Today blog is about my personal journey through “The Carb Loading Myth”. And how kids,weekend warriors, professional athletes and world champions now eat to maximize their performance. First, of all in the 1980′s I drank the Kool-Aid just like everyone else. In fact in 1988 at Palmer College of Chiropractic, the Chiropractic College I attended from 1988 to 1992, they taught the theory, physiology and application of “Carb Loading”. Even at that time it came with a disclaimer that “Carb Loading” may cause dehydration. While at Palmer I was on a performance based rugby scholarship. Meaning the more games I started and completed the more scholarship money I got. And with tuition at $18,000 a year then the scholarship meant a lot. So my teammates and I would do everything naturally would could to increase our performance. We followed the “Carb Loading” plan to a T. Five days prior to the rugby match we would eat all high protein depleting our body of carb stores then the last three days prior to the event we would eat nothing but carbs. Finishing off the week with a big pasta dinner the night before the game. Then an hour or so prior to the event you would drink a cup of coffee to mobilize the energy. We were mostly 21-25 year olds, looked fit and were champions of the Iowa-Minnesota Rugby Union and competed at a high level across the United States. So we thought what we were doing was working. Then I meet seven time Iron Man World Champion Mark Allen.
Mark Allen’s mother worked at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Menlo Park, California and was a personal friend of my Mothers. My Mother, Dr. Nancy Fagen, studied and later worked at ITP. I got to meet Mark’s Mom and she but me in touch with Mark. I also read his books and watched his videos. I had a chance to read and watch some material that was never published. Mark had an entire different theory about nutrition. He believed you should eat and train in a way that you could compete in the event on any given day. He thought “Carb Loading” was a shock to the body. His program was simple he focused on organic vegetables, small amount of organic fruit, organic free range chicken, organic short grain brown rice and a few whole unprocessed grains.He consumed food that produced the maximum amount of energy over a long period of time with the least amount of work. His food choices were all complex carbohydrates or protein which burn slowly. As he got older he continued to dominate his sport.
After learning what Mark was doing I remembered a book my Mom bought me in High School. It was called Eat to Win by Robert Haas. The Author worked with Martina Navratilova, who won over 20 Wimbleton Tennnis Titles. He would have her eat steak and eggs four hours prior to a possible 5 hour tennis match. His goal was to give her body a long slow source of energy. The results speak for them selves.
In the late 1990′s I began doing distance running and Tri Athlons. Including the Disney Marathon and the Great Florida Half Iron Man. During my training I was still eating some simple carbohydrates including bread and pasta prior to training or completing the next day. For the first few miles I would be coughing and hacking but did not know why. Then I read a book called Eat for Your Blood Type. In the book I learned that if you were blood type O positive, which I am, you should be eating meat and vegetables only. So I began to eat that way most of the time. I immediately noticed that when I followed the food plan For My Type I did not cough in the morning as I began to run. And my performance immediately improved.
In 2011 I was introduced to a book called the Ph Miracle by a friend mine Dr. Tony Piana. Dr. Piana had been faced to the onset of Diabetes and High Blood Pressure. As he was faced with taking dangerous medication and suffering the side effects of medication he discovered a book called the Ph Miracle by Dr. Young. He visited my home and for breakfast asked for a collard leaf, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes and sprouts. As he eat his breakfast wrap he told me how he had lost 40 pounds on the Raw Diet. He also brought his blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure back to a normal level. I then read the book and followed the plan for a year and a half losing 30 pounds myself. I gained lot of energy, mental clarity and needed much less sleep. The book describes how bread, pasta and processed food, especially simple carbs clog the cells and blood cells. This clogging can actual be seen under a microscope after eating bread and pasta.
Then I hired an associate in my Chiropractic office, Dr. Trevor Shaw. Dr. Shaw had studied the Paleo Diet in great detail including Paleo Diet for Athletes. Everything clicked when I began studying the Paleo way of eating with him. I also learned the World’s top Tri Athletes were eating Paleo. After their body adjusted to this way of eating the World’s top athletes were setting personal and World records. The Paleo Diet combined the best of Mark Allen, Eat to Win, For Your Type and The Ph Miracle.
In summary, to maximize your performance eat 80% raw nuts, seeds, vegetables. 20% is cooked grass feed meat, fish, chicken and vegetables. Fruit is limited and mainly used for pre and post endurance event recovery as well as an occasional creative desert option. Remember there is no human genetic need for grains or legumes only dis-ease and slowing you down.
