Author Topic: Preparing to Jump In (Read 1998 times)

jonw9 · « **on:** December 11, 2011, 08:31:02 AM »

Hi all,

Ia m an avid cyclist (mountain biker) and as of Jan. 1, my wife and I are going to adopt a paleo lifestyle. I started with reading the "Paleo for Athletes" book, which I am planning on following to a certain extent. I base my training off of the Friel MTB Bible, so I figure I would move my diet this way.

I have been reading this site for several weeks now, and much of what I read here seems to contradict the book. PfA says skip chicken thighs because they contain too much fat, here it is eat lotsa fat.

I am not sure how strict I/we are going to be on the legumes either. My wife is not a big veggie eater, so keeping some beans and such in the loop will help her eat more. I figure keeping non-paleo items like beans/peas in the loop would still be better than having Rice-a-Roni (for example).

Lastly, we will most likely keep some dairy around. Butter and maybe some yogurt for post exercise smoothies.

Bread/chips/etc. will be all but eliminated, maybe have some rice in the house. We tend to eat brown, but I have been reading white may be better.

So, I don't know how these concessions will affect the results, but I think this is the way to make it work.

Warren Dew · « **Reply #1 on:** December 11, 2011, 03:46:05 PM »

"Paleo for Atheletes" is basically a compromise book - really only about half paleo, the other half being conventional advice for atheletes. I understand it even permits sports drinks under some conditions. I think most people here adhere to a rather stricter version of paleo.

We have a few other cyclists here; you might want to do a search for their posts. I think you'll find that once they adapted to a higher fat, lower carb version of paleo, their performance generally improved; this is consistent with fats being a more efficient fuel for aerobic exercise than are carbs. That said, their cycling and your cycling might differ substantially.

I would note that beans and peas are probably worse than rice due to higher amounts of antinutrients, though I certainly wouldn't recommend rice either. Legumes also don't contain the actual nutrients that green leafy vegetables do. If you do want to get substantial amounts of carbohydrate on paleo, the way to do it is to eat lots of fruit.

If you're happy with your current diet, of course, nothing says you have to adopt paleo. What was your reason for looking at paleo?

jonw9 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 11, 2011, 05:13:30 PM »

I saw the paleo thing in the MTBR XC raving forums.

My style of riding is high pace, high HR mountain biking. Not necessarily the 4+ hour road grinds that typically defines a "cyclist".

That being said, I have had some extra pounds I wasn't able to drop last season, and some pudge across the waist I want to get rid of.

My wife isn't much of a leafy vegetable person, lettuce, cabbage, etc. So dropping beans, peas, corn, nightshades, then it seems that there aren't many options for her (first blush). Perhaps she can adapt, but I am looking to not chase her away.

The diet is more for me, and she is willing to "play along" to support and try to be healthier.

Warren Dew · « **Reply #3 on:** December 11, 2011, 08:24:28 PM »

Based on the experience of people here, I think you are going to have to give up the rice, beans and peas as well as the potatoes and dairy in order to lose that last few pounds. Eating fat is fine; fat doesn't provoke an insulin response and thus doesn't by itself drive fat deposition.

If your biking involves significant altitude changes, you may need some fruit to keep your liver glycogen stores adequate for anaerobic effort on the uphills. I'd recommend limiting other carbohydrate, though.

For more information on fats versus carbohydrate, read Gary Taubes' "Why We Get Fat".

Your wife does not have to eat vegetables if she does not want to - heck, she could eat just meat if she wanted. If she likes tomatoes, she can keep them too - nightshades are a grey area, not clearly nonpaleo like beans and peas and corn.

I will note that my wife became more tolerant to leafy greens after going paleo, though. She was always okay with baby spinach, but she started eating limited amounts of hard core greens like collard greens.

celticcavegirl · « **Reply #4 on:** December 22, 2011, 01:51:32 PM »

Veggie suggestions for the wife

- carrots
- broccoli
- asparagus
- mushrooms
- french beans (not really paleo but contain not much actual bean, and immature bean at that)
- zucchini (grilled or fried, boiled is rank!)
- bell peppers (nightshades)
- okra (borderline)

jonw9 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2012, 07:45:52 PM »

Sorry, it has been a while.

Thanks for the further suggestions. I will keep them in mind.

I have been doing the "diet" now for ~ 3 weeks. I haven't noticed a big change. I lost ~4 pounds early on, but I think that is mostly due to water weight from a high(er) sodium holiday season.

I have had a couple cheat meal, but didn't feel great after, so that is good. I have been doing a bit of dairy (heavy cream in my weekend coffee), and some fruit everyday. Do I need to eliminate those to see a difference?

I have been pretty much grain/gluten free the entire time (minus the cheat meals) and have had beans twice (once a cheat meal).

My legs have still felt pretty tired the day after workouts, i am not sure if that is training stress, or related to the diet. I am going to assume the former for now.

I am going to hang in another 2-4 weeks and see what happens next.

« **Reply #5 on:** January 20, 2012, 07:45:52 PM »

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Author Topic: Preparing to Jump In (Read 1998 times)

jonw9

Preparing to Jump In

Warren Dew

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jonw9

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Warren Dew

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celticcavegirl

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jonw9

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