Experior and Slornow's Winter Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 9)

Di -- I think that Paleo is a very healthy diet, and I think it's great that you've found success with it.  Congrats!   I'm not convinced that there aren't other (i.e., non-Paleo) diets that are also healthy, but committing to Paleo is a great way to really clean up one's diet.  My own (personal) view is that whole grains and legumes can also be part of a healthy diet, and that's largely why I doubt I'll ever go fully Paleo, but I do like a lot of the basic concepts.  (I admit that over the holidays I've been pretty far from that ideal....  I'm trained (many years ago) as a French chef and its pretty hard for me to give up on certain ingredients and techniques -- butter cream, and flour are definitely a part of my culinary repertoire...)

Brian -- nice run session!

Rene -- Di is the expert, so she'll correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that Paleo implies low carbs.  It excludes grains, processed sugars, legumes, and dairy products, and so excludes several sources of carbs, but carbs from veg and fruit are still allowed.

Hi everyone, I'm the quiet guy who sits on the sidelines and listens.  But when you hit a spot that triggers something I'll react.

Here’s the deal.  DIET is a personal thing.  Everyone will react to foods differently.  You have to learn what affects you. 

I don't believe in all the dieting crap that's out there.  Anyone can make you believe in a diet to make you buy a book or two, or consume pill after pill after pill.  Anytime you change your diet to eat differently and consistently you will have a dramatic effect, if you never been consistent....just like training.    Cut out the crap and you will have a dramatic, better or bad, effect.  

One of the major mistakes people make when they start exercising is they do not consume enough protein.  You need protein to rebuild muscles.  Triathletes are no different, we need protein just as much as body builders, believe or not.  We just need to add more carbs for endurance.

Don't take my word for it.  Just track how much you consume (protein, carbs and fat) and see how your body reacts.  For me, when I up my protein my weight stays the same but my body fat drops, then I cut the garbage which gives me a bigger better effect. 

All I'm saying is find the food combination that works for you and stick with it.  Consistency is what will work, just like training, no different.  Everything takes work, including diet.  Master your diet, which is (IMO) 80% of the battle, and you will have great success in training, racing and your day to day activities.

The mirror is a better indicator then the scale, so use the scale wisely.  I check the mirror all the time, if I can see my intercostals, I know I'm doing the right thing. But when they disappear I know I let myself go.

Happy Birthday Matthew....and happy holidays to everyone.

Cheers...

I agree 100%.  There is one book that I always go back to called "Burn the fat, feed the muscle".  It's written by a body builder, but the principles apply to us all because body builders are actually the experts in how to get extremely lean yet retain muscle...they just take it to a level that most of us don't need. 

The book does not preach any radical diets that says you can't eat this or that.  It simply shows you exactly how your body reacts to certain foods, changes in your diet, and exercise.  Once you understand how your body works, how your metabolism changes over time (short and long term), and how your body naturally tries to rebel against certain changes (through evolution)...you then can make your own decisions on how exactly to aproach diet and exercise as it pertains to you and your goals specifically.

Good morning everyone-easy 40 minutes on the treadmill at 5am.  Now headed out on the road for work.  Will look forward to catching up on the discussion this afternoon.

Randy

I followed the principles in that book to lose my first 40 pounds or so.  My wife also liked it and had success with it.  I went to it for precisely the reason that you mention -- bodybuilders are the pros when it comes to losing fat while retaining muscle.

Guess I'll "weigh in" on the food/diet discussion with two added thoughts.  First, I think that what most of the "good" diets have in common is moving away from processed foods.  Lots of variations on themes after that, but I tend to think that and good balance are the keys to good nutrition.

Second, this Fall I've become acutely aware of how much time we, as a society, (and in my case, we as a family) spend on the topic of food.  Planning meals, shopping, eating out, celebrations around food, the latest diet/nutrition plan, ads about how to lose weight, ads about why to eat my product, etc.  Ultimately it is our life fuel, but it becomes so much more than that for various reasons.  Sometimes I think we'd all be better off taking a step back from the obsession of our relationship with food. 

