Starch-free Training

[Heather22]

Hi there,

I was wondering if there is anyone out there, who only eats fruit and veggies for their carbohydrates (omitting rice, gluten-free grains)? And, if it has effected their energy level, performance, fitness goals, etc. I notice that I feel bogged down and my weight goes up after I eat starchy foods. However, I am nervous about cutting them out, for energy purposes.

Any success stories?

Heather : )

[CarlaB]

I find that if I only eat fruits, veggies and protein that it's just not quite enough. It used to be that I would have an occassional bowl of oatmeal for this purpose, but with oats not being in my diet anymore that doesn't work.

I have a strange living situation right now ... it's a temporary situation until our oldest daughter graduates, so my diet now is mainly Amy's frozen meals. I do notice more bloating with all the carbs. When I get back to a "real kitchen" I'll be cooking more, so will go back to mainly the diet you describe. So, right now, I'm not actually doing what I'm going to say!

I plan on going back to eating as you describe. But I will have to eat a slice of gluten-free toast, or some other carb every day. I just don't feel healthy if I don't. Some days it will be popcorn (date night at the movies!), sometimes it will be junk food like chips, some days it will be a healthy slice of gluten-free bread. I just do too much cardio to feel good without some kind of non-fruit or veggie carb.

Not what you want to hear, I know, but it just didn't work for me.

[tarnalberry]

When you say no starches, are you referring to no gluten-free grains, or no starches period? As in, are you going to have, for instance, sweet potatoes and carrots or no? You can easily get plenty of carbs from fruits and veggies without any gluten-free grains, but you'd have to plan for it by making sure to get high enough carb veggies.

[corinne]

Right now I react to all starches (including potato and rice) and I am following the specific carb. diet which is no grains whatsoever. I am an avid mountain climber and I train for this by running intervals or a fast-paced trail run once a week, hiking steep hills once a week and doing a long hike (up to 15 miles) once a week. I also rock climb once to twice a week.

I've been on a no-starch diet for 4 months. My fitness has actually improved. I ran a race two weekends ago and finished at 30 seconds per mile faster than previous best time. The improvement may have been due to finally absorbing nutrients. In any case, not eating starches seems to be ok.

I do eat a lot of carrots, beets and squash for carbs (up to 1-2 pounds per day) and I have a hard time maintaining my weight so I also eat a lot of healthy fats - nuts, avocados and fish.

[aikiducky]

Corinne, that's really encouraging to hear! I can only eat vegetables, fish and meat at the moment, and I've been worried about energy as well. It's silly really because I haven't actually had less energy, I'm just worried that I might, lol.

Pauliina

[Heather22]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking about cutting out gluten-free grains, as well as all rice and corn products, and potatoes. I am ok with carrots and probably squash. I have noticed that on starch-free days, I really feel great. I am starting triathlon training, so I suppose it is just a matter of getting in enough calories, and still feeling energetic.

H : )

[Guest schmenge]

Thanks for all the replies. I was thinking about cutting out gluten-free grains, as well as all rice and corn products, and potatoes. I am ok with carrots and probably squash. I have noticed that on starch-free days, I really feel great. I am starting triathlon training, so I suppose it is just a matter of getting in enough calories, and still feeling energetic.

H : )

If you are starting a training program you will need carbs, but your body will not care of those carbs come from starches or another source. For training you probably want about 2 grams or carbs per pound of body weight.

[corinne]

I always wonder what the other customers think when I check out at the grocery store with 10 pounds of carrots, a half dozen squashes and a dozen cans beets.

[CarlaB]

They probably think you're nuts

Mark had good info. That's probably my problem with not getting enough carbs ... I probably just don't eat enough starchy ones since I like things like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus ... I'm not getting enough grams so need the slice of bread or rice. I really like potato chips after a good workout though! Probably cause of the salt!

[Guest Robb Wolf]

Heather-

A "Paleo" type diet is actually the diet recommended by Joe Friel, 2x Olympic Triathalon coach. It seems like everyone has his book The Triathletes Training Bible, but no one reads the nutrition section which advocates lean meats, seasonal fruits and veggie, nuts seeds and smart use of oils like olive and macadamia. If you are an endurance athlete it’s a plus to encourage your metabolism to use fat as much as possible and this type of eating does exactly that. If your training and or event are very intense it may be necessary to supplement a bit with yams and sweet potatoes but after a few weeks you should adapt to that altered plan. If you are interested in posting a food log I'd be happy to give my thoughts on it.