7-day meal plan for marathon runners

Do you intentionally change how you eat throughout the day depending on your workout(s) for the day? 

When an athlete works with me on daily and sport nutrition, the above is a question that I often ask when athletes expresses their struggles with injury, health issues, fatigue, and a performance decline. 

Checking off those hard-earned miles is only one element in preparing your body for an endurance event. 

Often underestimated—yet vital for success—is daily nutrition. For many athletes, busy schedules and a rushed lifestyle alongside training can make it difficult to eat enough of the right foods, at the right times to support your active lifestyle. Even with the best intentions, if you end up tired or hangry, good intentions can easily give way to fast food or mindless snacking. 

Marathon training challenges your body daily in a variety of ways, so your diet must change to support these different stressors. 

In my recent Outside Run article, I go into detail about the importance of changing your diet to support marathon training. To help take away the guessing, you can check out my 7-day meal plan that I created to help support your marathon training. 

And if you have a dietary restriction (like myself, who is a 33-year lacto-ovo vegetarian) - not a problem. In the article I provided some easy dietary tweaks to fit your needs, whether it’s for allergies, health, or ethical reasons.

Check out the article HERE.

Simple meal planning tips

 

Meal planning is the simple act of planning (and writing down) your meals and snacks for the upcoming week. By giving advanced thought to your meals and snack, you can save time and money, and have more control over your food choices. 

Meal planning shouldn't be frustrating, rigid or overwhelming but it does require organization, flexibility and forward planning. As someone who has a lot on your daily plate, it's important to start the New Year developing new skills, strategies and tricks so that meal-planning becomes second nature - and part of your daily life.

Here are some easy tips to help you become a better meal planner:

1. Think about the next three days - Write out your weekly schedule. Take note of commuting, work meetings, delays, eating out, family needs and leftovers. To make this less overwhelming, I suggest to only plan for 3 days at a time so that you can create sustainable auto-pilot habits without feeling overwhelmed. Think progress, not perfection. 
    
2. Prep your kitchen -  To make meal planning easy and stress-free, you should have a well-organized kitchen. Your spices, oils, pantry staples and pots/pans should be easy to access. Same goes for Tupperware and meal storage bags/containers. You may also find it helpful to keep a standard grocery list (with staple items) and to add/remove as needed each week. 
    
3. Create a meal prep schedule - Meal planning should feel part of your routine. For example, consider meal prepping on Sunday and Wednesday. You may also find it easier to develop a theme meal for each day of the week - example, chicken on Monday, vegetarian on Tues, stir-fry on Wed, Mediterranean on Thurs and Italian on Friday. You don't need to make a new recipe each day of the week - leftovers are super helpful. Keep it simple with 3-4 go-to meals to get you started. I suggest to find a few recipes for 15-min meals (using store-bought prepared ingredients/foods) to help get you started. 
    
4. Keep your pantry, refrigerator and freezer stocked - A well-stocked pantry, 'fridge and freezer can help you when you are rushed, when fresh food is running low or when you are exhausted from high volume training. Be sure to have items that you can quickly throw together for a healthy meal (ex. microwavable rice, frozen veggies, ready-to-eat protein, etc.)
    
5. Get some help - If you are extremely busy and time-crunched, consider using a grocery delivery service to cut down on time spent grocery shopping. Otherwise, select a designated grocery-shopping day (or two) when the store is not packed. It's recommended to shop early in the morning (or off-peak times during the week) to avoid crowded aisles and quicker check-out. Don't put off grocery shopping until you have enough time - it may never be convenient.  Although making one big shop may be less-timing than having to make several small trips, you may find it less overwhelming to do two small grocery shops a week. Keep a running list of of items that need to be replenished (and what you can buy in bulk) so you don't over (or under) shop.
    
6. Make extras - To save time, make large batches and extra portions of food/meals. Chop and prep items in advance like veggies and fruits, eggs, grains, potatoes and protein. Set aside time on a lighter training day to use all equipment in your kitchen (stove top, microwave, oven, crockpot, etc.) and get to work in your kitchen. Listen to a podcast or watch a video/movie as you are cooking. Freeze single-item portions in plastic containers or freezer bags to use for future meals. 
    
