This light chicken soup with added cabbage is an immune-boosting power combo that helps improve hydration, reduce inflammation and ward off bacterial infections.
INGREDIENTS
2 Tbsp. olive oil or butter½ celery stalk, sliced finely
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/3 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
½ tsp each dried onion and parsley
A pinch of salt and ground black pepper
225 ml chicken broth
½ medium sized carrot, sliced into rounds
120 g shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cups green cabbage sliced into “noodle”
strips
Slices of fresh lemon
METHOD
Add the oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add the dried onion, diced onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and garlic into the pot and saute for 3-4 minutes until translucent and fragrant. Add the broth, parsley, salt, and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add the cabbage and simmer for an additional 8 to 12 minutes until the cabbage “noodles” are tender. Lastly add the cooked and shredded chicken and allow to heat through. Top with fresh lemon slices.
The cocoa and berry mix offers a healthy hit of disease fighting antioxidants – all without a gram of added sugar in sight!
INGREDIENTS
250g cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered low carb sweetener
(xylitol/erythritol)
4 sachets sweetener (stevia/sucralose)
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder extract
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh raspberries, strawberries or blueberries
to garnish
METHOD
Beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in erythritol, sweetener, cocoa and vanilla extract until well combined. In separate bowl, beat heavy cream with mixer until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until well incorporated. Fold in the other half of the whipped cream. Beat with an electric mixer on high until light and fluffy. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Pipe or spoon into individual serving dishes. Top with fresh berries or fruit of choice.
The first step to financial wellness is to create disposable income to invest for the future and to stay out of unhealthy debt. To create disposable income, you need to earn more and/or spend less. This is similar to any weight loss plan where getting in shape, no matter what nutrition or exercise regime you choose to follow, ultimately involves the hard work of moving more and eating less.
You may earn more by creating an additional source of income or taking steps to earn a higher salary but this is not always that easy so we will focus here on ways to spend less. So, what are two common behaviour traps that lead us to getting into debt or spending more than we should and how can we sidestep these?
1. Pain avoidance
When it comes to going to the gym or exercising, we will often find any excuse not to do it because initially it is very sweaty and uncomfortable! This is like paying for something with cash or our debit card where we see the money go out of our wallets or bank balance, causing immediate physical discomfort. The discomfort happens because we realise that the money we just spent was actually ours and we start wondering whether spending R18 000 on the new iPhone 12 was actually worth the number of working hours, days or months it took to earn the money! It also results in us going through the uncomfortable thought process of considering what else we could have spent the money on and what we have sacrificed for this purchase, known as the “opportunity cost” – will there still be enough in our bank account to cover the rest of our debit orders, our kids’ school fees, our groceries?
Because of this emotional rollercoaster it is so much easier to whip out the credit card or the payment app on our phone, like a cowboy at the O.K. Corral, to buy what we want whenever we want. The reason this is so easy is because firstly and at least initially our bank balance stays the same and it is not our money that we are spending. Credit cards have enabled us to have immediate gratification with the pain of paying coming much later.
This is not a problem if you are able to pay off your credit card every month but all too often our credit card balances keep growing until the interest alone costs us thousands every month. Credit cards do have their purposes for emergencies such as paying for emergency medicines or the tow truck when we breakdown in the middle of nowhere, but they should really be limited to that – emergency expenses only!
If you want to get your spending in control then do what you can to avoid spending on credit, put your credit card (wrapped in plastic) in a block of ice in the freezer, lock it away in the safe or give it to your trustworthy and ferocious mother-in-law for safe keeping and get into the habit of only spending with the money you have saved up in your wallet or in your bank account via your debit card (please cancel or avoid the overdraft facility!). The truth is that, like exercise, once you get into the habit and have passed the initial period of discomfort it is extremely fulfilling as you start to see results, your bank balance growing instead of shrinking, and as you come to realise that you are indeed in control of your own behaviour. You will also become an expert in weighing up whether it is worthwhile to spend money on something as you realise that every decision to buy something is a decision to sacrifice something else.
2. Relativity – Sales, special offers and get-one-free deals
Whilst sales and special offers sound enticing, we usually fall into the marketing trap of buying things we don’t actually want or buying far more than we need. We end up spending way more money than we intended just to save a percentage on the additional item.
