I’ve never been one to pay much attention to diets or trends in nutrition. My meals were generally healthy and never contained processed ingredients, but I was noticing a bloated reaction to some meals. The reason I looked at making some dietary changes was the constant pain in my knee. I had gotten an MRI done early in the summer and the results showed a partially torn patellar tendon. The good news was that it wouldn’t require surgery, the bad news was that I was waking up in pain each night…to the point where I kept a bottle of Advil bedside.
My first attempt at Physiotherapy was short-lived, as I felt pretty silly performing squats on a vibrating machine. The clinic was prescribing a slow (costly $$$) process to strengthen muscles in my leg and I was to stop all other forms of training. This prescription led to weight gain, more pain in my knee, beer drinking and general disappointment in how I looked and felt. I finally decided to perform my own research and create a program to repair my fitness levels and my knee.
At the beginning of August this year, I started looking into the types of foods that create inflammatory reactions and the foods that are considered anti-inflammatory. Luckily I already enjoyed several anti-inflammatory foods such as Turmeric (used in Indian curry), wild salmon, shiitake mushrooms, green tea, broccoli and sweet potatoes. To get the full benefits, I knew I would also have to eliminate the food (and drinks) that were the cause of the inflammation. A friend recommended the book, Wheat Belly – by Dr. William Davis and it confirmed what I had already suspected…wheat gluten was bad.
The start of my gluten-free journey began in August when I tipped the scale at 212 lbs. I made a conscious effort to eliminate all wheat products (including beer!) and increase the anti-inflammatory foods in my diet. Within the first 30 days, I realized I no longer required that bottle of Advil beside my bed. I got back onto my AMP90 program and said goodbye to the Phy$iotherapist. In the next month, I started following some Paleo Diet blogs like RobbWolf.com and MarksDailyApple.com. Paleo (short for Paleolithic) refers to the diet structured around food that would have been available to our caveman ancestors…namely meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts. The diet prohibits grains, sugars, alcohol and anything processed. I think it’s a natural “evolution” to the gluten-free diet, but it’s a little too extreme for me to make a “strict Paleo” diet sustainable in everyday life.
Now, after four months of consistent training and conscious eating, I hit the scale at 195 lbs…a 17 pound weight loss. Although I started the “diet” with the goal of pain management, the weight loss is a great bonus. I’ve been able to make the dietary changes sustainable by planning out some weekly meals getting new ideas from websites like nomnompaleo.com. I’m looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish this season now that I’m properly fueling the engine!
AMP90 - Achieving Maximum Performance 