Running at a good pace for about half an hour burns about 300-400 calories. It’s a good way to manage your weight or lose some to get toned. But exercise alone is not the end of a great healthy lifestyle. Half of it is making your heart efficiently strong, and the other half is fueling with a well-balanced diet.
How many Calories You Burn
Exercising with a good pace can burn around 500-600 calories per hour. This burnt calorie is in addition to your daily metabolic upkeep. Let say, at your given weight, height, and other factors, you burn 2000 calories per day. Add this to your running session, and you burn about 2500 to 2600 calories per day.
The more calories you burn, the higher this value will be. If you are trying to lose some weight, the simplest thing to do is eat lesser calories than your burn. In a few weeks, you will start to notice some changes. If you want to gain some lean mass, you have to eat more than what you burn.
Depending on your goal, your food consumption should be increased or decreased. But counting calories is not the end of it! You should also learn to balance them to increase your performance too!
Boosting Your Exercise
Eating a good meal rich in carbohydrates can give you sufficient energy to sustain your daily activity. Protein can help you rebuild muscle and recover from the strenuous session. These macronutrients are indispensable in our everyday diet to help us reach our goals and maintain optimum bodily functions.
But other than that, there is one simple hack that can help you improve your running sessions. If you already love coffee, then you will further fall in love with it!
Coffee is a mild stimulant that can heighten your senses or pick you up when you are down during the day. But experts found out that the caffeine content of coffee can have an ergogenic effect in the body. Use best grind and brew coffee maker to make tasteful coffee cup can help you last longer in your exercise.
Benefits of Coffee in your Diet
Coffee can have a huge effect on your daily activities. Here are some ways coffee improves your performance.
- Stimulates the nervous system
Caffeine is a powerful nervous system stimulant that can keep you blocks the which improves your vision by dilating your pupils.
- Mini-adrenaline rush
The body releases epinephrine (the hormone that floods your bloodstream during an emergency) which improves your strength and endurance.
- Increased Body Temperature
Another good effect of protein is it increases your thermogenesis. This pertains to the body’s production of heat. The body consumes more energy during a workout because of this increased temperature.
- It’s Delicious!
Simply because its yummy, it makes you feel good and uplifts your mood!
Replacing Calories
When we do burn a lot of calories, we should replace it with roughly the exact amount to maintain our weight. Lesser than that, you would be losing some weight. That is good if you are trying to shed off some extra pounds
If you are trying to bulk up, increasing your caloric intake is the path you want to favor up the protein to rebuild sore muscles.
If you are already happy with your current weight and physique, a nice 60/20/20 diet can help you maintain. This ratio means your meal will be comprised of 60% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and the remaining 20% of fat.
The high carbohydrate will keep your energy level high enough for your exercise. The protein will be enough to repair the microtears in your muscle, and the fat is enough to replenish your energy storage.
Remember, it’s not just about eating the right number of calories and the recommended percentage. The quality of food you eat is a key factor too, for your satisfaction.
Below are five examples of post workout meals that will help you regenerate, and you will surely enjoy too!
5 Meal Plan for Runners
The following will be a sample plan for a 2500 calorie diet. Feel free to adjust according to your preference.
#1. Breakfast
A good breakfast for a runner (assuming you just worked out) may consist of
- 1 cup coffee
- 2 strips of bacon
- 1 fried eggs
- 3 slices of bread
- 2 servings of fruit
This gives you around 500 – 600 calories. The three slices of bread and two servings of fruit gives you the right amount of calories from carbohydrates.
#2. Snack
- 2 large banana
- 1 oz nuts
This is a healthy, nutritious, and delicious snack that gives you around 350 calories!
#3. Lunch
- Chicken, Egg, and Kimchee Rice Bowl
This is another 600 calorie nutrition packed meal with a good ratio of carbohydrates and protein. Kimchee is packed with vitamins and minerals that can boost your immune system too!
#4. Snack
- 1 cup of coffee
- Turkey sandwich with TLC
Why not another cup of coffee to pick you up in the afternoon? This is a healthy snack that is worth 350 calories.
#5. Dinner
- Meatball pasta
- Garlic toast
Add more meatballs if you feel like you had a great workout! This 600 calorie meal can definitely be a great choice to finish your day.
Eating Great Food
Running is not an excuse to eat just whatever you want. There are a lot of healthy foods for runners you could choose from without compromising your health. Educating yourself can go a long way. You should avoid soda and alcohol. Both drinks don’t do your body any good, especially in huge amounts!
Last Words
Some food can stimulate and boost your exercise experience. Having a cup of coffee before your workout can make a difference.
When it comes to working out, pairing it with a healthy diet may come restricting for some. But if you plan to exercise regularly, it is a must to understand what you should include in yours!
In fact, there are healthy food choices that can be really delicious too! But you should also be mindful about the junks that you can easily buy and conveniently consume. They may be counterproductive to your goals and may be detrimental to your health.
This page is intended to give out information and if you have found it useful, share it with your friends and loved ones! Feel free to ask questions in the comments section below, and I will connect with you soon.
My name is Kristin, and I’m a housewife with big love for cooking. When I’m not bringing on the Food Network and attempting to become America’s Next Top Chef, I’m browsing online for unique recipes to awe my friends with. Now I ‘m a founder and main editor for Taste Insight, my blog about nutrition and vegetarian food!
