Nutrition
Well this post is another cup of tea and digestive biscuit or two type post. What is the best diet for runners or the population as a whole ? With most things in running there is no reinventing the wheel. You’re normally faced with the ‘norm’ and one alternative. e.g. run less, run faster as opposed to run slower, but more, to run faster. I personally suspect either method works if you follow them religiously. The problem occurs when you half heartily follow one but add in some of the other. Anyhow this post is about what is the best nutrition for achieving the best performance.
In the good old days it was always high carbs, low fat and sugar, normally natural, as fuel. Even today if you google best running diets it’s mostly pasta, rice, bread, honey, orange juice, low fat yoghurt, skinless chicken, semi-skimmed milk etc. We’ve all seen it a thousand times. I’ve been following this for many years and it has certainly helped me. Or has it ?
Recently Tim Noakes, a highly respected write and MD changed his view on nutrition virtually 180 degrees. Noakes is the author of one of, if not the defining book on all things running, ‘The Lore of Runing’, a 944-page tome known as the distance runner’s bible. He has come out and said forget everything he wrote in that book about carbohydrates. Back then, he questioned whether they were as necessary to a runner’s diet as many experts believed but still recommended them, particularly as fuel for workouts and races.
Now, Noakes won’t touch most carbs and tells others to avoid them, too. His book about this new lifestyle, The Real Meal Revolution, has sold more than 200,000 copies in his native South Africa the last two years, making it one of the country’s all-time nonfiction bestsellers, and it has helped launch a change in dietary thought much the same way the Atkins diet did across America years ago.
Noakes originally started his low carb, high fat diet in 2010 after research led him to believe the carbohydrates he’d eaten all his life contributed to his Type II diabetes, which runs in his family. His new eating habits resembled those of ancient foragers, most similar to a late 1800s European fad known as Banting. Noakes’s diet consists of about 5–10 percent carbohydrates, 60 percent fat and 30 percent protein. Sugars and processed carbs are forbidden. The mainstays are eggs, fish, meat, leafy but not starchy vegetables and nuts. His advice opposes dietary guidelines laid out by the Nutrition Society of South Africa, which recommend making “starchy foods” part of most meals and using fats sparingly.
Compare this to the ‘norm’ e.g. this article on Runners Connect advocating all the things Noakes is dead against. ( https://runnersconnect.net/running-nutrition-articles/best-carbohydrates-for-runners/ ) or this article from Runners World.
CARBOHYDRATES AND RUNNING
Carbohydrates (sugar, starch, and fiber) play an important role in maintaining a healthy diet and fueling your runs. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles as glycogen, which your body taps into during a workout.But not all carbohydrates are created equal. The more processed a carbohydrate is (like packaged foods and sweets) the more it becomes stripped of its nutrients, making its calories “empty.”
To fuel your body and your run, reach for complex carbohydrates like whole fruits and vegetables, dairy, whole grains, potatoes, and legumes. These foods provide a host of nutrients, including fiber, vitamin C, and calcium, that will help runners feel full and perform their best.
You can benefit from simple carbohydrates (like table sugar, maple syrup, or dextrose), which provide quick bursts of energy. This type of sugar (found in energy gels and chews) is good for on-the-run fuel because it is quickly absorbed and can help replenish the glycogen stores you’re depleting on a long run. You’ll want to refuel regularly on the run before your muscles become fully depleted. Try to consume 30 to 60 grams every hour, depending on your intensity and also body size.
Carb-loading may be a runner’s favorite part about marathon day. But to do it properly, it’s important not to eat heaps of pasta for days on end—you’ll feel sluggish and it could lead to GI distress on race day. Instead, slowly increase your carbohydrate intake about three to seven days leading up to your race. For example, have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, add a dinner roll to your salad, have a handful of pretzels as a snack, and add rice or other whole grains to your dinner.
Activity Level Recommended Intake
Light activity (less than 1 hour per day) 1.3 to 2.3 g/lb. body weight
Moderate activity (1 hour per day) 2.3 to 3.2 g/lb. body weight
Extreme exercise program (4.5 to 6 hours per day) 4.5 to 5.5+ g/lb. body weight
Are all the running experts wrong and is Noakes a visionary preaching a complete change on how we fuel efficiently ? More importantly has he found the cure for diabetes and obesity.? Finally if he has will big business let him? I read that if Noakes is telling the truth it would be the end for four large pharmaceutical companies who survive on providing the drugs necessary to combat the 20th century diseases associated with over eating and bad diets. Then all the industries built up on providing all these carbohydrates and sugar we rely on currently. Big business does not like change as it normally affects the bottom line, they are not at all interested in finding cures for most diseases they supply drugs to combat, why would they?
Personally I feel Noakes has some good points. We all eat to much sugar and can certainly do without it, there are natural alternatives. Can we go low carb, high fat. ? I’m happy to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast , as encouraged by Noakes, but giving up probably my main food group will be a big ask.
Finally what about pancakes, protein surely ? Not even Noakes would try and take my pancakes away, would he? I regret eating that digestive biscuit now, well maybe regret is a tad overboard….
I have attached an interview Noakes gave to Marika Sboros ( http://www.biznews.com/health/2015/01/19/complete-idiots-guide-tim-noakes-diet-banting-lchf/ )
Strictly speaking, it’s not correct to call Cape Town sports scientist Prof Tim Noakes’ low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet ‘Banting’, but he doesn’t mind if you do. The eponymous William Banting was fat – a heavily overweight, ailing British undertaker, and he ate low carbs on the advice of Dr William Harvey in 1862. Banting lost weight and felt great. Harvey wrote about it, but under pressure from medical colleagues, modified the diet into high-protein, low-fat. German physician Dr Wilhelm Ebstein took it to Europe, and changed to high-fat, low-carb after realising the key was replacing carbs with fat, not protein, as fat reduced hunger more effectively. So it’s more correct to call Noakes’ diet ‘Ebstein’, or ‘ketogenic’. Banting may stick in SA, where it is a culinary ‘revolution’, with Banting restaurants, meals and products popping up all over the place.
That has had some doctors and dietitians frothing at the mouth, and looking on Noakes as SA’s next ‘Dr Death’. President of the Association for Dietetics in SA Claire Julsing Strydom has reported Noakes to the Health Professions Council of SA for telling a mother on Twitter that good foods for baby weaning are LCHF – in other words meat and veg. The hearing is looking like the nutrition equivalent of the Spanish inquisition, as orthodoxy seeks to silence Noakes and his heretical views once and for all. Whether they will succeed is anyone’s guess. What’s more certain is that Banting is going global , as evidence piles up in favour of its safety and efficacy to treat insulin resistance and for weightloss. Here, Noakes gives clarifying fundamentals, followed by an Idiot’s Guide to his LCHF diet.
