It isn’t Easy, but it is Worth it! (Week 3):

This past Sunday was the World 70.3 Championships in Las Vegas and having been at the 2010/11/12 editions of this Championship, I was feeling a little bummed that I was absent this year, especially as I had qualified and planned to partake.

Kyle Buckingham, World 70.3 Champion M30-34

However, injury and then a period of laziness and putting on weight put paid to that, so I was left to spectate from afar and think what might have been. However, we cannot live life by looking in a rear view mirror (that’s for learning from our mistakes or experiences), so I’m inclined to look at the positives, one of which is just how motivated I am after witnessing friends Kyle Buckingham and Colleen De Reuck win Age Group world titles.

Hopefully I will not only be back in competition mode by Ironman 70.3 in East London January, but I will be at a new fighting weight with a healthier body to match. And that all depends upon me remaining committed to the path I have chosen, which is to to try and improve my nutrition and to become a lean, mean, racing machine.

Well I’m on Day 24 and happy to report it is going very well indeed, I’m into the habit of eating better and planning my meals, both at home and when we are out and I am eating hardly any refined/processed Carbohydrates. In fact most of my Carbs come from salads, vegetables and fruit and I must say I am feeling better.

I was reminded of the importance of having a more streamlined body when I re read this article that I posted on the impact of your BMI on aerodynamics, where we find that the body alone is repsonsible for 66% of total wind resistance. Should I need any more motivation?

http://ironmansa.com/2011/11/13/the-importance-of-aerodynamics/

So just how did Week 3 go?

Well another  1Kg lighter and another cm lost around the waist is definitely motivation to push on, but those are merely stats and like life (or investments) the stats are good some weeks and not so good the next, so we have to be careful of judging our progress on snapshots. Truth is that the longer we remain committed to anything, the better the results will be.

Besides the stats, I am feeling amazing, no shortage of energy and I rarely feel hungry. Sure I still have the odd craving for those ‘nice/sweet’ things that my body has been used to having day in and day out for the past 3 or 4 decades. Fortunately they are not bad cravings and I know that my addiction to sweets, chocolates, biscuits and the like is diminishing by the day, especially now that I know I will be better off both health wise and from a sporting point of view, as I now eat for Life, Health and Sport and not for a short term racing goal which has ensured a huge change in mindset and motivation.

I have radically reduced eating/drinking refined or processed carbohydrates and surprisingly feel great, yet I was always taught that I needed these carbohydrates to function well at work and in sport. I haven’t felt tired mid afternoon for a few weeks now, whereas I used to often get that drousy feeling in the past and I also find I’m sleeping better at night. Sure, I (like anybody else) would have liked a miracle and seen the weight just drop off me, but it hasn’t, although losing 2Kg in 3 weeks with far less training hours than I’m used to (I’m on a minor exercise programme for a month while adapting) is nothing to be sneezed at.

I am living proof that if you start with a small step and change something then those steps turn to days, to weeks and months and years and before you know it something extraordinary has happened. So this is just the start of big things in my opinion, as we know when we train for an event we shouldn’t expect results in the first 3 weeks, so why should a nutrition plan be any different? I’m looking to 3-6 months and beyond!

I also know that when I am at the weight I am currently at, I cannot compete in any race except perhaps a swim event where weight hardly counts. In fact I struggle to run 5min or 5min 30sec per km enjoyably or comfortably. So as the weight drops I will start enjoying my running once more, but this time I want it to drop for the right reasons (healthier lifestyle & better nutrition) as opposed to a quick fix due to hours and hours of training.

I know people refer to Prof Tim Noakes’ LCHF (Low Carb/High Fat) diet or eating plan, well for me I don’t like the word diet as it implies short term remedy and I am now following something I want to follow for life. I’m inspired and have received some great pointers from Prof Tim Noakes and am trying to implement them without being too extreme. Yes, I am eating LC’s although I have no idea how many Carbs I’m taking in as I’m not a bean counter and I am not consciously trying to eat HF, in fact the only real addtional fat would be coming from things like nuts and not cutting the fat off a rump steak.

I am hoping that my body will, however, start to use fat as an energy source and having run many ultra marahons including the Comrades Marathon in the past, I know the benefits of the body being able to utilize fat as an energy source.

What I am noticeing is that when I have a treat day (a breakfast cereal and a few beers) my body reacts quite badly and I feel lousy and have to visit the toilet for all the wrong reasons. I have no idea what is happening inside of my body, but do no that there is immense change occuring and hopefully it will be for the better and I believe it will be.

