I have a lot of stomach problems when I run so I thought I'd give the/a cleanse a try. I feel like a huge hypocrite because I really do feel carbs give me the energy I need to get through all my endurance training and I don't really believe in cleansing the system since the body is pretty advanced and efficient, but something about how I was currently eating just wasn't sitting well with my stomach so at this point I figured I would try anything. So what happened?
The program I cleansed with was a no dairy, no gluten, no refined sugars, low glycemic index foods, no caffeine, and no booze. I really didn't think I would struggle too much with most of these, except the whole sugar dilemma, see I love sweets, and sweets are often rewards for big accomplishments for me. Marathon training offers a lot of big accomplishments, like surviving 20 mile runs or making it through all 10 intervals of yasso 800s. I'm not a big ice cream person, but I LOVE cupcakes. Luckily I have to go out of my way to buy cupcakes so it was something I could somewhat avoid.
Well I started off strong, feeling pretty good with protein shakes regularly adding fiber and fat to all meal shakes and being sure to have an extra shake for recovery after exercise. I do think the protein shakes made me recover faster and I found I felt better after long workouts. I was surprised with how I felt, but I did encounter problems. Often this energy was short lived, I would feel great at the start of my run or ride, but often my legs would turn sour after about 10 miles or so. I also continued to have stomach problems and one week I even managed to top off my stomach problems by vomiting at starbucks at the end of my 18 miles. I tried to improve this by having wild rice, lentils, or other low glycemic and complex carbohydrates. I feel this helped, but the high fiber mixed with the added fiber to the shakes I think caused some mid run pit stops which I don't usually have. I think fiber is good for my diet, but I'm rethinking adding fiber pre-long run or speed session.
I did increase my fruit and veggie intake which was never really low, but I did focus on this more, but unfortunately I didn't feel a whole lot of difference with this. My weight did decrease, but I was also running 30 to 40 miles a week and doing other workouts.
Although I did not see much of a difference in cleansing and eating more protein and less carbs. I have found I don't really have any cravings for dairy or caffeine (but I've never been a coffee drinker). I have returned to sweets, but I've experimented with low glycemic sweets which actually aren't too bad in terms of flavor, Nick even liked the low-glycemic dark chocolate frosting I made better than other frostings. I really enjoyed how much almond butter I could consume and I've found almond butter to become a staple in my diet. I've kept up with the protein shakes post hour workout or longer. I still have some days where I feel like crap though, but I guess that is just overtraining or wearing my body down. I'm not so sure how I feel about the low-carb. diet for endurance athletes, but I'm still experimenting with some of the cleanseworthy recipes which are tastier than I thought they'd be. If you are wondering if a diet or cleanse really works then go ahead and try it out, you may find different results. It was worth the experimentation, but I'm not sure that it is for me.
The program I cleansed with was a no dairy, no gluten, no refined sugars, low glycemic index foods, no caffeine, and no booze. I really didn't think I would struggle too much with most of these, except the whole sugar dilemma, see I love sweets, and sweets are often rewards for big accomplishments for me. Marathon training offers a lot of big accomplishments, like surviving 20 mile runs or making it through all 10 intervals of yasso 800s. I'm not a big ice cream person, but I LOVE cupcakes. Luckily I have to go out of my way to buy cupcakes so it was something I could somewhat avoid.
Well I started off strong, feeling pretty good with protein shakes regularly adding fiber and fat to all meal shakes and being sure to have an extra shake for recovery after exercise. I do think the protein shakes made me recover faster and I found I felt better after long workouts. I was surprised with how I felt, but I did encounter problems. Often this energy was short lived, I would feel great at the start of my run or ride, but often my legs would turn sour after about 10 miles or so. I also continued to have stomach problems and one week I even managed to top off my stomach problems by vomiting at starbucks at the end of my 18 miles. I tried to improve this by having wild rice, lentils, or other low glycemic and complex carbohydrates. I feel this helped, but the high fiber mixed with the added fiber to the shakes I think caused some mid run pit stops which I don't usually have. I think fiber is good for my diet, but I'm rethinking adding fiber pre-long run or speed session.
I did increase my fruit and veggie intake which was never really low, but I did focus on this more, but unfortunately I didn't feel a whole lot of difference with this. My weight did decrease, but I was also running 30 to 40 miles a week and doing other workouts.
Although I did not see much of a difference in cleansing and eating more protein and less carbs. I have found I don't really have any cravings for dairy or caffeine (but I've never been a coffee drinker). I have returned to sweets, but I've experimented with low glycemic sweets which actually aren't too bad in terms of flavor, Nick even liked the low-glycemic dark chocolate frosting I made better than other frostings. I really enjoyed how much almond butter I could consume and I've found almond butter to become a staple in my diet. I've kept up with the protein shakes post hour workout or longer. I still have some days where I feel like crap though, but I guess that is just overtraining or wearing my body down. I'm not so sure how I feel about the low-carb. diet for endurance athletes, but I'm still experimenting with some of the cleanseworthy recipes which are tastier than I thought they'd be. If you are wondering if a diet or cleanse really works then go ahead and try it out, you may find different results. It was worth the experimentation, but I'm not sure that it is for me.
