Here We Go Again.. No, Endurance Athletes Do NOT Need Grains! I'll Stay Paleo, Thank You!

Yet another article written about The Paleo Diet which concludes that while this lifestyle may be a 'good starting point', it 'may not provide enough 'energy' for athletes, amongst other inaccurate commentary.

From my own experience, using my own diet as an experiment to start with, and then working with athletes, and non athletes, all around the world of varying fitness levels, this has to be the most common assumption.

The thought that by not eating grains and legumes, that there is no possible way that one can train at a high level, for Ironman, or 100 mile runs, successfully.

95% of the time, when a new client mentions this to me, and we begin to dig a little deeper by the diet analysis, they're simply not eating enough food!  (Or, if it's an athlete, they're not eating their YAMS!)  

They are uncomfortable with the idea that (since they are not eating any fillers, which is all grains and legumes really are), they feel hungry more often and this puzzles them.  "Why am I hungry after only two hours?" and "What should I do when I feel hungry earlier than I should?" are commonly asked questions.

Well, it's simple- when you're hungry, you should eat!

If you were to use me as an example and look at my race performance- which I'm always happy to share, you'll find living proof that Pure Paleo does, in fact, not only support Ironman training and racing, it is what I've found to be the absolute winning strategy!  

I raced Ironman distance for about four years before going Paleo.  Yes, I was 'fit', but I wasn't nearly as lean, and I didn't recover properly, and I was constantly sidelined by GI issue so much so that I thought that was supposed to happen!

Granted, I've also worked REALLY hard, for a REALLY long time and have the gift of guidance from an amazing elite athlete husband, Chris, as well as my phenomenal coach, Lance.... BUT the diet is HUGE!   

Take it right from the horse's mouth (oh, dear, have I just referred to myself as a horse?)- Paleo DOES suit endurance athletes.  If you're skeptical, give it a try for six weeks.  What have you got to lose?

Click HERE for the full article on FitDay...

Comments

[Pensguys]

Nell, if you have someone who is your average person (me!) who does spin classes 2x/week, weights/kettlebells 2x/week, yoga 3x/week, runs 2 shorter runs and 1 long run/week (training for half marathons and fulls), BUT that person is insulin resistant, would you still keep the carb levels (with yams/veggies/fruit and juices (homebrew) for recovery) at the same percentage as someone who doesn't have those issues?

[Nell]

How long have you known you were insulin resistant? Are you on meds? Has being Paleo helped? What have you been doing so far regarding the yams and starchier paleo options? I wouldnt want to give a generic statement to everyone who is insulin resistant, thus all the questions!

[Pensguys]

Long story short:
-Known about 3 years now
-Not on meds any more but I go Monday to get my a1C checked again. Last time dr. said it was "fine" and it was 5.6. (which I've read is really NOT so good) It has stayed that for some time now (like a year or so).
-lost 75 lbs with conventional diet, got off meds, started experiementing with Paleo last Fall
-So far on Paleo, I've been eating yams, spag squash for starchier veggies but only a few times/week but try to focus on greens/salads with my fats/protein
-as far as for my workouts/training, I'm the person who you've been helping via email re: my gels and electrolyte tabs.....just ran marathon #2 3 weeks ago the day you were supposed to run LA marathon
-When I use the gels (swt pots for carb loading) as we discussed, I feel fine; but I can tell my weight goes up quite a bit in the middle. My clothes get a lot tighter. Usually when I start running around 16 mi runs on up they start getting tighter until a few weeks after the race. I also used the Shaklee sports drink for Marathon #1 in December and had the same weight gain issues.

Enough info?

[Nell]

I know who you are! : ) As you already know by now, Im always a fan of trial and error. Test, see what works, and see what doesnt work.

Since youve already tested with yams, try a training block without and monitor everything; then you can decide whether they suit you or not! : )

[Pensguys]

But if I don't do yams, what do I carb load with...or do I still do that?

