What is the “right” diet for athletes?
I went to the bookstore over the weekend and was perusing the Health section, only to find a massive cluster of diet books and all kinds of widely differing ways to lose weight. What is the right diet? I’m not convinced there is one right diet, but there are ideas in the nutrition world based on science!
I flipped through a few of the really trendy ones like “Skinny Bitch”, and found a few tidbits of helpful information, but for the most part, authors are relying on flawed studies and the many times debunked, caloric theory of weight loss (burn more calories than you consume to lose weight).
One book that caught my eye was The Paleo Diet for Athletes. The Paleo Diet looks at what our Stone Age ancestors ate and adapts that to what we humans should likely be eating today. This book particularly focuses on athletes, who they claim, do in fact need slightly more carbohydrates than non-athletes- but no where near the carbo-loading crazed status quo indicates! The key is what specific carbohydrates should athletes be eating, and when?
I can’t wait to read the entire book, since I work with triathletes and swimmers as well at peak performance, and do the occasional half marathon myself. I have eaten a fairly low carb diet for about a decade now, but when I get around other athletes, most are still obsessed with carbs. I think it’s time we finally moved beyond these old ways of thinking and relied on new scientific discoveries instead of remaining in our comfort zones!
You will enjoy Paleo Diet for Athletes. It’s written by Loren Cordain, a university professor, and co-authored by Joe Friel, so you know it’s good and its relevant to athletes. While not super high in carbs, this book discusses how to get enough carbs for training and racing.
While the premise of this book sounds reasonable (eat like our pre-agriculture ancestors since this is what we were adapted to), you also have to keep in mind that these same ancestors only lived into their 30s. So is this really the optimal diet if we want to live to 100??
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Great book. I combined it with reading Robb Wolf. Hunter gatherers were taller, no sign of dental caries or bone degeneration. The cookbook it great. Nell Stephenson has her own website. Does Ironman as a Paleo athlete and looks amazing!!
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