” I eat way too many chips, even though I know they are bad for me…”
“I get into the cookies all the time. I think I’m addicted to sugar…”
“I’m tempted to try GLP-1 weight loss drugs. I’ve heard they put an end to food noise…”
We live in a tough food environment. I hear many runners talk about food as if it is a drug that they try not to eat. You know, I try to stay away from bread.• I don’t keep ice cream in the house. • I don’t do pasta. I also hear runners complain about “feeling hungry all the time,” eating “everything in sight” upon arriving home after work or school, and quietly confessing they binge-eat a few times a week. These athletes often blame ultra-processed foods for being addictive; TV ads and social media for being triggers for food binges; and their own personality quirks to explain their obsession with food. Many express frustration at their lack of control over alluring ultra-processed snacks like chips and baked goods.
Ironically, some of these snack-attacking runners track the healthfulness of their snacks on apps, such as Yuka. Yuka judges a food based on a red-yellow-green light system. Does knowing a snack’s red-light ranking deter indulging? Generally, not. People choose foods based on taste, more-so than healthfulness. Apps that rank foods as being good or bad miss an important point: There’s not a good or a bad food. Rather, there’s a balanced or an unbalanced diet. Example: Lance’s ToastChee Peanut Butter Crackers have a red light (bad) ranking. But if you assess their 220-calories as part of an overall nutrient-dense 2,400-calorie diet, they have minimal negative impact. That said, too many “bad” foods can indeed take their toll on health. Routinely devouring several packets of those crackers for dinner because you’ve gotten too hungry to cook a meal is self-sabotaging.
What is the solution to highly palatable ultra-processed snack foods, food cravings, and food noise? My simple suggestion is to stop snacking and replace those calories with a real meal, such as a second breakfast or a second lunch.
Meals should be hearty enough to keep you satiated for four hours. Hence, a runner who gets up at 5:00 a.m., trains, then eats a 7:00 a.m. breakfast will be ready for an early lunch by 10:00 or 11:00 a.m, followed by a second lunch at 3:00 in the afternoon. Instead of snacking on highly palatable foods with low nutritional value to “hold you over” to lunch or dinner, eat a real meal!
Being hungry at 9:00 a.m., after having eaten breakfast at 7:00, means you didn’t eat enough breakfast. Hence, you end up hankering for something to snack on. If the snack is healthful, no problem. But if it’s a pastry, think again! Eating enough wholesome food at meals curbs the hankering for quick energy (sweets), fats (concentrated calories)—and convenient, seemingly “addictive” ultra-processed snacks.
High school runners (and others) who train at 4:00 in the afternoon need a good breakfast, a hearty school lunch at 11:00ish, and an after-school second (lighter) lunch at 2:30ish to energize them for the workout. The second lunch will not only improve their stamina and mood but also displace the post-exercise food frenzy with “eating everything in sight” that happens when a runner gets too hungry.
Hunger is a major trigger for many food problems, including food noise, cravings for sweets, food “addictions” (a debatable claim), and eating “too much junk food.” When you know what you “should” eat but just don’t eat it (and instead devour the whole bag of XYZ), you have likely gotten way too hungry. Please understand, hunger is a physiological request for food. Hunger appears in the form of incessant food thoughts, a.k.a food noise. If we didn’t think about food, we would never think to eat. Runners who disregard their body’s request for food can easily end up getting too hungry—and that can easily lead to devouring a lot of highly palatable ultra-processed, nutrient poor snacks (chips, cookie, candy…)
Granted, some people with obesity do have a genetically driven “big appetite” and have to work hard to control their food intake. For them, a GLP-1 weight-loss drug (Wegovy, ZepBound, Ozempic) seems to calm their appetite and put an end to “food noise.” But the majority of athletes simply need to front-load enough calories to prevent hunger, curb their appetite, reduce food cravings, and put an end to over-indulging.
A key to managing hunger is to learn how many calories you are supposed to eat, then divide the calories into four (more or less) even-sized meals. For a female runner, that could be four 600-700-calorie meals a day; for a larger male runner, perhaps four 800-900 calorie meals. (Suggestion: Consult with a sports nutritionist/RD to determine your calorie needs and create an effective meal plan for you.)
My experience shows that most runners eat far less than 600-800 calories at breakfast (hence hanker for mid-morning sweets). They may or may not eat 600-800 calories at lunch. (A skimpy salad doesn’t do the job!) By 4:00 in the afternoon, after having tried to “stay away from snacks” most of the afternoon, they have become too hungry and succumb to a snack attack!!! If only they had enjoyed a second lunch (peanut butter-banana sandwich) at 3:00, when they first started to think about food, they could have avoided the dietary disaster.
While frontloading calories sounds simple, it can actually be hard for runners who fear they will eat just as much at night and end up gaining undesired body fat. Yet, those who are willing to experiment with a four-meal food plan report back to me:
• “My second breakfast/early lunch (bagel + peanut butter) keeps me away from mid-morning sweets. It’s nice to feel perkier all morning and not ruminate about food all the time.”
• “My second lunch is a game changer. I no longer crave chips or sweets in the afternoon. At 3:00. I enjoy 500 calories of an apple + cheese + crackers. I arrive home in a much better mood after work.”
• ” By having a bigger breakfast, lunch, and second lunch, I curb my evening appetite. I no longer even want a huge dinner; I’m content to enjoy a lighter meal. I’m losing weight—while I am sleeping. This is far preferable to my previous attempts to lose weight while training. The food noise in my head has gone away. And best of all, I feel better about my eating.”
Are you ready to experiment with eating four daytime meals that adequately support your active lifestyle? Be curious and enjoy the benefits: fewer cravings for sweets, more energy, and peace with food.
Boston-based sports nutritionists Nancy Clark MS RD CSSD counsels both fitness exercisers and competitive athletes. Her best-selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook is a popular resource. For more information: NancyClarkRD.com .