7. Prep and pack in advance - A hungry and tired individual rarely makes good food choices. Prep and pack all training foods, snacks and meals in advance (the day before). While this may feel stressful at first, you'll be thankful that you made the time when it finally comes time for you to eat. 

For more tips and delicious recipes, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox every Wednesday morning. 

3 easy steps for effective meal planning

Over the past few weeks, Joey and I have dedicated our free weekly Trimarni newsletter to the topic of lifestyle changes - specifically meal planning. You can have all the best intentions to eat a more nutritious diet and you may even have a variety of nutritious foods at home. But a busy schedule is one of the top reasons for not staying consistent with nutritious eating habits. Thus, the perfect reason to become better at meal planning. 

Imagine the scenario where you are exhausted, hungry and crunched for time and within a few minutes of walking through the door, you have a delicious home-cooked meal (or brown bag lunch) ready for you. If it sounds too good to be true, with a bit of planning you two can make this a dream come true.

One of the most common reasons why most people struggle with meal planning is that there are many different types of meal prepping strategies. With so many different methods, you want to consider your grocery shopping style, work/life schedule, activity regime, cooking ability and food preferences. Not only does meal planning save time but it also saves a lot of money. It also contributes to a more nutritionally balanced diet as you can avoid those tempting last minute food-related decisions that occur out of exhaustion, hunger and being crunched for time.

To help you out, Joey put together a three-part series (featured below) to help you get more comfortable with meal planning. Like anything in life, don't look for hacks and quick fixes. Take some time to figure out the best style of meal planning that works for you and your lifestyle/family.

Step One: Selecting Recipes


Just as you plan out your week for work projects, training, family events, and so on, having a plan for what you’ll eat can reduce the daily stress of having to answer the questions of “what’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?” Meal planning is different for everyone and there is no one right way to plan your meals. It is vital to begin somewhere - give it time, and revise as needed until you find the process that is effective for you.

The first key step towards effective meal planning is selecting recipes. If your breakfast and lunch meals tend to be pretty consistent and simple (think options like cereal, oatmeal, eggs, and yogurt/fruit for breakfast and sandwiches/wraps, salads, grain bowls, and leftovers for lunch), a good place to put your energy is by selecting healthy recipes for dinner. Start small with maybe 2-3 recipes per week. Either batch prepare or cook on the nights that you may have more time. There are a plethora of recipes available through cookbooks, magazines, online (such as on food blogs, food websites, manufacturer websites, social media), meal planning apps such as Mealime, and your past Trimarni newsletters :-). Think about your goals for meal planning and choose recipes accordingly such as:

• Do you want a meal that can be made in 30 minutes or less?
• Do you want to use your slow cooker or Instant Pot?
• Do you want mostly casserole options to have more leftovers?
• Would you like to incorporate more theme nights to keep dinner fun such as Meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday?
• Would you like to focus on what is in season in your area or on sale?

Plan for familiar recipes in the mix that you are comfortable making (and that you and your family love) and then add in some new ones. Once you have selected your recipes, be sure to organize them in an easy and accessible way that works best for you - such as in a notebook, a Google Doc, or in a meal planning app. After you have made a dish, keep notes on things such as:

• Any modifications that you made to the original recipe?
• What you would try next time to make it your own?
• Would you make this recipe again?
• Was this recipe easy to make or time consuming?
• Would you use this recipe as part of your usual meal rotation?

Remember that not all meals in your diet have to be home cooked. A healthy diet has room for outside eats. Leave room in your meal planning regime for a pizza night or take out, if that is something that is important to you. Also, keep in mind that there are meal planning services to assist with meal planning if it all seems too overwhelming.

Meal planning is a marathon, not a sprint. Be realistic. This may mean starting slow and being patient as you create a process that is sustainable (and enjoyable) for your lifestyle.

Step Two: Make a List, Take Inventory, and Go Shopping

Once you have selected your recipes, the second key step in effective meal planning is a 3-part process that involves;
1) Making a list
2) Taking inventory
3) Going grocery shopping

Start by looking at each recipe that you plan to make and creating a master list of the ingredients that you will need for each one. Check your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator to see what you already have on hand and cross those items off your master list (if an item is a kitchen staple that you like to keep on hand, make sure to always keep that item in stock at your house).

