Goal #6
In relation to goal number 5, significant alteration to my eating habits will be another big goal. I have a plan – sort of. I will be experimenting a significant amount in the early days of training, simply because I need to nail down my nutrition before heavy training starts. My rough plan is to start by eliminating all added sugar, white flour carbs, and possibly experiment with going gluten free again. I’m also seriously looking at going vegetarian/vegan 2-3 days per week, and cutting down/out dairy. This goal will take shape more over the month of January – it really is the first one I need to tackle.
I have acknowledged that I’m a sugar addict, and probably always will be. I want to also stress this – after years of trying every fad, crackpot diet known to man to lose the 100+ pounds I needed to lose, I refuse to eat food I don’t like. There are lots of foods that are “good” for me (broccoli!)… I hate some of them. And that’s OK – because there are more than enough foods out there that are good for me that I do like, I don’t need to eat things I don’t. Now that I’ve got that issue out of the way…
How can I modify my eating habits in order to best fuel my body, and get to an appropriate racing weight?
I’m playing around with several ideas. The person who wrote the training plan I’m following, Joe Friel, advocates a diet high in fresh vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins, with limited carbohydrates except at certain times (specifically after certain hard workouts). At the same time, I’ve just finished reading Scott Jurek’s book, Eat & Run, and Rich Roll’s biography, Finding Ultra. Both men race ultra distance races (Scott ultra marathons, Rich ultra triathlons) fuelled entirely on plants – they are both dedicated vegans. Rich is also gluten intolerant, so he’s a gluten free vegan.
So, what to do, what to do. I struggle on several fronts – I love meat. I mean, seriously love it. The thought of giving it up forever is just something I struggle to come to terms with. So that would suggest I should follow Joe Friel’s school of thought, right? Well, maybe… I also think there is something to be said for the sheer volume of fresh fruits & vegetables that vegans (truly healthy vegans) eat. Plus, I like rice and grains too…
So while right now, I don’t have a firm “plan”, I’m playing around with different pieces of all of them. For the time being, since December 29, I’ve been eating vegetarian. I start my mornings with a smoothie full of fruit, spinach, almond milk, and vegan protein powder. Lunch has been salads, roasted sweet potatoes, beans, nuts, etc. I am still eating eggs, but not cheese, and I’m avoiding gluten as much as possible.
I don’t know how long I’ll keep this up – I expect at some point I’ll add meat back into my diet. For now the key is to avoid sugar and processed foods, and dairy in most forms. From there, we’ll see what else makes sense.
I will say I also loooooved meat. My mom used to let all of us pick every year what we wanted for dinner on our birthdays. From age 5 until age 25, my birthday dinner was steak. On occasions now, I miss it. But all it took for me was a bit of research into the conditions in which animals raised for food are kept and then killed, and I just can’t do it. It breaks my heart, I like animals and dislike cruelty. But obviously, I know that doesn’t work for everyone. Not sure I ever mentioned this on my blog, but I think one of my brothers named one of his kids Hunter just to get under my skin! Anyway, very curious to see how long the vegetarian path will stick for you and how it will work for you. Either way, it will be a fun experiment for the new year!
I’ve read/watched Food Inc., In Defence of Food, Fast Food Nation (that book was horrid!), and a few other of those types of documentaries – I will admit, I wish they impacted me more. There is a new documentary available on Netflix I want to watch called Vegucated – it looks good. Aside from my admitted love of meat, my biggest challenge is having to cook separate meals for me and my family – they will not eat most of the vegetarian meals I cook. Ironman training may actually help – because of our training schedules, family dinners will only be 1-2 times a week!
There are so many different plans out there – meat, no meat, only plant-based, moderate carbs etc. The bottom line is you have to do what works for you … that’s the main reason there are so many different ‘diets’ and eating plans. People are publishing what worked for them. That should be the biggest indicator that it is ok to be flexible. Keeping a food log of what you ate and how you felt – both during training and just during the day – I think will allow you to figure out what works best for you. We each have different stresses, life circumstances, training programs, sleeping habits, and genetics (to name a few variables) … this will have definitely have an impact on how your body processes food. I guess the bottom line will is to be sensible. If there’s a food you love and you find it has no negative impact on your body (whether it is dairy or meat or whatever) then you shouldn’t feel any guilt or anything by having it in your diet.
Perhaps starting super-super clean for 2 weeks and then adding something one at a time (e.g. adding a bit of meat for 2 weeks) will help you evaluate how your body reacts to the food. If you see that you have a negative reaction, then you can stop. If not – eat on
I think that’s exactly right – I was just saying the same thing to Bruce last night! For some, Paleo works wonders; for others, Vegan is he best way. I will say, I’ve been relatively “clean” (I have a post coming next week on that…) for a week now, and I certainly feel better! I’m sure I’ll wind up experimenting for a while, but certain changes are already paying off.
What if you just did one vegan meal a day? Or a week? Start slow, and slowly change habits. I’m sure by just slowly changing habits you’ll be more mindful in general about what you’re putting in your mouth.
Yup – I started with breakfast (the easy one, actually) Instead of yogurt, granola and berries, I’m blending a vegan smoothie every morning – it’s been a great substitute, and I’m not missing my yogurt at all. Plus I’m getting extra greens!
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