Cape Town sports scientist Prof Tim Noakes is in great shape. At 65, after four years on his low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, his energy levels are stratospheric; his running has improved spectacularly.
“I don’t run as fast as I ran in my 20s, but I’m running faster and further in training, and with more enjoyment than I did 20 years ago,” he says.
He hasn’t gained a gram of the 20kg he lost in the first two years on the diet, and his health has improved. Noakes has type 2 diabetes (it’s in his family history) and developed it despite religiously eating the recommended high-carb, low-fat diet for 33 years that experts told him would prevent diabetes. He could probably do without medication to control it, but prefers to have “perfect blood glucose control’’.
He sleeps like a baby and no longer snores – for which wife Marilyn is deeply grateful – and no longer falls asleep in front of the TV. All other ailments – recurring bronchitis, rhinitis, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, and gastric reflux for which he was considering surgery – have disappeared.
Controversy still peppers his diet, with some saying it’s unscientific and dangerous – and so is Noakes. The science for and against LCHF and Noakes was scrutinised by an international gathering of top LCHF scientists and researchers at the low-carb, high-fat summit in Cape Town from February 19 to 22. Noakes hosted the event with Karen Thomson, granddaughter of the late pioneering cardiac surgeon Prof Chris Barnard, and the cream of international LCHF medical and scientific experts on the speakers’ panel.
Here he clarifies terminology of his LCHF diet, and gives an Idiot’s Guide to getting started:
Is your diet Atkins?
No, Atkins is higher protein than ours. Ours is high-fat, moderate-protein.
Is it Paleo?
No. Paleo is low in carbs, but not as low as we go. It excludes cereals and dairy, but includes fruit, which we don’t, except for some berries that are high in nutrition and low in carbs.
Is it Banting?
It’s probably more correct to call it Ebstein – after German physician Dr Wilhelm Ebstein who first made it high-fat. That was the diet Sir William Osler promoted in his monumental textbook: The Principles and Practices of Medicine, published in the US in 1892. Anyone who claims Banting or Ebstein diets are fads simply knows nothing about medical nutrition history. Nutrition did not begin in 1977 as our students seem to be taught.
Any weighing of food on your diet?
No. That’s a joke. You can’t predict accurately the absolute calorie content of foods when eaten by humans. You don’t know how many calories each person needs. The only way to work that out is by weighing yourself. If your weight stays stable, you’re eating the same number of calories you are expending. If you are lean, that’ll probably be the correct number of calories for your body and activity level. There’s no other way remotely accurate enough to measure your calorie needs.
Is your diet extreme?
Only in that it’s extremely low in carbohydrate – the one nutrient for which humans have absolutely no essential requirement. In 1977, when we were told to eat diets extremely high in carbohydrates, human health started to fail on a global scale. Moderation is a smug, puritanical word. No mammal eats in moderation. In nature all diets are extreme – lions eat only meat, polar bears mainly fat, panda bears only bamboo shoots, giraffes only acacia leaves. Balance is what has worked for each of these species for millions of years.
Is it right for everyone?
No diet is right for everyone. LCHF is best for people who are insulin resistant.
Critics say the Tim Noakes diet is dangerous because of high saturated fat. Is saturated fat ever a health threat?
It can be, in the presence of a high carbohydrate/sugar diet that causes elevated insulin concentrations due to the excessive carb intake. Insulin directs an altered metabolism, with the formation of the damaging oxidised (LDL) cholesterol that is probably a key component in heart disease.
So what’s the key?
To eat a diet that keeps blood insulin and glucose concentrations low, because elevated insulin concentrations especially are linked to long-term health problems. We say: eat what your appetite directs you to. Once you cut the carbs we think your brain will tell you if you need more fat or protein. It’s about finding the balance that works for you.
On to the fundamentals when starting on your diet – what to cut out?
Bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, pizza, sugar, all grains and cereals, processed, packaged, boxed, adulterated foods, cakes, sweets, biscuits, fizzy drinks, all the addictive things. Anything sweet and starchy has to go – and low-fat foods.
What to keep in?
Fat and protein. You can eat fat in relatively unlimited amounts, but only moderate protein. A healthy high-protein diet for humans doesn’t exist. If your diet was 100% protein, you’d quickly get sick and die. You can’t really overdose on fat; it reduces appetite, and it’s the best way to get over sugar addiction.
What are good protein sources?
Start with eggs, full-fat dairy, cheese, yoghurt – good fallback foods. Fish and chicken – with the skin, not battery fed – and some meat, preferably organic, or at least pasture-raised, not from animals raised in feed lots and fed grains, because that destroys the meat’s quality. Meat’s not a main focus, but we like lamb because it’s fatty and pasture fed. Boerwors is fine, but without cereal in it, and bacon, preferably not very smoked.
And good fat sources?
Butter, cream – ladle meat and veg with butter; put cream in tea or coffee. Coconut oil, very healthy, everyone should have two tablespoons of it daily. Avocados. Nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecan nuts, especially macadamia nuts, they are like drops of fat – all tree nuts. Not peanuts or cashews. They’re legumes, not nuts.
Dairy can be problematic?
Only for people with diarrhoea, lactose intolerance, or who battle to lose weight – that happens mostly to women. It may well be that fat increases their hunger rather than satisfies it. We don’t know if it’s just an effect of saturated fat in some people. The easiest way to cut fat in that case is to cut dairy, and eat other sources of fat, such as oily fish, and avocado.
What about vegetables?
All vegetables have carbohydrates, but we recommend those with lowest carb, highest Tim Noakes Real Meal Revolutionnutrient content: leafy greens such as kale, it’s one of the most nutritious vegetables; also cauliflower, broccoli, they’re on our green list – (in The Real Meal Revolution, co-authored by Jonno Proudfoot, Sally-Ann Creed and David Grier).
Can you be a vegetarian on your diet?
Yes, if you eat dairy products, but we advise adding eggs and fish. Vegetarians who cheat can be incredibly healthy.
You can’t be a vegan on your diet?
Well, I know a vegan athlete, a former professional cyclist who eats 80% fat in his diet – lots of coconut oil and avos. It’s an extreme diet, but it works for him. Clearly his gut flora can handle it. I met someonewho eats only raw meat. We don’t know what the bacteria in their guts are doing, and how those bacteria might compensate for what we might perceive as intake “deficiencies”.
What carb-fat-protein ratio is best?
