1. I try to keep my diet as varied and colorful as possible in order to avoid nutritional deficits. Fruit and vegetables are part of my daily diet, plus grain products (mostly whole-grain) and sometimes legumes. In addition, every main meal should contain a proper portion of proteins (dairy products, fish and sometimes meat), supplemented by vegetable oils and nuts.

2.  There’s no “golden rule” but runners should stick to a few general recommendations. Never do a race or training run on a full stomach – wait for three to four hours after a big meal or two to three hours after breakfast. What’s more, the food you eat before a run should be easy on the stomach and digestible. The more intense your training’s going to be, the more sense it makes to stick to these rules. Fatty, battered or fried food is far from ideal – neither before nor after training. Actually, you should avoid it when you’re not training as well – even fried vegetables! 

3. Don’t go crazy at the pasta party. Before a long race like a marathon, it’s tempting to eat as much pasta as possible the night before. Yes, it’s important that you start a race with full glycogen stores but this is not achieved by over-eating carbohydrates the previous evening! Instead, think about increasing the percentage of carbs you eat three days before a race from 50% to 70% of your diet. And it doesn’t have to be pasta. Try other cereal products like rice and millet or potatoes.

4. On race day my favourite breakfast is to have oat flakes and millet with soy milk or yoghurt and fruit. It provides just the right amount of energy. During a race I avoid sweets. Gummi bears and the like mostly consist of sugar and are a quick source of energy. But it only lasts for a short time. You’re better off using a proper sports drink.

5. After training, you should eat something pretty soon, preferably easily digestible carbohydrates and proteins like a banana and yoghurt, fruit bar, cereal products with steamed fish or meat. For two hours after training, your body can ingest nutrients particularly well and refill your glycogen stores. When I don’t feel like cooking after training, I simply mix oatmeal with some curd or yoghurt and add some dried fruit, nuts and spices like cinnamon and coriander.

6.  In my opinion, there’s no such thing as “superfoods”. There’s no one natural foodstuff that contains all essential nutrients! There are different sources for that and you should also make use of them. Of course, every athlete has his or her own “superfood”! 

7. Be careful about products that are recommended by commercials or even colleagues. Healthy athletes on a balanced diet don’t need any kind of dietary supplement!

8. I prefer three big meals a day in order to give my body time to digest. I wouldn’t recommend any fewer meals than that – it only leads to binge eating. One of the most important meals is a rich breakfast! Small snacks for in between are okay as long as they are not overly fatty or sugary. The important thing is that you eat them consciously. But during very intense training weeks, three meals a day can be too little.

9. If your diet is well balanced, it’s also okay to eat something sweet from time to time – as long as it’s not too often! 

10. Alcohol is an absolute no-go before, during and after exercise because it makes you fuzzy and dehydrated, which in turn has a negative effect on your regeneration.