Marathon Nutrition
Running on Empty is Bad

Your marathon nutrition plan should include energy-packed meals and lots of fluids. Without food, your energy falters, and your body starts to breakdown your muscle to feed itself energy. Check out your calories burned running rate to understand why you need a lot of food for energy.

Enough marathon nutrition scare tactics. Let’s take a look at why you there’s no such thing as a low-carbohydrate diet for marathoners and why we need to add a good portion of protein and fat into the mix. Also, I’ll describe why a good mix of water and Gatorade are a runner’s best friend.

Click here for a free diet plan for healthy living.

Carbohydrates
You need carbohydrates because they give your body energy for those long runs. Where do you find them?

Of course, carbs aren't just good for your long runs. Your body uses them for anything... all the way down to the energy used to keep track of what you eat in your food diary!

Protein
Your body needs protein to build lean muscle - the muscle that helps your legs, arms, etc. move in the first place. It also helps your body recover after a hard training session.

Fat
Fat isn't bad... unless that's all you eat. Of course, you don't want to throw down on a McFatty right before a run, but consuming a bit a fat will help you finish your first marathon. Think of fat as a carbohydrates' best friend. Fat helps your body digest carbs slower so you have more sustainable energy.

Water
First, another tip for the beginner running tips list:

- Germs are not your friend. Wash your water bottle regularly!

To put how important water is into one word, I'll use VERY! To use a comparison... if your body doesn't get enough water, your insides will look like the cracked floor of a desert. Not a pretty picture huh! Now to get a bit technical... your blood, you know the stuff that gives your body life, uses water to deliver important nutrients and OXYGEN to your extremities. Without water, your body suffers.

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