Depends on how sick you are. If you’re diabetic, we say 20% to 30% protein, 60% to 70% fat, 5% carbs. The sicker you are, the more fat you need, because fat is insulin neutral. The more insulin resistant you are, the more fat you can eat, because even when the pancreas fails, fat is the only fuel you can metabolise safely without requiring insulin. It’s perfect for blood sugar control. We don’t tell people how many grams to eat, except for carbs – around 25g if you are really sick.
What about alcohol?
It’s a toxin, and slows weight loss on our diet significantly. We say: first lose the weight, and reintroduce alcohol in small amounts if you must. The diet is a fine line. If you don’t fall on the right side of the fat, protein, carb ratio, just one apple, a beer or two glasses of wine will put you on the wrong side, and you will not enjoy the benefits you should from cutting carbs.
No sweet ‘cheat’ treats at all?
A small piece of dark chocolate is fine, but many people can’t eat just one small piece – like smokers who can’t have one cigarette. The key is to get sugar out the diet. People don’t understand how addictive sugar is, or what it actually is – not just sucrose, the white stuff, also high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in processed foods. That’s what I classify as sugar, the really addictive one. If you can get people down to 25g of carbs a day for a few months with no added sugar, the brain no longer searches for sugar. That’s what makes our diet so successful.
And best snacks?
Nuts, biltong, cheese, coconut – I love coconut chips best of all. And fullcream yoghurt.
How often should you eat?
Depends on how sick or obese you are. I’m diabetic, so in my opinion the less frequently I eat the better. I eat a big breakfast, snack a little at two in the afternoon and eat dinner at seven.
Last week we all ran the Fremantle half and afterwards it was back to City beach and the best pancakes we can find in Perth at the moment. If you follow this blog you’ll know we run for pancakes. The bling, kudos, wellness, fitness etc is all well and good but the bottom line is the pancakes after the Sunday long run. Running magazines even talk up pancakes as recovery food so it must be good. (Please no one write anything to the contrary as you will be banned from this site and all access blocked. I only have pancakes in my life bar running. I hope the Wife and kids don’t read that!)
I digress , as always. So this morning we all meet at 6am outside Clancys ( http://clancysfishpub.com.au/city-beach.html ) and off we go on another ( and the last pre-Masters marathon) long run. The obligatory 30k out and back with no stops. I believe this method of training teaches your body to use fat as fuel and not substitute this fat burning with Gu’s etc. helps on race day. My view anyhow. So the six of us start and even pick up another runner on the way, a Sports Doctor no less who of course is invited to be part of the group moving forward. We all make the 15k turn around together and pick up the pace for the return leg. (as is the way off most running groups globally).
Once we finish we notice one of our group seems to have be left behind and the last two runners return and put in an order for pancakes and a flat white coffee as Mark L., has been passed and put in his order as he knows he’s in trouble. The image below shows what a considerate guy I am, you’ll notice Mark’s pancakes and coffee eating for him.
So eventually Mark turns up and he’d hit the wall at about 25k in the 30k run and went from feeling fine to ‘finished’ in a short period of time. Heart rate was fine just he had nothing in his legs. Must admit when he staggered in he’d looked better. The pancakes, coffee, a shake and water helped and he soon regains his composure. Compare this to last week when Mark ran a great PB without pushing himself. This was due to a block of training that had pushed his average distance well beyond his norm.
So the point of this post is sometimes the run kicks your backside when you least expect it. Everybody has bad days but you must realise when your training you’re running on tired legs continuously and sometimes you just push too hard and it’s time to ‘pay the piper’, today Mark paid in full.
It’s important to also realise that when you eventually face your goal race you’re normally rested, carbo-loaded and hydrated. Add this to the extra incentive to do well and sometimes those last long runs are harder than the race itself.
If you have a bad run and hit the wall that’s ok. You’ve found a tipping point which you can use as a baseline for your next block of training and move past it. Sometimes you learn more from these runs that constant easy runs that don’t test you. Of course it helps when you know you got probably the best pancakes in Perth and a decent coffee waiting for you.
For the first time ever I managed to break 700k cumulative for the month, in only 30 days. Should have picked a 31 day month.!
Strava as always keeps track of everything and I made top 50 for the monthly challenge from 152,886 runners. All good but has it translated into better racing. We’ll find out over the next 6 weeks when I race 5 times from 5k to marathon. I’m confident the last 4 weeks of running twice a day has put me in a place I’ve never been before, fitness wise, as well as giving me more confidence to attack these races and aim for PB’s. This is as important as the fitness because sometime in every race you will doubt yourself or give yourself the excuse you need to slow down. Racing is 80% training and 20% mental which can’t really be properly managed without the confidence of a good training block.
I excited about Sunday when I run the WAMC Peninsula 10k. ( http://www.wamc.org.au ). The last three years I’ve managed to podium, mainly because it is quite a low key affair but enjoy the course as it has a few challenging sections including running under a bridge. It’s an out and back so you get to see who is in hot pursuit which encourages you to keep yourself cocooned in the ‘pain box’; which is where you need to be to race. There’s no getting round the fact racing is painful but long term the good outweighs the short term pain. (I must remember that on Sunday !)
Yet again the topic of nutrition came up on our weekly double bridges 17k lunchtime run. Mike who is chasing an age group record at the Perth marathon next June, targeting a sub-3 at 55, has the odd indulgent blow out on a regular basis. He loves his beer, takeaways and putting a few lbs on every now and then. Jon has been struggling with his weight recently and only last year I phoned him once and caught him ordering a Big Mac at McDonalds. For the kids apparently but I don’t believe a word of it. Anyway weight is so important for performance and unfortunately for us runners less really is more. The less you weigh the faster you are going to go (see a previous post on this subject) Anyway after chatting to Mike and Jon as we ran lunchtime I decided to mention them in my blog and also post a good article by Matt Fitzgerald on the “New Rules of Marathon Running”. If it came from Matt it must be so…. enjoy.
Before the article by Matt I need to discuss the second part of the post, how much are you willing to give up? For me the question is simple, just about everything. I don’t really drink, try to eat well (with a sweet tooth this is sometimes a challenge; see my post reference Yelo cafe in Trigg, Perth ( http://www.yelocornerstore.com.au ) and love to exercise rather than socialise. I’ve probably taken my Wife out for a meal bi-annually and as already mentioned she now has a great social life while I babysit and get an early night pre-morning run. For me the rush of running as well as I can and still hitting PB’s at nearly 50 makes the sacrifices well worth it.
For all runners the decision needs to be made sometime in their career, what are you willing to give up to be the best you can be? For Mike it may be beer and for Jon the family trip to McDonalds, we’ll see.
