Nutrition tips

At the February Run for the Memory team meeting, we heard from nutritionist Nancy Clark.

She had a lot of valuable insight - a number of good tips on eating right. Here are a few:

-Eat when you're hungry. (It sounds obvious but if you get hungry before it's time for dinner, don't hold off and starve yourself.)

-People get hungry about every four hours, so if you have breakfast at 7 or 8, then lunch at 11 or 12, you're ready for more food at 3 or 4. So maybe have a "second lunch" in the mid-afternoon, such as a sandwich or a bagel, rather than just snacky items. (I'm going to try to follow that one because I feel like I snack too much in the late afternoon.)

-Try to have three different foods in a meal - rather than just a bagel for breakfast, throw in a banana and some juice.

-After long runs, have something simple to eat if you're not hungry, such as a bagel or a banana, as it's important to refuel.

-Check race Web sites before you go so you'll know what and where the food and drink will be along the course.

-Finally, a non-food tip: Get more sleep and watch less TV.