Initial thoughts on diet adjustment

Nutrition
105

Supplements for B12 are very common. For serious cases, B12 injections are necessary, but often normal human being can get their B12 from supplements. (Makes me wonder if I should add a B12 supplement)

As far as ‘food’, the amount of grains and vegetables that are fed to animals could actually solve world wide hunger. The amount of people that can be fed on the amount of meat is a pittance compared to the amount that could be fed on what ‘we’ feed them year over year.

It’s not even close!

If we fed people instead of bottom lines of the meat industry, world wide hunger would have a chance of being eradicated. We are wasting so much on so little, for a damn piece of meat. The meat industry is wasting amazing amounts of vegetative food on their product that denies so many of heath and safety. Plus, as I mentioned, the waste and gaseous byproducts of the meat industry is taking a huge toll on the environment and surrounding communities health. The meat industry, as it’s currently run, is unsustainable.

Just 55 percent of the world’s crop calories are actually eaten directly by people. Another 36 percent is used for animal feed.

In some studies, the share for animal feed is even higher among certain crops. (This is from a 2014 article)

106

Less about that and more about bemoaning the well-documented harmful effects of fruit (?) but not applying the same standard to alcohol (which actually DOES have well-documented harmful effects).

This thread is bananas man.

107

I see what you did there :eyes:

108

There’s just so many layers. The whole thread is like a backwards logic onion.

109

So let’s split hairs? Sugars are addictive. Wall Street knows that, and the manufactured ‘food’ industry knows it too, all too well.

Did you know that the same brands that are sold here, are manufactured for sale in Europe and other countries without the excessive amounts of sugar and salt? Seriously. It’s amazing. They are not programmed to crave the high amounts of those contaminants.

110

Diet adjustment?

Less sugars.
Less (no) alcohol.
Less salt.
Less meat (couple of servings a week)
Eliminate processed meats and overly tainted fruits and vegetables.
More leafy greens.
Generally more organics.

Spend less time arguing on social media.

And, ironically, try to stay away from artificial sweeteners. (Makes my head swim)

111

What I do changes nothing about the fact that fruits are not healthy for our oral cavity. That’s not just some correlation but we know pretty well how this happens mechanistically

112

Meat can kick you in the head and kill you, therefore it should be avoided. This seems like an equally valid position to take based on logic as the one you’re taking with fruit.

113

Avoiding fruit because sugar is bad for your teeth seems like the tail wagging the dog to me. By that same token, getting meat stuck between your teeth is bad for your gums, thus it’s smart to floss after. But maybe it’s OK because you have fingernails and can just pick at your teeth?

Again, exclusionary dieting for any reason, but especially “because it’s what we evolved to do” is usually not optimal, and often espoused by people who are selling you something. That’s the real irony of The Omnivore’s Dilemma. While accurate about why sugar replaced fat in the US, so many people have jumped on that for marketing and capitalist purposes, choosing those diets to “stick it to capitalism” doesn’t make any sense to me. (Not saying you do that, but it seems some have).

Anyway, I’ve eaten fruit my whole life, and a lot of it, 46 years old, zero cavities or dental issues. I’ll keep on.

The idea that I can walk out to one of ten fruit trees in my yard, many of which I personally planted, pick a sweet, juicy, tree-ripened apple or peach or nectarine off - one that’s never been touched by a single chemical - and eat it, and somehow that’s bad for me… that’s just not true IMO.

114

I don’t think it’s splitting hairs to point out that someone smoking crack and someone eating doritos are not having the same experience and the desire to have just one more are frankly not comparable, and it’s ridiculous that that apparently needs to be said.

115

Interesting.
Back in the 90s I was on a training camp run by Dave Scott (the legendary triathlete) and I remember sneaking a cheese ,salad roll when he wasn’t looking!
Fat was the food of the Devil :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:
There are plenty of Fad diets around on social media nowadays, but in the end you’ve got to go with what suits your body, and your training.
If you are doing a lot of steady miles maybe you can cope with lots of red meat.
My opinion is that a Keto diet is not great for an athlete unless all you do is z1&2.
You need carbohydrates, and food that will be easy on your digestive system, and will fuel your intense sessions and races.
For your gut, you want food that will pass quickly through your digestive system.
Meat is slow to digest.

So you could try substituting some of your meat meals with fish, and chicken.

I would avoid processed foods at all costs, and cook from scratch.

This is just my opinion, I’m not a nutritionist, or qualified to advise in any way.

116

I’ve found that low carb, in whatever term you want to use, is an effective way to lose weight. But if you are training it has a big negative impact on your ability to do harder efforts. I just felt really flat and Z2 was okay but basically none of my workouts felt good.

117

One thing Indon’t like is the whole…“everyones body is different and reacts differently” thing.

That’s just not true in a meaningful way…barring serious allergies. We’re all human beings, with nearly identical body chemistry. Any differences from person to person are relatively minute in the grand scheme of things. It’s not like some of us are human, and some are iguanas.

I think people use sayings like this sometimes to avoid clear data, and just decide that they are different/special to justify choosing their preference rather than the right choice.

118

Don’t think this is accurate…some people can have very different health issues arise due to family genetics, etc. heart disease being the obvious example.

toribath 119

5 Likes
120

@jiffylush I know it has hugely improved my health, yes. For MY goals, both in my training, and general health.

