A Paleolithic Diet vs. Eating for Endurance

While humans living in the Paleolithic and even earlier (pre-fire) times appeared to have been relatively healthy, their life span was not very long. Since those times we have adapted to a rather different pattern of eating – a higher carbohydrate intake from the addition of grains, cereals, starchy vegetables, milk products, and a variety of fruits in fresh, dried and juice form. This pattern is associated with the long life span we now have AND this pattern of eating fuels endurance athletes to train hard, recover and repeat on a daily basis (See Table below). While the Paleolithic diet may give you enough fuel to maintain your cross country skiing and other endurance training note that it is a high volume diet; that is, you have to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits to get a sufficient amount of carbohydrate INTO your muscles to ski, run, cycle or swim fast and far. These types of plant foods have a tendency to fill you up and quash your hunger BEFORE you actually have sufficiently refueled. It might take you a few days of training to realize that you haven't been refueling adequately – and you will know because your endurance performance will be negatively affected and even easy workouts will feel hard. Make some slight adjustments to the Paleo diet by including some non-Paleo foods before, during and after your training. Start by including dried fruit and/or high glycemic index fruits in your pre-workout snack and then add potatoes (roasted, mashed, baked or boiled) to your post workout meals. If you are going to be using sport drinks and gels during your race then you should get used to them in your longer distance training sessions. These slight adjustments to your dietary intake on your training days should help to optimize your energy level during your training sessions.

 

Food Origin	PALEO DIET	EAT for ENDURANCE
Animal Foods	INCLUDES: Lean meats (especially grass-fed animals) like chicken, turkey, pork, lean beef, and buffalo Fish and seafood, eggs	INCLUDES: Lean red meats, chicken, turkey, pork, etc Organ meats for iron Fish and seafood Eggs Milk, yogurt, cheese
	EXCLUDES: Milk, yogurt, cheese
Plant Foods	All nuts (except peanuts) and seeds	All nuts and seeds
	Plant and nut-based oils (olive, walnut, grape seed, and coconut)	All plant, nut and seed based oils
	EXCLUDES: Seed oils (e.g. sunflower, safflower, etc)
	Fresh fruits	FALL fresh, frozen and dried  fruits 100% fruit juices
	ONLY non-starchy vegetables (broccoli, salad greens, bell peppers, carrots, and squash)	ALL starchy vegetables (e.g. potatoes, sweet potatoes) and non-starchy vegetables Legumes (e.g. chickpeas, hummus, lentils, kidney beans, etc)
	EXCLUDES: All grains & cereals,	All grains & cereals (e.g. wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, oatmeal, rye, barley, etc)
Processing	Only unprocessed foods without salt, refined sugars and trans fats	ONLY unprocessed and minimally processed foods Refined sugars during training (i.e. sport drinks and gels)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Carbohydrates

For endurance training of a moderate to vigorous nature, carbohydrates are your body’s major source of energy. Yes, we also use fats for fuel but it is the rather limited storage of carbohydrate that becomes the issue when we start to push our bodies to go farther and faster. Your muscles and liver store carbohydrate – only a limited amount – and this needs to be continually replaced  or you are not going to be able to continue to exert yourself… have you ever wondered how you can avoid “hitting the wall?” To maintain your supply of muscle energy for as long as possible for endurance sports such as skiing, running and cycling, follow an eating plan that includes plenty of carbohydrate rich foods. Use a sports drink during training sessions to keep blood sugar levels topped up and eat a carbohydrate rich snack after each training session when your muscles are most receptive to refueling their depleted carbohydrate stores.

Step 1 - Calculate your daily carbohydrate (CHO) needs.

Find the training program that best describes yours and multiply the range of CHO needs by your body weight. 

 

Step 2 – Power fuel your plate at every meal and snack with carbohydrate rich foods.

Calculate your meal and/or snack needs. Plan to have ¼ of your daily CHO needs at each meal and 1/8th at each snack. Check the Carbohydrates in Food: Quick Rule of Thumb chart and see which food choices will meet your CHO needs. For maximum power fuel, the CHO you eat should come from among the different food groups.

TRAINING PROGRAM (Every day situation)	Daily CHO needs (grams) per kg body weight	X	Your body weight (kg)	=	Daily CHO needs (grams)
Recovery workout (1 – 1.5 hours)	3-4 g/kg	X		=
1 hour /  moderate/high intensity	5-7 g/kg	X
2 hours at moderate/high intensity OR 3-4+ hours of long slow distance	7-8g/kg	X		=
To maximize daily muscle glycogen recovery/to pre-competition “load”	7-10 g/kg	X
Prolonged & intense daily training (5-6 hours of moderate to intense)	10-12 g /kg	X		=

Follow these simple guidelines:

1.         Choose starchy CHO rich foods for long lasting fuel (ex. Oatmeal for breakfast);

2.         Choose simple CHO rich foods (fruits, sweet vegetables, milk products, sugars/sweets) before and during workouts for quickly available fuel;

3.         Choose fiber rich foods (whole grains and cereals, vegetables, fruits and legumes) post workout for your gut’s health and proper function.

Carbohydrates in Food – Quick Rule of Thumb (grams of CHO/serving)
Vegetables ~5 g CHO/serving	1 small vegetable (tomato, pepper, onion); ½ large vegetable (sweet red/green/yellow pepper), ½ cup cooked or raw
Fruits ~15 g CHO/serving	1 medium fruit; ½ large fruit 125 mL fruit juice; 2 tbsp dried fruit 125 mL fresh, frozen, cooked or canned fruit;
Grains & Cereals Starchy vegetables Legumes (kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils) ~15 g CHO/serving	30 g bread or cereal ½ small bagel; ½ English muffin; 2 rice cakes; 2 small tea biscuits; ½ cup cooked  pasta or grains 3 cups popcorn; 6 saltine crackers; 1 small white potato; ½ medium sweet potato 125 mL legumes; 90 mL hummus 40 g cereal bar; 125 mL rice pudding;
Milk and Alternatives ~12-15 g CHO/serving	250 mL milk, or soy beverage 175 mL plain yogurt/ kefir; 175 mL fruit yogurt or flavoured yogurt; 250 mL chocolate milk or sweetened soy; 250 mL fruit flavoured kefir