nutrition

comment and reply on the following responses from my peers, 150 words for each. 

Quest. #1: If you were planning to run a marathon, give an example of a day’s food intake on one of your 21 mile training days. 

Let’s say you were going to do this training run around 5:30 p.m. at the end of your work day.

Include DETAILED protein, carbohydrate, fat and fluid recommendations and timing of meal/snacks. 

Base these recommendations on your current height and weight.  Explain the nutritional rationale for all your suggestions.

Answer 1: Daily needs: 2886 calories (1731.6 from carbs, 432.9 from protein, 721.5 from fats, this equates to 433g carbs, 73g proteins, 97g fats)

Breakfast (7 A.M.):

· 4 eggs (300 calories, 28g protein, 0g carbs, 20 g fat)

· 2 slices whole wheat bread (184 calories, 6g protein, 34g carbs, 4g fat)

· 4 Tbsp strawberry jam (200 calories, 0g protein, 0g fat, 52g carbs)

· 1 cup black coffee (2 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· 1 cup apple juice (110 calories, 1g protein, 28g carbs, 0g fat)

· 2 cups water (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total Breakfast intake: 796 calories, 35 g protein, 112g carbs, 24g fat

I like having protein first thing in the morning, this is what I have found works for me. I typically get my morning protein from hard-boiled eggs. I always drink coffee in the morning to get the initial boost from the caffeine before the carbs from the toast and jam can be converted into energy. I also drink at least one cup of water right when I wake up, I have found this helps to get me going in the morning as well, it also gives me a headstart on hydrating for the day.

Morning snack (9:30 A.M.):

· Honeycrisp Apple (52 calories, 0g protein, 14g carbs, 0g fat)

· 2 Tbsp Peanut Butter (190 calories, 7g protein, 8g carbs, 16g fat)

· 2 cups water (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total intake: 242 calories, 7g protein, 22g carbs, 16g fat

I chose an apple and peanut butter here because it gives both protein and carbs which will help my energy needs later on in the day, but also helps me fill my stomach before lunch. I grouped the water drank after breakfast until now in one 2 cup serving rather than annotating every time I take a sip of water.

Lunch (12:30 P.M.):

· 1 cup quinoa (626 calories, 24g protein, 109g carbs, 10g fat)

· 1 chicken thigh (135 calories, 14g protein, 0g carbs, 8g fat)

· 3 oz salsa (30 calories, 0g protein, 6g carbs, 0g fat)

· 1 serving assorted vegetables (158 calories, 3g protein, 34g carbs, 1g fat)

· 2 cups water (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total intake: 949 calories, 47g protein, 149g carbs, 19g fat

This is a good balance of my carbohydrate needs later on in the day. The energy needed to complete the run this evening will be derived from this meal and the midafternoon snack, so it is important to load up on carbs at this point. It is also important to keep drinking water throughout the day.

Mid-afternoon snack (3 P.M):

· 1 cup Greek yogurt (110 calories, 22g protein, 9g carbs, 0g fat)

· 1 cup strawberries (49 calories, 1g protein, 12g carbs, 0g fat)

· 2 cups water (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total intake: 159 calories, 23g protein, 21g carbs, 0g fat

It is important to get a few more carbs in at this point with the long run only a couple hours away, that’s why I add fruit to the yogurt.

During run (5:30-8:30 P.M.):

· 6 cups water (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g carbs, 0g fat)

· 2 sports gel packets (200 calories, 10g protein, 40g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total intake: 200 calories, 10g protein, 40g carbs, 0g fat

The carbs in these packets will help to give me energy through the run. It is recommended that a runner eats/drinks something every 15-20 minutes during the event, so I’ve made sure to spread out the drinking of water and eating of the gels.

Recovery meal/Dinner (9 P.M.):

· 1 cup cooked dry pasta (224 calories, 8g protein, 44g carbs, 1g fat)

· 1 serving assorted vegetables (158 calories, 3g protein, 34g carbs, 1g fat)

· 4 cups water

· 1 20 oz Gatorade (140 calories, 0g protein, 36g carbs, 0g fat)

· Total intake: 522 calories, 11g protein, 114g carbs, 2g fat

It is important to replenish all the macronutrients I burned on the run. This meal would ideally be consumed about an hour after the run is completed. It is also important to know that eating too close to bedtime can be disruptive to sleep. Ideally, I would not run at 5:30, but this was the stated time. I also based the timing of this meal on a 9 min/mile pace. Thanks for reading.

