In my last post, I wrote about my most recent half-ironman
distance race at Challenge Melbourne, on February 1. I explained why it was my
best performance to date due to the contribution of my recent research and
implementation of a high fat/high protein/low carbohydrate diet. I would like
to elaborate on this and provide further information about some of the things I
now do to satisfy this lifestyle.
I won’t be getting
into the scientific data behind it all but I urge you to read ‘Challenging
Beliefs: Memoirs of a Career’ by Professor Tim Noakes. Alternatively, watch his
lectures found on YouTube about this subject. He has decades of experience which
has resulted in his discoveries about the benefits of this lifestyle. Also,
please watch on YouTube ‘Sugar: The Bitter Truth’, presented by Dr Robert
Lustiq. His lecture will provide you with more of the how and why sugar is
causing such havoc throughout the world, particularly in developed countries
like Australia, USA and England.
Below, I will show you an example of a day of eating. Bear in
mind, I am a shift worker but most of the time I work during the
afternoon/evening and train up to 2 hours during the morning.
2 or 3 days a week, I enjoy starting the day with a session
before breakfast so I’ll just drink some water before doing a low intensity 1
hour run or ride. I will drink more water afterwards but all water intake will
be determined completely by just satisfying my thirst. Then I’ll have
breakfast.
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Breakfast:
4 – 6 eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, 3 rashes of middle bacon, 6 – 8
standard mushrooms chopped and sautéed, a large handful of spinach sautéed, 4 –
6 pieces of asparagus fried and a whole tomato chopped and sautéed with pepper
and dried oregano. I will put full fat butter in the pan for the eggs and use
either butter or coconut oil with the other items. I will normally have a
coffee with breakfast and my coffee of choice is a single espresso long black
with a dash of cold milk.
Late
morning/lunchtime workout: Swim 1 hour and follow this with 5 – 10
minutes of core strength work. No need for any fluid or calories of any kind
during the session.
Ø
Post
workout: Approx. 500mls of full fat milk with 5mg of glutamine mixed in
for added amino acids to aid recovery. Also, a banana and approx 50 grams of
mixed nuts (I enjoy a mix of unsalted almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts and
cashews).
Ø
Mid-Afternoon:
One very large salad with chopped cos lettuce, tomato, cucumber, capsicum and a
whole avocado with plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Then, I will add the meat
from 3 or 4 chicken drumsticks.
Ø
Snack
(if needed): 50 – 100 grams of mixed nuts.
Ø
Dinner:
One tin of sardines (approx. 180 grams) in extra virgin olive oil and some
vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, chilies and carrots stir-fried
in coconut oil. Note: when comparing sardines and tuna for omega 3 fats per
100g, depending on the brand, sardines have 10 – 20 times more omega 3 fats.
They both have similar protein content but, with tuna, more of the fish is
stripped away before packaging. So, start swapping your tuna for sardines and
reap the benefits.
There is a range of other items that I eat and I will
mention more of these in the future.
As you can see, I eat a lot of vegetables. I always aim for
a minimum of two meals per day which have a large vegetable portion but
commonly I achieve 3 meals with vegetables per day. This means I am consuming a
large amount of essential vitamins and minerals, as well as, heaps of
anti-oxidants and natural dietary fibre. Also, vegetables have a high water
content which plays a big role in my hydration.
The fibre is especially important for satiety. Previously,
when I ate a lot of carbohydrates, I would over eat and have many cravings
despite eating very often. Now, I can go longer between meals and I have a
greater recognition for when my gut is satisfied and full. This also
contributes to my longer lasting energy because food is metabolized slower and,
therefore, released slower so I am getting my energy at a more consistent rate.
The high fat and high protein content comes from the eggs,
bacon and other meats, nuts, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, sardines and
other fish, avocado and dairy. The important thing to note about these foods is
that they provide a lot of omega 3 fats, along with other quality natural fats
that will provide most of my energy resources. I get my fats from these items as
opposed to consuming trans or processed fats and omega 6 fats, like those found
in vegetable oils such as sunflower or canola oil, which create inflammation in
the body.
At all costs I will avoid any highly processed foods which have
a lot of preservatives and a long shelf life. Also, I am strictly avoiding
anything with added sugar and the only sugar I will consume comes in natural
forms from items like fruit and dairy. I will talk more about sugar in future
posts.
Here are a few points to consider:-
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Sugar is toxic and addictive. The insulin response
you get when consuming sugar (soft drinks, cakes and pastries, etc. and
confectionary are obvious examples but there are so many more) is a major
problem for your body. In fact, consuming sugar is the main cause for people
being overweight and obese, not to mention the massive range of diseases that
goes with it. The sooner you get this crap out of your diet, the better, and it
will go a long, long way to helping your body start working as it should.
Ø
Just because you’re not overweight, doesn’t mean
sugar is not a problem for you. It is a problem for everyone. We should all be
avoiding it.
Ø
Fat, from items mentioned above, is a quality,
sustainable energy source.
Ø
A wide range of vegetables provide essential
nutrients which support so many functions of the body. Not the least being the
immune system.
Ø
Eggs are awesome! They are full of omega 3 fats,
protein and a whole bunch of vitamins and minerals but even more so when
derived from organic free range chickens which are raised with quality pastures
to forage in. The cholesterol is not an issue unless you have sugar and a high
carbohydrate diet. Professor Tim Noakes will explain in detail why.
Ø
Changing your eating habits takes time. It will
be easier for some than for others but just remember how much good you will be
doing for yourself. Taking steps to be the healthiest person you can be means
you can avoid complications later in life such as, contracting a long term or
permanent illness, spending time in hospital and relying on medication just to
get by.
Once again, I urge you to look at the research from the
resources mentioned at the start of this post. It’s one thing to listen to what
I am saying and just go with it but if you see the evidence for yourself, you
will be better informed and can even pass that information on to others.
I have only been properly researching and changing my eating
in the past 6 months and, looking back at previous blog posts, some of my
former choices were not really based on much more than mainstream theories. I
have already seen amazing benefits from my changes and I am continuing to
refine my practices and, over the course of the next 12 months, I will include
refining my fueling techniques during 2+ hour training sessions and races.
There is so much more to come in the future of clean eating.
I hope you can join me on this journey.
Cheers,
Lincoln.
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