It can be tough to identify what nutritional wisdom is outdated and what you should follow as an athlete. So we asked a sports dietician: what are some common myths about nutrition for runners that we need to retire? Here are the top five.

Myth #1: Eating late at night will make me gain weight

Weight isn’t nearly that simple, and the timing of that late-night snack isn’t the issue. We would have to dig in a lot deeper to consider lifestyle, metabolism, and specific training to even come close to understanding the full equation of what leads a person to gain weight. Restrictive ideas like this abound in diet culture and can be dangerous, leading to unhealthy restrictions that aren’t based on scientific facts and aren’t mentally healthy or physically productive. In fact, Ěýshowed that having a high protein snack before bedtime helped increase muscle protein synthesis by 22 percent, allowing for enhanced exercise recovery.

Myth #2: Carbs are bad

This myth might have hatched more recently from the trendy, though scientifically inconclusive, ketogenic diet, or from more old-school Atkins-era diet myths. Athletes should be skeptical of any diet that restricts a certain nutrient or ingredient—our bodies need carbohydrates to produce energy. You’ll need carbohydrates readily available if you want to run at a higher percentage of your VO2max without performance impacts and, while exercising at lower intensities, fat is utilized more readily by the body and actually produces more energy per gram than carbohydrates. Though eating fewer carbohydrates during certain points of your training can be beneficial, any time a diet seeks to demonize a single ingredient or nutrient, that should be a red flag.

Myth #3: I need to be fueling with food and hydration mix on every run

You do not need to be eating and drinking your calories on every run if you are eating enough throughout the day. Where you do need to focus on fueling is on runs over 60 minutes in duration, as, on average, our bodies contain enough energy in our glycogen-stored fuel to last us 90 minutes to two hours. The general recommendation for fueling for workouts longer than an hour is to consume 40 to 90 grams of carbs, 200 to 300 calories, and 16 to 20 ounces of fluids each hour. So while you don’t need to load up on stroopwafels for your jog around the block, you should definitely be taking snacks on your two-hour training run.

Myth #4: I don’t need to worry about protein

Runners who are training consistently will need to pay attention to their protein intake. On average, endurance athletes require 1.5 to two times the amount of protein than the average person, and not getting enough protein can cause an increased risk for illness and injury, mood disruptions, and poor recovery.

How much protein you need depends on your body weight, but the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) recommends 1.4 to two grams for every kilogram of body weight. For a 150-pound runner, this would equate to about 95 to 136 grams per day. In general, a good goal is to consume 20 to 30 grams of protein at each meal and 10 to 15 grams per snack.

Myth #5: I can only refuel right after my run

You’ve probably heard of the post-exercise “window of opportunity,” the 30 minutes after a hard run or workout that has been touted as the best time to eat and refuel. That’s due to the idea that the muscles are most receptive to replacing lost glycogen (or stored carbohydrates) in the half-hour immediately after a hard effort, which is important because glycogen is used for energy production during workouts. Delaying glycogen replacement can hinder an athlete’s ability to recover from longer or higher-intensity workouts and leave them open to increased injury risk.

While many nutrition experts still recommend the 30 to 60-minute refueling window post-exercise, previous research has shown that there is an increased rate of carbohydrate uptake and glycogen resynthesis in the two hours post-workout. And there might be more wiggle room when you account for the type of exercise, how much you’ve previously eaten, and what kind of shape you’re in.

Ingesting some sort of protein with a carbohydrate source can prove to be beneficial to muscle glycogen replacement, as both carbohydrates and protein work together to get glucose back into the muscle. While more specific recommendations can be given to runners based on body weight, the general recommendation is to consume 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates and 15 to 20 grams of protein.

This story originally appeared in our sister publication, .

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Runners are always looking for ways to recover faster, feel better, and perform well the next day. But have you thought about how your diet might affect your muscle soreness?

Anyone that has done a hard or long workout and has woken up a day or two later to extreme muscle soreness (otherwise known as DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness) can relate.Ěý Just getting out of bed can be a challenge, let alone going out for another run.Ěý Your nutrition can be a key component to help reduce soreness and get you back quicker in your training and racing.

