Running Doc's Guide to Healthy Eating

Book excerpt: An easily implemented sports nutrition program for the weekend warrior, the Olympic athlete, and everyone in between from one of the country’s most respected experts in sports medicine. In Running Doc’s Guide to Healthy Eating, readers will discover Dr. Lewis G. Maharam’s unique Fueling Plates Program. Developed in 2012, it has helped countless sofa spuds who really just want to get off the couch and lose weight, marathoners competing for a place at the Olympic trials, and everyone in between, including recreational athletes who play tennis, soccer, basketball and other running sports. The Fueling Plates Program is designed primarily to boost the performance of athletes, but can also boost the health of the average person, athletic or not. Every day at Maharam’s busy New York City practice, in addition to treating sports injuries, he offers his patients nutritional advice. They ask him: “When should I eat before the marathon?” “Do I really need to drink eight glasses of water a day?” “What about sports drinks?” “Should I use energy gels?” “Gingko?” “Glucosamine?” “Raspberry ketones?” The questions come because the bulk of the sports-nutrition books on the market today make fueling your body sound like a scientific experiment. The Running Doc’s Guide to Healthy Eatingexplains why it’s time to ditch the difficult-to-use food pyramid put out by the USDA in favor of a hands-on experience of your actual plate – what Maharam calls Fueling Plates. It shows, step by step, how readers can apply the program to feel and perform better and have more energy. Those who are already exercising will get faster by eating to fuel their body more efficiently. Even everyday activities become easier with the Fueling Plates Program. Readers who are willing to take advantage of everything revealed in the book, from what to eat to reduce muscle soreness after exercising to how much to drink to be hydrated properly to an individualized nutrition program, will transform their lives.