For example, you go to the grocery store in search of guacamole for your once-a-month home nacho and movie night and when you arrive at the aisle 5 shelf, proudly displaying the guacamole, you see that there is a special: buy two get one free! This is too compelling to resist, as in effect you are getting one third off, and you end up spending twice the amount of money that you intended to because let’s face it, you actually only needed one tub for nacho night! Aside from reducing your bank balance you also end up either overeating or with some mouldy guacamole after a few days!
Having said this, specials and buy bulk and save items have their place if they are offered on essential items such as toilet paper and toothpaste and you are getting a discount on the usual price by buying more. To decide whether to go for these specials we need to become experts in what is known as the “time value of money”. For example, if buy buying 10 family packs of toilet paper gives you a 5% saving, knowing you will only use it over a year, is it worth it when you could have taken the money for the other 9 packs and paid off some of your long overdue credit card debt saving interest of 16% over a year? As a rule of thumb, if you are going to use the item in the next year and the discount is less than 10% it may be best to only buy it when you next need it!
Now, imagine if these sales and special offers inadvertently cause you to buy more than you need a few times a week, you can very easily end up spending hundreds or thousands of Rands more that would be better put towards reducing debt or saving for your future goals and dreams!
Nicholas is an Actuary and Certified Financial Planner® professional specialising in retirement planning and investments whilst helping people protect their and their family’s financial well-being. Please follow Nicholas at https://nicholasbezuidenhout.com/ and https://twitter.com/nick_bez
Proper breathing can make the world of difference when running. Whether you are just starting out or you’ve been running for years, chances are, you’ve often struggled with your breathing.
Now, we get that our hamstrings, quads and calves are the driving force that propel us forward, but the power of your breath is more important than you realise. In fact, getting your breathing right will not only make your running more enjoyable but it will make you a stronger, better runner. Meaning you can run harder for longer.
The science behind breathing
Many runners start out not knowing the importance of breathing correctly. The right breathing technique is vital as a runner. It differentiates rookies from experts. But far too few runners are actually aware of how their breathing impacts their running, not to mention how the body works when we breathe.
When we breathe in, our diaphragm will contract and the lungs will expand – basic science. Breathing in allows oxygen into the body, an important gas that our muscles need to generate energy. We thus inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. When carbon dioxide accumulates in the body, it can lead to breathlessness and anxiety, making any run feel incredibly strenuous and hard.
How to breathe right to run better
The first thing you need to pay attention to so that you can properly examine the efficacy of your breathing technique (apart from gasping for air like a fish out of water), is assessing whether or not you are using your diaphragm effectively. Some signs include:
Pain or tightness in your upper body while running
Flared ribs or an arched back
Paradoxical breathing – your stomach rises when exhaling and compresses when inhaling
All of the above signs indicate an issue with your breathing efficacy. When you bring awareness to your breathing technique, this will enable you to create a calmer mind, steadier pace and help you to endure high-pressure race scenarios. Focusing on a good breathing technique will give you the power you need to fight any fatigue you might experience and maintain a proper form.
Did you know that the common reason why we gasp for air when we run is because we have not regulated our body’s response to running and our heightened state of breathing? Instead of reacting in a ‘fight or flight’ manner, we need to adapt our way of thinking to be ‘rest and remain calm’.
When we react in a stressful manner to running (i.e. heavy breathing, gasping for air, feeling light-headed), this will impact your lungs and heart, which in turn, means you cannot run without reaching your ventilatory threshold, this is the point at which you cannot breathe in oxygen quickly or deeply enough to meet your body’s demand. When nearing this point, our body’s stress response will kick in and result in struggle and panic. It’s a vicious cycle.
Breathing with your belly and not your chest
Deep belly breathing is the correct breathing technique to use when running, also known as diaphragmatic breathing. This will result in a maximum oxygen intake compared to shallow chest breathing. Your maximum oxygen intake is known as your VO2 max – this is the maximum rate of oxygen your body can use when exercising. The higher this value is, the more oxygen your body is able to consume and the more effectively the body can use oxygen to generate energy.
The air we breathe in will remain in our lungs for a short period of time, which will prevent the complete exchange of air, thus reducing the oxygen intake. When our breathing technique is poor, it can not only result in unnecessary fatigue but also the common side stitch so many runners experience. Deep belly breathing allows for increased oxygen intake and prevents side stitches.
