The N word

You know the one.. no not the racial slur.. NUTRITION.

Do you get enough of the nutrients you need?

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I think that when you a generally healthy and well-balanced diet, it is easy to ASSUME you are getting enough of all the things you are supposed to. But, if you have high activity levels (running, lots of excercise classes, biking etc) not only do you have to make sure you are eating enough calories to fuel yourself but not too many too make you gain weight. 

Having become a little more serious (and by serious, I mean putting in more miles per week) about running since January I often found myself wondering whether I was really doing the right things for my body and activity level. For this very reason, when I got an email at work that they were having a nutritionist come to our office and there were open appointments... that I signed right up! They had offered these a few times before and I was never interested, but the last time I was and they filled up too quickly. 

My appointment was with Erin from Family Food, LLC. She was very friendly and so incredibly wonderful to speak to. She was so receptive to my questions and really worked to answer them fully for me and helped  develop some goals for me to work on with my training levels. 

Not the total best, but I wanted to show what we talked about and what she wrote up for me. Basically, I should drink some kind of 100% juice 1-2 hours before a run (apple or something like that) and then for recovery make sure I am getting enough carbs and protein (pb banana, glass of milk etc). She also said fruit smoothies would be a great option if I needed something on the go. 

I did also ask about what I can do on weekends after long runs when my meals aren't so scheduled and regimented like during the week. She suggested some almonds or easy grab and go edibles to bring along in my purse for days we are out and about. I like this idea!! Unfortunately, her other suggestion of fruit likely wouldn't work well for me (but might be right for you) I just can't eat warm fruit (except maybe a somewhat room temp apple). 

Another big question was about protein powders and protein bars. Which are good, is it ok to use powders, are protein bars with chocolate ok, and how much sugar is too much sugar?

Here is what I learned. Protein powers are ok, but you can get all the protein you need from food, so they aren't 100% necessary- maybe just preferred for some. Also, she warned that you can actually consume TOO much protein and cause major adverse affects to your internal organs. 

Protein bars are a great recovery/energy source. If you are deciding between bars- just go for the ones with the least sugar. The difficult piece is that if there are natural sugars (fruits, honey, etc) nutrition labels don't break this down for us. So just be on the lookout. 

Overall, calorie wise, I learned I am right about where I should be and could use maybe 100-200 more in my diet based off her lose estimations. I am getting enough protein on the typical day (YAY!!)

My main thing to work on is fueling before my workout (which I struggle most with because I don't allow much awake time before AM workouts). The other thing is making sure I eat within 30 minutes of my workout to refuel properly. Even if this means a banana or other fruit to hold me over until I can eat something more substantial later, or a glass of milk (in my case, mostly Almond Milk).. can you dig it??

Anyway- I left feeling pretty good about this appointment. I learned a lot, got questions answered and didn't feel like I was burdening someone with all of this. YAY!!! I made a follow up appointment with her for the end of August (right before my chocolate run lol) just to check in and see if I have any other questions or concerns by then.

Have you ever seen a nutritionist? What did you learn? What questions did you ask?

*disclaimer: I didn't get paid to write a review or even share my feedback on this group or nutritionist. I just wanted to share what I learned from this appointment that was free with my insurance and came to employer. *