Classic Picture of Steve and Trek Canada's Eric Batty engaging in PRESENT day recovery strategies (chocolate milk) ... Peter is Fasting
Hello
In keeping with the Paleo diet, what do you use as nutrition on the bike? Just water? or is this an area you "let it slip"?
J.
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Thanks for Question J.
First, for lack of better terms we will assume athletes who want to stick to Paleo/natural/home made strategies are called "PALEO" and those who are open to all the current day technologies and foods are called "PRESENT" athletes. For more info on Zone Diet, Paleo Diet or Hammer Nutrition Strategies for fueling see our Resources page at www.steveneal.ca Briefly, 'Paleo Diet for Athletes' is an essential resource for anyone looking seriously at this nutritional strategy. The Paleo approach to nutrition is that human's have not evolved, from the Paleolithic Era, as fast as our food technology and therefore 'new' foods are not optimal for human health. This means those on the Paleo Diet consume only meat, Fruit, Veggies, nuts, seeds (ie. no legumes, grains, milk, soy etc.). This strategy is becoming more and more accepted in 'regular' people and also with athletes. It works well for most people, especially when combined with a 'zone diet' strategy for assembling meals, which is a whole new conversation!
From our personal standpoint during exercise we use mostly 'present day' endurance nutrition solutions. We use and recommend to athletes Hammer products in most situations and we are happy with the results / quality. Hammer products do not use simple sugars and the sugars are derived from Corn, which could be considered natural depending on which school of thought you are from. That said using amino acids, potatoes, and dried fruits during our rides (especially lower intensity endurance) is also common.
For any athlete looking at race day or Nutrition for workouts the duration and intensity need to be considered. Below we will review the 'Paleo' and 'Present' athletes options food in-ride Fueling, which should spark some discussion, debate or at least things for you to try and report back on! *note the term workouts will be used to include races as training should use same strategy as race day*
a) Duration = How long ?
- If the workout is under an hour both the Paleo and Present athletes will be able to complete the workout regardless of intensity without fueling or hydration (some may find psychological benefit from either or both)
- for workouts 1-4 hours in duration fueling with Paleo (coconut water, dried fruit, bananas, agave/honey in water) the PRESENT athlete will look to products that supply light amounts of electrolytes and carbohydrate ... both aiming for ~240-400kcal an hour depending on body size and intensity.
- For workouts over 3 hours a shift to more fat and protein makes sense for both schools (similar kcal / hr ... experiment with upper limits of what you can handle )
- Paleo Athletes will look to Bananas, sweet potatoes, coconut, home made bars or Commercial fruit/nut bars. (the THRIVE & Paleo diet books have great in-workout solutions)
2) Intensity - if your workout is hard then the need for easily digestible fueling (see duration 1-4hr above) is going to be important and recovery will also be important.
- This can be done Paleo but the recovery portion especially is where the need for more Present solutions MAY be required.
- Your level of training is the big determinant on recovery needs. If you train hard/long most days then recovery is HUGE. If you have several days between workouts then you will likely need much less Present day solutions !
| Energy Pudding |
| Amount | Measure | Description |
| 2 | Each | Bananas |
| 0.25 | cup | Ground flaxseed |
| 0.25 | cup | Roasted Carob or Cacao nibs |
| 1 | tbsp | Coconut oil |
| 1 | tsp | Lemon juice |
| 0.25 | tsp | Sea Salt |
| | |
| Energy Variation: add 2 tsp ground Yerba maté |
(sample PALEO in ride solution)
These are some of our findings ... not the only way but worth considering and trying ! Please do Follow up with Questions/Comments.
Peter and Steve