Here’s how to do it…
For a few minutes before your run (you can also practise this at random during the day), lie down on a comfortable surface, placing your hand on your belly. Take a few slow, deep breaths, ensuring your belly naturally lifts your hand when inhaling and your hand sinks when exhaling. Once you are comfortable with this technique, you can practise it when moving around and running at a comfortable pace.
Pay attention to your form
Make sure you also pay attention to your posture when running. Your upper body should be straight, shoulders relaxed (not hunched forward) and your head should be in line with your body, not pushed forward.
Applying deep belly breathing to your running: Rhythmic breathing
Experienced runners know about rhythmic breathing. This is breathing in a pattern which allows you to increase your oxygen intake and result in your body being in a more relaxed state. Remember, every time your foot hits the ground, your body experiences stress associated with this impact. It’s your job to control how your body reacts to this stress.
An expert trick is to alternate exhales between your left and right foot. This form of rhythmic breathing will allow for less pressure to be placed on your diaphragm and balance the impact between both sides of the body.
Following a 3:2 pattern allows you to focus on your breathing and lessen the stress your body experiences. This means you will inhale for three strides and exhale for two. If you increase your pace, you can change the pattern to be 2:1 – Allowing your body to take in more oxygen and quickly expel the carbon dioxide.
The final stride
Following these expert tips will improve your running, lessen the stressful impact of running on your body and help make your running more enjoyable.
A word from RunMalibu
This blog was written by WellBe&Co in collaboration with RunMalibu. WellBe&Co is a personal and corporate wellness company specializing in easy-to-implement, lifestyle-focused nutrition, training and health solutions.
Swap out the chicken for steak or try using mushrooms for a vegetarian alternative.
INGREDIENTS
2 chicken breasts or any protein of choice
1 Tbsp oil
Jalapeno, chopped (according to taste) OR 1/2
tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder and cumin
1 cup quinoa, or brown rice cooked
1 cup lettuce, chopped
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 avocado
2 Tbsp. salsa
2 Tbsp cheese of choice, grated
Lime wedge for serving
METHOD
Preheat grill or a large frying pan to medium-high. Combine jalapenos, oil, garlic powder and cumin in a small bowl. Oil the grill rack or frying pan. Season chicken with salt. Grill the chicken for 5 mins. Turn, brush with the jalapeno mixture and continue cooking, 3 to 5 mins more or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a clean cutting board. Chop into bite-size pieces. Assemble each burrito bowl with ½ cup quinoa, ½ cup chicken, ½ cup lettuce, ¼ tomatoes, ¼ cup beans, ¼ avocado, 1 Tbsp salsa and 1 Tbsp cheese. Serve with a lime wedge.
When I talk to other people about yoga, more often than not I get a response similar to this – ‘I would love to try it but I’m just SO inflexible!’. And while I try my best trying to explain that this truly doesn’t matter, it doesn’t help that every picture we see online or in social media of ‘the modern yogi’ is someone doing the splits, or folding themselves like a pretzel.
There are enough ways we all judge ourselves and compare against others. And yoga isn’t another form of exercise we do to hopefully, one day, feel better about ourselves. Doing the perfect headstand, or a perfect backbend is not the end goal. And even if it was, it wouldn’t guarantee that we love ourselves anymore.
As Judith Lasatar so aptly says – ‘Yoga is not about touching your toes, it is what we learn on the way down’.
But what exactly are we learning when we show up on our mat to practice?
Yoga is an inward journey
Let’s take a step back and remember that the practice of yoga is believed to date back over 5,000 years. It truly is an ancient discipline, that was practiced to cultivate a strong and supple body so that one could be able to sit still in meditation for long periods. Having a strong core, supple spine and open hips was necessary to ensure the body stayed relaxed and comfortable, without being a disturbance or distraction.
The ultimate goal for the Yogi was to be still. To be able to master their mind, achieve inner peace, and ultimately – enlightenment.
Western culture has glorified the physical practice, yet the heart of yoga remains – as a tool to guide us on an inward journey so we can find true harmony within ourselves.
In our fast-paced, distracted modern lives, wouldn’t it be a joy to interact with people who are calm, centered, and present? Who can navigate all changes and challenges from a place of grounding?
