March 27, 2024 • 14 mins
Hi Running Friends!
For those of us older runners, there are some nutrients that we need to pay attention to. This episode talks more about what we need in general, rather than running specific fueling, but the same things also enhance our runner bodies.
Resources from the Episode:
The Wrinkled Runner Podcast-
Essential Amino Acids with Dr. Wolfe
Fueling for the Runner
The Wrinkled Runner YouTube Channel:
Real Food for Runners - check out the recipes in the description (which are also videos), they are different than the recipes below
Recipes for the Nutrients in the Episode:
Phytonutrients- This is a list of recipes from the Cornell Cooperative Extension
Protein- A list of 5 recipes that are high in Protein, and developed for athletes so there are a good amount of carbs in there, too
Calcium- This isn’t a recipe, but if you cook up a bunch of baby bok choi, you will get in a load of calcium without having to drink milk (which I hate)
Vitamin D- Roast Salmon with Lentils
Omega 3 Fats- Chia Seed Pudding
If you are looking for a coach to help you reach your running goals, even if it's just to start to run, take a look at my Coaching Services page on the website. I do virtual, in-person (Buffalo, NY area) and also offer single zoom sessions for those would just like to chat with a coach one time.
Find my additional outlets over at the YouTube channel and at wrinkledrunner.com. Sign up over on the blog for the once-a-month newsletter! If you would like information on utilizing a running coach, check out what I can do for you here.
If you have any running-related questions, please send an email to sherry@wrinkledrunner.com…I answer every one.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today I'm going to talk about fueling for older
runners, but in a more generalsense than like what to eat
before a run or how to fuel amarathon.
There's a ton of informationout there regarding that and a
lot of us eat carbs, but as weage, there are things that we
can eat and just be more awareof nutritionally.
I am a nutrition coach but I amnot a registered dietitian and
(00:23):
while I can make recommendationsaround fueling, I cannot
prescribe supplements or makemeal plans or diet plans, so be
aware of anyone who is not an RDthat says that they can.
I can talk about how many gramsof macronutrients you should
eat, based on different factors,but I can't tell you how to get
(00:45):
those proteins in.
Besides a generalrecommendation, for example,
saying to you that eatingchicken breast is a food with
protein in it and would be abetter choice than a piece of
fruit if you wanted to get in acertain amount of grams of
protein.
One of the reasons our diet mayneed to change a bit as we get
older is the fact thateverything about us is just
(01:08):
older Our cells, our bones, ourskin.
They have all been working fora lot longer than someone in
high school say, Reducing celldamage can be had by ingesting
phytochemicals, and those arealso called phytonutrients you
might see it said that way aswell and they are found in
fruits and vegetables and we allknow we need to get those
(01:31):
veggies in and the berries andthe fruits, but sometimes
grabbing something processedseems to be an easier route.
So, you know, if we're morethoughtful about having those
things around the veggies andthe more whole foods instead of
grabbing, you know, a proteinbar or whatever, then we can up
the ways that real food can helpus as we age those of us who
(01:53):
are runners and if you'relistening to this, my assumption
is that is most of you wereally need the
anti-inflammatory action and thehelp against bone loss that
those phytochemicals can provide.
So any fruit, berry orvegetable you eat will have
these in them.
So it should be easy toincorporate more of them, like I
(02:14):
said, if we are more thoughtfulabout it.
Now, when I you know I hate thegrocery store, I like, really
hate it.
So one benefit of the pandemicwas so many stores.
Now delivery of whatever theysell is just an option and it's
(02:34):
easy and you know, you just havean app and that's how I do most
of my grocery shopping.
I miss out on some thingsbecause sometimes I just don't
see that it's available.
And every once in a while whenI go in a grocery store, you
know I'll find something elsethat, wow, that looks like
something I want to try.
(02:55):
But for the most part I buypretty much the same stuff every
week.
And because I hate going to thegrocery store so much, the app
that I use, instacart to get mygroceries delivered.
I can see everything that Iusually buy and just kind of
click, click, click, click,click.
So one thing that I pretty muchdo every week is buy out the
(03:21):
produce department and I get allthe berries, all the fruits,
all the vegetables and I justhave all that available all the
time.
And salads are a big part ofwhat I eat.
I love making a huge salad forlunch and I basically just chop
up any vegetable that I have andI throw fruit in there too.
(03:43):
I love fruit in my salads.
