One of the things I learned this year by training for an IRONMAN was to trust my intuition and trust the way I feel. I verified this by taking 1-2 days off of training per week (most people don't take any days off for at least 3 weeks in a row) and by not pushing myself too hard when I felt tired. I maxed out at 12 hours of training per week when my plan called for 16-20 hours - and I had a race PR.
One of the things that I knew wasn't going well during my training was my nutrition. They say to train with what you're going to use on the course. This meant Gatorade and gels. Going into this I had done a great job of removing sugar and junk from my diet and I knew that there had to be another way to handle nutrition for this training... but I had been out of the game for so long and I was in a race against time to get ready for this IM. Frankly, I just never figured out another way to handle it. I decided to "let that one go." And by letting go, I gained 8 pounds while training for an IM (seriously) and worse, created a sugar addiction with all the symptoms that go along with that.
Now that I'm post IRONMAN, I'm able to slow down and re-calibrate. The real reason why I'm taking the time to fix this isn't because of the weight gain. It's because I was starting to experience a whole slew of symptoms which I identified as a hormonal imbalance.
I've been keyed into hormonal imbalance since having kids. We experience a total body change with hormones through pregnancy, breast feeding, lack of sleep, and stress. Ironically, training for the IRONMAN raised my stress levels so high that I didn't have time to deal with things like eating well, which deepened my hormonal imbalances.
Here are some of the things that went wrong:
Right before my period I would get intense depression, anger, and frustration. To solve this, I went on a birth control pill that would make it so I wouldn't get my period for 3 months in a row (in an effort to not have that hormonal dip right before my period). I started taking the pill a few months before the IRONMAN and it did help at first. Fast forward a few months after the race, I had breakthrough bleeding and intense mood swings, anger, and frustration. But wait, there's more...
Every night I was waking up soaked in bed. Soaked like - clothes and sheets are wet and I had to get up and change, and sometimes lay a towel down underneath me from the sweaty sheets (yes, I would have loved to change the sheets but that would wake up Pat). There are times when I would wake up 3
times in a night to change. Does this remind you ladies of anything? Think back to
when you just gave birth and would wake up in the middle of the night
soaking wet with sweat. Was I having menopause? I'm only 38... but I'm starting to wonder, what is this all about?
And then there's the mood. I know that it's still connected to my period but having PMS + road
rage x 10 and experiencing anger, frustration, depression, snapping at my kids, and being
weepy is no way to live. I wanted and needed to find a way to balance
my hormones.
And more about my behavior... one day I found myself eating candy in a frenzy. I looked up from my computer screen and wondered, what am I doing? It was as if I was fueling for some major endurance event but really I was "fueling" to handle this crazy stressful thing I had going on at work. Meanwhile, I was hungry all the time and having uncontrollable cravings especially around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.
Regarding exercise, I'm post IM and I've been enjoying the freedom of doing whatever my body feels like doing. I've been completely engrossed in trail running and reading everything I can find on the subject including books, magazines, listening to Trail Runner Nation podcast, watching elite runners on YouTube, and of course learning the trails near my house :-) which has been amazing and therapeutic!
On TRN podcast they've had a few guests talk about and validate many of the signs I was experiencing, which I believe to be induced from diet. My favorite shows include Brad Kearns (author of Primal Endurance and Keto Reset),
Zach Bitter (elite ultra trail runner, coach, and proponent of high fat and low carb diet), and Dr Phil Maffetone (the godfather of the high fat low carb, and "slow down" way of life). Links to my favorite podcasts below.
When I finally voiced out loud what it was that I was feeling - that was the moment when I realized that my intuition is correct. At that moment, I decided to stop taking the pill and to do a diet overhaul.
The idea is to re-wire my brain to make it realize that I don't need carbs at every moment of the day. To do this, I'm eating a high fat and low carb diet. What does that really mean? It means that I'm not adding any grains, sugars, or processed foods into my diet and sticking with fat, protein, veggies, and dark chocolate (duh!).
For the first 3-4 days I ate as much as I wanted but no carby foods. I had a headache each day. I dropped 4 pounds of inflammation within 5 days (that's the first time I weighed myself). Moreover, I'm feeling good and so much less bloated. I'm definitely less hungry and having far less cravings. The true repair will take time and I'm going to be tracking how I do when it comes time for my period. On the endurance side of the house, I'm trying to teach my body to burn fat for fuel vs sugars.
I'm finding more and more examples of athletes who have experienced the exact same thing that I'm feeling - and it's so validating to hear their stories. By the way, I'm so excited about all of this. It's an experiment so far and I'm really excited to see how this goes!
If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend these podcasts:
Trail Runner Nation: Keto Reset with Brad Kearns and Zach Bitter
Trail Runner Nation: Dr Phil Maffetone was right all along!
Trail Runner Nation: Healthy eating with Dr Mark Cucuzzella
Podcasts by Abel James and Tawnee Prazak
@roadtoironmom
Summary
My Symptoms of Sugar Addiction
- sweating at night
- insomnia
- anger, frustration, depression, weepy
- weight gain and bloating
- feeling low, sugar hangover
- sugar binging
- 3pm need to eat
- always hungry
- dependent on regular "sugar infusions" during exercise and after
How I Became Sugar Addicted
- Training for an endurance event with sugary products, in my case Gatorade and gels
- This created a dependence on sugar. Anytime I felt 'low" I would instinctively need carbs or sugar.
My First Solution (which didn't work)
- going on a birth control pill so I wouldn't get a dip in hormones with period
My Diet Second Solution - high fat and very low added carbs
what I'm eating now
- coffee with cream
- breakfast: omelette with onions, ham, peppers, avocado
- lunch: salad with protein (choice of chicken, eggs, tuna)
- dinner: protein (usually chicken or beef) and veggies
- snacks: cheese sticks, yogurt, dark chocolate, nuts
- carb: 1 piece of fruit per day combined with peanut butter or almond butter
- I still drink diet coke (I know... not great) but I don't drink alcohol (sober for 1.5 years now)
Current Exercise
- refocus on my "why" which is to get outside, breath fresh air, and see the beautiful outdoors, suggested podcast: Trail Runner Nation: Start with Why
- slowing down, more focus on enjoyment
- interest in trail running
Why?
- balance hormones
- be less hungry
- balance mood
- learn how to draw from my fat reserves vs burning sugar for fuel
Results so far
- Days 3-4 felt great but did have a headache
- Dropped 4 pounds in weight which I attribute to less inflammation, swelling, and being bloated from sugar
- Days 5+ no headache, still feeling things out
