This week we continue to focus on macronutrients and consider how to include protein in your diet to meet your needs during marathon training.

In the survey of dietary practice and nutritional knowledge of marathon runners discussed in the first article in this series, runners who included animal protein in their meals were, on average, meeting the guidelines for protein intake through diet and adequate energy intake alone.  However, in vegetarian athletes protein intake was just below the lower end of the recommendations.

Proteins - what to eat

As discussed in Nutrition and Hydration Guidelines for Marathon Runners, despite a degree of controversy, endurance athletes are often advised to eat slightly more protein than the general population to ensure muscle recovery and adaptation to intense endurance training.

Guidelines for protein intake range from 10-35% of total energy intake, or 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight a day (1.3-1.8g/kg BW/day for vegetarians), compared to 10-15% and 0.8g/kg BW/day for the general population. Remember though, if you increase your protein intake you still need to consume enough calories from carbohydrates to maintain your body weight and ensure that amino acids needed for repair and recovery are not used to meet energy needs instead.  

Useful sources of protein for runners

Good sources of protein are fish, lean meat, poultry, beans, nuts, whole grains, eggs, low-fat milk, low-fat cheese and some vegetables. Try to aim for around 20g of protein per main meal and include a protein food in your snacks. The following table shows how much you need to eat of some common foods to obtain about 20g of protein. You can use this to calculate portion sizes, or use the following as a rough guideline to portion sizes for protein:

• Fish, meat and poultry – size and depth of the palm of your hand or a deck of playing cards
• Cheese – size of a small matchbox 
• Lentils, beans and pulses – 6-8 tablespoons
• Eggs – 2-3 medium sized eggs
• Nuts – 6-8 large nuts or 10-12 almonds, 2 teaspoons nut butter

Food Servings for 20g Protein

Click here for a Sources of Proteins Table for more information on the protein content of more foods.

Useful sources of protein for runners

Protein sources for vegetarians

Article 9 (week of 27 February) will focus exclusively on nutritional approaches for vegetarian and vegan runners. Good sources of protein for vegetarians include nuts and seeds, pulses, soya products (tofu, soya milk, miso) cereals such as oats, quinoa, free-range eggs and some low-fat dairy produce (milk, cheese and yoghurt).

Many plant proteins are low in one of the essential amino acids. For instance, grains tend to be short of lysine while pulses are low in methionine. However, this does not mean that vegetarians or vegans go short on essential amino acids. Eating a well-balanced diet based on grains, pulses, seeds, nuts and vegetables will help you consume a mix of proteins that complement one another naturally. Combining plant proteins from different foods e.g. a grain with a pulse, means that the amino acids in one protein can compensate for the amino acid lacking in another. Popular examples of combining include: beans on toast, cheese or peanut butter sandwich, muesli with milk (soya or cow's), porridge, lentil soup and cheese, rice with peas or beans.

Previously, it was thought that protein combining needed to occur within a single meal. However, it is now known that this is not necessary as the body keeps a short-term store of the essential amino acids. 

Eating protein after training

Eating or drinking a small meal or snack containing protein and carbohydrate immediately following, and at two hours after, exercise, does appear to help replenish muscle glycogen more effectively than eating protein or carbohydrates alone, particularly during the first 40 minutes of recovery. We'll be looking at optimal timing of nutrient intake in article 10 (week of 5 March).

Useful snacks to consider after training include:

• Wrap or bagel with turkey or chicken and salad
• Nut butter, chicken or tuna sandwich on whole-grain bread
• Protein smoothie
• Whole-grain crackers with low-fat cheese
• Muesli with nuts and skimmed milk
• Porridge with milk and topping of nuts or seeds 
• Chocolate or vanilla shake or protein drink
• Low-fat yoghurt with nuts and seeds
• Cottage cheese with almonds
• Brown rice and beans
• Apple with walnuts
• Pasta salad with chicken

Action for this week

• Using your Food & Training Diary (add link) look closely at the protein content of your diet and use the tables shown above to make sure you are getting sufficient each day particularly at breakfast and lunch.
• Ring the changes, try a new source of protein you've not eaten before.
• Be prepared – have your post-training meal or snack ready when you get in from your session.
• Experiment with one meat-free day this week and find a tasty new vegetarian recipe to try.
• If you eat fish, check that you are including salmon, mackerel, herring, trout or tuna twice per week*

(*limit fresh tuna to one portion per week due to possible high pollution levels and check Government guidelines at www.food.gov.uk or www.nhs.uk if you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant or breastfeeding) And if you need more help to build your personal nutrition plan, email Jane Nodder at inffor details of individual nutrition coaching services for runners.

About Jane Nodder and Nutriworks

Jane Nodder works as a nutrition lecturer and clinic tutor on the MSc and BSc (Hons) Nutritional Therapy programmes at the University of Westminster, London. A qualified UK Athletics Leader in Running Fitness, Jane started running in 1986. As a club runner she runs track, cross-country, road, trail and endurance events and has completed eleven marathons, taking her PB from 4h21 to 3h37. Through her business, Nutriworks, Jane coaches groups and individuals in running and in translating general sports nutrition guidelines into practical, individualised nutrition programmes. 

In 2010, Jane was awarded the Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) Award for Individual Excellence in Nutritional Knowledge, and in December 2011 she gained the Yakult Prize for Outstanding Student of the Year for the MSc Nutritional Medicine at the University of Surrey.

For more information about running and nutrition coaching services from Nutriworks, visit www.nutriworks.co.uk or contact Jane directly on 07850 705848 or email inf/span>