Has any distance runner succeeded on the Paleo Diet?

My daughter used the "Paleo diet for athletes" You need to take bits and pieces of it that will work for your lifesyle, so she didn't follow it hard core, but she definetly learned alot about eating right and it did help her with getting leaner and hitting PR's.

Could you provide some details of her diet?

Runners don't diet.

The Paleo diet is complete crap. There is little evidence that it's particularly good for you and the belief that there is one particular diet that our ancestors ate is pure pseudo-science. Our paleolithic chums ate whatever they could get hold of and that varied drastically by location.

That's not to say that it won't work for some people. Pretty much every diet is going to work well for someone.

Joe Friel. Google him.

Ultra-endurance runners & triathletes have done well with it, since their intensity is low enough that they can use fat as a primary fuel.

Shorter duration (1 hour or less) athletes also do great with it, since glycogen exhaustion just isn't an issue during your first hour of exercise.

Marathon seems problematic for a strict Paleo diet. Too intense to rely on fat-burning for energy, too long to rely on stored glycogen.

The basic idea is good, though. Improve the quality of your protein & fat (grass-fed, free-range, wild-caught), and the quality of your carbs (seasonal organic fruits & veggies).

Finally, if you are going to try it again, you need to give your body 3-4 weeks to make the adjustment.

The term "paleo" has become like the term "atkins". It gets so bastardized that no one really knows what it means any more.

How about just eating a natural "single ingredient diet"?

Yams, bananas, potates, beans...all provide lots of carbs and nutrients vs pasta, breads, and cereals.

Alan

The Paleo Diet is crap. Read the China Study.

Thanks for the explanations.

I'm not interested in any diet where someone gains 60-70 pounds and thinks that is good.

X-Runner wrote:

Runners don't diet.

It's not a diet, it's simply a different way of eating, permanently.

DontFeedTheTroll wrote:

The Paleo diet is complete crap. There is little evidence that it's particularly good for you and the belief that there is one particular diet that our ancestors ate is pure pseudo-science. Our paleolithic chums ate whatever they could get hold of and that varied drastically by location.

That's not to say that it won't work for some people. Pretty much every diet is going to work well for someone.

You really don't know what you're talking about.

Fat Boy wrote:

The Paleo Diet is crap. Read the China Study.

Crap? I'm nearly 50, I've been eating Paleo for 4 years, I've lost 45 pounds, my blood pressure is usually 110/70, my bad cholesterol is low and good is high, my blood work is perfect, and I ran all my adult PR's in the last 4 years until a nasty heel spur sidelined me. If that's crap, then crap is good.

agreed

Runningart2004 wrote:

The term "paleo" has become like the term "atkins". It gets so bastardized that no one really knows what it means any more.

How about just eating a natural "single ingredient diet"?

Yams, bananas, potates, beans...all provide lots of carbs and nutrients vs pasta, breads, and cereals.

Alan

Wannamaker Wannabe wrote:

Crap? I'm nearly 50, I've been eating Paleo for 4 years, I've lost 45 pounds, my blood pressure is usually 110/70, my bad cholesterol is low and good is high, my blood work is perfect, and I ran all my adult PR's in the last 4 years until a nasty heel spur sidelined me. If that's crap, then crap is good.

any kind of diet without refined sugar, processed fats or white flour can do the trick.

now do us a favour and check your bone density, check cancer rates in "paleo" followers, check homocysteine...

see, even on meth you can lost some weight. The problem is long-term effects.

cavewomanNOT wrote:

By success, I mean, gotten leaner, had more energy, gotten stronger and ultimately realized PRs. I'd like to hear pros and cons because I know some ultra-marathoners who swear by it - I had no energy to do my normal runs, never mind long runs!

basically every elite runner follow diet opposite to paleo - very high in carbohydrates, very low protein and no fat at all. Cut down carbo with high glycemic index if you are overweight, eat lots of fiber and don't cheat.

