Okay, I eat a lot of weird stuff. Part of this is due to plain ol’ laziness. But part of it is due to really believing that my body will tell me what, and how much, it needs (maybe that is why I’m always puking up gels, but that is another subject for another day). All this “free spirit” eating has opened me up to a lot of questioning. People are always commenting on my weird eating habits, especially in light of how much I run. With all the new diets around on the internet, I’m often asked if I eat “Paleo”, “Vegan”, “Raw”, or “High Carb”. The answer: Yes. Yes. Yes. And, Yes. In short, I eat everything.

But, the questions have definitely made me start to think. Why do I crave certain foods – especially weird ones, like Squirt soda, after I run?

I know my body wants sugar, by why not Sprite? Or Kool-Aid? There’s tons of sugar in both of those.

I started reading labels of all the foods I crave and I was surprised, and then not so surprised, by what I found. The 12 glasses of orange juice a day I drink? Turns out orange juice is high in potassium, and since I don’t like bananas, and I sweat like gorilla, my body had to find a yummy alternative. And the peanuts that I munch on every morning? Salt, protein, potassium and magnesium.

And that crazy Squirt? Besides sugar and water, it has a nice dose of sodium. Hmmm…seems like my body is definitely finding its own electrolyte replacements.

I crave a lot of other weird stuff, so I will keep reading labels to see what else I need. Do you think Ding Dongs have something special? Hmmm…maybe I’ll go buy a box to find out.

What do you crave? What do you think your body is telling you it needs?

Happy Running!