Lessons from the mat
Each time you step onto your mat, you show up for yourself. Although yoga is often practiced among a group of people, it is very much an individual practice. The focus is within your four corners of your mat. As you move silently, you are guided to tune into the sensations of your body and to move with intention. Where the body goes, the mind follows, and so by focusing and controlling the physical self, we, in turn, can experience calm and ease in our thinking mind.
Yoga means to ‘yoke or unite’. What are we uniting? Our body and our mind, through a focus on our breath.
Every moment on your mat is a time to tune in and connect. In building strength through movement, we cultivate a stronger sense of self. As we stretch and lengthen our bodies, we also learn to expand our mindfulness and awareness. It is an all-encompassing practice that leads us on a path to our true self.
And while we may not achieve enlightenment like few of those ancient yogis, with a real commitment to our practice, the lessons we learn on our mat impact who we become off our mat, and we begin to show up in our lives with greater compassion, empathy, self-acceptance, and joy!
A journey begins with a single step
If touching your toes is no longer a reason to hold you back, the only next step is to decide to start. I have a range of pre-recorded videos to follow along, for free, in the comfort of your own home. There’s something for everyone including beginner classes, guided meditations, yin, vinyasa, and more.
Whatever you decide, the joy is in the journey. You can start yours today.
Self-love is the concept of loving yourself as you would love others. It is the practice of taking care of your mind and spirit with compassion that benefits your overall mental well being.
Self-love differs from self-care in the sense that self-love is about the internal dialogue and relationship that we have with ourselves. Self-care is nurturing our physical selves. The two often cross paths and we’ll give you a heads up when they do in this blog.
Unless you axed your social media away before everybody watched the Social Dilemma, you’ll have seen the swarms of posts about self-love routines and rituals: the bubble baths, face masks and movie nights. Which rock, don’t get us wrong, but they don’t offer the sustainability that consistent and intentional self-love habits and practices do.
The popularization of self-love isn’t a bad thing – the more people who learn to love themselves, the better – but the definitions and acts of self-love have become a bit superficial and one-size-fits-all-ish. You’ve got to find what makes you feel good, no matter what that looks like. We believe in the habits that make the foundation of who we are, and our self-love practices are essential to how we grow and heal.
If self-love sounds a little corny to you, let’s get into why it’s so important. When you treat yourself badly or even just neglect your basic needs and wants, you are setting yourself up to make poor decisions. Without having a solid foundation of love and respect for yourself, you are more susceptible to toxic relationships, negative self-talk and poor health.
Here’s how you can create a life that is led by the love you give to yourself.
Ritual and Routine
Having self-love routines and rituals plays a huge role in cementing the idea of loving yourself into your daily life. The way you start your day sets the tone for the next 9 hours or so, and that’s why a powerful place to make time for a ritual is as you wake. This ritual may look like prayer, movement, writing or meditation. It may also be in the details of what you don’t do: check your phone, regret the past or get into a state about the future.
These rituals and routines are here to keep your mind clear and your thoughts in the present and consistency comes in handy on the days it feels a little hard to love yourself.
Here’s what we had to say a few weeks ago about mastering meditation and how to develop your emotional awareness and cultivate mental clarity.
Be far kinder to your body
That means fueling your body well and more importantly, speaking to your body well.
Your body is a vessel for everything that is the mind-blowingly fantastic you. The stuff that matters: your heart, your soul, your mind and your character. All a body does is bring these things into the physical world and yet we still find ourselves using such unkind language towards ourselves when we look in the mirror. Being grateful and accepting of your physical body is a worthwhile route to take.
You may even have to fake it for a while and that’s okay because eventually, you’ll believe in what you are telling yourself. Kind things to start saying today could be:
Do you see how you aren’t saying what you will or can do? You need to speak these thoughts as if they are already happening, rewiring your brain to think this way without making a huge effort to do so.
Believe in something
Before you panic, this blog isn’t about to turn into a cult recruitment advertisement.
But seriously, as humans in a material world, becoming detached from the spiritual side of life could be why so many people battle to find love for themselves. Finding solace in spiritual practice can bring an abundance of love into your life. Maybe you’re religious, maybe you choose to believe in the inherent goodness of mankind or just really believe in the power of having a huge dance party.
Having a set of beliefs and values will cement your sense of knowing yourself and ultimately, loving yourself. When we see the divine around us, it’s hard to ignore the divine within us.
