So for the last 18 months or so I have followed what I call a low-carb diet (I know there are many that will be quick to point out the carbs in fruits, veg ect but for the sake of this post what I call carbs are breads, pasta, potatoes, grains etc), admittedly mainly because it seemed to be the "thing" to do and many (successful) people around me did it. I was aware of the Paleo Diet for Athletes by Cordain and Friel and Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes and the principles (and science) behind it made a lot of sense to me. I had already ditched carbs in my evening meals years ago and rarely ate bread and noticed a marked difference in my weight. Surrounded by such avid supporters of this way of eating and success already in terms of weight loss it made sense to avoid carbs other than during long training sessions or before/after races. All seemed to be going well and I didnt notice any ill effects of this diet in terms of training or racing. Then I read an article by Anthony Colpco (posted, no less, by the person who seemed to me to be the biggest advocater of the Paleo diet and to whom carb loading before an ultra marathon is a bowl of stewed apple) which basically threw everything I had believed in for so long out of the window. I happened to read this article on the same day that I had one of my fortnightly sessions with my newly appointed personal trainer. After the session we were chatting about training in general and the subject of food came up. He asked me what I ate and when I told him the diet I (losely) followed, I may as well have told him I believed the earth was flat and that Harry Potter was real. His reaction to this news was that of shock and, I suspect, a smidgen of incredulity, and after a bit of a talking to his parting words to me were "...and eat some carbs for Christ sake before you faint". Right. So needless to say I was somewhat confused as the evidence seemed to be stacking strongly against my carb-free beliefs. Time to get a second (or in this case third) opinion and I consulted a professional IM athlete I know for some advice. The reply was that yes, carbs are a vital part of their training and 2 meals a day and snacks were carb heavy.
So, whilst I dont train quite like my professional friend, it does seem apparent that re-fuelling (and indeed pre-fuelling) training sessions is they way to go. And when I talked this through with my boyfriend Andy he pointed out that if you fuel your races with carbs to get your optimal performance, why wouldn't you want to be hitting the same intensity for each training session? Simples, it would seem.
So, as alien as it is to me I am now having a protein shake before each session at the very least and then eating OATS(!!!!) for breakfast after the session. Time will tell I guess if this is making a difference, and I'm interested to see if I am able to hit sessions harder because of this new fuelling regime. If, however, all that happens is I gain a couple of kg's then I will revert back or at least modify the amount.
It really is a minefield of information out there and who's to say one way is right and the other wrong? You could find papers and stats to back up anything you wanted to believe more or less (nutritionally speaking) so I'm going for the 'experiment and see what happens' approach.
This could mean I am either going to be faster and stronger, or investing in a larger tri suit........
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