Right over to Matt and a great article on Marathon Nutrition.
When Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall reached the 23-mile mark of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon as co-leaders of the race, they were on pace to finish in 2:08:34. Keflezighi wound up stopping the clock at 2:09:08, Hall in 2:09:30. In other words, both runners hit a wall — not catastrophically, but enough to have felt it.
The third man to reach the 23-mile mark, Abdi Abdirahman, also slowed down over the last 3.2 miles of the race, as did the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. In fact, you have to go all the way back to 12th place to find a runner — Ricky Flynn — who held pace over the final 5K of the Olympic Trials marathon.
Yes, pro runners hit that imaginary but very real physiological wall, too, but it’s not nearly the problem that it is for the rest of us. Roughly three out of every four participants in any given marathon cover the second half of the race at least two minutes slower than the first. Many runners slow down even more dramatically after the 20-mile mark, where the wall traditionally hovers. By contrast, less than one in 10 half-marathon participants slow down by a comparable amount, and in races shorter than 13.1 miles hitting the wall is a rare occurrence.
The most common cause of hitting the wall is muscle glycogen depletion. Glycogen, a fuel derived from dietary carbohydrates, is stored in relatively small amounts in the muscles and liver, where it waits to be delivered to muscles via the bloodstream in the form of glucose. Most runners have enough glycogen in their bodies to run 13.1 miles at a good pace. But the marathon is fundamentally a metabolic challenge. If you run the first half of the race even one percent too fast, you risk depleting your glycogen levels. Finishing a marathon without hitting the wall requires storing and conserving enough glycogen fuel to avoid running out of it somewhere between 20 and 26 miles — which, as the statistics show, is not easy to do.
Good pacing is paramount. You’ll burn through precious glycogen stores more slowly if you maintain a consistent pace than you will if your pace is erratic, even if it averages out to be the same. Proper training also helps. A good marathon training plan will increase your capacity to store glycogen and improve your running economy and fat-burning capacity, enabling you to burn through stores at a slower rate.
But pacing and training aren’t enough. You must also maintain an appropriate nutrition plan throughout your training process. However, the thinking behind marathon (and half-marathon) training nutrition has shifted in recent years. Follow these six rules to maximize your training and avoid the wall in long-distance races.
Old Rule: Runners don’t rely as much as non-athletes on diet for weight management.
New Rule: Runners rely more than non-athletes on diet for weight management.
Until recently, exercise scientists believed that variables such as VO2max (or aerobic capacity) and running economy were the most powerful predictors of running performance. But recent research has revealed that body composition is equally important. One study involving elite Ethiopian runners found that those with the least body fat had the fastest race times.
Each runner’s optimal racing weight falls near the bottom end of his or her healthy weight range because excess body fat is dead weight that increases the energy cost of running. A typical runner who sheds just one pound of body fat could see a one-minute improvement in his or her marathon time without any change in fitness.
The runner’s goal of reaching his or her ideal racing weight is more challenging than the average non-runner’s goal of staying within his or her healthy weight range. To reach racing weight, runners have to eat more carefully than non-runners must eat to avoid becoming overweight.
Complicating matters for runners is something called the compensation effect. The more a person exercises, the more his or her appetite increases and the more he or she eats. Simply ignoring the increased appetite is not a viable solution, but neither is an extra-large, double-cheese pizza.
Instead, runners must increase the quality of their diets. High-quality foods such as vegetables are less calorically dense than low-quality foods, satisfying the appetite with fewer calories. The six high-quality food types are vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, whole grains, lean meats and fish, and dairy. And the four basic categories of low-quality foods are refined grains, fatty meats, sweets and fried foods.
Take-Away Tip: When training for a marathon, fuel with high-quality foods to reach the starting line lighter. Muscles burn less glycogen at goal pace, meaning you’re less likely to hit the wall.
Old Rule: The high-carb diet recommended to runners in the 20th Century was a mistake.
New Rule: The current carbohydrate-moderation fad in running is a mistake.
Back in the 1960s, Swedish researchers discovered a high-carbohydrate diet increased muscle glycogen stores and thereby boosted endurance running performance. The practice of pre-marathon “carbo loading” was born out of this research. Subsequent studies revealed a high-carbohydrate diet also increased runners’ capacity to absorb heavy training loads day after day. Sports nutritionists have recommended high-carb diets for runners ever since.
Well, most sports nutritionists recommended high-carb diets for runners almost ever since. Lately, some experts have suggested a low-carb diet is better, arguing when runners maintain a low-carb diet their muscles become better fat burners, an adaptation that spares muscle glycogen in marathons and thereby pushes back the wall.
Studies have shown that low-carb diets do indeed increase fat burning during running. However, this effect has not been linked to improved endurance performance., Meanwhile, new research has reconfirmed that runners aren’t able to train as hard on a low-carb diet because it produces chronically low glycogen stores.
A study conducted by Asker Jeukendrup and colleagues at the University of Birmingham, England, compared the effects of a 41 percent carbohydrate diet and a 65 percent carbohydrate diet during an 11-day period of intensified run training. On the low-carb diet, performance levels decreased and the runners’ self-reported fatigue levels increased. On the high-carb diet, performance and energy levels were maintained.
Take-Away Tip: The amount of carbohydrate a runner needs to handle his or her training is tied to the amount of training he or she does. Use this table to determine how much carbohydrate to include in your diet.
Average Daily Training Time (Running and Other Activities) Daily Carbohydrate Target 30-45 minutes 3-4 g/kg 46-60 minutes 4-5 g/kg 61-75 minutes 5-6 g/kg 76-90 minutes 6-7 g/kg 90 minutes 7-8 g/kg >120 minutes 8-10 g/kg
Old Rule: Drink plenty of sports drink every run to boost performance.
New Rule: Do some “fasting workouts” to make muscles better fat burners.
Sports drinks aid running performance by limiting dehydration and supplying muscles with an extra source of energy. But you do not need a sports drink on every training run. Research has shown that sports drinks have no effect on performance in hard runs lasting less than one hour or easier runs lasting fewer than 90 minutes.
What’s more, other studies suggest the carbohydrates in sports drinks act as a physiological crutch by limiting some beneficial fitness adaptations that occur in response to training. Improvements in the muscles’ fat-burning capacity and other adaptations depend partly on the depletion of muscle glycogen stores during workouts. Sports drinks attenuate glycogen depletion and thereby blunt the body’s adaptive response to the run. Sports drinks are imperative for longer and harder workouts, but relying too heavily on them in training may make you less fit.