I put in seeds, I put in seeds,I put in nuts, I sprinkle it
with all kinds of herbs,cardamom seeds in salads,
believe it or not, taste great.
You know things with crunch inthem.
And I just put in all thethings.
Like I don't follow a recipereally.
I just chop stuff up.
(04:03):
I have like a handheld chopperthing that I just feed all the
vegetables through and thelittle hopper thing is full.
I dump that in a bowl and justkeep chopping until the salad is
done, and sometimes I can'teven finish it.
But it's just one way that I useto make sure I'm getting all
those fruits and vegetables in,and it's only possible because I
(04:26):
have all of it available.
It would be so much easier,like if I didn't have all that
stuff available, to open up acan of processed soup or, you
know, make a sandwich with delimeats which are not all that
great, and that's another thingtoo.
That I like to do is I willjust roast a whole turkey breast
and then I will just use thatas the turkey in my sandwiches
(04:50):
instead of from the deli counter.
And you can look up all thedifferent things about deli meat
that you know why.
It's not great.
But finding ways to get wholefoods in is just a really great
way to get those phytonutrientsor phytochemicals that I'm
(05:11):
talking about.
But if it's not in your house,you're not going to do it.
So plan ahead and just be, likeI said, mindful about having
all those things available to beable to do that.
One thing that studies areshowing that we need as we get
older is a higher quantity ofprotein.
Now, because we are runners, wemay be a lot more carb focused,
(05:34):
and because of the running thatI do, I do incorporate a lot of
carbs into my diet.
But those same studies that arefinding that, as we get older,
we may need more protein,they're finding that we may need
less carbs.
So, as athletes, we needanywhere from 1.2 grams of
protein per kilogram of bodyweight, and so that means you
(05:56):
may do some calculations ifyou're trying to figure that out
.
Now, for those runners who maybe dealing with overtraining, or
, as I've discovered, as I'veresearched ways on helping some
of my athletes that haveovertraining, researched ways on
helping some of my athletesthat have overtraining Now
they're in.
Some circles are calling itunexplained underperformance
syndrome.
I think sometimes it can beexplained, so maybe not the best
(06:21):
way of putting it, but anyway,a daily intake of two grams per
kilogram may be in order for atime.
So underfueling is a big reasona lot of runners become
over-trained.
So I think, with runners andwith athletes in general.
Sometimes as an individual youkind of have to experiment with
(06:42):
those recommendations and findout what works for you.
We do have to fuel more to getthe energy that we need to bang
out those runs, and sometimesour science kind of mixes in
with the prescribed science ofwhat different people need.
(07:02):
I find that if I take in allthe carbs based on a formula
that I just feel very heavy onmy runs, very bloated, and it
doesn't work well for me.
So I've had to kind of tweakthe formula, I guess, and the
grams of carbs that I cantolerate on a run.
(07:23):
And one of the reasons may beis when I was starting to figure
out like the kind of macros,especially when I'm in marathon
training, I Maybe I'm followingalong with what the studies are
showing and I just didn't knowit.
Like I don't need as many carbsbut I do need the upper level
(07:44):
of the protein.
So if you are figuring outmacros and all that kind of
stuff, sometimes it does takesome experimentation with
finding out what works best foryou.
But what's going to work bestfor everybody is absolutely more
fueling.
You can't just all of a suddenyou know, run marathons and run
(08:06):
more, or, you know, work outmore and not up the fueling
level, because you do need thatenergy in order to perform well.
So another needed nutrient iscalcium.
Now we put a lot of stress onour bones as we run.
A lot of times we don't thinkof our skeletons when we run.
We think more of the muscularsystem.
(08:28):
But we do need to maintain ourbone health because we're
putting a lot of stress on thosebones and calcium is, of course
, a big builder of the bonehealth.
Now, I'm someone who does notlike cow's milk, so I have to
really think about getting mycalcium in, and one way that I
(08:51):
did not realize that we can getcalcium in is oranges.
I did not realize that orangesis a source of calcium.
Now we all know, of course it'sgreat for vitamin C, but it's
going to give you calcium andthat fiber too that we all need.
You know, a lot of us do notget enough fiber in as well.
(09:12):
So if you don't like milk, youcan also eat kale, bok choy,
broccoli.
All those things will help youget calcium in.
Now, even though I hate milk, Ido love yogurt and cottage
cheese and sour cream.
I love all the things that aremade with milk.
