If it’s one thing our nutrition experiment has reiterated, it’s that every single person reacts to food differently. There is no one-size-fits-all diet plan. It is near impossible to tell people to eat X way or Y way without some background, some experimentation, and some TIME!
Nick, Coach Sam, and I took the time to experiment with our nutrition, our macros, and how we were eating to document and report exactly how we felt and responded over a 30 day period. We’ll provide you all the ins and outs over the next few weeks.
This week, we’re focusing on Coach Sam’s experience and how her body reacted to a higher daily carb intake. Read about her perspective and insight below:
“Dialing in nutrition can sometimes be hard as you have to learn about your body and what works best for it. I had been eating mostly paleo with what I thought was a balance in nutrition but knew that if I wanted to meet my performance goals, I needed to refocus on logging and tracking and really dial in my inconsistency.
As an experiment, I wanted to see if following a higher carb diet (like most performance athletes do) was the answer to my goals. What this truly taught me is that nutrition is individualized, there is no one size fits all answer, and it takes real time to get what you want in a sustainable way.
My numbers were set at 125g Protein/ 160g Carbs/ 55g Fat. I understood why those numbers were selected, but this was truly a mental battle for me as I was terrified of losing muscle mass from not enough protein and gaining weight from an increase in carbs. For my age category, muscle mass automatically begins to decrease by a yearly percentage if I’m not actively working to maintain and increase it.
My fears were confirmed within this month of experimentation as I didn’t feel I could control my stress, I felt bloated immediately after breakfast, I had to take probiotics to maintain my bowel movements, I didn’t feel as lean, I felt heavy and slow in workouts and weights sometimes felt impossible, my hormonal acne returned, and I did gain weight. I tried almost everything in hopes of changing these results. From eating mostly fruit, rice, and potatoes as my carbs to including the sugary things timed directly around my workouts for the performance “benefits.” I found this way of eating didn’t work for my body.
Knowing that nutrition is individualistic and that track wasn’t working for my body, it was time for a new experiment. I encourage you to really give any nutrition a full month before switching things up. This next 30 day experiment is leaning into the fat energy system!!! Those numbers look like 125g Protein/30g Carbs/155g Fat!
But why?! If you aren’t eating carbs, you have to get energy from another source and that is fat. I will be honest and say that so far I have been around more like 135g P each day.
Within 3 days of transferring to these numbers, I felt amazing! T.M.I. and the first few days I had a gut cleanse basically with around 5 bowel movements a day. I do not need my probiotics to maintain my digestive system. I am fuller for longer periods of time. I do not feel weighted down and I feel like I can breathe and move more efficiently in my workouts. My whoop recoveries have been more consistently in the green.
It is really easy for me to follow these numbers and build my plate and I don’t feel guilty about my food choices (no one should feel guilty of their food choices regardless of what energy system they fuel with). I have noticed a huge difference in decreased bloating and I feel more lean.
There is still plenty of work to do, so in the next months as progress continues, I’ll be adjusting numbers and intake as necessary to see sustained results.”
Great work, Sam!
As you can see, one way of eating didn’t work for Sam. But with a few minor tweaks, she was able to adjust how she was eating, which ultimately helped how she was feeling and performing.
I wish it were as simple as saying, “Eat this way and you’ll be fit and healthy and at your ideal body weight.” But that just isn’t the case… I challenge you to experiment and find what works best for your body, but also to find a way of eating that you LOVE that works best for your body.
If you don’t like how you’re eating or how it’s making you feel, it won’t be sustainable. And even if it “works” for you, you won’t stick with it long term.
Sam, Nick, and I can work with you to find what works best for you. Our Nutrition Coaching is now live and ready for you!
Let us know when you’re ready to start!
Have a great week, y’all! Next week, we’ll hear from Nick and his perspective with our nutrition experiment.
Whitney