Eat Enough Calories

If you aren’t getting in enough calories after your run, your body will not have enough nutrients to recover. Sounds simple, but for many, it’s not easy. For many runners after long or hard runs, leptin levels are typically higher (fullness signaling), while ghrelin levels are suppressed (hunger signaling). This may require a runner to come up with a specific post-run fueling strategy that looks different on these training days versus others. Typically, more liquid calories, even if you are not hungry, will be easier to get down. Focusing on soups and smoothies that contain energy-dense foods like avocado, nuts, and seeds can pack a large punch in a small volume. Be sure that you are or protein, as both work together synergistically to help you replace glycogen stores and repair muscles.

When to Eat After Your Workout

You’ve probably heard about that magical “window of recovery” post-exercise that emphasizes getting food in 30 to 60 min after a workout. What is that “something” exactly, and does it need to be timed perfectly? Simply put, if we want to try and do everything possible to reduce post-exercise muscle soreness, then yes, post-workout nutrition composition and nutrition timing is very important.

Our main concerns post-exercise are stopping additional muscle protein breakdown, repairing the body, and restoring glycogen stores. Post-exercise, a greater rate of muscle glycogen resynthesis is achieved based on the greater rate of sensitivity of muscle to insulin. In fact, choosing simpler carbs (~1.5g/kg bodyweight) in the 30 minutes post-exercise completion can help promote the highest rates of glycogen resynthesis. Regular carb feedings every 2 hours, 4 to 6 hours post-exercise, can ensure that glycogen is replenished properly for back to back higher intensity or longer training days.

Protein and carbohydrate consumption after a workout (not just carbohydrate) has been demonstrated to increase muscle protein synthesis rates, as well as helped increase glycogen resynthesis rates to even higher levels. Higher Branch Chain Amino Acid Sources (BCAA) sources tend to produce the highest rates of muscle protein synthesis and can be found in foods like dairy, meat, beans, and tofu. Having your post-workout nutrition strategy dialed in can help significantly reduce muscle soreness and get you going for your next day of training. A good target is to consume 45-60 grams of carbohydrates with 15-20 grams of protein in the 30-minute window post-workout.

How to Hydrate

While nutrient intake and timing are important, failure to rehydrate post-exercise can also lead to its own host of effects on muscle recovery. Dehydration, even in small amounts, can contribute to reduced power, endurance and strength. A good target for replacement is to replace all fluids lost during activity (which on average is about 16-20 ounces per hour of activity), however, this can be even more accurately dialed in with the use of a sweat test.

Omega-3 Supplementation

Omega-3 fatty acids, like EPA and DHA, are polyunsaturated fatty acids with inflammation balancing properties. While some level of oxidative stress and inflammation are needed for proper training adaptation to occur, it’s when levels become chronic and unchecked that it becomes more harmful than beneficial. In general, that there appears to be some sort of beneficial effect with omega-3 supplementation, but duration of use (longer use appears more effective) and EPA/DHA dosage (1.5-2 grams/day) produces a better effect.

Magnesium Rich Foods

If we had to pick one mineral to be king for helping reduce muscle soreness, magnesium would be it. Magnesium itself has a number of particular functions for the endurance athlete, but in relation to muscle soreness, it plays a key role in keeping lactic acid in check, regulates muscle contraction and relaxation, and helps with protein synthesis. The RDA recommendation for magnesium intake is about 420mg/day for men and 320mg/day for women. However, this does not take into account the higher magnesium requirements that endurance athletes may need due to increased usage of energy and loss of magnesium through sweat. First and foremost, focusing on including magnesium rich foods should be a priority before considering supplementation.Ěý Magnesium-rich foods include pumpkin seeds, avocado, nuts, beans, rice, and spinach. At this time, research is mixed as to whether magnesium supplementation is necessary, especially for those that are not deficient in it.

Tart Cherry Juice

has grown increasingly popular in the endurance community has grown as it has become more well known for its inflammation balancing and muscle soreness reducing properties, which are due to its high concentration of anthocyanins. Research has demonstrated tart cherry juice to be effective at reducing muscle soreness when used at a dosage of 350 mL of Montmorency tart cherry juice per day for 7 days out from a target event or workout, as well as one 350 mL serving day of post target event or workout.

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