 |
| Bacon Wrapped Wild Duck |
I thought I would miss my unsweetened cup of morning coffee or my dark chocolate bedtime snack. And what about that homemade GF chocolate chip cookie after a hard training ride or melted cheese on top of my hamburger. Nope! Not a single moment of unease. And you wanna know why? Because it is REALLY NOT THAT HARD! Listen, it is not like going through cancer treatment or bereaving the loss of a loved one. IT'S JUST FOOD! And there is so many better and tastier things to eat out there than sugar and HFCS. Like bacon! I have eaten more of this tasty treat in the past week than in my whole life. Bacon is the new chocolate.
 |
| Sonoma Chicken Salad |
The only "thing" I miss is sustained and high end power while on the bike. At first I thought it was just life or perhaps the cold weather leaving me a little drained on Wednesday's ride. I was good for the first 45 minutes as I was climbing the Foothills Parkway. At about the 1 hour mark I "hit the wall." My legs turned to lead and it was all I could do to turn the pedals over. I had to turn around.
 |
| Winding Stair - 5 miles and 1500 feet |
But this same lack of energy feeling hit me again on Thursday and Friday around the 90 minute mark. So then I knew it was my body searching for those simple sugars as an energy source. As hard as I tried, I could not find the fat burning mode button on my body. Yesterday, on the climb up Winding Stair, I was in an all out war with my metabolism. I was bound and determined to force my body to utilize the 30,000 calories or so of fat that I have stored here and there. Needless to say, that 5 mile climb took 36 minutes! At times, I could have walked faster than I was pedaling.
Energy off the bike is great. And my GI tract has never felt better. No cramping, bloating, or Buddha belly. That makes me wonder if I have a sensitivity to grains other than wheat or perhaps dairy. I hope not, as it would be a little difficult to fuel with sweet potatoes, bananas, and Larabars during the racing season.
I highly recommend the cookbook Practical Paleo. I have made many recipes and ALL are delicious. I am looking forward to the next 3 weeks ... and beyond. Thank you Aimee and LW who clued me in to this new way of eating.
2 comments:
Great write up. I hope you give us a weekly update. Running out of hi-octane on long rides seems to be standard fair for week 1. That sensation faded for me as the month went on and I don't know if my body adapted or I got more creative with the Whole30 fueling. I suspect the latter. I ate more dried fruit later in the month on rides and less yams. I'm curious how it goes for you so I can add one more into the knowledge bag.
If you haven't already, take a look at Jamie Scott's (www.thatpaleoguy.com) blog posts on high fat diets for cyclists. He coached me through my recovery from my pancreas surgery and on to my OVCX championship last year, all on a relatively carb paleo diet (sweet potatoes on race day, other fruit and starchy vegetables as I felt like it, but no real "carb-loading" efforts). He's now half of the "Whole 9 South Pacific" team. Given the fuel needs for CX and those of endurance racing are different, but I think you'll do great once you're body adapts.
Post a Comment