The Paleo Diet for Athletes

     The Paleo Diet is a hot topic in the world of fitness and nutrition so I wanted to see what it was all about. The basic premise of the "diet" is that if our hunter-gatherer ancestors did not eat it, neither should we. This excludes grains, legumes, dairy, alcohol and sugar. Instead, we should focus on consuming grass-fed beef, lamb, chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables. As a result, author Loren Cordain adds, this type of diet will "lower risk of cardiovascular disease, blood pressure, inflammation, help with weight loss, reduce acne, promotes optimum health and athletic performance". They make it a point to bring up that this is book is about lifestyle change, not a short term diet with a fixed end date. The focus is on consuming quality fats, protein and "adequate" carbohydrate supplies, while cutting the aforementioned foods that were not available during stone age times. I can't help but agree with that.

     There is one big takeaway from this book and it is all about recovery. The authors break down recovery into five stages

1. Immediately before. You should eat 2-3 hours before your endurance event. If you eat 2 hours before, they recommend consuming 400-600 calories. If you eat 3 hours before, you could eat 600-900 calories. Take in mostly carbohydrates, keep the meal low in fiber, and drink to satisfy thirst. Remember, we are not camels. We cannot store water, if we drink too much, we will remove the excess. 
2. During exercise. This should be experimented with during training sessions. For events under 90 minutes the focus should be on hydration. When the event gets longer, it is important to replenish fuel stores. Take in 200-300 calories per hour in an equal distribution every 10-20 minutes. DO NOT consume 200-300 in one drink/snack. Spread it out. 
3. 30 minutes following exercise. This is the most critical phase. During this phase, you should replace expended carbohydrate stores, hydrate, provide amino acids for re-synthesis of protein, and replacement of electrolytes. The carbohydrate to protein ratio during this phase is 4:1-5:1. 
4. This period is equal to the exercise session. So if you train for 90 minutes, you will consume calories 90 minutes after your workout or 60 minutes after Stage III recovery. Carbohydrate replenishment remains important and you should continue to use the same carb to protein ratio in Stage III. Make sure you maintain your lean protein intake. Do not skip this phase. If you rush into Stage V from Stage III, your recovery will be delayed.
5. Long term recovery, this stage continues until the cycle restarts at Stage I. This is where the Paleo guidelines need to be followed. While consuming the lean meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, your body will get adequate amounts of branch chained amino acids (building blocks of protein), trace nutrients and glycogen stores found in nuts, fruits and vegetables. 

Why is this important? A healthy athlete, free of colds and ailments, can train more consistently and intensely and thereby improve performance. Your body will be ready to go sooner if you recover quickly and completely. There may be some days where you are tired or might not be able to complete a workout. This is called overreaching. This occurs early in the path to greater fitness. If allowed to continue too long, over training will set in and your performance will be greatly influenced in a negative way. 

     With books of this nature, if you are able to take 2 or 3 things away from it is a success. On top of the tips on recovery, the goal for me is to make improvements to my diet. The stuff in this book is not rocket science. The tough part is finding a way to implement it into your life consistently. For me, I need to make more time to prep my meals and cook more often. This is something I have always struggled with and I don't enjoy doing it all that much. But it is something that needs to get done. When you cook for yourself, you know exactly what you are eating and how nutrient dense your meal is. When the goal is to improve performance or lose a few pounds, pairing nutrient dense meals with exercise is the best way to achieve that. 

I hope you enjoyed!

Chris Fluck