How Running Changed My Eating (guest post)

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Hi MizFit readers!

My name is Clare and I blog over at Fitting It All In.

I’m so honored to be guest posting today and want to talk to you about two topics near to my heart: exercise and nutrition. Specifically, I’m going to tell you how running changed my eating.

Flash back to my senior year of college. I had recovered from a pretty severe eating disorder, but though I gained weight I never gained back a normal relationship with food. I actually found myself thirty pounds overweight because I didn’t understand my hunger cues. My response to the weight gain was similar to what many people do: I started eating diet foods and hopping on the elliptical more often.

The problem though is that diet foods don’t work. Purposely eating as little as possible during the day led me to binge eat at night. Plus I was putting a terrible about of chemicals and artificial sweetener into my body. And the elliptical? It’s a great exercise machine as long as you push yourself. I was just leisurely reading a magazine for thirty minutes and getting confused about why I wasn’t seeing any results!

Then on the day before Thanksgiving of that year I made a change. I ran.

I was never a runner before. I hated it in fact. But I was so jealous of those that could go out for a daily jog, get in great cardiovascular activity, and enjoy the outdoors. I knew I needed to try something new so I drove to a park near my house and just ran.

Something inside me clicked that day. I found a new challenge. How much longer could I run for? How many miles could I do at one time? And the ultimate question: Could I run that half marathon in April?

I asked for a Garmin watch for Christmas and kept setting new mileage goals for myself.  But having this new challenge for my body provided another challenge as well: running required fuel. I couldn’t get by on a 60 calorie yogurt and expect to go run five miles. I began to learn about how proper nutrition could benefit my running and ultimately my life.

The first step was a big breakfast. I started eating oatmeal with banana and almond butter which provided me with tons of energy to get through my mid-morning workouts. And since I started out on such a good foot I wanted to keep it up throughout the day. Lunches became nourishing, protein packed smoothies and dinners included complex carbs, a variety of vegetables, and healthy fats. I was satisfied and no longer found myself binging at night. Those extra thirty pounds slowly came off and my meals were more delicious than ever. This real food stuff works!

I’ve never looked back since that day I began running. I’ve now completed numerous races including two half marathons and my first full marathon a few weeks ago on April 11th.

I continue to notice how much better I feel both during my runs and just in general when I eat clean, whole foods and am thrilled that many of my eating disorder tendencies have disappeared.

I never predicted that going on a run that day would change my life so positively, but I’m extremely thankful that it did.

 

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Comments

  2. Ahhhh, I hear you honey.

    When I realised that food was a wonderful and complimentary friend to me and to my energy and activity, I stopped abusing myself with food.

    Great post. I am off to check you blog right now…

  4. Congrats on your marathon!

    I still had a disordered relationship with food when I started running. I would eat before a run, but I would worry about the calories in the Gatorade I put in my waterbottle for a 10 mile run. And I cringe when I remember how many miles I wasted beating myself up over the binge the night before. Had I burned it off at mile 5? mile 6?

    But running taught me to appreciate my body, to make peace with my thighs because they carried me up steep hills, and yes, to eat right to fuel my workouts and my recovery. And now I can treat myself to a post-run brownie without doing the exact calculations in my head.

    Thanks for sharing your experience.

  5. OH HOW I CAN RELATE TO THIS!!!

    I’m inspired by your journey. I too am a running addict now, when I once never thought I could love it.

    I mean who can love running for an hour???!! Or God forbid, 2 or 4 (hello marathoners!).

    It’s an amazing feeling being in touch with what your body NEEDS.

    Thanks for sharing!!

  6. I love this story. And it’s proof that when we honker down and DECIDE to do something in any area of our life, we can have those same successful results. Last evening I put down that 2nd corn muffin, because (before it hit my food trap), I reminded myself of my goals and what it was going to take to get there. Eh, let someone else eat that 2nd piece of cornbread. LOL!

  7. Beautiful! I love that shift from thinking of food as pleasure/guilt/emotions/punishment/whatever to thinking of it as fuel. You’re eating so that you can do what you love!

  9. Fantastic! And so inspiring to hear from someone who got their health in order without compromising their mental health. If that makes any sense. I’m sure you’ll know what I mean!
    Well done!

  12. i stopped doing cardio years ago… anyway… people get into their comfort zones and it’s hard to get out. i wish more people would recognize that MOVEMENT is the best thing you can do. movement you do in real life like walking, running, lateral movement, stairs, and weight training

  13. It is interesting how making one healthy change in our life can lead to other awesome changes. We definitely need to stop dieting and start shaping our habits and behaviors into healthy ones.

  15. This is so true. I started running to help lose weight, but doing exercise is helping me disassociate food from feelings. I’m beginning to realise that if I want to achieve my goals I need to respect my body’s needs, which is helping me enjoy running for running, and not simply as an effective way to burn calories!

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