I can recall my first ever Ultra Triathlon like it was yesterday, it was the Durban Ultra in 1985 and I was trying to win the race and a slot to the Ironman in Hawaii. I had been told to take lots of Grapes, Potatoes and Coke or I would run out of energy. Well I was struggling to get the nutrition down the hatch and I started hallucinating halfway through the run and I sat down on the side of the road and asked my sister to get me some KFC chicken… I waited losing valuable time, but she got the KFC and I ate the chicken and was stronger than ever those last 16km. It’s always been an anomally to me why my body craved that greasy chicken, but it did and it seemed to work while I was struggling to ingest the Carbs. Over the years I have taught my body to be reliant solely on Carbs, perhaps too reliant and yes, I still think that I will need Carbs for racing and some of the harder training sessions but will probably learn more about that as I continue on this adventure.

Sometimes I hear MTB stage racers talk about using nuts and biltong during their events, is it the body desiring what it needs perhaps? Pro Ironman athlete Freddy Lampret and a few of his athletes have done a 200km bike ride on water, so the body is adaptable, it’s a case of finding what is best for you.

Carbohydrates are Addictive:

Carbohydrates give you an immediate lift, so we come to rely on them for that, it’s almost like watching kids at play, give them a sweet or a chocolate and watch them buzz and then the batteries run down until the next sweet. Do we need this artificial lift for the metabolic benefits or for satisfying our brains, our addiction? I haven’y exercised beyond 90 minutes these past three weeks, so it will be interesting how my body reacts when I train 3 hours or longer. One thing I am able to do is hammer out a good one hour swim session with no side effects, or slowing down.

I am also aware that lots of endurance training/events combined with high carbohydrates can produce inflammatory responses and I’m not sure of the impact this would have on the body if done repeatedly, as I was doing.

You see when you ingest refined Carbohydrates you get a huge Insulin response and I’ve read that repeated Insulin responses/spikes (high glucose) are damaging to our health in the long term. I have done the tests and am not Carbohydrate Intolerant so I may well be okay, but if it is bad for those who are intolerant what about me? (have you had the Test?)

But, while I’m hoping I may be en route to a healthier lifestyle I have also read that cutting down on the Insulin responses can improve my sporting capabilities or efficiency and this appeals to me. This is another reason why I am very keen to view this from a longer term perspective than my previous shorter term outlook.

Benefits of reducing Insulin Spikes: (A brief summary of my readings of Dr Phil maeffetone’s book “Endurance Training & Racing”. Maffetone was the coach of Mark Allen, 6 time Kona winner.)

The Sun setting in Kona, Hawaii

When we absorb Carbs, most are broken down into Glucose and absorbed into the blood. The rise in blood sugar immediately triggers the release of the hormone Insulin from the pancreas. Insulin is a very important hormone but too much of it adversely affects our endurance and health. Apparently insulin is processed whenever you eat/drink Carbs, except when consumed during training and/or competition. Insulin levels are reduced during physical activity, helping the body burn more fat for energy.

1. Insulin reduces the bodies fat burning ability.

2. Insulin can also reduce Aerobic Function.

3. High Insulin levels also suppress two important hormones, namely Glucagon and Growth Hormone.

3.1. Glucagon has the opposite effect of Insulin and is produced after Protein consumption. While Insulin promotes fat storage, Glucagon promotes the use of fat and sugar for energy.

3.2. Growth Hormone helps provide many of the endurance benefits we obtain through training, including muscle development, sugar and fat burning and the regulation of minerals and amino acids.

Insulin allows us to use and store Glucose and as this happens, blood sugar is lowered. Insulin works through 3 mechanisms:

-About 50% of Blood Sugar (half of Carbs eaten) is quickly used throughout the body for energy, especially in muscles/brain.

-About 10% is converted to Glycogen, a storage form of sugar and is stored in the muscles & liver.

-About 40% of Carbs eaten are converted to Fat and stored as Body Fat. This is the source of Fat used by the Aerobic Muscles for energy, but if the fat-burning mechanisms are not working well, or if too many Carbs are absorbed, the fat stores get larger.

Notes:

1.  I am not a Doctor or a Scientists and am merely sharing what I read, or hear from experts, so I personally cannot say with conviction that any of the above is fact.

2. They say everything in moderation, but I believe a moderate approach to weight loss (or nutrition) will only get you so far & it hasn’t really worked for me in the past. It seems my biology is against me, so I need change and I need to be serious about it going forward to ensure I am leaner & healthier than I was before.

3. Do not expect it to be easy, as no change is easy. Persevering will definitely be easier than the pain of regret of not trying, of never knowing if you maximised your potential. I’m in it for the long haul, I’ve burnt the boats so there is no turning back and I am inspired by all those of you who tell me you are inspired or that you are enjoying sharing my journey.

All The Best, Believe to Achieve!

YES, you Can, you Will, you Want to!!