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Liquid diet in the days leading up the the IM

BomberBomber
in General Training Discussions

Has anyone here have any experience eliminating all solid foods in the days leading up to an Ironman?

Or, alternatively cutting out all fibres from the diet?

 

Good /bad expericences...what did you have...how did it work? etc...etc?

Comments

  • Peter GreaggPeter Greagg
    Hi Bo — I cut out fruit and vegtables in the 2 days before IM/HIM races. It works for me, I only pee during the races.
    I have mostly liquids during those days.
  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    @Bo: Why would you want to do this? What is your goal?
  • Coach PatrickCoach Patrick
    x2 what Penny said. Seems drastic and complicated. I suggest you eliminate most fiber in last two days pre-race. Day before is big carb breakfast, with bulk of carbs before / by lunchtime. Rest of day is sportsdrink, a powerbar, snacking on pretzels and a bowl of pasta with some chicken, ending up slightly hungry in bed. That should get you carbs and leave you time to get clean.
  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    I usually have a big wholesome lunch the day before, then nothing but liquid (smoothies) up to the race. Then a liquid recovery right afterwards (aka, beer!).
  • BomberBomber
    well, I have had all sorts of GI problems during IM's and I'm trying everything to get rid of those... I have tried all the usual things plus some unusual :-) I'm thinking that I want to have as little to stress my stomack as possible on race day...I usually have trouble completing the usual toilet ritual on race mornings (I don't drink coffee or the other usual tricks), so foods from the days before are usually 'rumbling' around all throughout the day...Hence why I'm exploring the possibility of going all liquid...
  • jburbattjburbatt
    I watch my fiber in the few days before, and go all liquid the day before. I also have significant GI issues, and while I'm "hungry" I'm not really and since I started doing this I haven't had another GI problem before, during, or after a race.
  • jburbattjburbatt
    Oh, and all liquid is natural stuff like Green Machine (usually watered down throughout the day). I just don't trust stuff like Ensure since it's completely different from my regular diet of mostly unprocessed stuff.
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    Big mistake I once made a few years ago was thinking I should eat all "healthy" the day or two before and downed tons of pasta primavera with more vegetables than pasta. Bad idea for just the reason you mention.

    My utterly non-scientific take based entirely on anecdotal experience and extrapolation:

    You can probably get away with going "liquid" as of Friday for a Sunday race. But do remember that "pre-chewed" doesn't mean it doesn't have fiber. If you put a bunch of broccoli in your blender to make a green smoothie, you're still going to have a bunch of (very well chopped up) fiber floating around in there. White rice and potatoes and simple pasta are boring, but they're boring because they're simple...I am not certain how much less disturbing they are to the GI than is drinking a bunch of Perpetuem or Carbo Pro.

    I have found that a very small quantity of solid food (e.g., a "bar" 100-200 cal) to supplement the all-liquid calories in the last 12-18 hours before a race goes a long way in giving my tummy something to do and not complain so much about being hungry.

    My magic fluid is Naked Juice Smoothies. They aren't fiber free, but they are a lot less disgusting to pound down than Ensure.
  • vrk3dsvrk3ds
    +1 on the naked juice!
  • jwpicciottojwpicciotto

     I will start by saying that going all liquid in the days leading up to your competition is a bad idea.  You aren't going to swap out your bike two days before, so why would you swap out your nutrition?  Your body will need time to adjust to the new diet and that is not what you want leading up to your race.  

    As far as getting stuff "through your system" you need to know how long it takes for food to make a full transit in your system.  Then plan your meals accordingly.  If you normally eat at 6:00 pm, and then take care of business at 10am the next day start backing your schedule up to time it better.  As far as GI problems, I hate to say that you are probably going to need to be more descriptive to get a better recommendation.  The suggestions are just guesses at this point.  However stomach issues during IM's are a sign of on course nutritional issues instead of prerace issues.  

    Another recommendation is to work with a sports dietician on this as well.  They can give you a plan you can practice to address your issues.  

  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    Agree that any serious experimentation should be done in a RR first.

  • BomberBomber
    What about cutting out all fibres...anyobne done that? What do you then eat/drink?
  • penlynwilsonpenlynwilson
    If your body is used to having fiber and then you pull it out, your GI tract will go into knots. . . .
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