What to eat after running to lose weight: the secret to a slim figure

The benefits of running for the body

Wanting to get in shape and “lose the fat,” we buy new running shoes and vow to start a new athletic running life, and then everything will change. And indeed, a lot would change, because it’s not for nothing that running has gained enormous popularity over so many years.

What would happen if you started jogging regularly:

— Active regular work of the muscles of the whole body, their strengthening;

— Beneficial load on joints with proper organization of running and rest;

— Increased metabolic rate;

— Burning more energy obtained from food;

— More active saturation of blood with oxygen and, as a result, good health;

— Increasing immunity, training the heart and blood vessels.

Running does not require additional equipment or complex skills. Maximum, buying comfortable clothes according to the weather and three to four hours of free time a week.

How much water can you drink after running?

The degree of dehydration at which a person loses 2% of his body weight leads to a significant decrease in endurance and overheating of the body. When recalculated into specific figures, this is 1 kg of mass for a person weighing 50 kg.

After a run, relatively speaking, the loss of 1 kg of mass should be replenished with one and a half liters of fluid. But this does not mean that after running a couple of kilometers, you will lose just such a specific figure.

Focus on your sensations: the degree of sweating and the feeling of thirst. After your run, drink a glass of water equal to 250 ml in small and slow sips. If after a while thirst comes again, repeat.

Running is a significant load for any body, physically fit or new to this activity. But after each workout, the body needs to restore its strength, so drink water without any doubt. But within reasonable limits - not very chilled and not in liters!

Don't run alone

Although running is a great workout, it has been proven that without combining it with strength training, running alone will not help you effectively lose weight.

A weight loss training program should include both aerobic and strength training. For aerobic exercise, running is an excellent choice. Supplement your weekly training with at least 2 sessions of strength training with weights and in addition to losing weight, you will gain a sculpted, toned body.

When you strengthen your muscles, build up even small muscle mass, the effect of running increases several times.

Why it's good to strengthen your muscles with exercise in addition to running:

— Toned, strong muscles burn more calories while running, all other things being equal;

— The risk of injury is reduced, strong muscles better protect the spine and joints;

- Muscles help your body gain athletic definition, in addition to helping you lose excess fat from running.

Forbidden food for runners

Pay attention to the list of foods that are extremely undesirable for runners:

alcohol;
deep-fried foods;
fatty desserts;
sauces and gravies;
semi-finished products and fast food;
soda;
salty quick “snacks” like chips.

Be sure to remember that the distribution of nutrition during running training is not only the key to a successful workout, but also maximum benefit for the body. Remember that training with poor nutrition can harm your body.

Train correctly and go to the start line with the Almaty Marathon!

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The best type of running for weight loss

Regular monotonous running is good for health and general endurance, but if your goal is weight loss, then it must be combined with interval (“ragged”) running.

We recommend reading on the topic:
Why do you need endurance training?

Interval running is effective by dramatically increasing the number of heart beats per minute (pulse).
During monotonous running, the body consumes only sugar, which is present in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen and begins burning fat only when the reserves run out - after 45-60 minutes of running

, while “tidying up” muscle tissue for work. It's not a pleasant prospect to run for more than an hour and also lose some muscle.

Fat burning in the body occurs when the heart rate reaches 65% of maximum

Individual calculation is made as follows:

(Maximum pulse 220 beats/min. – age)*0.65

Example for a 30-year-old woman: (220-30)*0.65=123.5 beats/min

The result obtained is approximately the pulse point at which your body actively uses fat cells as fuel.

Good to know!
Interval running is designed for a trained body and requires a good level of fitness. If you have a lot of excess weight - obesity or pre-obesity, insufficient muscle mass, or lack of any preliminary training, it is better to postpone this type of running until the body gets used to regular training and the muscle corset gets stronger.

How to run correctly to achieve a “fat-burning” heart rate

Burst running is alternating between running at high intensity and resting for short periods of time.

Interval run plan:

1) 2-3 minutes of warm-up jogging to warm up;

2) 30-40 seconds of running with intense acceleration to “suffocate”;

3) 30-40 seconds of active walking or light running to restore breathing and take a break;

4) 30-40 seconds active acceleration... etc.

such intervals

, depending on your general well-being and level of training. When getting used to such a load, you can increase the acceleration intervals and reduce the time for respite.

This type of running is more tiring and requires more recovery time than monotonous jogging, but its effectiveness is higher. Don't do interval training more than once a week

(and at first even less often) and leave time
for the body to recover at least 48 hours
before the next physical activity.

Can I drink water after running?

Any workout, even a regular morning jog, consists of two components - load and recovery process. During a run, our body loses fluid reserves, and thirst is a signal that dehydration is in full swing.

There is an opinion that drinking water immediately after running is harmful because... You can seriously “damage” your liver.

This is not entirely true: drinking water after running is a necessity. Without the right amount of fluid lost during running, it will be difficult for the body to recover quickly and properly. And if you follow some rules, you can quench your thirst after a run without the risk of harming your internal organs.

