The way we (post wls) are supposed to eat kind of flies in the face of current sports nutrition theory for runners. Are there any distance runners out there willing to post a little about the whole idea of ATP production for post wls runners? I'm not there yet, but I'm looking at the finish line mighty hard a ways off in my future and wondering if it's really a big issue or if medicine just needs to "catch up" with us...

Hi Sandi

When I was about to do my first 10km walk I asked the nutrionist at my surgeons office for advice for pre, during and post race diet. She specialised in Sports Nutrition at university and is a marathon runner herself. Here is what she told me:

<H1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt">Diet for Athletic Events</H1>

An athlete needs a high carbohydrate (CHO) diet pre, during and post-exercise. This is needed for muscles to work well and have heaps of energy, without CHO your body will break down muscle and you will feel exhausted sooner.

However, there is a problem that can occur with people who have had a
bypass. They can not eat enough CHO to compensate for the CHO that is
lost during exercise, so it is likely that you will feel more tired than the
average person. It is best for you to eat a combination of protein and also CHO at each meal leading up to your event, during your event and also after your event.

You may have heard of the term CARBO load, this will not be necessary for
you and can be a little dangerous is you don't know what you are doing. Two
days before your event you should consume a diet that is rich in a
combination of CHO and protein, example menu:

Breakfast: 1x vogels (wholegrain) toast with baked beans or 1 egg
Lunch: small tin of tuna with a little rice or pasta or on a cruskit (wafer/crispbread type cracker) (or 2)
Dinner: some form of protein (meat) potato and green vegies
Snacks: nuts and raisins (non-salted, non-roasted)

You should work with a diet similar to this.

Regards to your hydration, drinking fluid is very important to do the day
before and the day of your race, just keep a bottle in your hand at all
times and sip away and keep your urine a light yellow or clear colour.
There is no need to drink crazy quantities of fluid such as 3-4 L as you
will only pee it out.

During your race you should switch your fluid to one that contains some
CHO such as Horleys Replace drink or Mizone (low sugar sports drinks) as this will give you some
extra CHO for your muscles to work with, you should also take with you a
small handful of nuts and raisins to have that should last the race, just
don't eat too much too quickly as your digestion is really slowed down
during exercise and you may feel a bit uncomfortable with too much food
in your stomach. Another option is to take a protein bar with you and nibble
on bits of that during your race, just look for one that is low in fat and sugar, as that will be the easiest one for your digestive tract.

After your race the first thing you should do is drink the CHO fluid that
you have with you, then eat something like a half a banana on vogels (I put in some peanut butter too) then
follow the pre-exercise diet that you did an this will make sure your CHO
in your muscles are replaced and you will recover better and won't feel as
tired. Then revert back to a normal diet a day after the race.

***********

I hope this is of some help to you. I have stuck to this for my triathlons and has it has done me well. I was especially concerned about the recovery and I'm pleased to say I have come through with flying colours

Oh, and also, the personal trainer I signed up with just before I broke my arm said that athletes are starting to move away from the carbo-load theory now and heading toward more protein pre-race. Now could we tell them all about that or what?!

Good luck with your endeavours? When is your next event? Mine is a 10km walk 13 April. Will be 5 months since my last one. I look forward to feeeeeling the difference.

Have a great weekend. Mine has started already. Been for a 6.5km walk with hubby. First time post-op! yahoo!

Lots of love
Barb

Yes, thanks this does help me. I'm just getting a lot of conflicting info. I'm not very close to being ready for it all yet, but I'm always gazing off in the distance. I've read that until you're running more than 60 minutes, it's probably not going to be a real issue. I'm no where close to that yet!

Thanks for the informative post. hugs back

Man Barb, this is a great post!

Why is it that I'm now craving a Vogel and a Cruskit???

Great info, Barb!

I probably break all the rules. (I'm a rebel that way. LOL! j/k) Two days before each of the long-distance runs I've done, (two 1/2 and full marathons) I've made sure I'm hydrated. The evening before, I eat well-done pasta and bullion. The sodium in the bullion helps me retain the water my body will need the following day. I sip a water/gatorade mixture throughout the event and nibble on a protein bar. Immediately following the run, I eat a banana and several bites of a bagel. Although I think it's typical to feel some stress in muslces following a 1/2 and/or full marathon, I fully recover within 24 hours--even with limited training.