I never ever heard about running succes on paleo, atkins or any kind of low carbohydrates diet - unless finishing ultramarathon with slug-like speed count as succes here.

Can someone give an example of what one would eat on the Paleo diet? What would the menu look like for the day?

tomtom wrote:

cavewomanNOT wrote:

By success, I mean, gotten leaner, had more energy, gotten stronger and ultimately realized PRs. I'd like to hear pros and cons because I know some ultra-marathoners who swear by it - I had no energy to do my normal runs, never mind long runs!

basically every elite runner follow diet opposite to paleo - very high in carbohydrates, very low protein and no fat at all. Cut down carbo with high glycemic index if you are overweight, eat lots of fiber and don't cheat.

I never ever heard about running succes on paleo, atkins or any kind of low carbohydrates diet - unless finishing ultramarathon with slug-like speed count as succes here.

There is literally no reason to eat a very low protein and fat diet. If you wonder why you look like a holocaust survivor and can't run a quarter faster than 60 seconds, look no further. By the way, elite Africans aren't eating low protein. Yams, maize, beans all have a good amount of protein. They probably eat eggs and drink a lot of milk, too.

NYRR: What's your training diet like?

MK: I try to go by 40-30-30. Forty percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat. I probably [don't eat that much fat] but when you put in 90 miles a week or more, you consume a lot of it and your [body's saying] 'More food, more food!' The couple weeks before a big race, if I'm cutting back on my training, I'll be careful what I put in...I wouldn't eat a hamburger every day, but once in a while is fine.

gfhgfhgfgh wrote:

Can someone give an example of what one would eat on the Paleo diet? What would the menu look like for the day?

You could check the paleo diet website for sample ideas & recipes -

Here's a list of what I eat and don't eat:

DO eat/drink - lean meat and fish (grass-fed beef when possible), eggs, fresh fruits & vegetables (no potatoes), raw or dry-roasted nuts and seeds w/o salt (no peanuts), dark chocolate, water, wine (somewhat of a cheat), healthy oils like olive

Eat/drink sparingly - Processed food (occasionally canned no-salt-added tomato products and canned wild salmon/tuna, raw food bars), cooked vegetables, fatty meat, fruit juice, coffee (cheat), alcohol other than wine (cheat)

Eat/drink very little or not at all - dairy (I do eat a little plain yogurt occasionally), grains, soy, sodium, legumes, beans, fast food

Sample day for me - hard-boiled egg & 2 pieces of fruit a.m., snack on nut/seed/dark chocolate mix mid-morning, lunch of fresh vegetable mix and raw food bar, afternoon snack of raw fruit bar, more fruit if I work out, dinner of lean protein usually drizzled in olive oil and seasoning, wine (usually red)

It works for me. I used to have frequent headaches, skin problems, irritable bowel syndrome, unexplained itching, strong body odor...they're gone. I've been weight stable at 148-152 for three years, whether running 40 miles a week or not at all. Daily caloric intake is usually well under 2000. We occasionally go out to eat, and I try to find a salad that isn't too offensive. Pretty tough at most restaurants!

In answer to another poster, no, I do not know my bone density, homocysteine, etc., nor true LONG-term results, but I'm willing to take the chance given the improvements in my physical condition.

There would be other Paleo adherents who would look at my list and say I'm not Paleo; lots of variety out there, and pretty extreme, like ALL meat diets. I'm satisfied with how I eat, and if others are satisfied with a radically different diet, that's fine with me.

Take it or leave it, your mileage may vary.

Wannamaker Wannabe wrote:

Crap? I'm nearly 50, I've been eating Paleo for 4 years, I've lost 45 pounds, my blood pressure is usually 110/70, my bad cholesterol is low and good is high, my blood work is perfect, and I ran all my adult PR's in the last 4 years until a nasty heel spur sidelined me. If that's crap, then crap is good.

see, that diet causes heel spurs!