Getting rid of stitches

How on earth do you combat stitches? They're soo annoying. Bending over? Breathing more deeply? Holding your breath!? Tips please guys...

I was told sharp in and out breaths were supposed to get rid of them, It helps mine fade but don't know whether this is a coincidence.  I think just starting off slowly until you're ready to run a fairly average pace is the best way forward.  If you do get a stitch just walk it off and breath steadily, you're body will recover and you can slowly continue : ) hope this helps!

Arrrr stitches! So annoying aren't they? This article might be useful for you: http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/running-annoyances-and-how-to-deal-with-them-gb-en/Look at point 2 :) x x x x

I press really firmly over the stitch until it disappears, it works best for me. I also run before breakfast which helps.

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. I would like to start running before breakfast, but I need to learn to choose exercise over sleep! It is so tempting to roll back over when the alarm goes at 6am rather than 7am!

I have to go in the morning, by the time I've got home from work, eaten and let my dinner settle it's a bit too late to go out running. I have no motivation to run in the evening either, but mornings are OK. Bad weather doesn't put me off and it tends to be a bit cooler on warm days. Much more pleasant.

On running days I just have a small snack about 30 mins before I go out, I eat full breakfast after I've showered. The snack helps to offset any dizziness caused by lower blood sugar, it's not really intended for energy.

This is what I do too. I know what you mean about dizziness, it just gives me that little something to get me going and not faint at the first lamp post! i normally have a few brazil nuts or a quick handful of blueberries. What do you eat? And what do you have for brekkie after your run, too?

Much the same really. A slightly speckled banana, a few dates, a nakd bar, a few cashew nuts, some orange juice or a home-made fruit and nut bar.

Breakfast could be anything, some days it's porridge with nuts and flaxseeds, others it might be toast with peanut butter, fruit bread, eggs on toast, granola, omelette, smoothies, chopped fruit or berries with yogurt, nuts, mini grillup, vegetable juice, cottage cheese with strawberries. Breakfast is varied, it can be stodgy or totally carb-free and it depends what mood I'm in, what the weather is like or what's available at the time.

Other pre-run snacks could be oat cakes, rice cakes, popcorn etc. If you like them. I avoid these, you may have seen my opinion of them at some point.

I should probably start varying my breakfasts a little more. I tend to have the same thing every morning! Regardless of mood and weather. But this can be my new challenge -variety is the spice of life after all! Thanks for the snacks tips.

I might follow those tips too! thanks

Me too. I get bored but I get uninspired at the supermarket

I was taught if you got a stitch during running to lock hands above head and lean away from it. How correct that is I don't know but always worked for me.

Do you eat cottage cheese and strawberries together??

Yes, or blueberries, blackberries or raspberries. Berries, or soft fruit like peach or nectarine works. They sell it with pineapple, so I thought I'd try it with other fruit and see how it went. Plain cottage cheese is pretty boring, but I do like it with fruit or jazzed up with chilli or chives.

You can use cottage cheese to make a low-fat cheesecake so in theory it works with most fruit.

I don't know if I could eat cottage cheese with loads of different fruit, It can get quite sickly

A couple of tablespoonfulls with a portion of berries is OK. I find it quite filling, so don't have too much at once. I don't serve it with loads of different types of fruit, only 1 at a time.