Caving in

The cave girl has left the building.  Well, for now anyway.  Inspired by my recent reading into all things 'paleo', I've been avoiding sugar and grains for six weeks or so now, trying to find out whether it makes me feel better.  It doesn't.  Okay, I may have had a few lapses during that time.  The race weekend was a big one.  But on the whole I've done well to stay off bread, pasta and sugary things (even cake).  It has been hard work!  I'd planned to stick it out through October, but I feel even more tired than I did before, and I think it's now time to agree it's not for me. 

I can't call it a true 'paleo' experiment because I've slipped up so many times.  The tiredness has probably been caused by the sheer exhaustion of looking for something I'm allowed to eat.  I've always disagreed with the idea of cutting out whole food groups unnecessarily, but I wanted to give this a chance. It turns out that 'Paleo' and vegetarianism really don't mix.  It's been almost impossible to find things to eat, and I've ended up eating far too much cheese, potatoes and nuts.  I tried eating more fish but the truth is, I don't like it.  I think the only way to do 'paleo' and stay healthy is to eat lean meat and fish.  But I'm not ready to give up being vegetarian, even for a short while. 


Brian did do really well in the couple of races he took part in soon after we altered our eating pattern.  So there are certain elements that I think we will keep up.  Gone is the never-ending supply of supermarket bread.  And the evening snacks of chocolate and cereal.  But I still believe there isn't anything wrong with the occasional cake.  So I think the way forward is to think less about what not to eat and more about what to eat.  The extra veggies, soups, eggs, nuts and, oh okay, a little bit of fish will stay. 

I love nutrition. The more you read into any nutrition topic, the more you learn that nothing is black and white.  Paleo diet advocates will tell you that grains are bad for you and should be eliminated.  Carb-lovers will tell you that saturated fat is the work of the devil.  I think there's good and bad in most things.  Take quinoa as an example.  If I believed everything in 'The Paleo Solution' I'd never touch it again, on account of the fact that it contains saponins, which apparently punch holes in your gut.  Nice.  Just reading about it made me feel like I'd been punched in the stomach.  But these aren't just found in quinoa, they're also present in onions, spinach, peppers, tomato seed and asparagus, all of which are okay in the 'paleo' world.  A review in the British Journal of Nutrition explains that saponins have a range of positive and negative effects.  Although, in test tube conditions, they have been shown to increase the permeability of gut mucosal cells, they also boost the immune system (not necessarily a good thing if you have an autoimmune condition), lower cholesterol and inhibit the growth of cancer cells.  Food is supposed to be pleasurable, and I don't want to spend my life miserable, eating things I hate and obsessing over what harm one food may do to me.  A varied diet should balance out the pros and cons of individual foods.

I'm not saying that 'paleo' isn't the perfect way to eat.  It may well be for many people, and I would support anyone who wanted to give it a try.  But the perfect diet is only the perfect diet if it's something you can stick to.

Diet dilemmas

Looking back over my posts, I realise I haven't got very far with my 'looking better in jeans' goal.  That may have something to do with the fact that, although I eat really healthily, I love food. A lot.

I have never, ever been on a 'diet' that I could stick to. Every week I look at magazines that contain a 2 page spread entitled something like 7 lb in 7 days, Weight loss made easy or 4 weeks to your dream body, with a chart of banned items and a meal plan for the week. Prescriptive diets work for some people but not me. I'm a vegetarian who could be described as fussy (I can eat anything except smelly cheese but I'm not a big fan of mushrooms or aubergines) so that rules out a fair few menu options.

Anyway, diets are usually only a short term fix. They can be great for kick-starting weight loss or a change of eating habits, but they get really tedious over time. That's not to say I haven't tried a few fads in my time. Here are two of the most ridiculous:

• Dr Joshi's Holistic Detox I was tempted by this one after eating too many chocolates over Christmas one year, mainly because it's veggie. The principles of eating lots of green vegetables, tofu and rice were great but I got bored after a couple of days and just wanted to eat a red pepper. It banned 'nightshade' vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes, claiming that they're acid-forming, but there were far too many contradictions about what this actually meant and too many healthy foods were forbidden.
• The Master Cleanse Against all my better judgement I gave this a go. I'm generally willing to give most things a chance to see if they work, even if they do sound ridiculous.  And at the time, Beyonce had popularised this one. Basically it involves nothing but maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in hot water. I think I lasted three-quarters of a day on it before I gave up. I didn't feel hungry, but my teeth really hurt from all the sugar!

The challenge for me is that, although I know plenty about nutrition, I have a weakness for cakes and chocolate and a habit of eating man-sized portions when I'm with my husband. If I'm ever going to be a decent cyclist, I need to be in great shape. So, my focus for the next few weeks will be to simply trim my portions slightly and limit unhealthy snacks. Let's see how it goes...

Fad free fitness

I picked up my new issue of Runner's World and had a skim through a couple of the nutrition articles. I started to think, if I were to follow every piece of advice in this and all the other magazines and newspapers I buy, what would I end up eating? Well, in week 1 of my "Perfect running month", I might try supplementing my diet with spirulina powder, co-enzyme Q10, asian ginseng and glutamine. I'd snack on baked potatoes instead of bananas, spread Marmite on my porridge and include some fresh marjoram in all my salads. Hmm. Not very realistic, is it? The thing is, although I have a degree in nutrition and I'm qualified as a personal trainer, I still feel tempted to follow every month's revolutionary new diet or fitness plan. Not any more! This year, I'm inventing my own plan. There will be no detoxes, superfoods, exoticly-named supplements or expensive classes. Just plain old healthy eating and exercise.