Daughter runs competitively and wants to switch to Primal

Salkeela

My 18 year old daughter is a x-country runner - and has been competing successfully at All Ireland level for a few years. She trains hard several days a week. Her competition distances vary between 3 km to 5 km.

I recently noticed that her diet was slipping- especially on her training nights. She tends to come into the house, grab a sandwich and head straight out to training. Then doesn't eat the dinner left for her and grabs a bowl of cereal....

I have recently switched to Primal eating, and my daughter has now decided that this would be good for her to....

Has any-one made this sort of change over while still in training?

She should be able to reduce the intensity of her sessions for a couple of weeks over Christmas, but will need to build up again for another race near the end of January.

I am happy for her to cut out bread and breakfast cereals so that she can see just how dependent she was on these foods, but am concerned that she may need a slower transition in order to allow her body a gentler change over....

Advice from athletes who are competing on a Primal diet, or folk who have made a switch over whilst in training would be gratefully appreciated.

She is aware that there will be an adjustment period, just not sure how long it might take or how best to approach the change.

Many thanks.

PS I also posted this on Mark's Daily Apple forum.... with one reply so far that related to marathon running... any further info appreciated.

MMAQueen

I don't do cross country, but i compete in jiu jitsu tournaments.

It will take a bit of time to figure out when the best times to eat before hard training is for optimal fueling and whatnot, but she should be fine.

I think for her, the key will be to make sure she's getting more carbs then a lot of people will sale is normal for paleo on the days she's doing long runs and competition.

Salkeela

Thanks - this is a little like what we were thinking.

It's quite a change for her just now, and I'm having a hard time keeping enough calories available for her without resorting to the old bread or cereal staples that she used to munch.

She's eating quite a bit of fruit (I've told her 2 bananas a day is enough!) and higher carb foods like sweet potato.... I think potatoes will be fine for her too actually.

MMAQueen

yea, if she's not eating paleo to lose weight she can get away with more fruit and potatoes, i would stick primarily to sweat potatoes though,

avacados, nuts, coconut oil, and other food high in healthy fat should help keep the calories up and they all stay good for quite a while, so you don't have to go out and buy them 4x a week.

shar140

She doesn't have to eat low carb, just switch out the breads/pastas/cereals for "safer" starches - fruit, sweet or other potatoes, rice, taro, other roots/tubers, etc. There are plenty of athletes that eat paleo/primal that eat plenty of carbs still, just different sources. I play rugby, but that's an entirely different training regimen. And yes, I did it (transition) during pre-season training, and got in the best shape of my life. It sounds like she just eats the breads/cereals out of convenience, so maybe just need to plan ahead more? I microwave a sweet potato/yam while I am eating my veggies & protein, then have the sweet potato for dessert (it's sweet enough to me now that I don't need any additional sweeteners). Then I add butter to it.

In-season I live off rice, sweet potatoes, bananas. On the road I do dried fruits, nuts, and nut butters. I also recently discovered yummy coconut butter! I pre-cook and mash sweet potatoes, too, and it doesn't have to stay super cold. Hard boiled eggs if you have a way to keep it cold (I just use a small cooler). If she does lower her carb levels and starts feeling extra fatigued and getting muscle twitches/cramps, keep in mind her electrolyte levels. Especially if I've trained hard and/or sweated a lot, my potassium (and sometimes sodium) levels get out of whack, which is why I do a lot of bananas and sweet potatoes and coconut water. Spinach and avocadoes good for potassium, too.

Also, this:
http://eatingacademy.com/how-a-low-carb-diet-affected-my-athletic-performance

And lastly, Loren Cordain also has a book entitled "The Paleo Diet for Athletes", though it's targeted primarily to distance/endurance (60min+ sessions) athletes. His reasoning is that for training under 60 min, you don't really need to supplement with extra carbs.

Can you post an update for us later? I'm curious how the transition will go. Best of luck! :flowerforyou:

Salkeela

Thank you for that wonderful reply!

And yes - part of her problem was just eating for convenience and not thinking about her diet carefully enough.
Thanks for the link - she's been reading up a bit and I'll point her in that direction too. Oh and the book you mention! I have it on order from Amazon for her for Christmas - so I'm really glad you think it's good!

Will update again in a couple of weeks!

shar140

I got the book from the library - unfortunately it wasn't much use to me, as I'm not a distance/endurance athlete, but it's worth a read.

Here are some recipes for foods that can be made ahead:
http://wellnessmama.com/2201/ground-beef-jerky/ - it doesn't stay good forever, but is fine unrefrigerated to take on a day or weekend trip.

I also made these ahead in cupcake liners. Best if they are kept refrigerated, but again, will keep a day or two for a trip:
http://wellnessmama.com/3655/pumpkin-bread-and-muffins-coconut-flour/

She also has a recipe for energy bars (http://wellnessmama.com/1047/amazing-homemade-energy-bars-the-wellness-bar/), but I haven't personally tried it.

I've done my own spin on "fat bombs", which I think is more of an Atkins thing, but can be adapted: I use almond butter and/or almond butter/coconut oil mix (I'll be trying coconut butter when spring season hits and I need the cals), mix in some coconut and/or almond flour, then other things to taste: dried unsweetened coconut, cinnamon, vanilla extract, etc. Dried bits of fruit mixed in would also work. I just mix it in a container and eat with a spoon, rather than mess with trying to make bars. I've also mixed in whey protein before. Looks like Mark's Daily Apple also has a recipe: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/make-your-own-primal-energy-bars-in-10-easy-steps/#axzz2FMPkJ1HF

Coconut oil would be good to have before training or races, as the medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are converted into usable energy right away. I put it in coffee (though I prefer coconut cream, but would still have MCTs), cook eggs in it, etc. I know some people just eat it by the spoonful, but I can't really bring myself to do it!! haha.

I've done more than 2 bananas in a day before, but not often. Sometimes it's just the most convenient!!

JohnNull

Did a quick search and came up with a link for you. Before I post it, I'd like to mention I am not at all fond of the PaleoHacks site. But this seems like it may be of worth:

http://paleohacks.com/questions/36761/is-a-low-carb-version-of-paleo-a-good-idea-for-a-marathon-or-other-endurance-race

Included in that thread is a link to this (I'm also not a crossfit fan, either): http://www.crossfitendurance.com/ Looks like at the very least she can poke around their forums.

I personally haven't run in years, but I can say that I've never hit a wall in my martial arts training (classes 1-3 hours, seminars over that). I've been pretty damned low-carb for a while now. I do find that a big sweet potato post training/workout is nice and helps me to fall asleep at night after lifting/training, though.

Salkeela

Thanks..... lots to read up and consider here. She's going well on the new diet regime so far. She says she felt good in training last night and she's hoping the changes will help her tweak her times. There may be a running scholarship in the pipeline to go to USA next year to study so she's keen to do everything she can to keep improving.