You now have an actual grocery list. If you typically shop at a specific food store, you might try re-writing your list by grouping items by department (such as produce, frozen, dairy, etc) or how you typically shop the store. This will help to keep you organized and for saving time.
Grab your reusable grocery bags and head to the store.

When you return home from shopping, consider preparing foods that can be dealt with ahead of time. This will help you save time when cooking your meals. For example, wash and chop fruits and veggies, cook grains/potatoes, roast veggies for a dish, or brown ground meats. For even greater time savings, purchase pre-cut fruits and veggies if you don't want to spend time chopping.

Some of the meal planning or recipe services/apps will generate ingredient/grocery lists for you from the recipes that you have selected. If you use one of these services, simply do your inventory, go shopping, and prepare what you can when you get home.

Step Three: Meal Preparation

Now that you have your recipes selected, ingredients purchased, and some ingredients prepped, it’s time to start preparing your meals. You are one step closer to eating!

One of the biggest drawbacks of cooking at home is the time it takes to prepare a meal. Meal preparation can be time consuming, especially if you are the only one preparing food, cooking meals, and cleaning up. Since schedules vary greatly, how you complete this step will require some trial and error until you find the process that works best for you and your family. For example, if evenings are busy and leave limited time for cooking, you might find it easier to pick a day each week that you set aside a small chunk of time to batch prepare all of your recipes that can be made in advance. Prepare what you can ahead of time so that you don’t have to start from scratch every night or, if possible, make the full meal and portion leftovers into storage containers to be reheated. Consider giving each family member a task such as chopping, mixing, or washing dishes. This way each person can contribute to the meal which can be a time saver.

Don't forget to prepare items that you will use for quick breakfast and lunch options, such as baking chicken breasts or tofu for sandwiches/wraps/salads, cooking your grains (brown rice, farro, quinoa, etc) for grain bowls, and whipping up some overnight oats for a speedy breakfast. Tackling dinner meals in advance will allow for reduced stress, faster, easier, and more enjoyable evening meals.

No matter how well you plan, chances are pretty good that your plan will go awry at some point. Don't give up just because one meal goes sideways. Have a back-up plan with things on hand that can be easily made (like wraps, omelets, or frozen tortellini) in case of unforeseen circumstances such as working late, not feeling your meal choice, cranky spouses or kids, etc.

Meal planning is a work in progress.

• Give it a try
• Give it time
• Forgive any missteps
• Revise as needed to best find the process that works for you
• Aim for a successful meal planning habit

Why your diet keeps failing you (hint: are you meal planing?)

If you are an athlete, you'd probably agree with me that your biggest nutrition struggle is attempting to eat healthy when you don't have time or energy. While your biggest mistake could be not making healthy eating a priority on your daily to-do list, it can be very difficult to sustain a healthy diet when you are exhausted and overwhelmed with your daily life responsibilities and workout regime.

Here are some of the common reasons why you may be struggling to consistently sustain a healthy diet:

• Cooking for yourself seems like too much work. 
• You don't have time (or energy) to grocery shop.
• You are overwhelmed by so many food choices. 
• Other things in life are more important to you than spending time and energy on healthy eating. 
• You don't plan ahead to have healthy foods available. 
• You go into meals starving. 
• You rely on fast food/restaurants because it's easy. 
• It's too difficult to learn how to make and eat healthy food. 
• It's too overwhelming to follow a recipe. 
• You or your family is picky with food. 
• Your off-limit food list does not allow for variety.
• You are fine eating the same thing over and over again. 
• You don't make time to cook. 
• You always go into a meal starving or exhausted and look for convenience over healthy. 
• You are too busy.
• You don't have a plan for the day. 

Planning your day of eating in advance is the most important component of sustaining a healthy diet. Here are a few reasons why meal prepping is beneficial to your health, fitness and body composition goals:

• Prepping food in advance eliminates the chance of eating on a whim. 
• Planning ahead reduces the risk of overeating and grazing. 
• Meal planning helps you stay accountable. 
• Planning out your meals and snacks ensures that you meet your caloric and nutrient needs. 
• Planning out your meals and snacks ensures that you have energy for your workouts and so that you can optimize recovery. 
• You save money when food is available and avoid splurges or grabbing something quick/fast/sugary because you are starving (or low in energy).
• Meals come together faster when you know what you are eating and the food is mostly/already prepped. 
• You are more likely to make better nutrition choices when you meal prep. 
• You feel better (and less stressed) when your meals are ready when you want to eat. 
• You get back more time in your week/day when you prep in advance. 

