Food that can FUEL YOUR FITNESS

OPERATION TRANSFORMATION’S AOIFE HEARNE OFFERS HER ADVICE AND RECIPES

FROM clean eating to high protein, cutting out the carbs to no fruit, the confusion around what constitutes a healthy diet can sometimes be baffling. And even worse, if you’re working out regularly, what should you be eating?

Dietician Aoife Hearne is well-known for her role on Operation Transformation where she helps the participants lose weight.

But this year she has teamed up with the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon to help those taking part focus on the best training nutrition and offer some healthy recipes with all the right ingredients.

‘There’s so much noise in this area, it’s hard for people to know what to do,’ Aoife says. ‘In general, when you look at your plate you want to see it half full of vegetables, about a quarter of carbohydrates and about a quarter of protein,’ she explains.

‘In general carbs get such a bad rap people feel they are so bad for them but carbohydrate is an important energy source and people need to make sure they are well fuelled for whatever

‘At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can. FRIDA KAHLO

exercise they are going to do.’

DON’T CUT THE CARBS - BALANCE IS KEY

When training and exercising it is important to include carbohydrates in your diet but look for a certain kind.

‘Wholegrain, unprocessed carbohydrates are best,’ Aoife says. ‘Carbohydrates are really important for high intensity exercise and to perform at our best so making sure we have enough energy is really important.

Protein also has an important role in the training regime but there is generally no need to bulk up on protein powders if you are eating sensibly.

Aoife explains: ‘Protein has an important role for everybody and for people who are training more frequently in the week will have a higher protein requirement. But as a very basic rule I would encourage people to have protein at every meal and a small amount as their snack so we are getting to absorb more of that protein at regular intervals and your body is getting the benefit all day, rather than eating just one or two meals that are very high in protein.

‘Balance out your protein, whether it is animal-based or plant-based.

‘For the recipes I have created to help women train for the VHI Mini Marathon, I wanted to make sure people are getting adequate protein with each meal, especially at breakfast time as I think that is where we all struggle a bit.’

Aoife points to eggs as a great source of breakfast protein but if you are stuck for time, there is still the opportunity to get quick and easy protein into your diet.

‘Milk is a great source of protein, so overnight oats will work,’ Aoife says. ‘A nut butter is great, or you can put some nuts into your bowl of cereal to increase the protein content.’

KNOW YOUR OWN HYDRATION RATE

Hydration is extremely important for all of us but you don’t need to drink gallons of water or even those two litres every day. In fact, when it comes to how much water we need, we are all different.

‘One of the most important things is to be adequately hydrated,’ Aoife says.

If you are already feeling thirsty, that’s a sign you are dehydrated but it’s something that can also give you headaches, brain fog and even constipation.

‘Drinking enough water is important, drinking too little water can lead to dehydration and that can make it difficult to train well and perform well.

‘But likewise drinking tonnes of water and having a water belly is not going to help you to train well either,’ Aoife says.

‘Ideally you need to drink regularly throughout the day and use your urine as a really easy way to guide your drinking.

‘If your urine is a light yellow colour you are pretty much on target and if it’s very dark, you need to drink more, as a general rule. With hydration it is really individual and personal, it’s not a case of just saying ‘drink two litres of water a day,’ it really is trying to judge your own fluid intake.’

MAKE SURE YOU ARE EATING ENOUGH

‘Sometimes people are focussed so much on eating the perfect foods that they actually undereat,’ Aoife says. ‘When it comes to training and performing at your best you need to eat enough to fuel your body. Eating regularly throughout the day makes it easier to ensure you are eating enough and that you have enough carbohydrate coming in to fuel that exercise is also important.

‘Fuel has a really important role in fitness.’

UPGRADE YOUR PLATE

‘I would really encourage people to eat regularly and focus on whole foods so more vegetables and more fruits in their meals,’ Aoife says. ‘Think about the type of carbohydrate we are choosing and if we can, change it to a higher fibre. Check if there is protein in the meal and if so, is it deep fried in batter or baked and grilled?

‘Just think about what is on your plate and use the plate method as a way of doing a quick analysis to ensure the portions are right.’

There’s still time to sign up to the mini marathon via vhi womensminimarathon.ie and there are training plans for all levels available - from walking and jogging to running.

Here, Aoife shares some of the recipes you will find on the plan to help you keep moving.

‘These meals have a nice summer vibe, with in-season vegetables that are going to be tasty as we want to enjoy what we eat too,’ she says. See vhiwomensminimarathon.

for more recipes.

Regular meals and a plate that’s properly balanced will fuel your exercise