Answer 2: On the day of running twenty plus miles for training, you should mentally and physically prepare your body for the workload that it is going to be going through. What you are putting into your body is going to help bring success in your training, but also aid in your recovery. Think of your body as a machine, and without the proper nutrients (oil), it will begin to breakdown and end up bringing negative affects to you in the long run. Basing this off myself, and factoring in my weight to get the appropriate amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat on the day on my training, I would consume: 110g protein, 555g carbs, 70g fat. As for fluid intake, I will be consuming approximately 25 ounces of water per hour to avoid the possibility of there being excess water in my stomach at the time of my training, thus causing a sloshing affect.

Now this diet far exceeds the daily recommended and shouldn’t be a sustainable diet unless you are doing extensive training like running a marathon. The reason for a high protein intake for the day would be because it is needed to help aid in muscle recovery. “Endurance athletes (eg those training for a marathon) should consider raising their protein intake to between 1.0-1.6g per kg per day,” (Pearson, 2019). I chose to go for the middle ground, 1.3g, thus came with the ending result 110g by multiplying my weight in kg, 85kg, by the amount of grams on protein, 1.3g. Timing for this would be as normal, i.e. normal times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also add in a mid-morning snack to get some added protein in.

The carbohydrates are extremely high, but this is because you are essentially carbo-loading to get the best out of your training and races. You want a carbohydrate rich diet because this will help aid in giving your added energy throughout your run. Avoiding running out of glycogen in your training or races is going to allow you to run your best, as well as letting you avoid hitting “the wall”. “When you run out of glycogen during a race you hit “the wall.” Your body has to slow down as it turns fat into energy,” (McDowell, 2019). This is why I chose to have 3g of carbs per my body weight to get the amount of 555g of carbs. The most important time to eat carbohydrates is before a run, so approximately 15-30 minutes before my 20 mile training run, I would consume a carbohydrate rich snack to kick in during my run and provide me with the nutrients needed. 

Fats are important, but for extensive running such as a marathon, it can be very bothersome. The reason is that “eating too much fat leaves less room for the other much needed nutrients like carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals,” (MarathonPal, 2020). That being said, I tried to keep my fats to a minimum for an athletes standard and the 70g of fat would help aid the protein for tissue synthesis, thus aiding in recovery. My fat intake would be well into the morning and lunch time because it will take much longer to digest and become energy than carbohydrates. 

Lastly, the fluid intake for the day is set at around 25 ounces, or a bottle and a half of water. “Research has shown that most runners’ stomachs can empty only about 6 to 7 ounces (180 to 210 ml) of fluid every 15 minutes during running, representing about 24 to 28 ounces (720 to 840 ml) per hour,” (Pfitzinger, 2012).  So, if I can maintain the amount of water that would be exiting my body through running each hour, it’ll help keep me hydrated and minimizing dehydration throughout my run. 

Question 2: What do you think are some of the reasons for the high incidence of eating disorders…bulimia, anorexia, binge-eating disorder, purging disorder, night time eating syndrome?

Answer 1: I think there are several factors that play in to the development of an eating disorder. Most people would probably assume that eating disorders are developed due to social constructs, i.e. girls are influenced by advertising and marketing to be skinny so they develop an eating disorder to achieve that look. However, I think there is more to it than that, I believe that biology, environment, and psychology all play a role in the development of eating disorders.

A person’s genetic makeup may cause them to have to work harder to maintain or lose weight. This would entice a person to take the “easier” option to lose weight and limit their food intake. This is dangerous because the body needs nutrients from food to operate at capacity, it uses food as a fuel to move and work. Without this fuel, the body begins to feed on itself and has many bad consequences.

People place entirely too much stock into what other people think of them, this leads to an environmental factor of developing an eating disorder. This environmental factor plays into the social construct of a “perfect” body type. When people care about what other people think of them, they tend to have less self-confidence and worry about their body image rather than developing a healthy lifestyle that fits their needs. I think people need to develop a better relationship with themselves as opposed to worrying about what other people think of them.

Thanks for reading,

Answer 2: I believe there are a few reasons that could cause eating disorders like bulimia, anorexia, binge-eating, purging disorder, night time eating syndrome, etc. Some factors could be stress or trauma related, an impact to their psychological and emotional health, family history of eating disorders, as well as biology. Most people live in a fast paced environment and can be exposed to many stress induced situations, thus could be a contributing factor to stress eating. Some people may have experienced trauma by being called underweight or overweight which could cause trauma and start making them binge-eat or becoming anorexia. The biggest thing is to be wary of those around you that may have or may be developing signs of an eating disorder and try to bring positive feedback for a healthy change.