Say no – and also say yes
People who love themselves respect their limits and boundaries. This means saying no when you mean no and not feeling guilty about it. When people are battling with their self-love journey, the thought of pleasing somebody else at the expense of violating yourself will seem justifiable and we’re here to tell you, it very rarely is. Say no when you feel that niggling feeling in your sternum because that’s your intuition speaking – you would be wise to listen.
In the same breath, self-love means saying a big old YES to the things you deserve. So many of us reject opportunities and experiences because deep down, we aren’t certain that we deserve them. Knowing that you are a good person at your core and that you deserve the blessings that come your way is inseparable from self-love.
Do the things you’re good at
Remind yourself at least once a week of what you’re good at – and that doesn’t mean doing what you’re paid to do or doing what you think you should be good at. Don’t spend too much time overthinking this activity because the best part? Nobody even has to know.
Take this as a rare opportunity to enjoy your talents for you and not for the pleasure or praise of other people. Sing for yourself, dance for yourself, talk with an elderly person for yourself. Acting on our strengths validates our purpose in this life. It gently reminds us that we are here for a reason and that whilst we are here we need to value, love and nurture ourselves.
With burnout on the rise and boundaries becoming more blurred by the week, it’s time for a re-evaluation. Sure, hard work has always been something to be admired but at the end of the tired, overthinking mess of a day, what are we really glorifying here, openly speaking?
Technology has flipped the switch on work-life balance, giving colleagues constant access to you and tempting you to be always available. We don’t need physical offices to get our jobs done anymore, so the excuses for not being able to get something done in record time seem to wither. Imagine though, if excuses weren’t necessary and a certain, polite, “no, I don’t have time for that”, would suffice?
Have you ever been in a work environment where you’ve had to do the ‘appropriate leaving time’ walk of shame to your car? Or perhaps you’ve felt a surge of anxiety turning off the active status on your remote digital communication platform long after the sun has gone down. The grind. The hustle. The boss babe (is there a reason “boss” doesn’t work just as well?). We live in a whirlwind of buzzwords that remind us that success means zero downtime, toxic productivity and ultimately, a personal life so overrun by work that health, family and joy start to fall by the wayside.
Without sounding alarmist, something needs to change. Collectively, there needs to be an unpacking of how it came to be acceptable for our mental health to be compromised by what we do for a living.
Boundaries, who needs them?
You. You do. And so does everybody else.
Taking your mental health seriously is the first on the agenda. To a fair few people, mental health still seems like this figment of our imagination and we do wonder sometimes, does it really deserve the attention you need/want to give it?
It absolutely does. You’ll see that when you take your mental health seriously, you’ll know where boundaries fit in and why they are so valuable.
Setting, implementing and upholding your boundaries
Boundaries are established after you’ve done some deep digging on what you will and won’t allow from the people around you. You need them in all spheres of your life to maintain your limits. Boundaries could be letting your mother know she can’t Facetime you at her whim twice a day or that you won’t tolerate possessive behaviour from your partner.
When we speak about work boundaries, in particular, we are speaking about the prepared, quick-defence (but not defensive) systems you have in place for situations that bring on pushing past what you are willing to do for your work.
Firstly, figure it out
You can’t implement what you don’t know and you certainly can’t expect anybody to read your mind about what boundaries you have in place. Know what you value and where your time needs to be spent and where. If you value family and health and pottery, you’ll know that your boundaries need to protect these parts of your life.
Find out where you are being stretched thin and where your work is leaking into valuable time. Pinpoint what elements of your work-life that trigger anxiety or anger and have a solid understanding of what needs to change.
Say what you mean and mean what you say
Once you’ve figured out what your boundaries are, they need to be communicated. This doesn’t mean mumbling to your colleagues about your boss during your lunch break (which was cut short by a meeting that went on for too long). It means respectfully letting your work peers know what a) you’re comfortable with, b) why these boundaries are important and c) what the outcome of broken boundaries will be. Damn.
If workplace dynamics interest you, check out our thoughts on how to bring wellness into the workplace: 5 easy, effective ways to boost productivity & employee happiness
What can work boundaries sound like?
In case you need some inspiration on how to say what you need to say (with conviction) here’s how stating your boundaries may sound:
“Yes, I also think being on top of work emails is important and they will always be answered by 10 am Monday. On the weekends, however, I prioritise unplugging and won’t be available.”
