Replenish Your Body After Long Runs
For optimal recovery: Within the first few hours of finishing a long run or marathon, consume about 50% of your body weight in carb grams — plus 10 to 20 grams of protein. Eat half within the first 30 minutes of finishing your run and the rest at any point within the next two hours. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, you'll want to consume 80 grams of carbs and 10 to 20 grams of protein. For optimal recovery, eat half within 30 minutes of finishing the race (e.g., a sports drink plus either a nutrition bar, soy crisps, or trail mix) — and the other half during the next two hours (e.g., turkey sandwich, or pizza with veggie toppings, a bowl of lentil soup, whole–grain pasta with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, or a fruit/yogurt smoothie.
Learn more about Food Cures for your health.