While some people are meal prep masters, the process of meal planning can be an overwhelming task when all recipes are selected in advance, all the weekly groceries are purchased and every meal is made in one day only to be stored in containers inside the refrigerator. 

Seeing that athletes love plans, it's no surprise that athletes will often look for a detailed meal plan and precise caloric information to make healthy eating "easy". But without meal planning habits, this plan will be all for nothing. In other words, anytime you deviate from your meal plan, you will feel like you have absolutely no idea how to eat. That's because you haven't learned how to create and plan a healthy diet.

Realizing that most athletes want a diet quick fix, I don't believe in this approach. I want to help athletes change their relationship with food. When I work with an athlete on nutrition, I first address nutrition strategies/habits to ensure that my athlete make the effort to plan balanced meals and snacks before we start focusing on nutrient timing and sport nutrition. While many athletes are looking for something concrete to follow (aka "tell me what to eat"), if you don't have strategies for meal planning, your diet will never work for you. Without a solid foundation of healthy eating and the habits to ensure that you keep up with healthy eating, the body will not respond well to training. How do expect your body to tolerate your training when you add in more intensity and volume to your workout regime but right now, you have no idea how to plan and prepare a balanced meal? You can't out-train a poorly planned diet.

One of the main reasons why your diet keeps failing you is likely because you are doing the same things over and over, hoping for a different result. While you may have the best intentions to eat better, if healthy food is not available or planned appropriately, you will struggle to maintain healthy eating habits when you are tired and busy. Plus if you are currently following a 30-day diet plan, you will have mastered restrictive eating which means come February, you will likely return to your former old bad habits, likely filled with quick, convenient and nutrient-empty meals and snacks.

If you feel incredibly overwhelmed with the "meal planning" process (ex. prepping food/meals in advance), I encourage you to consider how meal planning can change your life as it relates to food.

Right now, I want you to get a piece of paper and write down what you will eat tomorrow for breakfast, lunch and dinner and snacks between. Don't make it fancy or complicated. With your best knowledge of "healthy" eating, plan your day of eating and then decide how you will go about making the day of eating happen. By having a plan, you will be more likely to follow through with healthy eating versus thinking about what you should be doing but failing to keep up with your expectations.

No off limit food list, no calorie counting, no extravagant recipes. Simply plan your day before it happens. As a helpful hint, the more restrictions you have in your daily diet, the more difficult it may be to plan a diet that you will actually enjoy and can sustain. I encourage you to not make your diet more complicated than it needs to be. Remember, start small for big results.

Be mindful that last minute changes in your schedule, needing variety in your diet and occasionally not wanting to eat what you planned to cook/eat that day are common reasons why you need to be an active participant in your meal planning process. You have to work at it to figure out what works best for you.  If you enjoy cooking all your meals in advance on Sunday evening and it works for you, go for it. But if not, don't stress - start working on a few small, easy and creative strategies to help follow through with your healthy eating plan. 

Making the time to meal plan

Sitting down to a home-cooked meal is a great feeling, especially after a tough workout or a long day of work. But sadly, in our society, making the time to cook a meal is not an everyday occurrence for a variety of reasons:

• Being too tired or too hungry
• Needing something quick and convenient
• Feeling too busy
• Not knowing what to eat 
• No love for cooking
• No appetite

If you are like everyone else, you already have a lot to squeeze into the day so it's easy to see why your meals may be an afterthought, especially if you wake up at 4am to workout and you don't come home from work until 7pm.

But is that a reason not to cook/meal prep or an excuse? 

Meal prep/cooking should be a priority in your day. Just like working out, going to work, playing with your kids and sleeping, cooking/meal prep should be on your daily to-do list. It's not about finding the time but making the time. 

