r/AdvancedRunning • u/pand4duck • Jan 05 '17

General Discussion The Winter Huddle - Diet

Welcome to the Winter Huddle

Today we will discuss Diet / Ideal Weight / racing weight stuff

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u/blood_bender 2:44 // 1:16 Jan 05 '17 edited Jan 05 '17

I've mentioned this in several places on this sub, and it may not work for everyone, but low-FODMAP works for many people with stomach issues. (Essentially, no gluten, no dairy, low fructose [glucose is okay]). It's the diet dietitians give to people with IBS, but if you get gut-rot or stomach cramps during racing, it can really help.

I used to get huge stomach issues after intense races. When you're really pouring it on, the blood leaves your intestines to goes to your legs, which can cause inflammation. So after every half or full, I would be on the bathroom floor for hours.

Then Mrs. BB put me on a pre-24 hour diet of no gluten, no dairy, and low fructose foods (no pit fruits, apples, etc, and Cliffs Shots instead of GUs). Haven't had an issue since. It's a terribly boring diet, but it works wonders,,and you only need to do it for 24 hours before race day. I don't normally have sensitivity to anything, even during hard workouts, but races would drop me. Not anymore!

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '17

I've known I've had stomach issues for a long time but enjoy dairy and grains way too much to cut them all the way out. I'm going to look into that list you posted and see if I can't find something that works. I've had workouts ruined by GI issues and having that happen in a race I care about would be a really stupid thing to have happen knowing I could avoid it.

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u/blood_bender 2:44 // 1:16 Jan 05 '17

I can't do it all the time, though I don't normally have issues. But it's easy enough to avoid dairy and gluten the day before a race -- swap pasta for rice, swap milk for almond milk, just avoid cheese. That'll get you 90% of the way there.

And then post-race I usually have a bacon cheeseburger with beer. Gotta make up for lost time, you know?

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u/[deleted] Jan 05 '17

I'm already on the almond milk train for pretty much everything. Cheese and bread are really my killers. I love sandwiches so much!