Or is it more like, I eat, therefore I run?

Just because I’m a runner doesn’t mean I get a free pass to eat whatever I want. I may not worry about every piece of bread or pasta dish I eat, but I do make a conscious effort not to over indulge just like everyone else. I find it mildly annoying when someone sees me take a second breadstick and they say “Well, you run.” I want to come back with “Run 4 miles with me in the morning and you too can have a (guilt-free) breadstick.” While running does allow me to have some extra calories it’s not a ticket for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

My view on food/eating:

• I eat according to the miles I’m running. If I’m running a lot of miles I’m usually eating a lot of food. 
• If I have a light week of running then I have a light week of eating.  
• I don’t view a piece of chocolate cake (my favorite) as cheating, I view it as a treat. Treats are earned, and while I run almost everyday, I don’t earn a treat everyday.  
• I prefer real food over sweets or junk food, especially when I’m hungry. And I’m hungry a lot. 
• I mostly eat healthy, low fat foods, but I have a weakness for fries and chips…it’s why I will always run. 😉
• I don’t eat candy…or at least rarely, and if I do it’s chocolate. 

It’s a choice we make.

I am far from perfect when it comes to eating but I consider myself lucky because I don’t really like many of the high fat foods other people love… gravy, heavy sauces, corndogs (I’ve actually never had one, they just look disgusting), chili fries, bacon cheese burgers (although I had a blue cheese, bacon burger in Zion once and it was amazing…I haven’t had one since and that was 6 years ago). 

On the flip side, I prefer a sandwich over a salad, regular pizza over cauliflower crust pizza (blek!) and I’ll never be a vegan.

Runners come in all shapes and sizes. Even runners can be on the heavier side if they eat more calories than they burn (it’s easy to do, we’re hungry). Runners are people too. 🙂 The bottom line is it’s all about calories in vs energy out.

So the next time you see a runner friend eating something that you are trying to avoid, such as bread, pasta, a cookie, etc., remember they may burn more calories as a runner, but they too have to think about their food choices just like you.

What we eat is a choice. How much we exercise is a choice. Make good choices!    

Do you struggle with food? Or do you feel like you can eat whatever you want because you are a runner?

Thanks for reading!

Keep running!

       Denise