Nope, no gym selfies here. Not even two Marshawn Lynch references. Beast mode in this case refers to the primal diet that Mila and I have (mostly) been following since mid April. I wanted to dig a little deeper into it today, especially since I haven't had anything significant happening in running since my last post. OK well I did get tricked by a pitbull last night. Ran up to me wagging his tail all friendly looking, once he was behind me he started snarling and barking and had to be called back by his owner. I just kept thinking "THAT'S NOT SNOWFLAKE!!!"
I have long known that eating was a key component missing from my training. I've gotten quicker over the last couple of years through hard training and great coaching, but there is a ceiling to that improvement.
In listening to Trail Runner Nation (trailrunnernation.com), many athletes talk about becoming "fat burning beasts." Last year, at the expo for the Air Force Marathon, we listened to Dr. Mark Cucuzella (naturalrunningcenter.com) talk about his diet and how he wouldn't even be eating spaghetti that night. I, a guy that felt like I was dying if I didn't have a Gu every 45 minutes during a run, was intrigued. So intrigued that I decided to give it a try that night. Don't do that. It's a very, very bad idea. After starting strong, I was sapped by mile 9 and finished well over my goal.
However, through the various podcasts I listen to, I just couldn't escape people talking about a low carb, high fat diet. And, it wasn't only runners but UFC fighters, triathletes, professional speed golfers (yeah, I found out that that's a real thing), and people that just generally like to get in shape. Finally, I figured that I'd heard enough anecdotal evidence to give it a try. However, instead of just jumping into it, I decided to do my research first. I bought two of Mark Sisson's books, Primal Endurance and The Primal Blueprint, and checked out his website (marksdailyapple.com). After reading them, I waited until we had moved here to San Angelo to give it a shot.
Here's what we found:
The hardest part was the first 21 days. According to the books, these days are key in transforming your body was primarily a sugar burner to a fat burner. The first week was especially rough. We were hungry! However, we were told to expect this. After that first week, it started to get easier and the weight started coming off. I lost 4 pounds in the first week, 7 in the first 11 days. After 21 days, Sisson says that your genes have been reprogrammed enough to really get the benefits and you can ease up a little. (meaning occasional sweet potatoes and even black beans are sometimes OK)
The diet is working so far. We're nearly two months in and I've lost 11 pounds. Mila has only lost a couple but she's getting more defined. The diet has made us get to know the local farmer's market, eat more vegetables, less unhealthy food, and eat more fresh foods. And, hey, my chest finally sticks out further than my stomach again!
The negative is the modern world. It's incredibly hard to be social without a beer, a sandwich, a pop, or a taco. You have to plan ahead because it's very hard to just grab something quickly while staying within the parameters of what Grok would have eaten. I miss sweets, mountain dew, pizza, even pasta. Physically, I'm doing great. Mentally, it's tough.
I'm not here to preach, tell you that you have to live like I am, or even that you should. I'm not even sure if it'll be good for me in the long run. But, I'm going to keep at it, at least until I get those marathon results in January.
Here's proof that Mila's sticking to it:
I have long known that eating was a key component missing from my training. I've gotten quicker over the last couple of years through hard training and great coaching, but there is a ceiling to that improvement.
In listening to Trail Runner Nation (trailrunnernation.com), many athletes talk about becoming "fat burning beasts." Last year, at the expo for the Air Force Marathon, we listened to Dr. Mark Cucuzella (naturalrunningcenter.com) talk about his diet and how he wouldn't even be eating spaghetti that night. I, a guy that felt like I was dying if I didn't have a Gu every 45 minutes during a run, was intrigued. So intrigued that I decided to give it a try that night. Don't do that. It's a very, very bad idea. After starting strong, I was sapped by mile 9 and finished well over my goal.
However, through the various podcasts I listen to, I just couldn't escape people talking about a low carb, high fat diet. And, it wasn't only runners but UFC fighters, triathletes, professional speed golfers (yeah, I found out that that's a real thing), and people that just generally like to get in shape. Finally, I figured that I'd heard enough anecdotal evidence to give it a try. However, instead of just jumping into it, I decided to do my research first. I bought two of Mark Sisson's books, Primal Endurance and The Primal Blueprint, and checked out his website (marksdailyapple.com). After reading them, I waited until we had moved here to San Angelo to give it a shot.
Here's what we found:
The hardest part was the first 21 days. According to the books, these days are key in transforming your body was primarily a sugar burner to a fat burner. The first week was especially rough. We were hungry! However, we were told to expect this. After that first week, it started to get easier and the weight started coming off. I lost 4 pounds in the first week, 7 in the first 11 days. After 21 days, Sisson says that your genes have been reprogrammed enough to really get the benefits and you can ease up a little. (meaning occasional sweet potatoes and even black beans are sometimes OK)
The diet is working so far. We're nearly two months in and I've lost 11 pounds. Mila has only lost a couple but she's getting more defined. The diet has made us get to know the local farmer's market, eat more vegetables, less unhealthy food, and eat more fresh foods. And, hey, my chest finally sticks out further than my stomach again!
The negative is the modern world. It's incredibly hard to be social without a beer, a sandwich, a pop, or a taco. You have to plan ahead because it's very hard to just grab something quickly while staying within the parameters of what Grok would have eaten. I miss sweets, mountain dew, pizza, even pasta. Physically, I'm doing great. Mentally, it's tough.
I'm not here to preach, tell you that you have to live like I am, or even that you should. I'm not even sure if it'll be good for me in the long run. But, I'm going to keep at it, at least until I get those marathon results in January.
Here's proof that Mila's sticking to it:
 |
| She finally threw out all the grains that were still in our pantry |
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