This Is What Not To Eat (And Drink) Before Running

What not to eat before running is our next question to answer from our mailbox. And we picked it based on the fact that there are millions of people in the line of knowing whether there’s a list of foods that they should avoid before running or not. This makes sense because if your stomach somehow is affected with any eatable, your performance or outcome may differ – you may experience a big decrease in your overall results.

To answer whether there exists any list of foods you need to avoid before running, we’ve reached out to few athletes and researchers and found that there is one; there exists the list of foods that are not recommended when you want to go for running. With that being said, what not to eat before running makes sense based on the reason that there are such foods existing.

Let’s dive into knowing what foods they are, which should be avoided before running.

What not to eat before running:

Following are the foods that are found to affect your overall performance if consumed prior to running.

1 – High-fiber Foods:

Top of the list comes the group of high-fiber foods when it comes to answering what not to eat before running. This is for the fact that foods that are higher in fiber, are harder to digest easily. Remember, you are running to get in shape and get better over time, not trying to digest the food you’ve consumed in the morning. For this very reason, even though high-fiber foods are good for health, it is not a good idea to consume them any time before you run – it’s just not the group of foods you should be eating prior to going for a run.

Some of the foods that come in this type of group are legumes, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

2 – High-fat Foods:

Foods high in fat are also not a good choice to eat before running. This is because you will feel like that the eatables you consumed are still sitting on your stomach, making you feel unhealthy. And not just that, they are also hard to digest.

Unlike high-fiber foods, you need to limit the intake of high-fat foods because they are not healthy for your overall health, and not just bad for when you want to go running.

Some of the foods that come under this type of group are cheese, fried foods, bacon, and hamburger.

3 – Spicy Foods:

Even though spicy foods promote metabolism, they are also capable of causing inflammation and gastrointestinal distress or heat-burn. Not sure if any runner would want to feel that while running. Do you?

Also, spicy foods are not good for when you have typhoid.

Some of the foods that come under this type of group are avocado pepper salsa, chili mac and cheese, and gluten-free burrata jalapeño poppers.

4 – Sugary Foods:

It is found that carbohydrates are a good source of energy when you are planning a long run. But not when you are consuming something like white sugar or sugary foods in general. The reason behind this is that sugary foods are full of empty calories, that don’t contribute to, or support your activity but affects its overall performance i.e. degrades it. Not only do these foods affect your overall performance but also spike the levels of your blood sugar, causing you to feel depressed and experience headaches.

These outcomes make this group of eatables answer what not to eat before running.

Some of the foods that come under this type of group are ketchup, granola, protein bars, chocolate milk, and sports drinks.

If you are wondering why sports drinks as well are bad for running, this is because they are full of sugar. The very best type of fluid you can ever drink before running is water.

Same goes for protein bars; even though many industries and brands promote it for sports activities, protein bars contain lots of refined sugar, therefore is an unhealthy food to eat prior to running.

Now that we’re done with covering what not to eat before running, let’s get into knowing what not to drink before running.

What not to drink before running:

Following are the fluids you should avoid prior to running.

1 – Lactose:

Lactose found in dairy products is hard to digest. For this very reason, it is not recommended for runners to consume fluids or foods that contain lactose. A glass of milk here would be an example of fluid to avoid since it has lactose.

2 – Caffeine:

Caffeine can not only cause stomach issues but is also found to have links with a cause of diarrhea. In this sense, coffee would not be recommended prior to running. However, people that are fine with coffee and are used to it feel no side effects but boost in their energy levels. Keeping both of these scenarios in mind, it is up to your overall system as how it reacts to consumption of coffee; if you feel no side effects, it can be consumed prior to running.

When to see a doctor:

We advise you to visit your dietitian and discuss with him/ her this matter first. This is because if you are weak, you may need some of these foods to start with, to gain weight first.