Hello Runner,

Welcome back to your weekly moment of endurance nutrition!

Happy Weekend!
How are you today? I hope your week was good :)

I'm doing well! My month started well, but during this week I've had a few setbacks. My period is knocking on the door, and with it came a pain in my lower back. Even so, I kept training and doing my best.

I ran on an athletics track for the first time and liked it. But I still prefer running on the street, especially on the beach promenade hahaha.

As well as training, I've studied a lot, worked hard too, and had plenty of rest!

Today I want to talk about food portions. I've been waiting for this topic to come up, but the day has come.

I did a bit of research on the subject on social media and saw that many sports nutritionists don't talk about it much, even though it's an important topic.

→ Knowing the correct portion of food to eat can be decisive in terms of improving performance and body composition.

Whether you're an athlete or runner who follows a diet plan or a menu, or who knows off the top of your head which foods to eat, measuring out the correct portions of food will make it easier for you to achieve your goals!

There are many runners who suffer from portion distortion. And I fall into this category.

Portion distortion is when you think that a certain portion of food weighs X grams, but in reality, when you weigh it (on a calibrated scale), it weighs something else. And this will influence the calories and amounts of macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fat).

I want to remind you that food is not the runner’s enemy. It all comes down to timing, frequency, portions, and context!

Sometimes we need more food, sometimes less.

Understanding our portion sizes and food’s nutritional content can, in part, help us make smarter food choices as athletes and runners.

When starting a diet plan for a specific goal (whether it's a half-marathon, marathon, 10k, triathlon, etc.), the ideal is to weigh all the food you're going to eat daily. Nowadays, a kitchen scale is cheap and doesn't take up much space. Anyone can have one.

Over time and with practice, we get used to separating the portions we need by eye. For example: 90g of chicken, 120g of white rice, 150g of pasta, etc.
Even so, I recommend that my clients weigh certain foods periodically to see if the portions are close to what they think they should weigh. And often the difference can be surprising!

→ Although it may seem obvious, many people forget that foods have different weights and densities. E.g., cooked rice vs. cooked quinoa.

→ Another not-so-obvious fact is that food that is eaten cooked should be weighed after it has been cooked, not before. E.g., rice, pasta, beans, meat, etc.

There are other types of portion measurement, such as using a plate or a bowl as a portion guide and using hands as a serving guide. But these measurements are more appropriate for those who are overweight or obese, or for the general population.

If you should, but you don't weigh your food yet, I invite you to start. When I started weighing my meals, I felt a huge difference in terms of satiety, energy, performance, etc.

With time, once you know your normal portions, you can see where small changes can be made to suit your goals - without having to cut out the foods you like!

Any questions or something you would like to share, drop me an email

Wishing you a great weekend and week ahead!

Here’s to health and good runs⚡️

Ana Paula Alonso