“This is not something I want to talk about at work, if we could avoid bringing it up again I would appreciate it.”
“I have a hard stop on meetings that run over 5:30 on Wednesdays and Fridays, so if we could start with the essentials that would be great.”
Emotional responses vs steadfast explanations
Saying those sentences out loud might sound abrupt at first if you are somebody who has been conditioned to people please or in the case of many minorities in the workplace, pressured to be polite and amiable. Boundaries are not rude or catty or self-righteous, they are healthy and logical limits to protect yourself. Abruptness is not a bad thing, it just means that we have taken time to evaluate and cement where our values and comfort zones are – so we don’t need to waste 1000 words explaining ourselves. When we become emotional stating our boundaries we risk being defensive or overexplaining something that needs little explanation.
Somebody is going to push a boundary, expect that to happen. When it does, you will have unpacked and prepared for how to deal with that situation and you’re going to feel better for it. Mastering your emotional awareness and sense of clarity is something you can build into your daily routine (we unpack that in our blog here).
Boundaries are Self-Care
We’re going to be talking a lot about self-love for the next few weeks and best believe mental health is high up on the agenda.
This February, let’s dig a little deeper than sugar and synthetic teddies for Valentines Day. Let’s look into real self-love that lets you think well and work well. For each time you say “no” to something that doesn’t align with your values, you learn to trust yourself a little more. Living your life in line with what makes you happy and letting go of expectations and worries about the behaviour of people is one heck of a way to love yourself. Join in on the love and come check out our Instagram page to keep up to date with our conversations about life, love, wellness and food (heck yes).
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a half-marathon runner, triathlete or simply a newbie getting ready for your first 10km race – if you’re an endurance athlete, your body is no stranger to the strain of working out for long stretches of time.
Proper nutrition is perhaps the most essential ingredient when it comes to keeping your body going, getting you through your workouts and ensuring that you recover properly.
That’s why, in this week’s blog, we give you our top 5 nutritional tips to help you keep optimal energy levels and ensure peak performance during your endurance training journey.
Is there a magic diet for endurance training?
There is no specific “endurance diet” for athletes looking to build stamina and better their performance. However, there are some basic guidelines that health and wellness professionals tend to recommend for those building up to compete or participate in upcoming races or long-distance events.
Nutrition for endurance is all about experimenting with a range of meals and eating plans to see what works best for your body and what combination of foods will help you reach your peak athletic performance. At the end of the day, whether you are an elite athlete or a weekend warrior, it all comes down to fueling your body properly so that you can truly perform at your best.
5 game-changing nutrition tips for endurance athletes
1. Eat carb-centered
We’ve all heard of carb-loading, and while we wouldn’t recommend scarfing down a whole bowl of pasta pre-race, fueling your body with high-quality, carbohydrate-rich foods such as wholegrains, healthy fruits and hearty vegetables is a great way to fuel your body for more intense exercise.
A high-carb diet will enable your body to absorb workouts with less stress and allow your body to better support the high volume of glucose needed for this level of physical exertion during training.
So, exactly how many carbohydrates should you be eating as you gear up for an upcoming month of exercise and get ready to put your stamina to the test?
Typically, endurance athletes report that the total amount of carbohydrates in their diet account for 60% to 80% of their total calories, but the recommended intake of carbs in any athlete’s diet can differ depending on the type and duration of training. In general, a good rule of thumb is to increase your carbohydrate consumption to make up 70% of your total daily calories.
2. Eat quality food
The bottom line is that what we eat matters, and the role it plays in our performance is undeniable. It’s easy to eat well when preparing for a race, but the trick is to keep your body fueled and healthy during training and off-time too.
While most elite endurance athletes can and do eat everything, they don’t eat equal amounts of everything. Instead, dedicated athletes tend to focus heavily on high-quality foods and eat low-quality foods in moderation only – since high-quality foods tend to be more nutrient dense, richer in vitamins, and contain more beneficial antioxidants.
In general, your meal preparation should focus on diet diversity, with a variety of fruit, vegetables and whole grains as the centerpiece of every meal and only a moderate amount of unsaturated fats, meat and dairy. The idea is to get more overall nutrition from fewer calories which, in turn, will allow you to maximize your performance while still maintaining a healthy weight.
