Paleo. Plus Running. Equal Slow Down?
In the past year, I have heard of so many individuals “going Paleo”. The Paleo Diet - aka Caveman Diet - is one where your food intake is diminished to only the very basics: vegetables, fruit, meat, nuts, fish and eggs, therefore eliminating grain products, excess sugar, vegetable oils, legumes and dairy. For more information on the actual diet, check out the Paleo Diet Lifestyle website.
One of the challenges with Paleo is the elimination of most carbohydrates from the diet. On the diet, the primary consumption of carbohydrates is through fruit. As most runners know, the primary fuel for running is carbohydrates - so how is it possible for runners to go Paleo?
Here’s what happens upon the first week of going on a Paleo-type diet:
- Your body uses up all sugars in your bloodstream and liver (can take up to three days)
- Slowly, your metabolism starts using fat as fuel instead of sugar (aka carbs).
- Some people complain of headaches and of being tired and low energy during this period of time - typically, after 10 days, your body is fully adjusted to your new eating habits.
So what about running? More specifically, what about your running performance? From experience, I know that performing well on a lower carbohydrate diet is very difficult. Here’s why:
When you are performing at your absolute max (what is called your VO2Max - think puke, completely out of breath, wanting to give up..), your body is using almost 100% sugars as fuel. The reason behind this is because your body is in an anaerobic state (out of breath because of a lack of oxygen) and only sugars/carbs can be metabolised in the absence of oxygen. The lower the intensity level, the lower the percentage of sugars/carbs your body is using as fuel (this is why certain cardio machines have a “fat burning zone”). If one were to perform at a level of 50 to 60% of their max, they would be using almost entirely fats as their source of fuel. anywhere between 60 and 80% of your maximal capacity is a combination of both fuels.
To calculate the approximate heart rate in these ranges, use this calculation:
220 - (your age) = A - this is your maximal heart rate
A - (resting heart rate) = B
A X (percentage of exercise intensity) + B = heart rate at that exercise intensity
How can this be applied? If you are in a race and you are expecting to hold a pace that is at 80% of your max output for the entire duration of the race - your only option is to incorporate some form of sugars into your diet prior to the run as it is physiologically impossible to hold a level of exertion higher than 80% of your max for a prolonged period of time strictly with the use as fat for fuel. All this to say - if you go totally carb-less, expect to slow down the pace and the intensity of your running. And if you’re not ready to do this, then carbo loading must be your friend at least 48 hours prior to race day.
Of course, as is everything, this only applies to those who are not incorporating much fruit or starchy veggies (ie. sweet potatoes) into their diet. It can be quite easy to get enough carbs/sugars into your system to sustain prolonged bouts of high intensity training all while being faithful to your paleo lifestyle. I know MANY runners who have succesfully done this and swear by it.The trick is to know when and how to incorporate specific carbs into your diet.
For information on this check out Paleo for Athletes. Great resource for athletes interested in going Paleo and/or experimenting with their nutrition!