As an athlete, I understand how overwhelming it can be to plan (and eat) nutritious meals, every day of the week and still squeeze in exhausting workouts and everything else that keeps me busy in life.  For myself, my meals in peak training become a lot less exciting as I am hyper focused on nourishing my body but also constantly fueling and refueling, whereas in the off-season, I have a lot more flexibility in my diet and more time to cook. 

For athletes, the off-season is the perfect time to develop a passion for cooking and to create sustainable habits that promote meal planning and healthy eating. By placing a similar amount of passion, effort and enthusiasm into your daily diet as you do with your training, you will find it easy to adapt to your training as it increases in intensity/volume but you will also find yourself with a great relationship with food and confidence in fueling and nourishing your body.  

Here are a few of my meal planning tips that will work for your busy lifestyle. 

1) Prepare meals/ingredients when you have free time and when you cook, always plan for leftovers.  

A little meal prep goes a long way. Dice, chop, wash, cook - do as much as you can when you free time. No free time? Instead of playing on your phone or spending 5 extra minutes working out, or taking care of something now that you can do later, get in the kitchen and start prepping food. Don't overwhelm yourself with meal prep - plan for 1-2 days worth of meals at a time.
2) Prep a meal before a workout.

Guess what happens when you finish your workout hungry, with no meal at home waiting for you and no patience/energy to meal prep. Prepare as much as you can before working out. This is a game changer. You won't believe how much easier you will find fueling and refueling (and how less complicated "healthy" eating will be) when you know that a meal is waiting for you post workout. More often than not, if you finish a workout hungry, you will almost always go for what's quick and easy and not always healthy or performance enhancing.
3) Have a menu for the week.

Knowing what you will eat for dinner (and breakfast, lunch and snacks) will ensure you have the necessary ingredients and will prevent you from eating out due to "not having anything to eat." No need to make this menu extravagant or fancy, just have a plan. I find that theme meals work really well for families or those who struggle to be creative with new meal ideas and tend to eat the same thing every night of the week. 
4) Allow yourself one night a week to get a little help from a pre-made or semi-homemade meal.

Eating out is expensive and sometimes time-consuming but every now and then, it can work for you! Consider getting help from the grocery/restaurant, etc. once a week by eating from a salad bar, pre-made meal option, restaurant, pick-up/take-out healthy item or making something semi-homemade. Make sure this meal works for you as you should never feel guilty about eating food prepared outside of the home. My tip: Be inspired by what you eat outside of the home and try to re-create it at home. 
5) Use your time wisely.

Think about eat day of the week - when do you have the most free time? And by free time, this includes watching TV, laying around or spending time on your smart phone/computer at home.
It's important to find 10-30 minutes a day to use your time wisely and meal prep or cook. Set an alarm or a reminder on your phone/computer to alert you to stop what you are doing and get into the kitchen to start a meal. It's so easy to let cooking and meal prep become an afterthought because you feel "too busy" but really, it all comes down to how you use your time. 

As an athlete, cooking/meal prep should be high on your to-do list. Put the same focus and attention on your eating habits as you do with your training and you will soon find yourself with a healthy, strong and well-nourished and fueled body. 

Powerful food bowl

I'm not a fan of fad diets that promise "too good to be true" health or weight loss results or require extreme, restrictive eating choices but I'm all about food trends that encourage healthy eating.

If it wasn't for food trends, you probably wouldn't be eating so much kale, avocados or chia seeds!

If you've been a long-time Trimarni follower on Facebook or Instagram, you've probably noticed that most of my meals are eaten from bowls.

Well, wouldn't you know that it is now trendy to eat a meal out of a bowl???

I love the idea of eating out of a bowl for several reasons:
-Flavors are enhanced when combined
-You can incorporate a variety of nutrients into one dish
-You can see what you love to eat
-You can hide what you don't like to eat
-You are forced to sit down and eat with silverware

When I plan meals, I always focus on a template for every meal:
-Plants (fruits or veggies)
-Protein
-Starch or grain
-Fat

Without getting too deep into numbers, here are some numbers to ensure that you are eating "enough"  PER MEAL.

-Plants: Unlimited

-Protein: 25-30g

-Starch or grain: ~50-70g

-Fat: ~10-20g

Certainly, adjust based on your energy and appetite - just make sure all adjustments work for your active lifestyle and health goals.