Take-Away Tip: Use a sports drink during roughly half of your runs lasting between one and two hours and during all of your runs lasting longer than two hours.
Old Rule: Carbo load before a race.
New Rule: Fat load, then carbo load before a race.
Earlier I said a low-carb diet — specifically a high-fat, low-carb diet — increases fat burn during running, but this benefit comes at the cost of reduced training capacity. For this reason, it’s not recommended runners use such a diet as their normal training diet. However, research has shown that a short-term high-fat diet that immediately precedes the traditional pre-race carbo load offers the best of both worlds. 10 days of fat-loading are enough to increase the muscles’ fat-burning capacity, while the subsequent three-day carbo load ensures muscles also have plenty of glycogen available.
In 2001, Vicki Lambert, an exercise scientist at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, tested the effects of 10 days of fat loading followed by three days of carbo loading on endurance performance in cyclists. After warming up with two hours of moderate-intensity cycling, Lambert’s subjects were able to complete a 20K time trial 4.5 percent faster after using this protocol than they did when carb loading was preceded by their normal diet.
To get these benefits in your next marathon you’ll have to get 65 percent of your calories from fat every day for ten days starting two weeks before your race. This means virtually everything you eat will need to be high in healthy fats. Recommended staples for fat loading are avocadoes, Greek yogurt, cheese, eggs, nuts, olives and olive oil, salmon, and whole milk.
Take-Away Tip: Switch from fat-loading to carbo-loading three days before your marathon. Aim to get 70 percent of your total calories from carbs during this period.
Old Rule: Drink plenty of water before your marathon.
New Rule: Drink plenty of water and a little beet juice before your marathon.
Every runner knows it’s important to hydrate before the start of a marathon, but it’s easy to go overboard. You don’t have to drink a lot to achieve full hydration after a night of sleep, and any excess will only force you to wait in long toilet lines before the start and — worse — stop for bathroom breaks during your marathon. Limit morning of, pre-marathon fluid intake to 24 ounces and don’t drink anything in the final hour before the race begins.
Here’s another suggestion: Instead of drinking water before your marathon, drink beet juice. Why? Beet juice is packed with dietary nitrates, which help blood vessels dilate, increasing blood flow to muscles during exercise. Studies have shown that drinking half a liter (about 17 ounces) of beet juice two to three hours before running can enhance performance.
Take-Away Tip: See if beet juice helps you by testing it before some practice runs. A word of caution: Don’t try it for the first time on the morning of a marathon.
Old Rule: Drink as much as you can during the marathon.
New Rule: Drink by thirst.
If you’ve been a runner longer than a week you’ve probably been advised at least once — perhaps dozens of times — to hydrate during your race with a sports drink at a rate sufficient to offset weight loss from sweating and to provide 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour. The rationale behind these recommendations is that full rehydration elevates performance by aiding thermoregulation and reducing cardiac strain, while absorbing carbs at the highest possible rate enhances performance by maintaining blood glucose levels and delaying muscle glycogen depletion.
Lately, however, these longstanding guidelines have been challenged by studies indicating that, during running, such high rates of fueling cause gastrointestinal discomfort and offer no performance benefit compared to simply drinking by thirst. A new study conducted by Ian Rollo and colleagues at England’s Loughborough University, published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, provides the strongest support yet for this new “obey your thirst” philosophy.
Nine experienced recreational runners participated in the experiment. Each completed a 10-mile road race on three separate occasions, drinking nothing during one race, drinking a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink by thirst during another race (which came to an average of 315 ml per hour), and drinking at a prescribed rate aimed to provide the recommended 60 grams of carbs per hour in the third race (which came to 1,055 ml per hour).
In addition to timing the three races, Dr. Rollo’s team took measurements of dehydration, core body temperature, and gastrointestinal distress. Performances in the no-drinking and prescribed-drinking trials were almost identical. But, when allowed to drink according to their thirst, the runners covered the 10-mile course almost a minute faster on average.
Rollo says that further research is needed to determine why the runners performed better with intuitive drinking, despite becoming significantly more dehydrated and taking in 70 percent less carbohydrates compared to the prescribed-drinking trial. One possible explanation is suggested by the runners’ subjective ratings of gastrointestinal discomfort, which were significantly higher throughout the second half of the 10-mile race in which they were required to drink more than desired.
Yet again after a hard 30k this morning Mark and I sat down for the obligatory pancakes and cappuccino before starting on the obligatory conversation about the benefits of said meal. The cafe we are currently frequenting do the most awesome pancakes with a generous topping of fruit and they are buttermilk pancakes, which sounds healthy? I posted a photo last week as we are creatures of habit us runners and ran the same 30k loop as last week, with the same ‘treat’ meal. My question is though, is this a treat or more a requirement to refuel ? I’m hoping the later because as runners we give up so much in life ( I think so far this year I’ve had 4 beers and maybe 3-4 glasses of red wine; which is a pretty good year for me, ‘good’ in the sense of more than normal!!) As I mentioned in an earlier post I have no social life and my Wife just goes out with her friends leaving me to babysit the kids and retreat to my bed for the early night pre-run. Karen, my Wife, even mentioned yesterday that her friends see us a separate people in a relationship i.e. they don’t see us socially together. Harsh, but probably a bit too close to the mark for my liking.
Anyway I digress, back to pancakes. I googled ‘are pancakes good for you’ and surprising enough there was enough evidence, from running sites, that they are, so they should be seen as treats but as compulsory recovery meals. So here is the answer to all runners prayers everywhere. This ,together with carbo-loading pre-marathon, might be just enough to make it all worth while, with extra maple syrup……article by Ted Spiker http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition/the-ultimate-guide-to-pancakes
On Friday morning, I meet five runners for a four-mile spin through Savannah, Georgia. Lydia DePue leads the running program at the local Fleet Feet Sports shop, which celebrates Fridays with a costume run; hence, her bunny ears. She mapped today’s course, which starts and ends at Clary’s Cafe. We have two items on our agenda: (1) an easy run amid the Southern scenery and (2) a righteous order of pancakes afterward.
As one who often falls into the rut of running by myself on the same flat route on the same nondescript roads, I enjoy every step of this group outing. We run on the cobblestones, under the oaks, and along the river. We run through the historic Colonial Park Cemetery and Forsyth Park. We talk about race strategy and Savannah’s must-eat-there restaurants.
I want to respond, “Some people?”
As runners, we live in this loop: We burn. We earn. We yearn.
