Primal / Paleo & Endurance Athletes
Bit of groundwork here. I have been trying to focus intently on body composition lately. I tend to eat rather 'healthy' overall, but in the recent past, I was eating portion sizes too large, lapsing for the entire weekend, etc..n
So for me, the new year started with calorie counting. I decided that going overboard in terms of sizing & composition was the way to start. While it's a bit obsessive to start with, once you get a hold on exactly what food has what nutritional value, and what nutrional profile is in what size portion, it becomes an easier habit to manage. I'm certain many of you can relate.
Along those lines, I recently purchased, and am about half way through Paleo for Athletes. I find it very intriguing, though perhaps a bit tough on the typical real-world age grouper, and also probably pretty expensive. That aside, I'd like to know who amongst you has successfully made a transition to this eating lifestyle, and what your thoughts are. Just how difficult was the the transition? Are you still able to feel energetic & get your training done? Is it practical in the world of rushed meals & office hours to eat as prescribed?
Furthermore, is it even 'worth it?' Highly subjective question, I'm aware. I think it's a lifestyle decision as opposed to a fad diet, but is it perhaps more appropriate just to try to eat as much lean meat & veggies as possible in reasonable sizings, and not have to eat 100% fruit & sweet potatoes b/c that's what cavemen ate?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
-Ed
Comments
Did it mostly last year, with mixed results - but I also had quite a few 'cheat' days in there.
At first, I was lethargic and tired (first week), and had a slight headache (almost 3 days long). I also became more gassy/flatulent, and my BMs became more frequent and more aromatic.
No way I could do a workout longer than an hour on that diet at the time. Also, I had to time my meals so close to workouts, to use the calories from the meal, to fuel the workout; and I often had GI issues because of it.
I am doing a pure paleo approach this month (no booze of any kind either), what my nutritionist calls a "cleanse". I've only got one planned 'cheat' day this month, for a friend's birthday.
I'm trying to adopt this method of eating as more of a norm, a default, with 'cheat' days few and far between. Also, I LOVE my beer, but will bypass all of that this month.
January's plan includes:
Breakfast: smoothie (banana, 2 cups fruit, 100cals of whey protein, 140cals of flax seed, 2 cups water)
Morning snack: apple
Lunch: lean protein, super salad
Afternoon snack: 15-20 baby carrots
Dinner: lean protein, super salad and/or veggies (asparagus, green beans, etc)
**Starting this week, I'll replace the baby carrots with 1/2 smoothie, then use the other half for post-workout.
-During workouts (less than 2.5 hours): water with a taste of fruit juice
-During workouts (bike rides more than 2.5 hours, if any): 1/2 servings of my Infinit mix (about 135cals/hour)
So, started last Monday 1/3/11, with this "cleanse", and within the first 5 days I dropped 5lbs and almost 1% body fat, with only three workouts (2 run, 1 bike).
This week, after adding 1lb over the weekend, I'll add more workouts in, slowly building up to my normal OS routine (3 bikes, 3 runs, at least 2 swims).
Hope that helps!
As far as the practical part, it does involve some planning and more frequent visits to the grocery store. I basically pack my breakfast and lunches to work. I have the luxury of being able to graze all morning at work so my breakfast is a 10 cup tupperware with 1.5 mangoes, 3 kiwi, 1 pear (which is about 350 Cal). In the summer, it's filled with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, and plumcots (also 350 Cal, but a larger volume). Lunch is a spinach salad with a hard boiled egg, artichokes, peas, broccoli, and 1.5 Tbsp of ranch dressing (the real stuff--can't stomach the low fat crap). I do most of my workouts after work so 1.5-2 hours before I get home I'll eat brown rice with some chicken (around 350-600 Cal) depending on the workout. It is a staggering amount of fiber consumed which can only help one's bowel.
I also try not to drink many calories unless it's to fuel or recover from a workout. Is it all worth it? YES! I feel better (which may be a placebo effect or me justifying how much eating like this costs compared to eating cheaper garbage food). I'm less sick during the year. I can eat large quantities of food because most of it is all low-Calorie density and still stay within my Calorie budget to lose weight.
I have been largely following Paleo for Athletes for 7 months. First two weeks were the hardest for me as I was always hungry. The key is to find meats, fruits, veggies, and nuts that you can eat all the time and are easy to have around. I would think of your first 30 days as just figuring out what you can/want to eat. After that, I did not worry so much about calories or portions. I lost about 10 pounds and 3% body fat from the diet.