Note: I like my athletes to think of meal planning as "am I eating enough?" not saying "I am eating too much!" as it helps create a better relationship with food when you focus on eating enough to meet energy and nutrient needs.

As you can see from my powerful bowl of nutrients (lunch yesterday), I have the following in my bowl:
-Plants: mixed greens and arugula, tomatoes, grapes, red and orange peppers, onions
-Protein: Cottage cheese (and some from quinoa)
-Starch or grain: Quinoa
-Fat: Olive oil, chopped walnuts, goat cheese

-------------------------

Are you ready to start this Trimarni-approved food trend?

Here's how you can get started: 
1) Buy some awesome bowls in all sizes (I prefer shallow bowls)


2) Think about your favorite recipes/meals and how you can eat them in a bowl
(for inspiration, check out this blog)

3) Don't feel the need to combine everything. If you don't like foods to be mixed or prefer one type of texture at a time while eating, divide your bowl into sections so that you have all the components of a healthy and balanced meal....in a bowl.

4) Are you worried that you can't change old habits....like always eating sandwich for a meal?
Turn that sandwich, wrap or pita inside out and serve the bread on the side (you can top with smashed avocado, cheese or hummus)
.


What will you yum over in your bowl?

Meal planning - a non-negotiable for athletes

(Source)

Meal planning is a genius idea. Prepare your meals and snacks on Sunday and you have every meal ready for the entire week. What a time savor! No chopping, shopping, prepping or cooking needed each day to give you so much "free" time to do what you want/need to do and still come home to a healthy meal.

As great as this looks, this wouldn't work for me.

I need a lot of variety in my diet or else my taste buds get bored. 

Plus, my workout routine is constantly changing, with different workouts putting a different stress on my body every day.

And lastly, I love to cook, I work from home, I know how to match my metabolic/health needs with my diet and I have the time to cook every day. 

But that's me. 

What about you? 

When it comes to healthy eating and feeling control over what you put inside your body, planning your meals and snacks is a key to success. 

Anytime you go too long without eating, let your blood sugar drop, work out or feel stressed, there is a good chance that your food choices are not what you should be eating but instead, what you can eat quickly and easily.

There is a huge difference between the two. 

Without a doubt, if your meals were prepared ahead of time and you didn't have to think about what you were going to eat, there is a great chance that you would put the food inside your body that you need and ultimately, you would experience less cravings for the foods that are quick, easy and convenient.

Plus, when the body and brain is depleted, it is a physiological (not willpower) situation that you put yourself in that you will crave sugars and carbs. 

By setting aside some time to prep, cook and prepare meals ahead of time, you save a lot of time and money. Plus, you never have to put yourself into the situation of "what should I eat?" or "I'm too hungry to cook."

Try it out for next week. Plan a few meals and see if this is a game changer for you.
Think about your life, workout routine, energy and biological hunger when planning your meals and snacks.

Don't plan to be "good" or "perfect".
Plan to nourish and to fuel.
(and don't forget to plan for the occasional indulgences too!)

Meal planning - theme meals

Meal planning can be tough after a long, exhausting day of life.

The other day, I was talking to a friend/athlete about meal prep and they mentioned about how they plan their week with theme meals.

For anyone who loves to cook, a theme meal each day of the week may not be necessary but for those who are not so creative in the kitchen, theme meals can be extremely helpful for extra inspiration and motivation when it comes to cooking (especially when it comes to grocery shopping and meal prep). 

Consider having a theme for each dinner meal of the week.

Here are a few ideas:

-Sandwich/wrap

-Brinner (breakfast for dinner)

-Soup/stew/chili

-Comfort food

-Ethnic (Italian, Mexican, Asian, European)

-Quick and easy

-Semi-homemade

-Meatless/Vegetarian 

-New recipe

Any other ideas?

When it comes to deciding what to make for your theme meal, search blogs, recipes, websites, magazines, cook books or books for inspiration.

You can search by meal, theme, dietary preferences or even single ingredients like eggs, tofu, goat cheese or asparagus.

In today's society, you can't really use the excuse "I have no idea what to make for dinner?"

Inspiration and ideas are all around you - all you need to do is make the time and effort to get in your kitchen and start cooking.

What's for dinner tonight?