Just a Little More Sugar On Top

Welcome back to my final week of the paleo challenge as well as my last blog post. This week I will be reflecting on my challenges as well as brainstorming my next steps. As I discussed in my last post I’ve decided not to continue paleo after the end of this project. However, I think I’ve learned a lot from this experience and am now able to better understand my body and it’s needs.

At the beginning of this assignment I ate whatever I pleased. This could be anything from cereal at every meal to eating a quesadilla for lunch six consecutive days. My justification of “I’m an athlete, I can eat what I want” began to waver as I realized I was becoming sluggish. By committing myself to the paleo diet, even for a short period of time, I’ve been able to test out the kinds of nutrients I need and discover what will and will not provide me with enough sustenance to maintain my lifestyle.

The paleo diet involves giving up processed foods, dairy, grains, refined sugars, and legumes. Thus, my meals primarily consisted of fruit, veggies, meats, and fish. The diet was very hard to maintain in Benson, as the meat options are limited unless added in addition to a salad. Salads are even difficult to make acceptable on their own as most salad dressings involve some ingredient that is banned. I found myself eating mostly egg whites, bacon, lettuce, and chicken. For a college campus, the paleo diet is not sustainable in the long run.

I felt the effects of the diet very early. For the first few days my energy levels felt depleted. My body was purging itself of the leftover refined sugars as well as the extra carbohydrates. I also had intense hunger pangs. I wasn’t used to consuming such low amounts of sugars, fats, or carbohydrates. The sluggishness I felt before and after practice was increased, and my mood suffered. Mentally I felt unmotivated and constantly exhausted.

After about 3 days, I began to regain my energy. My mood became much more tolerable and I was even able to eliminate my daily naps. I noticed that I was able to go without eating for longer stretches of time and able to perform at a more consistent level during practice. My desire to eat meat waned, though I was able to sustain my love of vegetables. I believe that part of the energy increase was the result of more sleep through the night. During the first part of the diet, I would wake up every few hours as well as take a long time to fall asleep. Once my body adjusted, I would sleep much more deeply and stay asleep for the entire night.

Every diet eventually reaches the point where your body needs to adjust and can no longer survive off its limitations. For these last two weeks of the project, my body has suffered regarding energy and hunger levels. In response to the hunger, my mood has also taken a negative turn. According to an article published by the staff of the Mayo Clinic, a foundation that does research as well as tries to provide medical education, carbs are a necessary part of every diet, and I was not getting enough of them. The article points out how carbs are supposed to represent 45 to 65 percent of daily total calories. I was taking in some carbs through mostly fruits and vegetables. However, I was being especially limited in the area of sugar carbs.

Blood sugar is referred to as glucose and is made up of broken down sugars and starches. An article by Steven Edelman, a doctor and professor of medicine at UCSD, states that, “Glucose is an important energy source that is needed by all the cells and organs of our bodies.” Though blood sugar is dangerous in high levels, my diet was causing mine to be too low. I was not absorbing enough sugar because I was never eating enough fruit. A breakdown of the paleo diet guidelines on the US News website shows that the diet restricts carbohydrates to representing 23 percent of daily calories. At this low level, my body began to feel the effects through my energy levels as well as mood. I was consuming too few calories of carbohydrates per day to maintain my lifestyle of early mornings, multiple workouts, and long hours of being awake.

As I began to touch on in my previous post, my eating style will change once I’m off the paleo though I hope to still incorporate some elements. I’m going to return to consuming grains, though in limited quantities. Through sources, such as the Mayo Clinic article, I’ve learned that I need whole grains to provide my body with vitamins and minerals and to help maintain the suggested amount of carbohydrates per day. I’m not a huge fruit fan, so I doubt my consumption of fruit will increase. I think I will also reduce my meat intake while increasing that of my dairy. I am slightly lactose intolerant so I can’t drink more than one glass of milk per day so I have to add cheese, which I have less of a reaction to, into the dairy mix. I am decreasing my meat intake because I’m worried that how much saturated fat I take in will lead to high cholesterol, a common Nitz family ailment. However, I still understand the importance of meat, as well as my love of it, so I’m still going to consume red meat regularly, though chicken more often.

The paleo diet was a good decision in the short run. By going on the diet I obtained a better understanding of what my body needs, while also managing to wane my reliance off processed foods and sugary drinks such as soda. I accomplished my goal of being on the paleo diet for the 5 weeks and learned more about the make up of my body than I could’ve predicted I would.

Though I decided not to continue on the paleo diet, especially if I remain a division 1 athlete, I learned a lot. The research this project caused me to do made me realize how flawed my eating habits were both before the project as well as during. I think the paleo diet is very maintainable for short periods of time, whether for weight loss or for a kicking off a healthy life. However, long term it is much too difficult as it requires the elimination of essential nutrients and normal glucose levels and causes a higher reliance on saturated fats. Overall I’m glad I went on the paleo for this project and I’ve now learned how to adapt my eating habits and lifestyle to achieve the best results in energy levels, hunger levels, and improved moods.  

I just want to add a thank you to everyone who has read and commented on my blog as well as supported me through this journey. It's been a very valuable experience and I hope you were able to learn along with me. Good luck to all of you with your various food experiences and I hope you find a meal plan which makes you happy. 

Works Cited

"Carbohydrates: How Carbs Fit into a Healthy Diet." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 08 Feb. 2011. Web. 30 May 2013.

Diego, Steven Edelman, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of California, San, M.D. "What Is Glucose (Sugar In The Blood) And What Purpose Does It Serve?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 12 Aug. 2008. Web. 29 May 2013.

Hiett, Kurtis. "Paleo Diet." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 2 Jan. 2013. Web. 29 May 2013.