I try to keep it really simple, like beef and raw spinach/carrots as a meal. The less things to actually cook, the better for me. Get a crock pot and slow cook a nice roast for multiple meals.
In terms of energy levels, I have noticed a much more constant energy level through the day and find it much easier to train in the late afternoon or evening than pre-paleo.
I still have to have some treats (sushi and beer) but limit that to once every week or two.
I have found Nell Stephenson's blog to be a great resource for Paleo. She has been to Kona several (4ish??) times. Here is blog entry with menus for training days and non-training days:
http://thepaleodiet.blogspot.com/2010/04/sample-menus-for-endurance-athletes.html
She also sells full meal plansfor endurace athletes on her website. I have not purchased it, I just use her tips and info to give me ideas and craft my own menus.
I never bought the cookbook. But I get my recipes online.
I do "paleo-esque" diet cuz i like my eggs (whites), brown rice and wheat pasta and a couple of other things I don;t want to give up. And I fall into the Coach P camp. I spent several weeks trying assorted things for fuel during heavy training times and nothing quite cut it. So I went back to my gels/Infinit/Cyto for before and during heavy training and the rest of the time paleo-esque with high-quality carbs like quinoa and the like. We are all different so we need to test for ourselves.
I can tell you that when I am eating paleo-esque/clean I fall into Brian's camp with more consistent energy levels throughout the day. Amazing that i have more energy without caffeine.
You are going down a good path. Looking forward to seeing how it works out for you.
John
Saw this article this morning on an email. Nothing really insightful, just some reinforcement of previously-stated items.
www.usatriathlon.org/resources/mult...ce-athlete
Please see this wiki post: A Practical Strategy for Improving Body Composition
For me, the key is counting calories. As endurance athletes, we should have no problem creating a calorie deficit every day as long as we are mindful of the calories-in side of the equation. I'm back on the horse again:
I then look at exercise almost as earning permission to eat. For example, today I'm going to run easy about 35-40'...not earning me much of anything, so I'll jump on the bike later in the day and ride about an hour = 700-800cals = I can eat a bit more and not be starving at night.
I'm good with the calorie deficits (but not too crazy) and exercise as long as I take some food with me on a ride if I think the gas tank is low.
Breakfasts are an almond milk with whey powder smoothie adding a variety of frozen fruit and flax seed oil.
morning snack - coffee with skim and stevia; raw nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts)
Lunch - BAS with some sort of protein (hard boiled egg, tuna, or left over meat from dinner), and seeds (flax, sunflower)
afternoon snack - seasonal fruit, sometimes w/almond butter
Dinner - meat or fish with lots of veggies... starch if I earned it.
I wasn't 100%, I went out for pasta or pizza... and didn't give up the vino - but I did notice it helped. I felt better, I slept better and I did drop some lbs to get closer to my race weight goals. Post IM I let up on it, keeping to the tenets loosely - but post IM was also holiday season so lots of parties and sweets... I just went through an elimination that's very primal-esque, cutting starch, caffeine, alcohol, sugar.... and on and on - and am getting ready for a cleanse. Post cleanse I intend to get back on my primal/paleo wagon again - with the starch to fuel workouts exception.
I also got the Primal Cookbook for Christmas, but haven't had the chance to take more than a glance through it. Looks good... lots of options, lots of pictures.
Good luck!
Another group is calling this a "whole 30" diet.
whole9life.com/2010/12/whole30-2011/
I also recently read Clean (by Dr. Alejandro Junger) and am on day 7 of the 21 day cleanse... not that anyone has to cleanse, but the principles approximate the primal/paleo for athletes models (closer to the paleo for athletes bc of the good grains) --namely, lots of fruits and veggies, wholesome meats (i.e., chx, turkey, lamb) and fish. No caffeine, dairy, sugar, white foods, bad starches, potatoes, eggs, shellfish, raw fish. There are some differences, but nothing that effected me (I'm not a big red meat eater). The good differences are beans and healthy grains (brown rice, wild rice, quinoa) are okay. I think the reason my elimination phase and my first week have gone so smoothly is that I'd already been following a mostly primal diet - so I didn't suffer a lot of the withdrawal symptoms and I'd already gotten used to a liquid breakfast. The recipes included for meals are great - at least the handful I've made so far. I think you can get them online without buying the book. http://mycleanprogram.com