The blood sugar level (BSL) determines how good you feel. When it is at a good, moderate, regular level you feel good, stable and motivated. If you eat too much sugar, your BSL can rise too high. You’ll feel really good for a while, but the excess sugar triggers a release of insulin that usually pushes it too low. In this state, you don’t have energy, mental focus is foggy, and motivation goes down rapidly.

When blood sugar level is maintained throughout the day, you will be more motivated to exercise, and feel like adding other movement to your life. You’ll have a more positive mental attitude, and be more likely to deal with stress and solve problems. Just as eating throughout the day keeps metabolism up, the steady infusion of balanced nutrients all day long will maintain stable blood sugar levels.

You don’t want to get on the “bad side” of your BSL. Low levels are a stress on the system, and literally mess with your mind. Your brain is fed by blood sugar and when the supply goes down, your mental stress goes up.

If you have not eaten for several hours before a run-walk, you’ll receive an increase in the number of negative messages telling you you don’t have the energy to exercise, that it will hurt, and many others.

The simple act of eating a snack that has carbohydrate and about 20% protein will reduce the negative messages, make you feel good, and get you out the door. Keeping a snack as a BSL booster can often be the difference whether you get out and run that day, or not.

The BSL roller coaster

Eating a snack with too many calories of simple carbohydrate can be counter-productive for BSL maintenance. As mentioned above, when the sugar level gets too high, your body produces insulin, sending BSL lower than before. The tendency is to eat again, which produces excess calories that are converted into fat. But if you don’t eat, you’ll stay hungry and pretty miserable—in no mood to exercise or move around and burn calories, or get in your run for the day.

Eating every 2-3 hours is best

Once you find which snacks work best to maintain your BSL, most people maintain a stable blood sugar level better by eating small meals regularly, every 2-3 hours. As noted in the previous chapter, it’s best to combine complex carbs with protein, and a small amount of fat.

Do I have to eat before running?

Only if your blood sugar is low. Most who run-walk in the morning don’t need to eat anything before the start. As mentioned above, if your blood sugar level is low in the afternoon, and you have a run scheduled, a snack can help when taken about 30 minutes before the run. If you feel that a morning snack will help, the only issue is to avoid consuming so much that you get an upset stomach.

For best results in raising blood sugar when it is too low (within 30 minutes before a run) a snack should have about 80% of the calories in simple carbohydrate and 20% in protein. This promotes the production of insulin which is helpful before a run in getting the glycogen in your muscles ready for use. The product Accelerade has worked best among the thousands of runners I hear from every year. It has the 80%/20% ratio of carb to protein. If you eat an energy bar with the 80/20 ratio, be sure to drink 6-8 oz of water with it.

Eating during exercise

Most exercisers don’t need to worry about eating or drinking during a run-walk until the length of the session exceeds 90 minutes. At this point, there are several options. In each case, wait until you have been exercising for 40 minutes before starting.

GU or Gel products—these come in small packets, and are the consistency of honey or thick syrup. The most successful way to take them is to put 1-2 packets in a small plastic bottle with a pop-top. About every 10-15 minutes, take a small amount with a sip or two of water.

Energy Bars—cut into 8-10 pieces and take a piece, with a couple of sips of water, every 10-15 minutes.

Candy—particularly gummi bears or hard candies are good. The usual consumption is 1-2 about every 10 minutes

Sports Drinks—since there is a significant percentage of nausea among those who drink during exercise, this is not my top recommendation. If you have found this to work for you, use it exactly as you have used it before.

It is important to re-load after exercise— within 30 minutes

Whenever you have finished a hard or long workout (for you), a reloading snack will help you recover faster. Again, the 80/20 ratio of carb to protein has been most successful in reloading the muscles. The product that has worked best among the thousands I work with each year is Endurox R4.