Of all the foods that a runner might use to lube the anatomical engine, there’s little doubt about what tops the list—those circular stacks of flour that can be morphed into any flavor, texture, or style you want. Buttery, syrupy, nutty, fruity, mushy, crispy, cakey, creamy, chunky, sugary, chocolaty. Short stacks, high stacks. As big as a catcher’s mitt, as small as a monocle. One, three, five, a dozen, oh sure, I’ll finish yours, too. For a runner, the pancake is to a weekend morning as a turkey is to Thanksgiving, as a hot dog is to a ball game, as a martini is to James Bond.
Soon, we circle back to Clary’s (established 1903), a local landmark featured in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil—an appropriate fact, I think, when discussing the lore and legend of the pancake.
Aah, pancakes. So good. And so evil—if left to the renegade whims of tongue and stomach.
After the run, we sit at an outside table next to the road we ran on. The talk ricochets around all things running—fund-raising, expo locations, Boston, Dean Karnazes, and something called a double-pump, which takes you over the Talmadge Memorial Bridge three times in a back-to-back 5-K and 10-K.
While my mouth talks, my mouth waits.
I order two pancakes. On one side, they’re tree-bark brown. On the other, more doe-colored. But their arrival is announced by their size: They’re so big that I can’t even see the plate—a helicopter could land on them. I add butter, I add syrup. With coffee and a side of bacon, each bite of pancake is firm yet soft, sweet yet substantial, light yet filling. Perfect gustatory balance.
This, I know, is the finish line.
Zoom in to our table at Clary’s, and you’ll see a bunch of sweaty-headed, synthetic-fabric-wearing runners eating a satisfying postrun breakfast. Zoom out and you’ll see that same scene played out every weekend in just about every neighborhood where people run: Athletes of all speeds and sizes talking about runs of past and future over pancakes of all flavors and diameters. A pancake’s beauty, of course, lies in its simplicity. But the endless potential variations are what make them sublime. (I like mine brown. My wife likes them mushy. My kids like Uncle Tim’s.)
Though some might argue that pasta or GU represents the perfect running fuel, others make the case that nothing stacks up to, well, stacks of pancakes. “They’re a dense source of energy, meaning that you don’t have to stuff your face to get a great deal of calories out of them,” says Lisa Dorfman, R.D., director of The University of Miami’s graduate studies program on nutrition for health and human performance.
But for runners, they’re more than that. They’re warm and spongy. Indulgent yet fulfilling. The ideal vehicle to carry berries or nuts (good) or buttery and syrupy (evil) passengers. They can be glammed up with all the flair of the Vegas strip, but hold up wonderfully on their own in their pure nakedness. “Pancakes reflect our sit-down breakfast time, now that we’ve evolved into a ‘shove a bar in your mouth and call it breakfast’ culture,” Dorfman says. “The pancake is a good-feeling kind of food.”
There is evidence of pancake-looking creations from many centuries ago, and perhaps the first English recipe was recorded in the 1588 book called Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchen. “It was just the natural thing you’d do if you had flour and were trying to make something quick,” says food historian Ken Albala, author of Pancake: A Global History.
Different cultures have different recipes and names, Albala points out. The word pancake originates from an ancient Greek flat cake called plakous. Today, the French make them paper-thin and crispy and call them crepes. In Russia, they’re known as blini, slightly thicker than a crepe. And in the U.S. and Canada, we call them pancakes, hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks and make them thick and fluffy.
Besides being a comfort food to many cultures, pancakes are a staple for athletes. Up until the 1960s, the feeling in sports (bred by football coaches) was that you ate steak and eggs before the big game. But in the late ’60s and early ’70s, a shift took place. As research pointed us to the same conclusions and the numbers of fitness runners grew, we saw a rise in so-called carbo-loading.
“I was doing a book with [football coach] Hank Stram,” says marathon-coaching legend Hal Higdon. “He had his football players having spaghetti the night before the game. We started to figure out that the big lineman who needed to have energy in the fourth quarter was the same as the runner getting past the 20-mile mark in a marathon.”
So began the ritual of the carbo-load: It started in the form of pasta and potatoes the night before a race, but it eventually extended into traditional breakfast foods as well, such as waffles, bagels, and pancakes. Logic (or maybe hunger hormones) would tell us that if we burn carbs during a hard run, one must replenish carbs afterward. And, by gawd, after we run we replenish with pancakes. And syrup that trickles down our ‘cakes like a Colorado stream. And melting butter that, as you decorate your stack with it, makes you feel like you’re living in slow-mo.The love of pancakes struck U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall as a baby. He would stand in his crib and wait for his mom in the morning. When he saw her, he spoke: “Pancakes.”
It was one of his first words.
“Yeah, we had a lot of them growing up,” Hall says now.
As Hall got older, he drifted away from them. But when he started running marathons in 2007, he would wake up starving. Cereal wouldn’t cut it. So one day, he threw a scoop of Muscle Milk (for protein) into some pancake mix. And that was that. Now, Hall eats one big pancake a day. On the road, he totes a hot plate and fry pan to make his own gluten-free recipe.
“Sometimes, I throw in sour cream, ricotta cheese, and chocolate chips,” he says. “They sit great in my stomach and fill me up. After workouts, they really hit the spot.”
On July 4, I enter the Killer Dunes Race in Nags Head, North Carolina—a two-mile race over the largest sand dunes in the east. Throughout, my legs and lungs burn, as my 12-year-old twin boys blaze ahead of me. Afterward, my boys, wife, and I make a beeline toward Stack ‘Em High, the local pancake joint.
As I wait in line dripping sweat on the people behind me, I look at the chalkboard menu: Chocolate Crunch, Chocolate Monkey, Chocolate Nutter, Berry Berry, Berry Crunch, Blue Crunch, Blue Monkey, Crunchy Monkey. Some nutty, some decadently sweet, all bleeping beautiful.
I make my choice: a chocolate coconut topping called Coco Loco. A Mounds-bar-flavored pancake, if you will. And oh, I will? I take every bite of that sweet pancake the way I take every step up those dunes. Slo-o-o-o-o-wly.
Between the race and the meal, it feels like bodily equilibrium. Work hard, eat hearty. And that’s what it’s all about, really—that any of us can do the work and enjoy the rewards, whether we’re struggling runners, lifelong age-groupers, or elites.
Like all of us who live in this euphoric loop of burning and earning, Hall knows the power and majesty of our favorite fuel. “If I could eat one thing for the rest of my life,” he says, “it would be pancakes.”
In the October issue of Runner’s World, we featured 10 unique pancake concoctions based on RW contributing chef Pam Anderson’s Multigrain Medallions recipe. But even that wasn’t enough to satisfy our hunger–so we came up with 40 more.
