Gassed Out / Why No Oil?

Jim and I have this saying when it comes to fitness:  "There are two types of people, bulldogs and greyhounds"  and I am a bulldog.  I am strong - much stronger than I look for my 5'4" 130lb frame.  But I am slow, and I often "gas out" on longer endurance sports.  What is "gassing out"? - difficulty breathing, face turning red, running out of steam, and the general feeling of inability to sustain whatever work-out it is that I am in the middle of.

For my entire life I just brushed this off as a trait.  I am a bulldog. 

But information received this week is giving me reason to change my point of view.  Sure, some of this may be due to genetics - but more likely than not, it's due to diet.

One of the speakers we had the fortune of hearing from this week is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.  He discussed heart disease, he discussed the cholesterol, but what really got my attention was his lecture on the Endothelial Cells and Nitric Oxide.

Lining the inside of the blood vessels is a thin layer of cells, called the endothelial layer.  These small cells are responsible for producing nitric oxide.  Nitric oxide helps dilate the blood vessels.  Dilated blood vessels carry blood and oxygen to the major organs and to the brain when needed most (like extended workouts, climbing stairs, lifting heavy weights) and other times when increased blood flow is needed.  The folks at the Immersion Program repeatedly made note that the ability to dilate, or rather the inability is the major cause for ED (an early warning sign of heart disease)

Ok, so what does all of this have to do with diet?  Excessive oil and saturated fat damage the endothelial cells.  Damaged cells are produce less nitric oxide.  And when that happens vessels do not dilate as the should, and blood flow is decreased (to the brain and other vital organs).

The message on the endothelium was just one of many this week.  And it didn't quite sink in until this morning's weekend.  I am strong, and I am fast (in short sprints), but this morning I was regularly passed by on the 2 mile hill climb by fit vegans as they maintained a steady pace up the hill. 

Will moving to a vegan/plant perfect diet improve my endurance?  Time will tell.

Eat More Veggie

There is one area where the leaders of the Paleo diet and Vegan diet agree - Eat More Vegetables.  I just stumbled across this great chart on Robb Wolf's website.  While I am sure that the folks at Engine 2 would choose different items to place on the list, one area that we can all agree on is that vegetables (especially the leafy green ones) are the most nutrient dense foods we can consume.

 Mmmmm . . . . Kale!

(This chart is taken from the site of robbwolf.com on 2.21.11)

Day Two - Food

The biggest change to the diet thus far is not the lack of meat, but the addition of grain.  Grain in every meal - whole grains of course, but grains none the less.  My intake in grain is greater than my loss of animal protein.   I am ravenous by the time dinner comes around, and I find myself to be hungry 2 hours after eating.  I am hopeful that this will change as my body becomes accustomed to the new diet.

All of the food is delicious, I'm just not feeling the positive effects of the diet quite yet, and find myself craving something sweet within a short time after eating.

When I began Paleo the first three days were the most challenging - at that time I was craving grains, but soon moved past that stage - let's hope the same is true on day three of the Engine 2 Diet.

Today I had:

• Breakfast: Apple
• That's right, one apple. This was not part of the plan - this was due to my oversleeping and missing breakfast (thankfully I had an apple in my bag).  This could explain why I was so hungry by dinner.  I wasn't terribly hungry this morning, so I didn't feel that I was missing breakfast - and actually was hoping that the break would help with allowing my body to continue to digest the previous night's dinner

• Lunch: Engine 2 Pizza, Steamed Greens with Kale Butter, and Roasted Cauliflower

• The pizza crust was made from whole wheat and spelt flour.  Did I mention yet that there is NO OIL allowed in this diet (aside from what is naturally occurring).  The crust was dense but thin with a pasta sauce topping.  Quite delicious.  The Kale Butter is a recipe from the Engine 2 book, and is nothing more than a puree of steamed kale, walnuts, and water.

