Here We Go Again.. No, Endurance Athletes Do NOT Need Grains! I’ll Stay Paleo, Thank You!

Yet another article written about The Paleo Diet which concludes that while this lifestyle may be a 'good starting point', it 'may not provide enough 'energy' for athletes, amongst other inaccurate commentary.

From my own experience, using my own diet as an experiment to start with, and then working with athletes, and non athletes, all around the world of varying fitness levels, this has to be the most common assumption.

The thought that by not eating grains and legumes, that there is no possible way that one can train at a high level, for Ironman, or 100 mile runs, successfully.

95% of the time, when a new client mentions this to me, and we begin to dig a little deeper by the diet analysis, they're simply not eating enough food!  (Or, if it's an athlete, they're not eating their YAMS!)  

They are uncomfortable with the idea that (since they are not eating any fillers, which is all grains and legumes really are), they feel hungry more often and this puzzles them.  "Why am I hungry after only two hours?" and "What should I do when I feel hungry earlier than I should?" are commonly asked questions.

Well, it's simple- when you're hungry, you should eat!

If you were to use me as an example and look at my race performance- which I'm always happy to share, you'll find living proof that Pure Paleo does, in fact, not only support Ironman training and racing, it is what I've found to be the absolute winning strategy!  

I raced Ironman distance for about four years before going Paleo.  Yes, I was 'fit', but I wasn't nearly as lean, and I didn't recover properly, and I was constantly sidelined by GI issue so much so that I thought that was supposed to happen!

Granted, I've also worked REALLY hard, for a REALLY long time and have the gift of guidance from an amazing elite athlete husband, Chris, as well as my phenomenal coach, Lance…. BUT the diet is HUGE!   

Take it right from the horse's mouth (oh, dear, have I just referred to myself as a horse?)- Paleo DOES suit endurance athletes.  If you're skeptical, give it a try for six weeks.  What have you got to lose?

Click HERE for the full article on FitDay…