April 1 I will begin training for a fall 1/2 marathon and will be journaling that process. Due to medical constraints prior to each of the long runs I've done, I haven't been able to train sufficiently. I'm curious to see what my finish time will be like as a result of training, i.e., running Tues/Thurs/Saturday, and crossing training Mon/Wed/Fri . . . Sunday is for rest.

Thank you Savanah for the thorough reply. You and Barb are telling me what I was guessing would be the answer. I can't wait to read your training log!

I am not a runner but I do have a little experience in endurance events and nuitrition. I personaly have little trouble with supplements for endurnce athletics and for the most part rely on liquid calories as they are absorbed quicker. My calorie intake during an event is pretty much carbs as asking the body to digest protein actually can cause a loss of energy while the body tries to digest protein. During an event you can effectively replace 35-50% of the kcals you have expended trying any more can cause sluggishness and gastric distress. Pre event my nutritionst tells me to start tappering off on protein about 3-4 days before the event to build my glycogen stores.

Post event about 20 min is the optimum time restore lost nutrients that feed the muscles. In this time no need to worry about the calories as every calorie will go to the replacement of the lost nutrients. At this time you could do a drink that contains protein but not a lot your body needs the carbs.

THE BIG WORD IS HYDRATE. I had a bad day at work yesterday and didnt drink enough. to at mile 80 of 130 I paid for it with leg cramps.

Since I've been getting more "serious" about this, I'm experiencing terrible leg and foot and neck cramps, Damon! I'm drinking water and electrolyte stuff like mad, and everything is "clear" (if you follow my meaning), I've doubled my vitamin and calcium intake. And I'm still cramping!

Thanks for the insights. I don't think that demands from running are that much different than biking, do you? It's mostly the replenishing of ATP during long events. I'm finding that for me, even a short run is bringing this cramping on. My situation may have to do with the anemia too though.

Thank you for your help.

Hey Sandi...maybe you're just in need of a better warm up or stretch? Grasping here... Whenever I've had leg or foot cramps it's been after I've "shed" water. Like if you've been retaining water and then you have a day when it all flushes (literally) away. THAT is when I cramp up. So, I'm guessing that is because all of my minerals have flowed out too. I'll drink a V-8...lots of sodium to hold the water and a good portion of potassium in a can.

This is one big bunch of IMPRESSIVE information!
I'm so thrilled to be amidst all you fitness gurus!
(and isn't Barbara's son a looker! and his fiancee...gorgeous!)

I like the V8 sodium idea, thanks. And as to Barb's son, I didn't think Barb looked OLD ENOUGH to have that manly of a son!

Muscle cramps is one thing most paople experience when they start training for endurance events for the first time and can be experienced everytime you increase the intensity. Stretching and warmup are important but understanding the mechanics of the cramp is important. What is happening is that in the muscle tissue there are for the lack of better terms barbs. As the muscle tissue is tightening up from being stressed two sets of tissue are moving in opposite directions and the barbs are catching on each other and trying to pull against each other and have become locked.

The key is to find something that will unlosk them. I have an aquaintence who is a chiropracter and a few years ago when i ramped up my training we were sitting at Starbucks when I got one of those instant painful cramps in both hamstrings at once, he noticed the look of severe pain and got some tablets from his car and gave them to me. I was told to chew them and they tasted horrid but witin about 60-90 seconds the cramps were gone. What they ended up being were Calcium Lactate tablets from a company called Standard Process Inc. which are only available from health practitioners like Chiropracters and Homeopaths. I have tried other Calcium Lactate tablets but they dont work. Apparently they have the ability to cause the muscles to release from each other dont know how only know it works. It wont work though if you swallow the pills it needs to be transported through the tongue.

Interesting stuff Damon.
I took Doug's suggestion and purchased a liquid calcium from vitacost.com
It's called Tropical Oasis Liquid Calcium Magnesium.
I'm hoping it's absorbed more efficiently.
I also have had a recent success in relieving longterm anemea. Following
advice from the neighborhood, I began taking my iron (670mg) with 500 mg of C
in the afternoon; isolating this from any calcium intake. Within the last 6 months,
my blood count went from a low 9.3 to a reading last week of 14.7. Very
acceptable. All of this advice and trial and error real can make for BIG
health changes for all of us! We all should be so grateful to have this central hub
where we can compare notes and grow from each other's experience!
Thanks to all!