• Pre-Dinner Demo: Polenta Stack
• Ok, so that isn't the name of the dish - but best describes what we had.  Prior to each dinner we learn to prepare a simple meal or appetizer.  Tonight we had made an appetizer that comprised of a slice of polenta, sliced of tomato, slice of sweet potato, dollop of cilantro and lime, held together with a walnut cream paste (blend of walnuts, water, and garlic) and a drizzle  of   balsamic vinegar paste.

• Dinner: Meat Loaf, Steamed Collard Greens with Kale Butter, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes, mixed Salad

• The Meat Loaf we had tonight was made with Lentils rather than meat crumbles (as in the linked recipe).  This was good - I mean really good, and I would definitely make this at home.  Using lentils rather than "meat crumbles" gave it a nice meat loaf like texture without.  Nothing unique about the greens, potatoes, and green beans.  The salad however was incredible.  I must find the recipe,  The chopped salad had a little bit of everything: lettuce, scallions, cashews, blueberries, tomatoes, carrots, all topped with a balsamic dressing.  Yum.

• Dessert: Berry Tart
• A fruit tart on a crust of what seems to be dates, oats, and pecans.  The fruit is covered in a raspberry puree.  This was so sweet and so delicious.   

Day One - Food

Since this is the Engine 2 Immersion Program nearly all of the food provided this week will be from recipes found either in the Engine 2 Book OR the Engine 2 website.  Here is what I ate today:

• Breakfast:  Rip's Big Bowl
• This is basically a mix of whole grain cereals.  That's right - cereal.  I have not had cereal in nearly three years - and golly it sure tasted good.  I used Almond Milk (as dairy is not allowed).
• Lunch: Salad with Bean Chili/Soup
• The salad was a basic spring mix topped with a variety of veggies and a vegan ranch dressing.  
• The chili had a consistency that was closer to soup.  It was a delicious mix bean soup in a tomato base with mushrooms, zucchini
• Dinner:  Nori Veggie Rolls followed by E2 Black Beans and Rice and Orange and Apricot Marinated Tofu
• Nori Veggie Rolls - prior to dinner we received a lesson on how to make vegan sushi rolls using nori seaweed, brown rice, cucumber, avocado, kale, mango, and green  onion.  Making the rolls were really easy, and they tasted good as well.
• E2 Black Beans and Rice - this recipe is online , and is basically a seasoned mix of brown rice, black beans, and veggie toppings.  After eating the rolls with brown rice I was starting to feel quite full of rice. 
• Dessert: Dumpster Blueberry Cobbler with Mixed Fruit
• I was completely full by this point - but felt the need to taste the blueberry dessert. With the consistency of a pancake, the blueberry tart was made of whole wheat flour, baking soda, vanilla, maple syrup and fresh blueberries.  

Day One on the Vegan Diet - Engine 2 Immersion

Today ends the first full day into the Engine 2 Immersion program.  This is the kick-off for the 28 days of vegan diet. The program officially began yesterday afternoon, with dinner on Sunday being the first meal into 28 days free from meat, dairy, oil, and processed foods.

It is 10pm Austin time, and I am exhausted.  The day began at 6:45 with a Crossfit work-out (modified Tabata squats), was filled with a day of lectures from the leaders in today's Plant Strong/Nutrient Dense/Vegan diet food movement, and ended with a motivational speaker.  

Although I attempted to reintroduce grain into my diet over the last week in preparation for this trip, I was not fully prepared for the shock to my system from the amount of grain and legumes consumed today.  And I am not alone. I should have taken notice when the medical doctor on staff offered to the entire group "a pill that will help with any gas for those of us not used to eating so many vegetables".

As someone who follows the Paleo diet, I have been eating  a diet high in vegetables, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds and fruit.  It is not the amount of vegetables, but the addition of grain that has me concerned.  I am committed to following the program, and hopeful that my system will acclimate to the new diet within the next 24-48 hours (as I have been told that it would).