I ride because: 1 – Super fun! 2 – Health Benefits, both short term and long term 3 – To get as fast as I can, and win races when I can. In that order.

I don’t support the idea of dumping absolutely anything into your body, no matter the health consequences, to go faster. I mean, if that’s the goal, we should all just take drugs, right? We’re supposed to be eating whatever can make us faster that is healthy.

Before going HFLC & IF, I used to be quite crashy, needed to smash a PB sandwich or something else 30 – 45 mins before any strong swim, ride, run, etc. Constantly crashing in the AMs, mid – late PM, etc, needing to drink sugar [ “fruit juice” ] to bounce back. Often light headed, spacey, fainty, weak, tired, sleepy, super ‘hangry’, etc.

I haven’t felt the sensation that people call “hungry” in about 2 years now. [That isn’t hunger = the actual need to eat food, made of protein and fat. That is the feeling of low blood sugar combined with having poor insulin sensitivity, so your body can’t moderate your blood sugar levels itself, so you need to ingest sugar to correct it.] I just know mentally that the tank is probably needing a top up. But I can fast for 24 – 36 hours without any symptoms at all, or sensations of “hungry”, low energy, etc.

In my riding, I’m relatively new to TR & structured, Nov 2022, but I’ve been riding hard, free-training including indoors over winter & Zwift racing [low level] for 6 – 8 years now. My longest was a 6 hr endurance – tempo ride with no fuel in 32 C = 90 F heat. Super high energy throughout, and after. Didn’t do it as any kind of test. Had lunch, went for a ride, had dinner. Via 2 – 3 AI FTP rounds and some testing of threshold WOs, I know my FTP for TR is really dialed in [def not too low], and I’m able to complete and advance my PLs in VO2 & anaerobics. I’ve increased my TR FTP 20% since Nov 2022 [Gotta love those beginner gains, right? Wish THAT could continue! LOL] and am now at 2.8 w/kg, which while not high overall, I think is pretty good for being strictly LV with inability to fit in any additional rides, don’t commute by bike, etc. Also, life has kept me from scoring anywhere near 100% on my plan adherence. And that does tons of damage to progress, of course. I think I will break 3 w/k soon if I stick to it, hopefully one day 3.5.

Have been HFLC & IF for about 18 – 24 mo now. So getting much stronger during this time, although that’s due to the increase in training. But it does mean my eating habits & lifestyle are not stopping me from getting stronger, and most notably, not stopping me from completing very high intensity WOs. I did d’Aujour, anaerobic 7.6, on Jun 16, and marked it just Hard. Boucher VO2 max 8.6 Jun 26, also just Hard. And I have done many Very Hard, and All Outs, and am not embarrassed or afraid to call them such, when they are. I’m not “pretending they were only Hard” to impress strangers on the internet, or make myself feel cool as I sit in a sweaty puddle on my bike! :slight_smile: [Although I really try to avoid putting myself in All Out holes!!!] So I’m far from “unable to do high intensity”.

Plus it’s just SUPER convenient. Lunch, come home, ride, dinner. Or lunch, ride all afternoon, dinner. No need to obsess about fueling, planning and bringing snacks, dosing every 30 - 90 mins, etc.

I’m not an alien! There are a ton of athletes, including some semi-pro / pro, who are using HFLC & IF. I always encourage people to give it a shot. Only takes about 1 – 4 weeks to start feeling the benefits, and see whether or not you dig it. I mean, if someone told me something might massively improve my quality of life and health, and it was pretty easy and fast to try, I’d at least give it a shot. That’s how I’m here!

I also eat treats pretty much whenever I damn well please. Few times a week I’ll have a dessert or treat, or some fries, etc.

Also worth note: My blood chemistry is perfect. Cholesterol, insulin, sugars, Na, K, etc. Last year’s physical & this year, just a few mo ago, 5/5 stars.

All positives, no downsides so far. IDK man, why not give it a shot? Then at least you could tell us HFLC - IF people you know for sure we’re fit for the loony bin!! :laughing:

121

Yes of course. I don’t mean to make it sound like we’re identical. Of course we have varying levels of responses to different chemicals/nutrients. Like salt and hypertension is a good example of this.

I just don’t buy though, that for example, fruit healthy for some of us, while unhealthy for others. That’s just silliness.

122

I initially responded to someone here in this thread that replied to my that meat causes cardiovascular disease. There is no scientific proof that meat actually causes cardiovascular disease not any other harm unlike for instance fruits which can cause harm and we have a pretty good idea how and why mechanistically.

123

@Abe_Froman as I said earlier, I’m too old, don’t have the energy to debate!! :slight_smile: I’m not debating with anyone […hope I’m not! Hope my tone has been as intended!], and don’t even want to persuade anyone, if they’re really set on loving sugar, that’s their jam. Cool stuff. :slight_smile: So I really don’t need or want to waste my time digging up too too many “sources to back up”, etc. I’ve shared a few that I thought were neat / relevant.

I’m just sharing info, and chatting, for those who are interested to learn, or rather see a different perspective. I think some people would be. And I’ve enjoyed the chat, and answering questions, so far.

124

Surely you understand though, that when you say things that directly contradict accepted reality, debate is the only logical outcome, yes?