And with that, I'll go have another Christmas cookie :-)

Have a great day everyone!

Stu

Just read the thread on showering at the pool.  It was like watching a wreck in slow motion.  I feel like I just lost 10 minutes of my life...

Hope everyone is well.

Great points on diets, guys! My problem is I have bad habits that stem from eating whatever, however, and whenever I pleased for many years. I need new, better ones. I am only really learning about nutrition now in my "seasoned" years! Reading up on the Paleo diet I noticed that it actually falls in line with how my husband's doctor told him he needs to eat to turn his health issues around, the biggest one being high blood pressure, and the threat of diabetes. I have us both eating this way at home to see how it helps him feel better, and me get less fluffy. 

Michael: I read that thread and got a good laugh, and freaked out a bit at how intense people can be on the internet. You can almost feel the heat off the screen!

Got some interval work in playing soccer yesterday. Not sure what I'll get in today. Hoping for a gym session on the bike and TMill. Tomorrow morning we're riding the bike portion of the Xterra race, which is just over 19 miles. Can't wait. I LOVE mountain biking! It's hard, messy, and makes me feel like a kid again.

I bought the ebook online.

Thanks...I just lost 20 minutes of my life...

I was able to get a workout in this morning though.  I did my first crossfit workout with some friends just to see what it was all about.  It was tough...using muscles that I haven't used in a long time.  I can see why people like it, it's fun, and it's challenging.  But I don't see much benefit for triathlon training over simply S/B/R.

So we went for a short run and swim afterwards.  The run was painfully slow, and the swim felt much better.

OK...now I'm going to have to read the swim thread...can't resist.

Kind of a long day.  Had planned on doing an hour on the trainer. Workout called for warm up building into low Z3 and then 10 sets of 2 minutes at 102% of FTP with 1 min. recovery.  Didn't sound too bad but I just didn't have it.  Ended up doing 5 intervals and then a Z2 cool down. Hate it when I don't finish a workout like that!  Tomorrow will be a swim and maybe a 35 min. recovery spin on the bike.

I ordered the Paleo for Athletes book earlier in the week.  Curious for some ideas on eating better.  I really need to cut out the snacks at night.  Basically, my philosophy with diet is to find something you can live with and try to make it a "life change" rather than a resolution or quick fix.  I'll let you know how that turns out   Now time to grab a handful of hersheys kisses and some red wine.....its still the holidays right?

Randy 

First... a disclaimer... I agree with all of you that diet is a personal thing and not everything works for everyone.  What I have discovered, though, is sometimes if you think outside of the box you can be rewarded in a big way.  I'll try to keep this short...

This is my third tri season and I just turned 44 in October.  I didn't want to go into my 40's out of shape and weighing 180 lbs! I started walking, then running, then bootcamp, then tris. I've spent the last 4 years refining my diet - first to no junk food, then minimally processed/lowfat/whole grain.  I lost 25 lbs that way, but then stuck at 155 for two years no matter what I did.  I wanted to be leaner and lighter but could not do it.  I flirted around 150 right before last years tri and then back to 155.

Last fall I fractured my foot and was laid up Sept-Dec.  Pushed up to 160.  In January went back to training (light running, lots of swimming and bike trainer time) and eating my "healthy" diet.  Weight stayed at about 160.

I had read Paleo for Athletes the summer prior but couldn't (or wouldn't) part with dairy and grains.  I re-read the book, got the cookbook, and went Paleo March 13.  I lost 20 lbs in the first two months and have hovered at 135 give or take 1-2 lbs ever since.  I love where I am and how I feel and training is great!

So, questions - I still eat carbs - fruit, sweet potatoes, vegetables are carbs. I just don't eat grains.  I didn't have the cravings or other side effects, but my diet was pretty clean otherwise.  I had one day in the afternoon where my blood sugar dropped, but I learned pretty early on to have snacks on hand.

