Hydration 101

Hydration is something that a lot of new runners and triathletes overlook. The longer you exercise the more important hydration becomes. A large number of beginning runners we see don’t know where to start when it comes to hydration. This article will go over the basics of hydration for endurance athletes. 

Read the rest of the article 

For Sunday:

• What is your pre-run nutrition plan - eat what you think you are going to eat on race day
• What are you going to eat during the run tomorrow? Bring it!
• Water - If you bring a small-ish sized water bottle, I will put it on my bike basket so you can hydrate during the run or you can carry it, but you can't go 8 miles without water :)

I wanted to compete in the peaks ultra challenge 53 mile race June 5th so I posted a comment on CFE asking how I should go about this. Nuno Costa, a CFE coach, wrote me back with some vital information about how to follow CFE and then he asked about my diet. My diet as recommended from my Nutritionist was a strict 50% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 20% protein ratio. After telling Nuno this he told me about the "Paleo" diet but I brushed it off thinking it was some kind of heresy but I was still interested to know what it was all about. Nuno recommended reading The Paleo Diet For Athletes by Loren Cordain so I did. After I read it I then started my Paleo journey which I have been following for three weeks now. 

At the beginning of the diet it was a bit weird not to eat bread with my meal. For instance, for breakfast I would usually have two eggs over-easy with two slices of whole wheat bread. Now I eat, depending on what I'm in the mood for, three eggs scrambled with a cup of spinach, some tomatoes, and mushrooms with a cup of fruit (cantelope, watermelon, honeydu etc...) on the side. After a couple of days of strict paleo I started to not even think about grabbing a slice of bread or pancakes because those carbs were supplemented by the fruit and vegetables I was eating. I find it to be a lot more fun now when I am searching through cabinets or at the supermarket looking for food because I am constantly saying to myself: "What in here was consumed during the Paleolithic Age or before the agricultural revolution?" As trivial as it might seem I began to feel like a hunter-gatherer because in a sense I am looking for food that suits my needs in accordance with my resources. 

Another thing I've noticed while on the Paleo diet is recovery time. By simply following a 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein diet I've been able to recover quicker from hard WOD's and long runs. No longer do I have to take a FULL day off because my muscles are simply repaired when I awoke. Now does the Paleo diet live up to its supposed theory of making your muscles use fat to produce ergonomic energy and more endurance? Absolutely! The last time I ran a 5 mile tempo at 90% was before I was Paleo and I finished at a time of 42:09. About three days ago I pr'ed at 36:17 which is almost a 6 minute drop in time and I attribute that to both CFE and a great diet. Also I started to lift more weights and not get tired as easily on WOD's. For example, yesterday I did snatch grip deadlifts, reps of 10,5,5,3,2 and last time I did snatch grip deadlifts I only maxed at 225. This time 225 was my first set of 10 and for the last set I got up to 255.
 
But for the person who is still skeptical about the Paleo diet there is absolutely nothing wrong with having doubts. I know I certainly did but those doubts have been quelled. If you unsure how to start the paleo diet or of incorporating it into your own diet just start slow. If you were like me and followed a 50:30:20 ratio then start eating Paleo for breakfast one day and then the next day start introducing breakfast and lunch as Paleo and then do a full day of Paleo. On Sunday I cheated by having a pancake or two but there is nothing wrong with indulging for a little bit. Just make sure you stay on course and you will be so glad you did because I know I am.

-- 
Jonathan Stuart

"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main;" -- John Donne

Our friends at Whole 9 are hosting a workshop in Chula Vista.

Here's what you will learn: 

• How certain food groups are negatively impacting how you look, feel and perform, even if you don’t immediately notice their effects
• What you should be eating to look, feel and perform your best – and why you don’t really need to weigh and measure all your food to achieve excellent fitness levels
• How to break unhealthy patterns, habits and cravings related to food, and change the way you eat for the rest of your life in a healthy, balanced, satisfying and sustainable manner
• How to make food work for you by speeding up the healing process – and how poor food choices contribute to keeping you sick, weak and injured
• How to manage healthy eating under any circumstance – while traveling, at home with the family, during social events or in a business setting.
• The best way to incorporate “cheats” into your diet, enjoying the foods you really want without compromising your overall health and fitness goals

It's on Monday April 12, so get registered soon!!

