My aim with this experiment was to determine if a low fat raw vegan diet was the ideal diet for my goals as an ultra marathoner. If I found out it was beneficial, the experiment would be a success. However if I determined the diet is not beneficial to my training, the experiment would be a success.
Now something happened that I did not expect. I have ended the experiment before really determining whether or not the diet is beneficial. Why? Well, I simply cannot afford eating 4000 calories of fruit every day.
Here is my "review" of a Low Fat Raw Vegan diet
The good
I felt fantastic! My running was definitely not negatively influenced at all. Was it positively effected? I have no idea. I can't say I felt better from the diet after only 3 weeks, but I definitely did not feel worse.
Simple. Just eat fruit. No leeway with the "diet"
My food prep and clean up was cut by at least 80%. Eat a watermelon while checking morning emails. There was only three things to wash and it took 30 seconds to cut it in half. Sooo easy!
The bad
Gas. I'm not kidding, during last night's 5 mile run I probably farted 10 times.
Cravings. It is hard to get over them. Salt, fat, crispy french fries. Etc
Calorie counting. To make sure I get enough calories. The goal was to eat at least 4000, which I had difficulty doing.
Buying groceries. You simply cannot keep a week of fresh fruit and veggies around with only a single fridge.
Money. The main reason I quit. Not that it is overly expensive, just that it's more than I can afford right now. Hell, I'm an ultra marathoner and I can't even afford to buy a third pair of running shorts. You however do learn which foods are cheaper per 100 calories than others, very quickly. Dates, dried cherries, and bananas are fairly affordable.
Peeing a lot. Eating so much fruit keeps you hydrated. Over hydrated.
Speaking of raw food and farting...
The ugly
During my morning runs I was almost always worried about having to poop. I actually did not run far from the trails, just in case. During one long run I actually pooped twice! There was zero constipation, I just seemed to poop more along with having much more gas.
I never planned on staying on a totally raw diet, even if it did turn out to be beneficial. I simply enjoy cooking with Desi. However the things we cook together are almost always high carb low fat anyway, so it would have complimented the diet well. I would plan on incorporating more raw into my diet.
The most important thing I learned or realized from this diet is the importance of calories, and getting enough of them. The more calories a person eats, the more nutrients they consume. Assuming the food is whole food based, of course. I am a firm believer in not restricting calories, even to lose weight. Eat a good amount of whole food calories to your baseline, and exercise the weight loss off. Calories and food are your FUEL. Give your body what it needs! Even if you are in a calorie deficit from training, if you are eating 3000+ a day you are fueling and proving nutrients to your body.
So what is next? I do not know. I tried one extreme (raw veganism) so why should I not try the other (paleo diet)? I am not sure if I could ever eat meat again (or at least any time soon) but I would be up for adding eggs and maybe fish back into my diet. Doing some experimentation, see how it goes. We'll see. Keep you updated, of course :)
5 comments:
Hats off to you for even trying this much less pulling it off. I know I could never have done it. I love my carbs, fat, and protein way too much especially when it comes with beer on the side :)
BTW, "Gas. I'm not kidding, during last night's 5 mile run I probably farted 10 times." Too funny.
This was so much fun to follow! I have really enjoyed your posts on your experiment.
Mine lasted about 20 months and then I found I needed to add in a bit more to keep up with the massive calories required for the level of training I was doing. I suppose I could have gone with supplements, but I really prefer to not rely on those.
One thing to note, I think it is important to appreciate the seasons of the year when taking on a diet like this. It would be much more difficult, in my opinion, to grab watermelons for breakfast in January, unless you lived in an area where they were grown. Since I really try to buy as much local produce as possible, or even grow a bit on my own, there are limits to the variety of foods one can take on in the winter vs the summer.
I do love the veggies I can get. I add in a few eggs, a bit of fish and some chicken to up the calories.
Yes, the calories can be attained without the meat, but it requires ALOT more fruit and veggies, and I can't seem to eat that much that frequently. It became a full-time job to just eat! LOL
Very glad for you that you were able to do this! Don't be afraid to pull it out for a week or two when it feels right! Your experiment inspired me to take on my own challenge again. I am not completely vegan, but 95%. A bit of fish on Monday and the rest of the week was all fruits and veggies with a bit of brown rice. I feel so much better!
Have a great weekend and I look forward to your next adventure!
Thanks Stan and K! It was fun experimenting. I've done a lot of research in the last couple days and frankly do not think a raw diet is necesarily that beneficial in the first place. While it played to my emotions very well (minimalist diet, close to nature, simple, etc) I do not believe that it is ideal. From the amount of calories necessary to get enough PRO and FAT to how our body is simply not built to handle it as well as the primates (they have much more lower GI, which means they can hold onto that poop for a lot longer than we can). I had problems with a lot of gas and poop after only three weeks, and I was not even hitting my calorie goals! I can't imagine if I was actually eating as much raw fruit as some of the raw elite endurance athletes!
I've got a new experiment on the way, perhaps.
I was/am? on a very similar path :) I have done the Raw Vegan thing, and still consider myself predominantly so, but like you the PRICE, omg. I have 3 kids and a hubby who do not follow this diet and to try and feed us all on a budget...yeahno. We are all vegetarian, and I am usually vegan but I have added in fish and eggs as an experiment after talking with a fellow Ultra peep who follows Paleo and is doing well. I also have a very hard time eating enough calories, as I tend to be full before I can consume enough, plus food allergies. I have seen what some raw endurance athletes eat and I simpy cannot put that VOLUME of food in my stomach and they must eat constantly! I have kids and a life, I am lucky if I eat 3x a day, lol. ENjoyed reading your story!
You really should check out Jillian Michael's book, Mastering Your Metabolism, wherein she discusses some amazing research behind how food impacts various parts of the endocrine system. It's a must-read for someone as serious as you about determining the maximum impact of what you are consuming without packing on extra weight (and leveraging nutrients for high performance). Great experiment, and interesting findings!
Post a Comment