(09:33):
I just have never liked milk,even when I was a kid.
I haven't had cereal in years,but I, you know I would eat it
in my cereal.
And then I switched to almondmilk.
I don't know what it is, but Ihate it and I I can't drink it.
So I have to be very, verymindful of how I'm getting my
(09:55):
calcium in.
Along with our calcium needs forthat good bone density, which
of course, does start todeteriorate as we get older,
vitamin D is also needed forthat bone density and it's also
needed to absorb the calciumthat we eat.
So one of the big ways that weget vitamin D that we all know
(10:18):
is being out in the sun.
Now if you live in Buffalo, newYork, like I do, during the
wintertime you are not gettingyour vitamin D from the sun.
It's not there, even if there'sno snow on the ground.
We don't have a lot of sunnydays in the winter in Buffalo.
So you also have to think abouthow you're going to get that
vitamin D in when you aren'trunning around outside in the
(10:42):
sun and if you run early in themorning when it's dark, you know
, even in July, you're still notgetting that vitamin D in.
So that's another vitamin thatyou need, that you have to be
mindful about, to be mindfulabout.
(11:04):
So eat that yogurt outside inthe sun to get that full circle
of the calcium with the vitaminD that you need for the
absorption.
There's also some evidence tosupport the idea that vitamin D
helps those of us in peri orpostmenopause with hot flashes
and night sweats.
So that is a huge reason forthose of us women who are older
to get our vitamin D in.
(11:25):
So things like mushrooms whichI love, which I know are not in
everybody's you know a lot ofpeople don't like mushrooms but
salmon and other fatty fish,eggs, again, yogurt and oranges
are all good sources of thatvitamin D.
So eating an orange is givingyou that whole circle system
(11:47):
that I'm talking about of the,you know, vitamin D and the
calcium.
That go hand in hand.
Since we run, you know, partlyanyway, to get our cardio in, we
need to pay attention toomega-3 fats.
Those are found in fatty fish.
You know oily fish.
Reducing inflammation is goodfor your heart, so enhancing
(12:07):
everything that the heart doesfor us is so important,
especially as we get older.
So the salmon is, you know, oneof those oily fish Fseed, which
is a great source of fiber alsothat we need, and chia seeds
are ways to get those omega-3sin.
So you've probably heard ofchia seed pudding.
(12:28):
There's tons of recipes outthere, either in overnight oats,
which is a great source of allthe things I'm talking about, or
just as a dessert.
That can be a tasty way ofgetting more of what we need
into our diets.
So one thing I love doing formyself is eating those real
(12:49):
foods to get the nutrients in,like I said before.
So while I do, you know I willuse protein powder or fiber
supplements.
I really feel that it can be somuch more filling to get these
in food form.
So if you're like me and youlike recipes that are getting
you the nutrients that you needwith whole foods, then you can
(13:12):
go to the show notes and I'mgoing to link you to recipes
that represent each one of thenutrients that I talked about
today.
Today I'm going to talk about fueling for older
runners, but in a more generalsense than like what to eat
before a run or how to fuel amarathon.
There's a ton of informationout there regarding that and a
lot of us eat carbs, but as weage, there are things that we
can eat and just be more awareof nutritionally.
I am a nutrition coach but I amnot a registered dietitian and
(00:23):
while I can make recommendationsaround fueling, I cannot
prescribe supplements or makemeal plans or diet plans, so be
aware of anyone who is not an RDthat says that they can.
I can talk about how many gramsof macronutrients you should
eat, based on different factors,but I can't tell you how to get
(00:45):
those proteins in.
Besides a generalrecommendation, for example,
saying to you that eatingchicken breast is a food with
protein in it and would be abetter choice than a piece of
fruit if you wanted to get in acertain amount of grams of
protein.
One of the reasons our diet mayneed to change a bit as we get
older is the fact thateverything about us is just
(01:08):
older Our cells, our bones, ourskin.
They have all been working fora lot longer than someone in
high school say, Reducing celldamage can be had by ingesting
phytochemicals, and those arealso called phytonutrients you
might see it said that way aswell and they are found in
fruits and vegetables and we allknow we need to get those
(01:31):
veggies in and the berries andthe fruits, but sometimes
grabbing something processedseems to be an easier route.