I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full and get a good variety in.  I logged my food in April of last year, so you can see what a typical day/makeup looks like.  I didn't think I could give up dairy (esp cheese, yogurt and ice cream), or grains ( I LOVE BAKED GOODS), but it was easier than I thought.  I rarely get a craving for those things.  If I do, I will have a bite of something but not go crazy.

Di -- it sounds like you have found a great spot with your diet.  Like we've said, it's individual.  It sounds like you've found what works for you.  I'm going to try to take some inspiration from you and cut back on my morning muffins -- that's my big weak point right now, and given that I'll be running less than usual for a while, it's a weakness to work on...

The really juicy showering thread was deleted, but the currently frozen one gives a pretty good indication of what went on (just multiply it by 2 or 3, both in intensity and in length).  I just have to laugh when I see how intense people can be about relatively trivial things.

So, what big plans do we have for New Years?  I'll start.  (Not big...)  Last year was our kids' first attempt at staying up until midnight.  We played the Wii all night.  (One child didn't make it, even with the stimulation of the Wii.)  Haven't decided whether to do that again.  The next day was a bit ugly.  But at least it's Sunday, so we can make them take a nap after lunch.

Our Big Plans come the next day.  ROSE BOWL.  GO DUCKS!!!  We generally don't do too much to celebrate the New Year other than maybe watch a Movie and fall asleep.  Pretty Boring.

Ran just short of 8 miles in the wind and rain in the late afternoon yesterday; this instead of the tempo run.  Have a 13 mile long run slated for Saturday.

No big plans for the weekend here.  Did a 2500 swim workout at lunch.  Easy spin this evening and probably 2-2.5 hour bike tomorrow.  Weather is great here....72 and sunny.  More of the same for the weekend.

Randy

Did a 5 mile run at lunch with my BIL followed by 2100 swim which took me over 100K yards for the year on the swim.  Also, my best swim times since starting back last month, so feeling back in the groove there now.  Weather was gorgeous!  50s and sunny - can't ask for better.  Been an awfully nice December for outside training here in Virginia (knock on wood).

What's on tap for New Year's Eve?  A growler of Kolsch while watching the Peach (ahem Chick Fillet) Bowl with family followed by a New Year's Day 5K with BIL (and hopefully a few other assorted family members who may walk it).  No worries, the growler (or 2) will be shared amongst many family members, so we'll all be ready to roll in the morning.

Maybe tomorrow will reflect on the year and set some goals for 2012. 

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Stu

Happy Almost New Year!

So, I decided to back down to the 1/2 mary on the 22nd (since I'm in good 1/2 shape right now), but going to do another 1/2 on 2/4 - two halves make a whole, right?  Just kidding...I'm going to sign up for the Maui Marathon in September.  Perfect post-season goal and I can do it the way I want to - plus I have more daylight to train in the summer.

Going to tinker with the TM this weekend and either commit to ordering a new dashboard or just bite the bullet and buy a new one - looking at the Sole F80 they have at Sears.  Since I depend so much on it, if I'm going to buy a new one I'm going to get a better quality one.  There goes my tax refund!

Looking forward to some outside runs this weekend, and a nice dinner out with my hub, MIL and her friend that is visiting for New Year's.

**PALEO NOTE** It's a very common misconception that it is low carb.  It's not.  You get your carbs from fruits, vegetables and sweet potatoes.  Non-athletes don't get this "allowance" because of the extra calories and sugars, but we need them.  Also, Paleo for Athletes gives you a little more leeway - white potatoes, and a couple of other things that a strict follower would not consume.  I like to have roasted potatoes as part of my post-race breakfast.

Back to the pool on Monday - thrilled that it's a holiday, so I can add on a 3-mile run.  Working bike trainer time back in as well.

2012 Goal?  I'm stealing someone else's idea - 12 races in 12 months - either run, tri, cycling or swim.

Hope you are all having a great day!