Importance of Breakfast

Right so you're constantly told breakfast is important, but does anyone tell you why, and what it should consist of.

Firstly, lets start on why its important. You've just woken up from what should of been around 8 hours of sleep, now during that time your body has shut down into a state of rest. Not only are your eyes resting but your metabolism*, to enable your metabolism to be boosted you need to put something in your body. Now, this isn't only important for losing weight but also to build muscle, while your metabolism is slow, nutrients aren't getting to the muscles as quickly as they should be therefore they don't have the right amount of protein and carbohydrates to build, especially after they have been depleted for what should be 8 hours - this can be stopped by including the right nutrition before bed but i will go into that another time.

So, now we know why it is important, what should it consist of? It all depends on your day ahead of you, are you are sat down at a desk all day or are you going to be running around a building site? Is it rest day from the gym or are you doing a bootcamp tonight?

Depending on what day it is for you i will give you two examples of a good breakfast and why. Now i can't give too much details without knowing your exact BMR* but these breakfasts are a good starting point.

Active Day/Busy Lifestyle - 
Large Glass of Water
Bowl of Oatmeal/Porridge w/ Scoop of Protein 
Coffee
Piece of Fruit 

Rest Day/Slow Lifestyle - 
Large Glass of Water 
2 Egg Omelette - Lean Meat & Veg 
Coffee 
Low Sugar Fruit 

Reasons Why?

Active Day/Busy Lifestyle -
Always start with a glass of water preferable cold, it will boost your metabolism and wake your body up. On this day oatmeal/porridge is a good source of slow releasing carbohydrates which will give you the energy throughout the day, I advise for you to add a scoop of protein because not only will it give some flavor instead of you reaching for the bowl of sugar, but the protein will help for the workout to come and also keep you fuller for longer. Cup of coffee on both days will also help to boost your metabolism, certain amounts of caffeine will do this and also give you some energy if you are about to workout. Piece of fruit, this can be any type of fruit really depending on your goals and also can be mixed with your oatmeal/porridge dependent on your flavors.

Rest Day/Slow Lifestyle - 
Again the water will allow you to wake your body up allowing your metabolism to be kick started. Instead of the oatmeal which has carbs you are going to reach for a high protein meal which can be an omelette or if your in a rush two hard boiled eggs from the night before. If you take carbohydrates in on a day in which your body isn't doing much activity they will sit on your stomach and probably turn into fat if not used as energy. A Coffee/Green Tea again will give you some caffeine for energy and also help again with your metabolism. This time we are going to reach for a low sugar fruit, which to be safe is usually some sort of fresh berries or rhubarb as you don't want high sugar to be sat in your stomach when not doing activity.


*Metabolism - This is the speed at which your body converts Kcal into energy, increased metabolism means you're body is moving nutrients around the body quickly and converting your food sources into energy quickly allowing it not to be stored as body fat.

*BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate - Can be calculated using some body measurements and gives you an average of calories your body burns each day and can dictate how many calories you need to either lose fat or gain muscle.

@AReecePT

Marathon Preparation

Summer is coming around and so many people are preparing for marathons, now if its your first time it might be a bit daunting of how you can prepare for it. There is the obvious training which should of probably started and be well into it, slowly building your miles and increasing your pace. The question i have is how do you prepare for the last two weeks; nutrition, hydration and rest.

We will start on nutrition, throughout your training you have been putting carbohydrates into your body before you go running, this is essential for glycogen production and in turn energy. Your body is used to consuming the carbs and turning them into energy, two weeks out from the big day you're going to begin to cut down these intakes. This is going to teach your body to work more efficiently in finding the carbs to turn into energy, therefore in replace of these carbs you are going to eat fats. This isn't the time to go and get yourself a McDonalds; we are going to replace the carbs with good fats. These can be found in sources like, greek yoghurt, eggs, nuts, salmon, cheeses and olive oil. These sort of foods are going to become your main source of energy (60-70%) for the next 11 days until you are 2 days away from race day. Once your body is used to this sort of diet you're going to hit the carbohydrates hard for the next couple of days up and till your race changing the ratios around. This will then allow your body to turn this carbohydrates into glycogen a lot more efficiently giving you the energy to run that extra mile. Night before you go don't over indulge eat at the same time you have been eating throughout training and roughly the same portions. Don't allow yourself to go hungry but keep some high carb snacks at hand.

Now hydration is essential to long distance running and dehydration is going to affect performance, as soon as your body slips into dehydration your time is going to run away from you. Starting a couple of days before the race make sure you are constantly hydrating, with at least 4-8 ounces each hour, don't leave it till the day of the race to do it. Night before drink a high electrolyte beverage along with the water. Morning of the race drink when thirsty and two hours before drink around 8 ounces of water and this should allow you not to need a toilet break while running but keep hydrated enough to perform.

Rest this is another part of performing your best on the day, not running 2-3 days before is not going to affect your fitness, some light stuff to keep you ticking over is all well but don't go out trying to beat times in some long distance runs. Believe in your preparation up to know and trust your fitness.

Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail.

@AReecePT