Crawls Posted April 19, 2013 Share Posted April 19, 2013 I'm competing at a high-level swim meet during days 23-25 of the Whole30. Like others on this forum, I've been dragging through training workouts since starting the program (16 days ago), but I've stayed 100% on task with food. I'm really nervous because I feel like I have to choose between staying W30 compliant for the last few days (SO CLOSE!!) and not wanting to negatively impact my pe r formance and that of my team due to fueling issues. I have increased my intake of sweet potatoes and other starchy veg the days I have practice and have noticed a bit of a boost, but I'm definitely still struggling. Tell me - is day 23 far enough along that I'll be feeling more like myself (the elusive 'tiger blood')? Or do I have to consider going back to non-veg carbs for performance sake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tom Denham Posted April 19, 2013 Moderators Share Posted April 19, 2013 Eventually you should be able to compete while doing a Whole30, but adjustment times vary. You might want to take a break from your Whole30 and come back to it during a period when you are not competing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vkanders Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 What events are you swimming? I did 2 swim meets during my Whole 30 and found that I did pretty well in distance events (400-500). Not so much 50s and 100s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawls Posted April 22, 2013 Author Share Posted April 22, 2013 Thanks for the feedback, unfortunately I don't see a 30-day break in competing/training for at least 6 months (swimming and triathlon season), and I'd hate to put it off that long. Either I'm going to stay strict and just try and eat starchy veg the night before and during the competition and just hope for the best, or I'll just have to modify the Whole30 into Whole22. It makes me sad because I can't believe I've managed for follow it perfectly so far (19 days!) to cut it short, but that may be the best I can do. I've seen great benefits - my stomach hasn't bothered me at all, where previously I was having numerous stomach aches a week, and my Reynaud's hasn't been triggered at all, even with the crazy cold spring we've been having! Vkanders - I'm swimming the 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1650 free. In practice I feel ok with the short stuff, but I just start running out of gas in the longer distances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vkanders Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 What do you think you would add into your diet to improve your swimming that isn't Whole 30 compliant? Since you don't need mid-race fueling for any of those events, it seems like you have plenty of compliant options for on-deck snacks between events. With respect to difficulties at longer distances, you might still be moving towards fat adaptation, in which case, snacking on high glycemic index foods, such as dates, while on deck between events could keep your glycogen levels sufficiently topped off. Hang in there! I understand the frustration with trying to shoehorn a Whole30 into a racing season; I had to start mine 4 days after a marathon so that it wouldn't negatively impact training for a half ironman 9 weeks later. Maybe the solution for you at this time is to follow the Whole30 principles during the racing season, supplementing with sports nutrition products as needed, and then do the Whole30 after the season is over this fall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flynn.196 Posted May 11, 2013 Share Posted May 11, 2013 Try loading up on starchy fruits and vegetables all the time!! If you're an athlete you can definitely be okay with increased carbs while still staying compliant. Bananas! Sweet potatoes! Dried fruit!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.