Workout of the Day:
Complete every two minutes for as long as possible:
150 Meter Sprint and
10 Sumo Deadlift High-Pulls (95/65 lbs.)
A Month With No Dairy, Part 2
Written by Mark Riebel
In part one of this post, I showed some of the objective results from my month-long experiment of no milk or dairy products. In this post, I’d like to share some of my subjective findings and offer my conclusions.
The hard part of recording anything subjective is that it’s, well, subjective. Did I feel really good, or was it just a little better than yesterday? Was that the strongest I’d really ever felt? Maybe I actually slept worse three nights ago. Regardless, here are some of the things I noted.
My sleep seemed to be of a little better quality, in that I feel like I need less caffeine to make it through the work day, and I drag my heels a little less. Granted, my back is finally starting to feel normal, so it may just be that I’m not waking as much in the middle of the night with pain. My workouts seemed about the same, with a little improvement in how I felt. I didn’t feel particularly energized or smoked during my WODs, though my performance seemed to tick up a bit. I think my body fat may have dropped slightly, though I didn’t have a measurement before and after to really check. I did notice that my food choices when eating out were a little limited or had to be modified at most restaurants. Dairy just seems to creep up all over the place.
Despite these small changes in my feelings and measurable qualities, it often can be a bigger shock to the system on reintroduction of the substance, much like what I’ve noticed with grains and alcohol. The body gets used to a low-level of crappiness that you don’t notice until it’s been gone for a while. So that’s what I had to find out with dairy. So what happened when I reintroduced it? Nothing significant. I was hoping for something, but I felt just the same. My smoothies tasted a hell of a lot better now that I had put the milk back in, but other than that, it was pretty much static. I have noticed that I get very dehydrated when I eat a few pieces of cheese, though that’s more due to the significant amounts of salt typically in cheese that I don’t have on a regular basis due to the Paleo diet.
So the experiment ended with no earth-shattering results, but that’s often how experiments end. I think dairy has a place in one’s diet, particularly if you’re looking to gain a little mass or are looking for convenience and taste. If you’re having trouble dropping a few stubborn pounds, cut out the dairy and see how it affects you. I don’t consume quite as much dairy as I used to, but it still represents several of my daily protein blocks, my performance has stayed up, and I no longer have to refuse the creamsicle dip. That’s a winning situation all around.
Tags: Nutrition
CJ, Mark, Calvin or any of the coaches. Question; What type of a multivitamin would you recommend?? I used to buy the one’s from 24Hr fitness. Thanks.
I don’t know from multivitamins, but I do know that pigs are smarter than dogs and some primates….so at the Paleo meat party, if someone asks for a pork link, give them this link instead …
http://www.goveg.com/f-top10pigs.asp
My internet was down yesterday, so my apologies for some late answers to questions on the post.
Cynthia – I used Optimum Nutrition 100% egg protein for my shakes and sweet potato concoctions. I found it mixed much better than most whey powders, though it was pretty high in sodium so it left me a bit parched. Taste was ok, though it does (like most powders these days) contain sucralose, so if you’re intolerant don’t go for that one.
Matt – I believe that the reason I was still up and about with such low blood sugar is again due to my shift over to fat as my main energy source. Zone and Paleo aren’t low carb diets by any means, but they are moderate in that respect, so the body tends to shift to a more ketotic state anyway. There is an adjustment period, but once one is used to ketosis, you can function at the same (if not better) level of mental acuity.
Yadira – I’m working on a post covering some supplements since we get so many questions about them. First of all, you don’t need a multi-vitamin or other supplements to get by if you’re eating a varied diet of highly nutritious foods (lean meat, fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, some starch, no sugar–you know the deal). However, supplements can fill gaps in your diet, and can have great benefit. As far as multis go, I haven’t looked at any hard evidence for one brand being better or more absorbed than another, but here’s a few general points to consider: it’s a bit pointless to get a vitamins that have ridiculously high amounts of RDA %. For your water soluble vitamins like B and C, you end up getting rid of a large chunk in your urine (hence the bright yellow even when well-hydrated), and for the fat solubles such as D and K, in very high doses they can have a host of ill effects. You’ll also tend to pay a bit more for some of these. Also, for women, many doctor’s seem to point to vitamins containing iron, as females lose more than men due to menstruation. More to follow, but I hope this helps!
Thanks Mark! yes that gives me good information. I did notice the “bright yellow”.
Yadira, you’re just peeing sunshine!
Courtland, you’re not coming Sat night? We’ll blow our meatburps in another direction, promise! (seriously….join us!)
LOL
Cynthia ur hilarious
2 items:
Any workout that has the word “sprint” (or is even posted via the Sprint network) makes me ill to ponder, much less try. Today’s WOD was no exception. 95# SDHPs are quite easy…the other thing, that running stuff…I nearly puked @ 5 Rounds as Rx’d.
(and, believe it or not, when I was 23 (21 yrs ago) I did an 11:25 2-mile run in the Monterey fog. I promise, no more ‘glory days’ bragging)
Cynthia…I think that the paleo diet is horse-hockey-puck silly. Again, I don’t question the effectiveness of the food mix, but rather other aspects that I won’t bore folks with yet again. I believe in nutrition technology and that food science come to prove that transhumanism can be achieved humanely. That said, I will be in the mountains this weekend and far from anything resembling a barbell. Have fun and skip the pork.
Pork taste good