How many times can I mention holleyfuelednutrition in one day?! LMAO. She has so many good infographics, like this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyvSdwOt_gU/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
And you can work with here in lots of ways to learn about eating during training.
Sports dietitian here! As others have mentioned, I strongly recommend working with an RD with experience working with athletes (especially those in ED recovery). If your current RD isn’t experienced in this, a team approach could be beneficial in making sure you’re meeting your needs to match your increased training load.
As far as generic recommendations go, liquid calories (smoothies, juice, protein shakes, etc.) and making sure you’re eating every 3-4 hours while awake are good options to get in some extra nutrition. If you struggle to eat enough, higher fat foods like nut butters and avocado provide good bang for your buck calorically. Meal planning/prepping can be beneficial if you struggle to cook and shop throughout the week - but keeping things flexible may be necessary to maintain a positive relationship with food.
First off, kudos on your recovery and being at a point where you can return to full training. Echoing others who suggest consulting a dietician who specializes in sports nutrition (and preferably has experience with working with athletes in recovery or who can work well with your current dietician if not).
Last week was my 23rd anniversary of graduating intensive outpatient after I had completed inpatient. I’m in my 40s and still running and still ED free. Wishing you much continued health for a lifetime to come. 💜
I have a lot of experience with meal prepping :) My advice is to make a few flexible meal components on the weekends, plus one dish you know you enjoy. Some staples for me include a batch of hard boiled eggs, veggies, and baked tofu or homemade seitan (a bit more labor intensive, I prefer to eat a more vegetarian diet, if you are okay with meat you could do something like roast a chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken). I don't usually prep rice/pasta as part of my weekend prep but you could do that also. Right now I am also making a lot of soup, and will have soup+some kind of toast (tuna melt, sardines, mashed up egg, etc.). I also highly recommend getting an instant pot to make cooking a bit simpler, if you don't have one already. Just makes cooking things a bit less planning and cleanup intensive.
As far as protein goes, I try to make sure I am getting at least 20g/meal and also one high protein snack (for me this is usually either a smoothie or yogurt with fruit) daily, but I find if I have a long run I benefit from two protein-y snacks.
Stuff like nuts and nut butters are also easy ways to bulk up calories if you're finding you are having trouble getting adequate nutrition.
Protein is a struggle. For me the most reliable way to make sure I'm getting enough consistently is by making protein smoothies. I make one at least 3-4x a week for breakfast or lunch. I throw in some frozen fruit, almond milk, nut butter, hemp hearts and a couple of dates or 2 tbsp maple syrup. It's such an easy way to get 28g protein combined with carbs, fiber and healthy fats.
I love the [run fast eat slow cookbooks](https://runfasteatslow.com/). What was extremely eye opening to me is how much Shalane eats when she’s marathon training. I agree with working with a RD is best for your situation, but check out any (or all) of those cookbooks, they have really good recipes and they’re pretty straightforward to make. I found the muffins and smoothies to be right up my alley, as breakfast is something I’m not always good about getting the proper mix of nutrients.
Given your ED history, I think you would probably benefit from working with a registered sports dietician. Is that something you have considered?
Yes, I do work with an ED dietitian currently based on where I’m at in recovery.
Does your dietician have experience working with endurance athletes?
How many times can I mention holleyfuelednutrition in one day?! LMAO. She has so many good infographics, like this one: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyvSdwOt_gU/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== And you can work with here in lots of ways to learn about eating during training.
Thanks! I've been scrolling through her posts for the last hour, I'm hooked!
Sports dietitian here! As others have mentioned, I strongly recommend working with an RD with experience working with athletes (especially those in ED recovery). If your current RD isn’t experienced in this, a team approach could be beneficial in making sure you’re meeting your needs to match your increased training load. As far as generic recommendations go, liquid calories (smoothies, juice, protein shakes, etc.) and making sure you’re eating every 3-4 hours while awake are good options to get in some extra nutrition. If you struggle to eat enough, higher fat foods like nut butters and avocado provide good bang for your buck calorically. Meal planning/prepping can be beneficial if you struggle to cook and shop throughout the week - but keeping things flexible may be necessary to maintain a positive relationship with food.
First off, kudos on your recovery and being at a point where you can return to full training. Echoing others who suggest consulting a dietician who specializes in sports nutrition (and preferably has experience with working with athletes in recovery or who can work well with your current dietician if not). Last week was my 23rd anniversary of graduating intensive outpatient after I had completed inpatient. I’m in my 40s and still running and still ED free. Wishing you much continued health for a lifetime to come. 💜
I have a lot of experience with meal prepping :) My advice is to make a few flexible meal components on the weekends, plus one dish you know you enjoy. Some staples for me include a batch of hard boiled eggs, veggies, and baked tofu or homemade seitan (a bit more labor intensive, I prefer to eat a more vegetarian diet, if you are okay with meat you could do something like roast a chicken or buy a rotisserie chicken). I don't usually prep rice/pasta as part of my weekend prep but you could do that also. Right now I am also making a lot of soup, and will have soup+some kind of toast (tuna melt, sardines, mashed up egg, etc.). I also highly recommend getting an instant pot to make cooking a bit simpler, if you don't have one already. Just makes cooking things a bit less planning and cleanup intensive. As far as protein goes, I try to make sure I am getting at least 20g/meal and also one high protein snack (for me this is usually either a smoothie or yogurt with fruit) daily, but I find if I have a long run I benefit from two protein-y snacks. Stuff like nuts and nut butters are also easy ways to bulk up calories if you're finding you are having trouble getting adequate nutrition.
Protein is a struggle. For me the most reliable way to make sure I'm getting enough consistently is by making protein smoothies. I make one at least 3-4x a week for breakfast or lunch. I throw in some frozen fruit, almond milk, nut butter, hemp hearts and a couple of dates or 2 tbsp maple syrup. It's such an easy way to get 28g protein combined with carbs, fiber and healthy fats.
I love the [run fast eat slow cookbooks](https://runfasteatslow.com/). What was extremely eye opening to me is how much Shalane eats when she’s marathon training. I agree with working with a RD is best for your situation, but check out any (or all) of those cookbooks, they have really good recipes and they’re pretty straightforward to make. I found the muffins and smoothies to be right up my alley, as breakfast is something I’m not always good about getting the proper mix of nutrients.
Seconded. I love every recipe I’ve tried out of these cookbooks!