San Diego Registration!

These are the same people that develop the brilliant Robb Wolf Fish Oil Calculator!

This fish oil calculator is the coolest thing since sliced bread.

Check out the Whole 9 website to find out how much fish oil you should be taking!

Be Wise Ranch is a certified organic farm that has been growing organic produce since 1977 in the Santa Fe Valley, just eight miles east of San Diego. Be Wise Ranch organic vegetables and fruits are known nationally for their delicious flavor and fresh, sun-ripened quality. We offer a wide selection of CCOF certified organic fruit and vegetables for wholesale distribution throughout the country, including vine-ripe heirloom tomatoes, strawberries, squash, and melons. Situated in a coastal zone about eight miles from the ocean, Be Wise Ranch's unique microclimate allows us to grow year-round, and to specialize in early and late season vegetables.

We also have a produce delivery service, the Be Wise Ranch Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, in which subscribers receive identical weekly boxes of organically grown Be Wise produce delivered to pick-up points throughout San Diego County. Read more about how to subscribe on ourJoin Our CSA page.

Bill Brammer, owner of Be Wise Ranch, has been committed to sustainable agriculture since the early days of the organic movement, and during his five-year term as the state president of California Certified Farmers (CCOF), helped draft the state and federal legislation that defined organic standards for the industry. With twenty-five years of experience in organic farming, Bill is committed to improving the quality of the soil, and to growing varieties that have the outstanding flavor the increasingly sophisticated organic consumer has come to expect.

Originally I had no intention of transitioning to the paleo diet. When I first heard how little variety, I thought, you could eat, I was turned off. After a couple months of Crossfitting, and still holding onto my gut weight, I decided maybe I should give paleo a try. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve committed to a diet. It was mid December when I finally decided to give it a go, but pushed it off until the new year. Who wants to start a new diet during the holidays? I had heard about Nuno and his nutrition knowledge from a few people around Crossfit SoCal, so I contacted him. We sat down, discussed goals, and discussed a start date. It all began right around December 31st and it’s been an amazing first two months on paleo. I’m going to talk about a few of the positive, and negatives I’ve had with this diet in the last two months, and how much it has changed my fitness level. I will also touch on the funnest parts of the diet, and how I overcame the de-motivators in the diet.

First I’m going to talk about the positives, one being decreased body fat. As soon as I started paleo, I noticed a difference within the first two weeks around my midsection. Even though I was eating tons of fat, I lost more. This continued throughout the rest of my body, with more definition showing up daily. I’m not super fit or anything now, but it is significant progress to how I had looked before. With a few more months I’m sure I will meet my goal. Another positive is the performance gains I have had in the gym. Within a month, I was breaking PR’s, improving 400m times significantly, and decreased my benchmark WOD times. Not only did Nuno notice and log this, but so did my workout buddies, and the trainers. Mentally my training and determination has increased. Before paleo, I used to doubt my ability to increase my weight lifting, and push myself during WOD’s. With paleo I had the ability to stay determined and push through each repetition and WOD everyday. Another bonus has been the decrease in recovery time. Before paleo, I would skip days of Crossfit because I was too sore, or undetermined in the morning. With the increase in fish oil combined with stretching post WOD everyday, I have minimal amounts of soreness, helping me stay in the gym getting stronger and fit.

Paleo is not all seriousness and no fun. There’s plenty of fun to be had in the gym, and at home. Some of the funnest times I had was making and trying new recipes that were strictly paleo; banana walnut bread, strawberry cheesecake, and cauliflower rice to name a few. You wonder how these food items can taste like the unhealthy versions that use flour or grains. In addition to the recipes, I had tons of fun in the gym catching up in WOD times to those I call my Crossfit idols. Everyday I would compare my times to some of the top crossfitters in our gym, and I have experienced a closing in the time gap. Guys who used to beat me by 5 or more minutes, I’m now within 2-3 minutes of their times, and it really keeps me motivated.

