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Click to view Gregolowe's profile Legend 324 posts since
Jul 6, 2006

Jul 30, 2006 7:16 PM

No

I am thinking of eating Paleolithic style, only fruits and veggies for carbs. Will this provide enough energy for running in general, and an ultra speicifically?
Click to view teetime's profile Legend 459 posts since
Aug 17, 2002
1. Jul 30, 2006 7:33 PM in response to: Gregolowe
Was your subject line an attempt to answer your own question?

I guess if you became really good friends with potaters and corn and really starchy bananas you might be okay (I'm guessing grains like rice are out?)
Click to view kellohaha's profile Amateur 23 posts since
Jul 12, 2006
3. Jul 30, 2006 10:08 PM in response to: Gregolowe
quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gregolowe:
the subject line was a mistake. Potatoes, dairy, and grains are out. Meat, nuts, fruits, veggies. A little natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup are okay. Purists even have a problem with that. It's a hunter-gatherer diet. <HR>


arent potatoes and grains 'gathered'? or are you talking prefire days in which case youd better cut out the meat too lol

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'mostly organic, completely natural, totally good!'
Click to view reboot's profile Legend 398 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
6. Jul 30, 2006 10:48 PM in response to: Gregolowe
I guess if you want to emulate a diet that supported a lifespan that probably averaged about 20 years, then your diet might do it. As for supporting an ultra, I can't think of any knowledgeable person who would recommend it.

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gotta run...
Click to view fitjc's profile Amateur 36 posts since
Sep 15, 2005
7. Jul 31, 2006 12:20 AM in response to: Gregolowe
I have been eating the Paleo way since feb 06. I love it. I feel so clean and heathy. I am a marathoner and I am now training for a half Ironman in 2 weeks. The diet provides plenty of fuel, but I would highly suggest you buy the book, "Paleo Diet for Athletes" by Joe Cordien and Joe Freil. ( I may have screwed up spelling their names). The book discusses the changes in the diet needed for performance eating for and athlete. This is a MUST! You need to follow it to be sure to replace the needed fuel.

Good Luck!
Click to view bigapplepie's profile We're Not Worthy 2,636 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
8. Jul 31, 2006 12:27 AM in response to: Gregolowe
If you hunt your own meat on foot then your running should improve.
Click to view Beer Gut's profile Pro 68 posts since
May 27, 2003
10. Jul 31, 2006 12:24 PM in response to: Gregolowe
I thought the Paleo's ate Wooly Mammoths, tree moss, a lot of pleistocenes and stuff like that. They were more "gatherer-hunters" than "hunter-gatherers," by the way.

You gotta go gather and hunt your own stuff, right? Or it doesn't count? Sounds like a long term camping trip to me, which could be fun after a couple years. What did they make Gatorade out of, saber-tooth tiger gland extract? Did they have falcons to hunt with in Paleo-ville? I don't know.

But I agree with the thread title. No, I don't think it would be a good diet for ultra-running, more like something to boast about at a party (drinking only grog fermented in a hole in a rock, of course).
Click to view TrailOBite's profile Legend 358 posts since
Feb 13, 2006
11. Jul 31, 2006 12:54 PM in response to: Gregolowe
No.....they all died very young,too.
Click to view bigapplepie's profile We're Not Worthy 2,636 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
12. Jul 31, 2006 1:09 PM in response to: Gregolowe
quote:<HR>Originally posted by TrailOBite:
No.....they all died very young,too.

<HR>

You certainly don't see too many of them around.
Click to view Leezle's profile Community Moderator 89 posts since
Dec 14, 2007
13. Jul 31, 2006 2:34 PM in response to: Gregolowe
What is the point? Why not stick with the standard recommended diet?
Click to view HSunshine's profile Pro 196 posts since
Sep 15, 2003
14. Jul 31, 2006 2:53 PM in response to: Gregolowe
Bad idea. For an ultra you need to load up on lots of complex carbs, foods that will give you energy over a long period of time.

Also, you likely won't be able to eat enough fruit to get the carb calories you need - you'll get full on fiber and water too quickly. And your intestines probably won't be happy on race day. The day before a race or a long run, you'll want to eat perhaps 2000 calories of carbs (depending on your weight, etc). That would be 20 bananas or 25 apples, etc - that's just too much volume, too much fiber and way too much simple sugar.

You can eat healthy and "clean" without going nuts. I will say that it's likely not "impossible" - someone with a long history of ultra racing could probably do it. But why? It would likely lead to sub-optimal performance and a lot of time, er, off the trail and in the woods.