Nutrition while running

There is a large number of contradictions surrounding the topic of nutrition while running, and on many sites you can find completely contradictory data. In order not to increase the number of universal opinions and judgments, in my article about nutrition when running, I asked a real expert in the field of nutrition - a nutritionist - to share.

Expert commentary

Nutritionist with a full higher medical education received in Canada from McGill University (included in the TOP 20 best universities in the world) - Natalya Nefedova:

“A woman doing ordinary physical exercises. loads can adhere to a normal diet: from 1800-2400 kcal/day, of which 45-55% carbohydrates (3-5 g/kg/day, 10-15% protein (0.8-1.0 g/kg/day) and 25-30 % fat (0.5-1.5 g/kg/day).

Running is a moderate-intensity exercise for which half the energy comes from the aerobic breakdown of glycogen (glucose in the compound) of muscle tissue, and the other half from circulating glucose and fatty acids in the blood.

Therefore, in order for physical the loads were effective, it is necessary to properly provide the body with the necessary energy reserves.

Running in the morning on an empty stomach

A big mistake is running in the morning on an empty stomach. The glycogen reserve in the liver is used up overnight and, as a result, it becomes impossible to maintain the desired level of glucose in the blood using this method.

Many people believe that running on an empty stomach will provide intense fat burning - this is not true at all. If you do not have breakfast correctly and do not provide the body with glucose, catabolism of muscle tissue will be used, not fat. Also, in order for fat catabolism to occur, the presence of carbohydrates cannot be avoided - a simple law of biochemistry.

Nutrition before running

Therefore, to run effectively, you must first fuel yourself. It is not at all necessary to eat a full breakfast unless eating and running are separated by 3 or 4 hours.

Running on a full stomach can lead to indigestion, nausea and vomiting. But the food should be high in complex, preferably whole grain, carbohydrates and low in fat, since the latter retains food in the stomach and takes a long time to be “digested.”

An hour or less before training, I recommend eating something with 100 calories. For example, a banana or an orange, or half a bagel or 25g of cereal. If the workout follows 2-3 hours after a meal, then you should eat a full meal of 300-400 kcal, such as a turkey sandwich with baked potatoes.

Post-workout nutrition

You should also eat after training to synthesize and restore muscle tissue. Complex whole grain carbohydrates and 5-9g of protein for every 100g of carbohydrates will also help here.

This will help not to lose, but to increase muscle mass and ensure the production of an adequate amount of anabolic hormones. It is best to eat within an hour after training to avoid muscle loss.

If for some reason you cannot immediately eat a full meal, then a fruit snack will come to your aid, providing carbohydrates and electrolytes lost during training.

What to drink after running

Of course, we give preference to water, which helps restore the body after physical activity more effectively than other liquids. It is this that allows athletes to regulate body temperature, because with severe dehydration, the degree of endurance of the body drops sharply and the risk of heat stroke is high. Pure still water without impurities or additives is the best option for quenching thirst.

But how long before you can drink water after running? After 15 minutes at least - if we want to lose weight, and immediately - if we run to tone muscles.

Other types of drinks you can consider as an alternative to water:

Mineral still water, which differs from ordinary water in the presence of minerals and salts necessary for the body. They help normalize water and electrolyte balance in a short time.
Fresh juice. It is fresh juice, and not juice in packages from store shelves, that helps the body quickly recover after physical activity. Limit – no more than a glass of juice and some time after training.
Isotonic (rehydration) drinks. Ideal after a long (1-1.5 hour) workout. They come in a variety of types and contain carbohydrates to nourish muscle fibers, minerals to restore water-salt balance, and even vitamins.

After running, you should not drink sweet soda, cola, or drinks containing caffeine. And one more nuance - the water or juice should not be cold. This can harm not only your throat, but also your pancreas.

About drinking

Proper hydration is one of the foundations of a running training program. Neglecting the drinking regime leads to negative consequences. For example, to dehydration or, conversely, to cooling of the body as a result of excessive sweating.

When drawing up a drinking regime, the following are taken into account:

runner's fitness;
requirements for running (a certain result, for example, weight loss);
physiological characteristics of the body;
running distance and intensity;
the state of the body, including the presence of a number of diseases, including those of a chronic nature;
taking into account terrain features and weather conditions (air temperature, humidity);

The drinking regime system requires the following general rules:

half an hour before running, it is recommended to reduce fluid intake to a minimum of two hundred milliliters;
while running, water consumption should be limited to two to three sips per two kilometers, in the absence of heat;
Drinking water or any liquid after training is required only fifteen to twenty minutes after it ends.

Avoid products

The main enemies of a well-organized nutrition when running are foods that contain a lot of sugar and fat, those that are poorly digested, and also those that provoke stomach upsets.

Even if it is very tasty, athletes should avoid:

fast food;
sausages;
melons - melon, watermelon;
broccoli;
bell pepper.

Do not eat fried foods, drink alcohol or energy drinks. You can and should drink water while running, but you should control the amount of fluid you drink so that it does not become an obstacle to running exercises. You should not pour water into yourself unless necessary; you should drink it when thirst appears, and in small portions.