So, you know, if we're morethoughtful about having those
things around the veggies andthe more whole foods instead of
grabbing, you know, a proteinbar or whatever, then we can up
the ways that real food can helpus as we age those of us who
(01:53):
are runners and if you'relistening to this, my assumption
is that is most of you wereally need the
anti-inflammatory action and thehelp against bone loss that
those phytochemicals can provide.
So any fruit, berry orvegetable you eat will have
these in them.
So it should be easy toincorporate more of them, like I
(02:14):
said, if we are more thoughtfulabout it.
Now, when I you know I hate thegrocery store, I like, really
hate it.
So one benefit of the pandemicwas so many stores.
Now delivery of whatever theysell is just an option and it's
(02:34):
easy and you know, you just havean app and that's how I do most
of my grocery shopping.
I miss out on some thingsbecause sometimes I just don't
see that it's available.
And every once in a while whenI go in a grocery store, you
know I'll find something elsethat, wow, that looks like
something I want to try.
(02:55):
But for the most part I buypretty much the same stuff every
week.
And because I hate going to thegrocery store so much, the app
that I use, instacart to get mygroceries delivered.
I can see everything that Iusually buy and just kind of
click, click, click, click,click.
So one thing that I pretty muchdo every week is buy out the
(03:21):
produce department and I get allthe berries, all the fruits,
all the vegetables and I justhave all that available all the
time.
And salads are a big part ofwhat I eat.
I love making a huge salad forlunch and I basically just chop
up any vegetable that I have andI throw fruit in there too.
(03:43):
I love fruit in my salads.
I put in seeds, I put in seeds,I put in nuts, I sprinkle it
with all kinds of herbs,cardamom seeds in salads,
believe it or not, taste great.
You know things with crunch inthem.
And I just put in all thethings.
Like I don't follow a recipereally.
I just chop stuff up.
(04:03):
I have like a handheld chopperthing that I just feed all the
vegetables through and thelittle hopper thing is full.
I dump that in a bowl and justkeep chopping until the salad is
done, and sometimes I can'teven finish it.
But it's just one way that I useto make sure I'm getting all
those fruits and vegetables in,and it's only possible because I
(04:26):
have all of it available.
It would be so much easier,like if I didn't have all that
stuff available, to open up acan of processed soup or, you
know, make a sandwich with delimeats which are not all that
great, and that's another thingtoo.
That I like to do is I willjust roast a whole turkey breast
and then I will just use thatas the turkey in my sandwiches
(04:50):
instead of from the deli counter.
And you can look up all thedifferent things about deli meat
that you know why.
It's not great.
But finding ways to get wholefoods in is just a really great
way to get those phytonutrientsor phytochemicals that I'm
(05:11):
talking about.
But if it's not in your house,you're not going to do it.
So plan ahead and just be, likeI said, mindful about having
all those things available to beable to do that.
One thing that studies areshowing that we need as we get
older is a higher quantity ofprotein.
Now, because we are runners, wemay be a lot more carb focused,
(05:34):
and because of the running thatI do, I do incorporate a lot of
carbs into my diet.
But those same studies that arefinding that, as we get older,
we may need more protein,they're finding that we may need
less carbs.
So, as athletes, we needanywhere from 1.2 grams of
protein per kilogram of bodyweight, and so that means you
(05:56):
may do some calculations ifyou're trying to figure that out
.
Now, for those runners who maybe dealing with overtraining, or
, as I've discovered, as I'veresearched ways on helping some
of my athletes that haveovertraining, researched ways on
helping some of my athletesthat have overtraining Now
they're in.
Some circles are calling itunexplained underperformance
syndrome.
I think sometimes it can beexplained, so maybe not the best
(06:21):
way of putting it, but anyway,a daily intake of two grams per
kilogram may be in order for atime.
So underfueling is a big reasona lot of runners become
over-trained.
So I think, with runners andwith athletes in general.
Sometimes as an individual youkind of have to experiment with
(06:42):
those recommendations and findout what works for you.
We do have to fuel more to getthe energy that we need to bang
out those runs, and sometimesour science kind of mixes in
with the prescribed science ofwhat different people need.
(07:02):
I find that if I take in allthe carbs based on a formula
that I just feel very heavy onmy runs, very bloated, and it
doesn't work well for me.
So I've had to kind of tweakthe formula, I guess, and the
grams of carbs that I cantolerate on a run.
(07:23):
And one of the reasons may beis when I was starting to figure
out like the kind of macros,especially when I'm in marathon
training, I Maybe I'm followingalong with what the studies are
showing and I just didn't knowit.