By CAITLYN DIIMIGWake-up Call: Mix orange zest and nutmeg into batter.
Big Chipper: Mix chocolate chips into batter and top finished pancakes with whipped cream.
Banana Nut: Mix chopped walnuts and banana slices into batter.
Twice-baked: Mix cooked mashed potato, thyme, and cheddar cheese into batter.
Berry Medley: Top pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
Puppy Chow: Mix chocolate chips into batter. When pancakes have cooked, spread peanut butter on top and add a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Lemon Zing: Mix lemon zest or lemon juice and poppy seed into batter.
‘Cakesgiving: Mix pumpkin puree and nutmeg into batter.
Pancake S’more: Mix mini marshmallows into batter and top finished pancakes with cocoa powder.
Hawaiian: Cook Canadian bacon/diced ham and add to batter. Top cooked pancakes with diced pineapple.
Vitamin C Booster: Mix fresh raspberries and lemon zest into batter.
Peaches ‘n’ Cream: Top cooked pancakes with fresh peaches and mascarpone.
Down Under: Mix banana slices into batter and spread Nutella onto cooked pancakes.
Pineapple Upside-down Pancake: Mix diced pineapple and brown sugar into batter and top cooked pancakes with fresh sweet cherries.
PB & J: Spread peanut butter and strawberry preserves (or a fresh strawberry puree) on top of cooked pancakes.
Patriot Cakes: Top cooked pancakes with raspberries, blueberries, and plain yogurt (mix in vanilla extract with yogurt).
Café Hotcake: Substitute Chai tea latte concentrate for milk in the original recipe and mix in a pumpkin puree into batter.
Tropical Treat: Mix banana slices into batter and top cooked pancakes with fresh-cut mango and papaya. Use blender to puree fresh-cut pineapple and pour over cooked pancakes.Cherry Cocoa: Top cooked pancakes with fresh cherries and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.
Caramel Apple: Mix diced apples into batter and top cooked pancakes with caramel drizzle.
Island Style: Mix unsweetened coconut flakes and lime zest into batter and top cooked pancakes with chopped macadamia nuts.
Fiesta ‘Cakes: Mix pureed black beans into batter. Top cooked pancakes with sour cream, chives, and salsa.
Christmas ‘Cakes: Mix peppermint extract into batter and top cooked pancakes with cocoa powder.
Pom-cakes: Top cooked pancakes with fresh pomegranate syrup and finely chopped mint leaves.
Citrus Craze: Substitute orange juice for milk in original recipe, mix lemon zest into batter, and top cooked pancakes with mandarin oranges.
Carrot Pancakes: Mix shredded carrot, fresh ginger, and diced apricot into batter.
Sweet Southerner: Mix sweet potato puree, a splash of bourbon into batter, chopped pecans, and brown sugar into batter.
Crunchy Cakes: Mix cinnamon and granola into batter and top cooked pancakes with plain Greek yogurt, honey, and more granola for an added crunch.
Strawberry Rhubarb: Mix rhubarb into batter. Puree strawberries and pour onto cooked pancakes.
All-American: Top cooked pancakes with apple slices and vanilla ice cream.
Vegan Special: Substitute soy milk for milk in original recipe. Mix silken tofu and cocoa powder into batter. Top cooked pancakes with blackberries.
Ricotta Pear: Mixed diced pears into batter and top cooked pancakes with ricotta cheese and maple syrup.
Curry Coconut ‘Cakes: Substitute coconut milk for milk in the original recipe. Mix curry powder, turmeric, fresh-cut peaches, and mango into batter.
Lumberjack: Cook bacon, chop it, and add to batter. Top cooked pancakes with maple syrup.
Key Lime: Top cooked pancakes with whipped cream cheese and lime zest.
Green Dream: Mix finely chopped pistachios, goat cheese, and lemon zest into batter.
Mediterranean: Mix feta cheese into batter and top cooked pancakes with Kalamata olives.
Speakeasy Special: Mix a splash of Grand Marnier and orange zest into batter. Top cooked pancakes with sliced almonds and honey.
Beer Batter: Substitute a dark, heavy beer or a raspberry beer for milk in the original recipe. Mix orange zest and lemon zest into batter.
Funky Blue: Mix brown sugar into batter and top cooked pancakes with a caramelized onion and blue cheese spread.
Weight loss is often overlooked by runners but an important part of the recipe in the meal of running. I believe every runner has an optimum weight, one that allows them to run their most consistent pace over their chosen distance. The distance usually dictates the weight initially i.e. Usain Bolt isn’t going to run his best marathon looking like he does at the moment. Whereas Mo Farah probably needs to eat a few cheeseburgers if he’s going to challenge Usain for a 100m dash.
As a marathon runner I’m normally looking what my Wife describes as ‘skinny, bordering on ill’. She has never been a big fan of my marathon ‘look’ after I have probably dropped 6-8kg from when we first met. (though that was 20 years ago) In those days I was a 3-5 times a week gym junkie and I can see her point of view, marathon runners ain’t built for modeling normally. Currently I’m sitting on 69kg which for a 6 foot tall man isn’t probably the ‘norm’ but for a marathon runner is just about perfect. I’m happy to be where I am and realise this is making a big difference to my training and pace. Because of the extra workload I’ve been putting in lately, and also dropping a lot of sugar from my diet, I’m probably 3kg less than normal. This has not gone down well with my Wife.
Ultimately all runners have a perfect weight and , like with all things running, finding that goal weight is difficult. This can be down to cravings (I mean who doesn’t really love donuts? !) or just the inability to put in the exercise needed to shift the kg’s. Then once you actually hit what you consider to be your goal weight there is normally some effort involved in keeping to it. I realise that me keeping to 69kg will be difficult long term but can sustain it for a period of time while I train for the World Masters marathon on November. After that I will have a few months running back to a normal 100k a week . It is important though to keep a good foundation so when you step up for your next goal (there is always a new goal) you need to be able to hit your ideal weight again.
Over time does this ideal weight change? I would assume yes. As we get older it will be more and more difficult to hit the weight you considered ideal the previous year. As I move into my fifties next year will I be able to maintain 69kg for race season ? Who knows, but one things for sure , I’ll be making a big effort to get close, no point in slowing down is there ?
So to sum up if you can drop weight your running will improve, it’s like adding a turbo-charger but there will be some pain and effort involved. Long term though you get use to the constant hunger pains. Only joking, you learn to substitute good food for bad and also you get to run more. C’mon, it’s all good…..