3. Eat as an individual
No two athletes are the same, and whether you’re a newbie athlete or a more experienced individual, learning how to listen to your body is essential when it comes to getting ready for an upcoming week of intense training.
Try to pay attention to what changes occur in your body and the difference in your energy levels when you eat a specific food or consume more of a particular food group. Different athletes tend to benefit from different diets, so it’s important to adjust your meals accordingly. You might find that cutting dairy out of your diet reduces bloating, while another athlete may choose to limit their red meat intake to increase both their energy and their focus.
Learning to listen to your body’s reactions to food can do much more than just help you lose weight. It can also help replenish energy quicker after training, build and repair tissue better, maintain an ideal body weight and boost your immune function.
4. Replenish electrolytes with healthy food
Replacing electrolytes is an instrumental part of endurance sports training – especially when training sessions exceed an hour per session or when training conditions are particularly hot or humid.
Consuming foods with a lot of electrolytes is essential for basic cell and muscle functioning, and an electrolyte imbalance could cause some pretty serious symptoms such as dehydration, nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness, cramping, and overall fatigue.
So, how electrolytes do you actually need?
Athletes can require anywhere from 100 to 2,500 milligrams of sodium per hour, but every athlete’s particular sodium needs depend on individual factors such as how much sodium their body is putting into sweat (aka their “sweat rate”).
Electrolyte supplements, drinks and foods that contain a good amount of sodium should be a key part of every athletes training regime to prevent hyponatremia during long endurance events. Athletes who experience frequent cramping or muscle pain should also be sure to increase their salt intake for a few days leading up to a big race.
5. It’s not just about the calories
While many athletes do choose to count calories for personal weight or training goals, when getting ready for weeks of endurance training it’s important to focus on eating enough to fuel your body and give yourself enough energy first and foremost.
The dangers of under-fueling are real, and not eating enough can actually harm endurance performance just as eating too much does. Number crunching calories can prevent optimal nutrition and hydration – both of which are important for preparing and recovering from training. That’s why it’s important for any enthusiastic endurance athlete to figure out what works best for their particular body so that they can eat well without letting calories be the centre of their focus at all times.
A simple recipe to get you started
Asian beef noodle salad
This dish is just loaded with delicious and vibrant flavors, as well as a healthy hit of inflammatory antioxidants too.
INGREDIENTS
250 g/ 8.8 oz pack of rice noodles
4 Tbsp soy sauce
Juice of 1 lime (approx. 1 Tbsp)
Knob of ginger , peeled and grated (approx 1 Tbsp)
3 Tbsp oil
200 g/ 7 oz steak, sliced into strips
1 red bell pepper , de-seeded and sliced 1/2 medium carrot, grated
1⁄2 cucumber , sliced
Handful coriander leaves, chopped Fresh chili pepper, sliced (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, for serving
METHOD
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large frying pan on medium high and cook the steak until done to your liking. Season to taste. Soak the rice noodles according to pack instructions. Whisk together the soy sauce, lime, ginger and remaining oil in a large serving bowl. Drain the noodles well, then tip into the bowl. Add the cooked beef to the bowl along with the remaining ingredients. Toss everything together, and serve topped with the chili and peanuts.
A final word
Essentially, following these expert tips and tricks will help you feed your body with adequate fuel for endurance activity, maximize your endurance fitness and improve your all-around performance.
A word from WellBe&Co
This blog was written by WellBe&Co in collaboration with RunMalibu. RunMalibu is taking virtual running to the next level with their US-based virtual races hosted between 7th and 8th November 2021.
Feel free to use leftover and already cooked roast vegetables from your fridge.
Ingredients
80-120 g chicken, cooked (1-2 chicken breasts)
1-2 cups roast vegetables, cooked e.g. zucchini, butternut, pumpkin, red onion, bell peppers, mushroom, asparagus etc.
2 Tbsp oil for cooking
8-10 small cherry tomatoes, halved
1 handful baby spinach leaves
1 Tbsp pesto
1 Tbsp crumbled feta* (omit for Paleo)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Roast vegetables with 1 Tbsp oil until done to your liking. Heat a pan with the remaining oil and cook the chicken until done. Season to taste. Chop the cooked chicken into chunks and toss together with the roast vegetables, tomatoes, baby spinach leaves and pesto. Crumble over the feta (if using) and serve.