Like I don't need as many carbsbut I do need the upper level
(07:44):
of the protein.
So if you are figuring outmacros and all that kind of
stuff, sometimes it does takesome experimentation with
finding out what works best foryou.
But what's going to work bestfor everybody is absolutely more
fueling.
You can't just all of a suddenyou know, run marathons and run
(08:06):
more, or, you know, work outmore and not up the fueling
level, because you do need thatenergy in order to perform well.
So another needed nutrient iscalcium.
Now we put a lot of stress onour bones as we run.
A lot of times we don't thinkof our skeletons when we run.
We think more of the muscularsystem.
(08:28):
But we do need to maintain ourbone health because we're
putting a lot of stress on thosebones and calcium is, of course
, a big builder of the bonehealth.
Now, I'm someone who does notlike cow's milk, so I have to
really think about getting mycalcium in, and one way that I
(08:51):
did not realize that we can getcalcium in is oranges.
I did not realize that orangesis a source of calcium.
Now we all know, of course it'sgreat for vitamin C, but it's
going to give you calcium andthat fiber too that we all need.
You know, a lot of us do notget enough fiber in as well.
(09:12):
So if you don't like milk, youcan also eat kale, bok choy,
broccoli.
All those things will help youget calcium in.
Now, even though I hate milk, Ido love yogurt and cottage
cheese and sour cream.
I love all the things that aremade with milk.
(09:33):
I just have never liked milk,even when I was a kid.
I haven't had cereal in years,but I, you know I would eat it
in my cereal.
And then I switched to almondmilk.
I don't know what it is, but Ihate it and I I can't drink it.
So I have to be very, verymindful of how I'm getting my
(09:55):
calcium in.
Along with our calcium needs forthat good bone density, which
of course, does start todeteriorate as we get older,
vitamin D is also needed forthat bone density and it's also
needed to absorb the calciumthat we eat.
So one of the big ways that weget vitamin D that we all know
(10:18):
is being out in the sun.
Now if you live in Buffalo, newYork, like I do, during the
wintertime you are not gettingyour vitamin D from the sun.
It's not there, even if there'sno snow on the ground.
We don't have a lot of sunnydays in the winter in Buffalo.
So you also have to think abouthow you're going to get that
vitamin D in when you aren'trunning around outside in the
(10:42):
sun and if you run early in themorning when it's dark, you know
, even in July, you're still notgetting that vitamin D in.
So that's another vitamin thatyou need, that you have to be
mindful about, to be mindfulabout.
(11:04):
So eat that yogurt outside inthe sun to get that full circle
of the calcium with the vitaminD that you need for the
absorption.
There's also some evidence tosupport the idea that vitamin D
helps those of us in peri orpostmenopause with hot flashes
and night sweats.
So that is a huge reason forthose of us women who are older
to get our vitamin D in.
(11:25):
So things like mushrooms whichI love, which I know are not in
everybody's you know a lot ofpeople don't like mushrooms but
salmon and other fatty fish,eggs, again, yogurt and oranges
are all good sources of thatvitamin D.
So eating an orange is givingyou that whole circle system
(11:47):
that I'm talking about of the,you know, vitamin D and the
calcium.
That go hand in hand.
Since we run, you know, partlyanyway, to get our cardio in, we
need to pay attention toomega-3 fats.
Those are found in fatty fish.
You know oily fish.
Reducing inflammation is goodfor your heart, so enhancing
(12:07):
everything that the heart doesfor us is so important,
especially as we get older.
So the salmon is, you know, oneof those oily fish Fseed, which
is a great source of fiber alsothat we need, and chia seeds
are ways to get those omega-3sin.
So you've probably heard ofchia seed pudding.
(12:28):
There's tons of recipes outthere, either in overnight oats,
which is a great source of allthe things I'm talking about, or
just as a dessert.
That can be a tasty way ofgetting more of what we need
into our diets.
So one thing I love doing formyself is eating those real
(12:49):
foods to get the nutrients in,like I said before.
So while I do, you know I willuse protein powder or fiber
supplements.
I really feel that it can be somuch more filling to get these
in food form.
So if you're like me and youlike recipes that are getting
you the nutrients that you needwith whole foods, then you can
(13:12):
go to the show notes and I'mgoing to link you to recipes
that represent each one of thenutrients that I talked about
today.
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