The Perfect Diet for Your Specific Fitness Goals

Training for a marathon? Looking to lose a few pounds? Cutting out (or limiting) meat? Do it all with our collection of the best recipes we’ve ever published. By Joanna Sayago Golub, Runner’s World

Depending on your training regimen, health goals, and dietary restrictions, your perfect balance of nutrients might look very different from your buddy’s. If you’re a runner logging long distances and lots of miles, for example, you need a high-calorie meal plan packed with carbs and quality protein. But if you’re trying to lose weight, your perfect plan should be loaded with filling but low-calorie foods. 

We’ve taken all that and more into consideration in The Runner’s World Cookbook, our brand-new collection of 150 of the best recipes the magazine has ever published. With its easy-to-follow key, you can search for recipes that meet your exact nutritional needs–and find prerun and recovery recipes; low-calorie recipes; vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes; and recipes ready in 30 minutes or less. To give you a taste of the cookbook, we’ve outlined some nutrition tips below (and put together meal plans for three different fitness goals). Whether you’re training for a long-distance race, trying to lose weight, or following a vegetarian (or mostly vegetarian) diet, one of these plans will satisfy both your nutritional needs and your taste buds.  MORE: Check out the full excerpt from our cookbook to sample some of the yummy recipes guaranteed to help you achieve your personal goals.

YOU ARE LOGGING LOTS OF MILES  Training for a marathon or half-marathon affords the luxury of eating a decent number of calories. A 120-pound runner, for example, logging 40 miles per week needs about 1,800 calories per day, while a 180-pound runner logging 40 miles a week needs around 2,600. But hold the French fries: The vast majority of your daily calories should come from quality, nutrient-dense foods that will fuel your demanding workouts. Starting with carbohydrates.

“Carbs are essentially the fuel for muscles, organs, and your brain,” says Pamela Nisevich Bede, M.S., R.D., an RW advisory board member and co-owner of Swim, Bike, Run, Eat! “Without enough carbs, runners will struggle to find enough energy to finish a run.” She recommends that runners load up on carbs from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and dairy. Fall short on carbs and your body will start burning other sources of fuel–namely, protein, which your body needs for other functions. “Protein is essential in building up muscle that’s been broken down over the long miles of training,” says Nisevich Bede, who also writes runnersworld.com’s nutrition blog, Fuel School. Most runners need between .6 and .9 grams of protein per pound of body weight, and runners in the midst of tough marathon training should aim toward the high end of that estimate. The best sources include seafood, skinless poultry, legumes, low-fat beef and pork, eggs, and low-fat dairy, says Nisevich Bede.

Long-distance runners especially need to fuel up before a run. “Aim for a meal high in carbs, low in fiber and fat, and moderate to low in protein,” says Nisevich Bede, “and give yourself at least an hour–hopefully two or three–to digest before hitting the road.” 

YOU WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT  Many runners assume that logging 10, 20, 30, or more miles per week will automatically lead to drastic weight loss. But the truth is, while running is an excellent calorie burner (burning on average 100 calories per mile), you won’t lose weight if you don’t also take your diet into consideration. That’s because all that exercise makes you hungry–and it’s easy to overdo it and consume all of the calories you just burned (or more) during that five-mile run.

So how do you successfully pair running and weight loss? The key is to keep up your running routine while slightly reducing your daily calorie intake–by no more than 250 to 500 calories per day, says Nisevich Bede. “Cut any more, and fatigue and injury can set in.” Many runners find it hard to cut back on calories at all, given their increased hunger from training, which is why your diet should be loaded with two specific nutrients that help combat a growling stomach: “Fiber and protein fill you up and keep you feeling fuller longer,” says Nisevich Bede. Vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains are some of the best sources of fiber, while protein from lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy, and eggs can help keep hunger at bay. In fact, studies show that eating a high-protein breakfast instead of a high-carb one can help reduce the total number of calories you eat throughout the rest of the day.  

Another surprising key to losing weight is keeping snacks in your diet–not cutting them out, as many runners mistakenly do. “By consuming a few small snacks throughout the day, runners keep blood-sugar levels more stable and avoid spikes and drops that can cause fatigue and extreme hunger to set in,” says Nisevich Bede. The most weight-loss-friendly snacks are between 150 and 250 calories and are high in fiber or protein (again, both of which are filling), such as apple slices with a bit of nut butter, whole-grain toast with a slice of low-fat cheese, or yogurt topped with high-protein granola.

The only time you don’t want a high-fiber, high-protein snack is immediately before a run. “Foods high in fiber can send you sprinting for the bathroom, while protein and especially fat take longer to digest and can slow you down,” says Nisevich Bede. But you still need a prerun snack, since without it, you may not have enough energy on board to run hard, limiting the number of calories you could burn. In this instance it’s best to choose snacks high in easily digestible carbs that will energize you without weighing you down, like watermelon drizzled with honey, a handful of low-fiber cereal, or pretzels and some sports drink. Our weight-loss meal plan demonstrates how you can shave calories from your diet while still loading up on delicious, filling foods.   

YOU EAT NO (OR LIMITED) MEAT  If you’re a runner who’s considering going meat-free (or cutting back), you’re in good company. According to a runnersworld.com poll, just 17 percent of runners are vegetarian or vegan, but 48 percent have tried to reduce the amount of meat they eat or the frequency with which they eat it. Studies show that vegetarians have a lower incidence of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, and weigh less than meat-eaters. Their diets also contain more good-for-you nutrients, including fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

But can you really eat a vegetarian diet and perform your best? “Absolutely,” says Nisevich Bede. “Well-balanced vegetarian diets can provide ample energy and nutrients that will prevent pre­mature fatigue and muscle breakdown.” The key is to make sure you don’t fall short on essential nutrients that are typically abundant in meat-eaters’ diets–protein being one of them. Soy is an excellent source of quality vegetarian protein, as are beans and lentils, which have the added benefit of providing complex carbohydrates. And if you eat dairy and eggs (vegans don’t), reaching your daily protein needs is easy. “It is uncommon for vegetarians who consume adequate amounts of plant, vegetable, and dairy protein to experience severe protein-deficiency,” says Nisevich Bede.

Other nutrients, including vitamin D, calcium, B vitamins, iron, and zinc, can be harder to get without eating meat. “Iron and zinc deficiency can lead to poor performance and fatigue,” says Nisevich Bede, “while not getting enough B vitamins can cause muscle weakness, tiredness, and even memory loss.” Beans, whole grains, and leafy green vegetables are good sources of iron; however, to maximize your absorption you should pair them with vitamin C-rich foods. Nuts, seeds, and whole grains provide good amounts of zinc. Eggs and dairy are the only vegetarian sources of vitamin B12, but plenty of other foods, like grains and cereals, are often fortified with it. 

P.S.  The timing of your meals is very important because you don’t want to cramp-up . . .  getting that uncomfortable feeling in your side after running for a mile (runner’s stitch). You should wait at least an hour and a half after eating before you do any extended cardio.

P.P.S.  Visit exercises for diabetics today for more tips on doing cardio exercises.