I’ve been quiet lately. Not because I haven’t had anything to say – I always have something to say – but because my current reality flies in the face of what most athletes believe is true. And frankly, it’s wearying to keep explaining, “No. I’m not crazy.” and “Yes. I know what I’m doing.” and overlooking the raised eyebrows and furrowed foreheads.
Now I’m not reinventing the wheel here. There’s been a ton of research and articles written about the subject. Many pro-athletes are treading this path. But it seems to really raise the ire of recreational athletes. I’m not sure why. But because I started the conversation last time – okay WHINED might be a better way of putting it – I feel sort of obligated to explain what I’m up to.
So. Through many, many years of yo-yo dieting I know that I have ..erm.. issues with carbs. Maybe I’m allergic. I haven’t been tested nor plan to be. But I DO know that when allowed to roam freely among bread and wheat and rice (and cookies and cakes and bars and bread) I can’t control their consumption. Long term. Cutting wheat … gluten … seemed to be a smart move.
But endurance athletes LIVE on these easy-to-grab carbs, you say?! In fact a nutritionist I heard within the last couple of weeks was purporting 7-12grams per kg/bodyweight per day. That’s alotta pasta!
Turns out there IS another point of view. You can get your carbs from vegetables. And fruit. No wheat products necessary. Further by upping your protein and fat, not only do you repair/protect your muscles, you actually get your body to start using your stored fat as fuel. I’m not get into the symantics. I gave a bunch of links up above if you really want the skinny – the numbers – the theories. Or use your google noodle!
What I can tell you is my own experience.
- It helps to change your view of food … consider it “fuel” and the whole world changes. (my son will be SO proud
- There is infinite variety of vegetables out there. Discover new-to-you foods.
- Don’t get stuck with ONLY cooked or ONLY raw. My breakfast is an odd combination of fat free cottage cheese, back bacon, fresh beans, fresh mushrooms and baby tomatoes.
- You CAN get unsweetened whey protein powder. When mixed with water it tastes kinda like watery skim milk.
- Get over everything needing to taste AMAZING. This might be hard for many people but if you get stuck go back to #1.
- Timing of when to eat becomes even MORE important. This will likely require a fair bit of fiddling around to stop any bonking. I’m still in the “figuring it out” stage.
- That protein drink after EVERY workout is crucial. Don’t miss it!
- You’re likely still going to need a “during” workout source of fuel. I’m using Accelerade and so far it’s working and not adding weight.
- Having a number cruncher in your house that can help figure out what’s going on is KEY. Thanks Tom! xoxo
- When you’re starving, ANY food tastes fantastic!
Three weeks and 8lbs down. The evidence is pretty convincing!
Rip Esselstyn is triathelete vegan, he seems to do ok. I think as long as you are monitering what you eat and getting enough of whatever you need.
http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=a_minute_with_triathlete_firefighter_and_engine_2_diet_author_rip_esselstyn
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving2/stories /DN-nh_firefighterdiet_0310gd.ART.State.Edition1.1de1684.html
Ironically, Shelagh what I’m doing is quite a bit easier than being Vegan and training even though it might not sound like it. Getting plant-based protein is excruciatingly difficult at the best of times – plant protein just isn’t assimilated as easily as animal protein further you require almost triple the amount! When you couple that with training and needing those muscles, it becomes truly a test of philosophy. For me, I can eat pretty much as much protein as I want so building muscle or worse, loss of muscle, isn’t an issue. Crazy bodies!
Wow.. your going to melt away!
You know, I’ve been thinking about some of the issues you have above and I wonder if we can go even a step further. My body has an incredible way of getting rid of things it doesn’t need.
For example, I ordered way too much food on Friday night composed of cheese and grease. I felt awful but after a couple of morning movements, I’m back to normal. No weight gains.
Now I hear a lot of people say “your young” or it’s “genetics” but I’m beginning to think that maybe it has to do with something else. Maybe there is a % body fat you get to that your body just uses what it needs and gets rid of the rest.
Maybe you’ll get lower in weight and then have to switch to another food composition to get lower. Hopefully it’s sooner and you can come down to where I am and eat lotso breads, rice or anything else your hear desires!
I think you’re right on the money, Cliff. I’m pretty sure %bodyfat has OODLES to do with it. Both in losing and maintaining weight. What I’ve realized though is that ONLY endurance exercise, even with moderated caloric intake (versus RESTRICTED caloric intake) doesn’t increase lean muscle mass as quickly as one might think. So along with severely restricting calories I’ve also added another weight session and am increasing the weight every week.
Did you read that article in Bicycling? on this same topic. Brad has gone gluten and dairy free and has had a much easier time maintaining weight and he says all his siuns issues have disappeared. He is trying to talk me into it.
I haven’t Sheba … is it in this month’s issue? I’ve been gluten/quasi-dairy free (I eat cottage cheese but that’s the extent of my dairy forays)for about 8 weeks. I definitely notice a difference with gluten, maybe for the simple reason that it is just SO easy to have a sandwich. You can eat a WHOLE lot of veg/protein for the same caloric value as a slice of bread. All meals have to be planned and eating out is quite hard. Simplicity has gone out the back door!
Sounds like a hard thing to maintain long term. A lot of work monitoring and planning. Is this just until the race or are you thinking of doing it beyond. I suppose it must depend on how you feel? How do you feel:)
It isn’t *hard* per se, just not particularly appealing.
From a home cooking point of view, it’s actually pretty simple – LOTS of veggies and protein. Carrying “snacks” ends up being bags of mini carrots, celery, sliced mushrooms and/or beef jerky. Though I’m told venison jerky is “du jour” so guess I’m behind the times.
Regardless, my time frame for the stringent reduction is end of May when the volume of training will skyrocket. Think 5 hour bike rides followed by 2 hour runs. So I’m likely going to have to readjust the carb intake at that point. My hope is that my body will have become an efficient fat burner in the meantime. That’s the theory anyway.
great information and i like your views…
Check out BNRG Power Crunch Bars on bnrg.com/power-crunch.html. They’re all natural, taste good, and they’re great for weight loss.
i love snacking on these protein bars and they have really helped me control my cravings thru my workouts