There were three particular challenges I had to overcome when committing to paleo: Getting a wide variety of food, keeping on track after cheats, and keeping a steady supply of paleo food in the refrigerator on a limited budget.

On previous diets, I would consume chicken and steak almost EVERY meal because my main goal was lean meat. You know how old that gets. With paleo, I was determined to spice it up a bit, branch out on different types of meat, fat, vegetables, and flavoring these foods with different spices; create variety! The recipes mentioned above helped me do this, along with insider information from my nutrition coach on where to get different types of specialty meat.

The next challenge was staying on track. I stayed pretty straight on my path of no cheating, but the days I did cheat, I remembered how good some of the food tasted. Banana Strawberry cake from your local Chinese bakery anyone? These were the days when I missed some foods, and that’s ok because cheats are allowed in moderation. Having one to two cheats a week will keep you on your track to success. Cheats remind you of why you are doing paleo, and at the same time reward you for your constant success and dedication. (Just don’t let them pile up on you) Another thing that kept me on track was my gains in the gym. When you are breaking a PR every week, you enjoy it and want it to keep coming. Also having lots of support from a significant other, as my girlfriend does for me, makes the difference. We would plan out new recipes with each other to try and she would cook vegetables for me on a regular basis.

The last challenge I faced was keeping a constant supply of affordable food in the refrigerator. Unless you can afford it, going grass-fed is hard to do on a small budget. So what did I do? Coupon watched, (having a super shopping girlfriend helped), bought meat in quantities I know I could eat in a week, freezed the remained, and bought my fruits when they were on sale.

If you are just starting on paleo, here are three suggestions to get you ready and motivated for your lifestyle change.

First, make sure you are always prepared! Always! Be sure to keep paleo snack on hand, have your food made the night before if you are taking it to work for lunch, and buy enough groceries to keep a steady supply of paleo food going. If you run out of food or groceries, you are likely to reach for the easier food, the stuff which will stray you from the diet. Personally I spend a couple hours each Sunday grilling up chicken, steak, fish, pork, bison, or any meat that I might want to eat during the week.

Another suggestion is to set short term goals each week, my nutrition coach had me do this and it works well. Set small goals like PR’ing a lift, or making a new recipe, or trying to cheat only once, and reach those goals. By setting new goals and obtaining them, I stayed positive and motivated during my first stretch of paleo.

The final suggestion is to keep a food log. Even if you are not using a nutrition coach, keep a food log. It will hold you accountable for what you eat, and will keep you aware of what you eat. If I didn’t have my food log I might ‘conveniently’ forget one of my cheats for the week. Remembering these cheats helps keep me on track.

People always ask me what i eat for breakfast since i don't consume dairy or grains in my healthy eating...

Here is an example of breakfast for me, which is what i had this morning.

Mixed green salad with 3 hard boiled eggs, 5 strips of bacon that i cut into small pieces, 1/2 avocado, about 10 Kalamata Olives, 1 beet (had previously broiled it...absolutely delicious)  and seasoned with a lemon from my CSA box - Be Wise Ranch, we'll post something from them later on this week...  A little sea salt and pepper and YUM!  I typically add some nuts to my salads too, but didn't feel like it today, an easy addition would be walnuts or pecans here :)

Post to comments what you typically have for breakfast if it is Paleo...

Stay tuned to our site as Paleo Treats will be sponsoring our Ragnar Relay team. We will have a discount code available to order some treats come April....

For thirty thousand generations, our wild and primitive ancestors treated themselves with the sweet and unadorned bounty of nature. Like any healthy diet, theirs was uncomplicated and simple; few ingredients, clean food. Paleo Treats follows this philosophy, using a few high quality ingredients for each cookie, making sure you stay healthy and eating the way you were designed to eat.