health and long distance

Question
hello. I would like to ask some questions about running and say something what about i'm worried.. so, 2 years ago i began running a lot.. (there was some personal problems) so i realise that running really helps me and i start to love it, but then i started to eat less or more healthier and i lost my menstruation.. these years i struggled with that and i don't know how to eat and run anymore.. i don't know how and what to eat.. everytime i have this one problem.. its seems so stupid but it's really important because right eating is very important for running, specially - for long distance running.. i really want run a lot but there comes that time when i am back from school i want to eat but then i realise that i can't eat before running, and i really need some advice  when is better time for running and eating as well.. please help me!

Answer
Hey Laura,

Thanks for your question. Your right, eating properly is very important in any training program. Timing of eating can impact your performance as well. Usually as a guide you should eat about 2-4 hours before running. Its true some people would say you shouldn't eat before but you need to remember your body uses glucose for fuel (mostly from carbohydrates) and also fat. If your body doesn't recieve this amount it does not go to fat for fuel to compensate it will go to your muscles which is what we don't want because that helps us burn calories.

Try to limit eating fiber and excessive amounts of fruit. I won't go into the numbers such as grams because it will confuse you and people tend to over analyze with numbers but the take home lesson is try to combine a protein with a carbohydrate and limit fat,fiber consumption before a run. As an example you could have a white bread turkey sandwich. This will properly fuel you for the run.

So to answer your question 2-4 hours is a good enough time to eat before running.

I hope this helps