Here is a daily menu plan for non- endurance athletes and then endurance athletes ( how your kids should eat on a soccer tournament weekend ! )
Monday
•Breakfast 2 eggs and bacon
•Lunch Big salad with romaine lettuce
•Dinner Rotisserie chicken with sliced apple
Tuesday
•Breakfast Green smoothie (kale and kiwi)
•Lunch Grilled chicken strips and asparagus
•Dinner Grilled tuna with celery
Wednesday
•Breakfast 2 eggs and bacon
•Lunch Mixed veggies and strip steak
•Dinner Grilled chicken with a side of mixed berries
Thursday
•Breakfast Fresh strawberries and bananas
•Lunch Tuna salad with an apple
•Dinner Grilled steak and mashed cauliflower
Friday
•Breakfast Sausage and sautéed broccoli
•Lunch Hamburger patty and spinach
•Dinner Salmon and avocado
Saturday
•Breakfast 2 eggs and bacon
•Lunch Steamed vegetables and grilled chicken
•Dinner Grilled shrimp salad with romaine lettuce and spinach
Sunday
•Breakfast Paleo pancakes with strawberries or blueberries
•Lunch Pork chops and sweet potatoes
•Dinner Bison burger patty with steamed vegetables
Now, you probably don’t want to eat the same meals week after week, so you might want to make your own meal plans. If you do, here are some tips:
•Eat your vegetables. Paleo doesn’t mean “eat mostly meat.” Eat lots of vegetables. (To make vegetables taste delicious, try out these paleo recipes: Roasted Radishes And Asparagus, Garlic And Herb Cauliflower Rice, and Bacon & Red Onion Brussels Sprouts.)
•Seriously, eat your vegetables. Try to have a serving of vegetables with every single meal if you can.
•Make sure you’re eating lean cuts of meat. You shouldn’t be loading up on hot dogs just because we’re cool with eating meat. Keep it lean. Keep it clean.
•Make sure you have enough fat in your diet. If you’re feeling hungry or you never feel full, add some avocado or coconut to your diet and make sure you’re getting some healthy fats into your system.
•Bacon. Bacon is always your friend. Enjoy liberally. (Here are a few of our favorite paleo recipes for bacon: Bacon & Red Onion Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potato Bacon Egg Salad, and The Bacon Method.)
•Try something new. You might not be familiar with all of the paleo foods out there. You might not like all of ‘em either, but give them a shot and try something new.
•Try something new. You might not be familiar with all of the paleo foods out there. You might not like all of ‘em either, but give them a shot and try something new.
Endurance Athlete Sample Menu for Two-a-Day Workout
5:30 AM
Pre-workout Breakfast Smoothie- 8oz brewed, chilled, natural decaf green tea with a banana, egg white protein powder, almond butter whizzed in the blender with some baked yam on the side.
6:30 AM
3-hour bike ride on the trainer-carbohydrate gel taken every 25 minutes.
9:30 AM
Immediate Post-workout recovery drink- HOME BREW (recipe in The Paleo Diet for Athletes) – cantaloupe, egg white protein powder and glucose. Drink plenty of water- keep hydrating.
10:00 AM
Raisins (to restore body alkalinity, continue to help the body recover post workout, and prepare for the session later in the day).
11:30 or 12:00 PM
Grilled Chicken breast, flash-sautéed asparagus, drizzled with flax seed oil and an apple
3:00 PM
Natural unsweetened applesauce with chopped egg whites (to prepare for 2nd workout of the day-shift from the usual Paleolithic macronutrient ratio to the pre-workout focus on carbohydrates).
4:30 PM
Sixty-minute track workout-hard, fast intervals; carbohydrate gel taken immediately post as recovery.
5:45 PM
Banana (high glycemic fruit choice to, again, aid in recovery)
6:30 PM
Poached wild salmon on a bed of steamed kale, mixed green salad, avocado & sliced strawberries, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a splash of cold-pressed extra virgin oil; sliced oranges on top.
Endurance Athlete Sample Menu for Off-Day from Training
6:00 AM Breakfast
Poached Cod (or Barramundi) on bed of sautéed spinach (with garlic & olive oil), fresh blueberries and strawberries.
9:00 AM
Steamed broccoli, drizzled with cold pressed flax seed oil, sliced orange and chopped egg whites.
Lunch
Mixed green organic salad, with olive oil and lime wedge, served with grilled chicken, avocado and grapes.
Afternoon Meal
Sliced lean turkey breast used as a wrap, with Mache lettuce, raw almond butter and sliced pear inside.
Dinner
Kangaroo Kebabs-lean meat, skewered with red onion & yellow bell peppers, marinated over night in olive oil, lemon juice & your favorite herbs, then grilled or broiled. Serve with grilled green onion and a fresh spinach salad with tomato, walnut oil & a lime wedge.
Snack
Cinnamon dusted sliced apples-slice an apple, toss in lemon juice to prevent browning/oxidation, then sprinkle cinnamon on top. Enjoy with a cup of herbal or green decaf tea!
As I learn in recently watching Sick, Fat and Nearly Dead I and II recently on Netflix the secret to health is better eating on item at a time. Change one thing a day and you will get there. Hang around people that support your healthy options. Go for it ! The only thing you have to gain is a long healthy life and increased performance!