Oh I've cut out all fruit except the 1/2 banana in my shake before long runs....was hoping it would help lean me out more, but doesn't seem to be a problem. When I lost weight before on the conventional diet it was LOW fat and I still had to watch my carb intake because of my IR. I was allowed 1 potato or whl wht pasta or brown rice per day (servings), but not much fat at ALL. I limited myself to 2 pieces/servings of fruit per day just because it seemed to work better for me. All meats had to be lean in terms of not ever using ANY fattier cuts. Sugar seemed to be the culprit that would make me gain weight. 'But all that is NOT Paleo.

I'm in the process of testing my long runs with NO gels, but I'm not liking how I'm feeling even on my shorter ones with not much fuel to go on.

[Nell Stephenson]

Well, I'm only suggesting a brief experiment of no yams while training; perhaps do it when you're in a recovery, lower volume cycle and just see how you feel. The conventional low fat diet you mention is all too familiar and is not usually the healthiest approach. As you mention, it's NOT paleo, so it's easy to keep including sugary foods that may happen to be low in fat, which, even in small quantities are enough to prevent permanent weight loss and promote all sorts of GI distress.

I wouldn't cut out the gels for endurance training, unless it's a very short workout!

[Pensguys]

Okay, thanks....I'll keep up with my experiment and then do it some more but changing the factors around and see what happens.

Thanks!

[Nell]

Keep me posted and let me know if I can help!

[TrailGrrl]

Nell,

I have been eating paleo/primal for several years and doing brief strength and sprint workouts a few times per week. I do an unintentional IF by eating for the first time of the day when I am hungry, usually eating 2 meals a day. I have just started taking martial arts again which is a mixture of muay thai, bjj, and boxing. After my first time I was so hungry when I got home! I ate a big stir fry skillet of beef tenderloin and carrots. The next day I was also hungry earlier, and was having sugar cravings. I had chicken thighs and a bunch of rice from a Mediterranean restaurant. For dinner I had grilled ribeye and shrimp from mexican restaurant, but also gobbled up 2 (maybe 3) flour tortillas. If classes are in evening, how should I eat before and
after to have energy and not be gorging on grains suddenly and without warning?

TrailGrrl

[Nell]

Assuming you wanted some feedback on this?
Not surprising you were having sugar cravings after an intermittent fast. Why did you go for grains? In the event that you are starting to feel a blood sugar drop, go for protein and fat which will stimulate the release of glucagon rather than insulin and stop the roller coaster cycle.

Before a workout, opt for a easily digestible paleo carbs and protein, like banana with some hard boiled egg or natural applesauce with egg protein. Same for afterward. This should suffice for short duration sessions.

Are you doing any endurance work? If so, theres a slightly different recommendation for efforts lasting longer than 90.

For strength, current research is showing that having just protein about 30 before and then again 30 - 45 after (again- think easy to digest, like lean turkey or egg) stimulates optimal release of HgH.

Hope that helps and feel free to let me know if youd like to do a consult to go over all your questions that you may have.

[Greg Parham]

So glad I came across this post! I am a mountain biker/triathlete out of Texas. I've been on the Paleo diet since 2008. I not only enjoy competing in 12 and 24 hour mountain bike races here in Texas, I win them. I might cheat with some corn tortillas for tacos and enchiladas every now and then (I am in Texas), but otherwise have a pretty strict paleo regiment. i don't even eat yams. I just eat more salad, more meat, and more fat when I get hungry from workouts. During my races, I up my carb intake with homemade bars (dates, nuts, cocoa, coconut, honey) and lots of fresh fruit. I too am living proof that paleo works well for endurance athletes.

[Nell]

Hi Greg!
Great to hear from a fellow Paleo Endurance Athlete; were SO in the minority... so many athletes out there would see their performance improve by leaps and bounds if theyd only give it a chance!
Thanks for posting happy training...