Runners who are training have appetites rivaling teenage boys, pregnant women, and black bears gearing up for hibernation. We can hardly last two hours without eating, never mind the typical hours of 9-5. Planning lunch should be a priority for every runner because a poorly timed or unhealthy lunch can wreck training.
While many workers go out to lunch every day, it can get expensive if you’re on a budget, and it’s difficult to know exactly how much food you’re eating. However, brown-bagging it and packing your lunch for work, can deteriorate to a dry turkey sandwich, or peanut butter and jelly and a bag of chips. To prevent this, many people assemble their lunch the night beforehand and use leftovers from previous dinners.
Here are the rules for lunch during training, and some ideas for healthy and interesting lunches brought from home.
If you run before work, the first few hours of work should be laden with snacks. To properly replenish glycogen stores, build muscle, and recover quickly, you should consume a steady intake of carbs and protein for two hours after your run. The rest of the day should include fully balanced meals.
Running before work
Morning snack options:
Lunch meal options:
Afternoon snack options:
At this point after your run, you don’t need to eat if you aren’t hungry.
Running after work
If you run after work, your afternoon snack is most important. 1-2 hours before you plan to run, consume carb-rich foods to maximize glycogen stores. You’ll need them, especially if your work day exhausts you!
Morning snack options:
Lunch meal options:
Afternoon snack options:
Be sure to carbo-load here! Consider eating your lunch meal later in the day, so the carbs are recently digested for your run. Otherwise, choose starchy snacks like a baked potato, half of a peanut butter sandwich, or baked pita chips with hummus.
Rest day
If it’s a rest day, your hunger should guide eating habits. You burn far fewer calories on days you don’t run (obviously), but if you still eat like a Viking it can lead to weight gain. Eat balanced meals, and try to keep junk food to a minimum. Don’t ruin your days of hard work by eating 12 pizzas in a row!
Morning snack options:
Lunch options:
Afternoon snack options:
Get some extra fiber and vitamins in the mix with chopped fresh veggies and Ranch dip made with plain Greek yogurt.
What are your favorite brown-bag lunches?