Sunday morning is long runs with the gang. Anything from a few runners to unto 10 depending on who’s training for what. Always a 6am start, which means some running in the dark in Winter, but overall the best part of the day. This morning my mate Dean who is training for Chicago in 3 weeks wanted a 30k at a good effort. After my 5k park run yesterday I wasn’t that keen but kept him honest for the distance. Finished in just over 2 hours at 4:05min/k average. Probably pushed harder that I would have liked but the 2hrs on my feet was more important. Leaves me marooned on 155k for the week, 6k short of the magical 100 mile week. I’ll try and find time tonight to put that right. Took some shots of the pancakes and the lads relaxing at the end of a great run. As always Perth put on perfect conditions.
This long run was probably too fast but normally it’s all about time on feet. Getting your body use to the extra time needed to run and race a marathon. It can be an enjoyable experience if you’re after time and distance rather than pace. Today, thanks to Dean, it was all three. Nice when you finish but the last 10k is challenging. Overall though you know it’s doing you some good and it’s all about paying your dues now rather than on the big day.
After my double-up streak was ended by a pizza night out with the family last night I was ready for a good 5k hit out. 5k is a good distance to get you high into the VO2 / Threshold heart rate zones while being short enough that you can recover quickly. The Park Run organisation puts on free times 5k runs every Saturday at 8am. This is a world wide epidemic (a good one for a change) that is such a great idea. Go online, get a free barcode, run a 5k event and then your time is recorded and emailed to you normally before you finish your coffee and muffin afterwards.
Carine Park run, where I run normally, has a downhill start and this encourages speed and normally too much. I always go out way too fast (rookie error) and then ‘pay the piper’ later. Normally I can limit damage if the legs are fresh but today I ran my quickest first kilometre (3:05min/k) and knew the piper was calling for payback.. I managed to work hard for the last k and finished in 16:43; only 3 seconds outside my PB set a few weeks ago. Very happy with that and it was time for a coffee and muffin to celebrate at the best cafe in Perth , Yelo in Trigg.
http://www.yelocornerstore.com.au
Right , was a nutrition piece. Not sure advocating coffee and muffins is the right thing on a running blog but as long as you put in the hard yards I’m a big believer in the odd treat.
Trail run this afternoon with a Hobbit and Justin from the SGTRC. Very hilly but enjoyable session with some testing sections of soft sand. Got back to my desk and the Garmin is predicting big things ahead… anyone got any EPO for sale ?
I must admit to having a sweet tooth and like another one of my good running friends, Dave ‘Sugar’ Cane, cannot resist pancakes or crepes. I even dig the American or Canadian version with bacon, maple syrup and scrambled eggs. It just works , big time ! With the current anti sugar revolution going on can we still justify eating pancakes after a long run (or any run really!) ..I hope so. Being a runner you give up many things in life and it is a sacrifice I gladly make. The social diary is empty (must to my Wife’s disgust) , alcohol and junk food is off the menu and all food is interrogated for it attributes and benefits or not. Pancakes though seem to have so how had a stay of execution and are still talked up in the many running mags and internet as the perfect post run nutrition.
This recipe was from Runners World so it must be good…Pancakes the perfect fuel. Thank you Pam Anderson.
MAKES: 16 pancakes
SERVES: 8
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white flour
1/3 cup each: cornmeal, whole-wheat flour, and old-fashioned rolled oats
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups low-fat buttermilk
½ cup low-fat milk (or water)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus extra for brushing the griddle
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS: Heat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over low heat. Mix flour, whole grains, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Note: white flour is included to provide fluffiness. If you don’t have all three whole grains, pick one and use the following ratios: 1:2 whole wheat to white; 1:1 oats/cornmeal to white. Microwave buttermilk and milk for 30 seconds in a 2-cup measuring cup. Whisk in eggs, oil and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry; whisk until just mixed. Return batter to measuring cup. Increase heat to medium and brush skillet with oil. When oil starts to spider, pour batter 1/4 cup at a time. When pancake bottoms are golden brown and tops start to bubble, after about 2 to 3 minutes, flip pancakes; cook until golden brown on other side. Repeat, brushing skillet or griddle with oil. Serve hot.
KILOJOULES PER SERVING (two pancakes): 1240
CARBS: 26g
FIBRE: 2g
PROTEIN: 8g
FAT: 6g
10 Super Spins On Pam’s Recipe
1 MUSCLE MOTIVATOR
Bake in dates, raisins and cinnamon. The potassium in dates and raisins gives you protection against muscle cramps. Anti-inflammatory cinnamon reduces soreness.
2 STOMACH SOOTHER
Mix fresh apricot and fresh ginger into batter; top pancakes with honey. Fibre from apricots, slow-digesting honey, and ginger can help calm an upset stomach.
3 CRANBERRY OAT
Mix ground oats with white flour (1:1 ratio); add oatmeal, dried cranberries and orange zest to batter; top pancakes with cooked cranberries and cinnamon. Oats provide good-for-you fibre, while vitamin C in cranberries can help convert fatty acids into energy.
4 ESPRESSO DELIVERY
Sub espresso for half the milk; mix cocoa powder and hazelnuts into batter; top with raspberries. Caffeine reduces the brain’s perception of exertion, improving performance. The B vitamins in hazelnuts help your body process energy more efficiently.
5 PB BOOSTER
Use only whole-wheat and white flour (1:2 ratio), mix bananas into batter; top pancakes with peanut butter and apple slices. Whole wheat and peanut butter combine to make a complete protein with all the essential amino acids needed for muscle repair.
6 QUIRKY QUINOA
Mix quinoa and white flour (1:1 ratio); add lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and blueberries to batter; dust with powdered sugar. Quinoa is a quality protein because it contains all essential amino acids, ideal for vegetarians.
7 GREEN MONSTER
Mix chopped baby spinach leaves into batter; top with strawberry puree and a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Strawberries are packed with vitamin C, and spinach provides a heavy dose of vitamin K for bone health.
8 GUAC IT OUT
Mix corn kernels into batter; top pancakes with homemade guacamole. Avocados contain good fats to lower bad cholesterol. Corn’s high fibre and B-complex vitamins have been shown to help regulate blood sugar.
9 AZTEC WARRIOR
Mix chilli pepper, unsweetened cocoa powder and chopped dark chocolate (70 per cent cacao) into batter. Chilli peppers contain capsaicin, which can relieve a stuffy nose. The flavonoids in dark chocolate can help lower high blood pressure.
10 FIG & PEAR FIBRECAKE
Mix figs, pears and walnuts into batter; top with vanilla Greek yoghurt. Figs, pears and walnuts pack in the fibre, while protein-rich Greek yoghurt satisfies your appetite.