviously what you are trying to do, but you are loading at the expensive of good nutrition. You have very little fresh food in there, your carbs are processed and you have nothing like enough protein and fat.

Try eggs for breakfast instead of all those carbs. Make a big omlette with eggs and mushrooms, peppers, spinach, whatever else you fancy. Eat your fruit whole, not as a smoothie. Try to stick to Irish fruit, not ones with lots of air miles.

Try a handful of raw nuts or a cottage cheese instead of tracker bars. You know they are rubbish.

Cut back on the amount of bread you are eating. If you must eat, then keep it for your pre-workout meal.

I would add some vitamin D to your supps. You are not getting enough from your diet, and in this weather, you are not getting it from the sun.

hi ,

I include protein with every meal , is this not enough ? milk with breakfast , meat and cheese with most lunches and again either fish and chicken for dinner and most nights i would have more milk with cereal before bedtime .

eating fruit in portions was on my agenda and i am looking into vitamin D , read some good reviews on it. i don't think i do eat a lot of bread , no more the 3 pieces of wholegrain a day , is this too much ?

the only fresh fruit i would have would be in the form of salads and veg with my lunch and dinner with the odd vegetable soup . I would have approx 2 to 3 pieces of whole fruit a day , maybe a banana , a plum and an apple .

on the fat content what would you recommend ? I didn't realise i was consuming a lot of processed carbs , i take it you mean in the form of simple sugars , ie with my coffee and potatoes etc .

tnx for your advice .

EileenG

Milk is not really a significant source of milk unless you are downing liters of it. All those cereals and pasta are processed carbs too. Sugar and processed carbs stress your immune system, so you're more likely to get sick.

For fats, go for oily fish, nuts, avocado, olive oil on salads, stuff like that.

Increase your intake of vegetables as well as whole fruit. When they say "five a day" at least three of those should be veg, ideally leafy greens.

superbad50

EileenG wrote: »

Milk is not really a significant source of milk unless you are downing liters of it. All those cereals and pasta are processed carbs too. Sugar and processed carbs stress your immune system, so you're more likely to get sick.

For fats, go for oily fish, nuts, avocado, olive oil on salads, stuff like that.

Increase your intake of vegetables as well as whole fruit. When they say "five a day" at least three of those should be veg, ideally leafy greens.

ok thanks for that update. Are there any cereals that are not processed , weetabix are generally low in sugar ? on the pasta front , i take it that white rice and potatoes are in the same bracket as pasta in terms of being processed . would substituting from white to wholegrain solve this problem. Any suggestions on what i could add to my fish besides salad and vegetable. I do think i would miss my spuds too much if i gave them up

EileenG

Porridge is not a bad cereal, as long as you don't put sugar or honey etc on it. Some of the whole grain, sugar-free muselis are not bad, but make sure they are not loading it with silly amounts of dried fruit. You are probably better making your own.

Boiled potatoes are not too bad, much better than pasta. Even brown pasta and bread are still very processed, and not nearly as nutritious as you'd think. Get adventurous with your vegetables and load up your plate with them.

superbad50

EileenG wrote: »

Porridge is not a bad cereal, as long as you don't put sugar or honey etc on it. Some of the whole grain, sugar-free muselis are not bad, but make sure they are not loading it with silly amounts of dried fruit. You are probably better making your own.

Boiled potatoes are not too bad, much better than pasta. Even brown pasta and bread are still very processed, and not nearly as nutritious as you'd think. Get adventurous with your vegetables and load up your plate with them.

Cheers. have already made some changes to my diet and already i feel a lot more energised , a lot stronger in myself.

thanks for your help