Fueling advice from SLB+

This is an advise from SLB+ which discusses some rather important points of fueling before, during and after run. In my experience this can be applied also to biking as I learned the hard way few weeks ago.

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I cut and paste this from one of my other postings where somebody asked what to eat in the early hours before a run, hopefully it may help you out.

The problem you are encountering running in the early hours on an empty stomach is that you have exactly zero fuel in the fire. While you body can adjust it is really not advisable to do this especially if you are running in excess of an hour.

For a quick pick up that will not 'sit heavy' as you beat the street, have a glass of orange juice; a great natural carb or a 'Naked' juice mixed with a measure of whey protein, you can mix it the night before and leave it in the fridge.

If you are a slow starter and are not heading out for 45mins plus oatbran or oatmeal or something like Nature's Path Optimum is pretty good, you should be looking for complex carbs that release into the body over time, i.e. whole grains etc, stay away from simple sugars; dough-nuts which will give you an instant sugar high and then let you bonk; feel exhausted

Also if you are running for more than an hour you should be hydrating and consuming calories; energy gel/bars etc during that time to avoid bonking and don't forget to refuel when you get home, it’s a great time to pop a multivit and have an energy drink.

By not eating and running first thing your body is actually consuming lean muscle, your body is amazingly resilient in hanging onto fat, in fact you would actually be better off having cold pizza from the night before rather than not having anything.

Also don't forget that by eating you will be increasing your metabolism so it has a double bonus effect.

Alex suggestion of fresh fruit is good but do not go for something too sugary, runners like bananas as they are ounce for ounce one, if not the, highest calorific food, they are also high in carbs and B vitamins which you need for energy creation and they are high in Potassium which is important in electrolyte balance, nerve conduction and muscle contraction, beating of the heart, energy production and protein synthesis - so 'nanna's are good!

Also age plays a important role, I am not sure how old you are, but if you're like allnighter you can be more abusive and if more like Alex less so, if you fall somewhere in the middle like most of us here, then now's the time to sew the seeds that will extend your qulaity of exercise and life.

There's a tonne more on this topic as you can imagine but the crazy thing is that you need to eat to loose weight.