Since discovering Paleo aka Ancestral Health aka NSNG back
in 2012, I’ve yo-yoed between a strict adherent to an adherent in name/ desire
only. Often what would occur is that I
would fall off the wagon and then spiral out of control for weeks. And or I’d sneak something as a means of
coping with stress.
Thursday of this week I fell off the wagon. However for once it wasn’t due to stress, it
had everything to do with being sick for 3 weeks and overdoing it on the bike
while going NSNG and having my body transition to burning fat and not carbs for
energy.
See when you go NSNG or Paleo, your body has to rewire
itself to burn fat, which is a more efficient fuel source. It takes about two weeks and in that time,
the sugar/ carb cravings can be rough.
What usually transpires is that by the end of the first week your performance
in any sport will begin to suffer and by week 3 the upswing begins.
All of that would have happened like normal had I not been
sick for 3 weeks. The virus that
affected me for two weeks really took a lot out of me physically. Apparently more than I realized and then
having a cold/ sore throat just after meant I didn’t recover that much.
Monday I was excited too and felt good when I rode in and
then back out that day. Wednesday was
when I rode again and it was a group ride.
Thus the effects on my body were different then if riding alone. Thursday morning I rode in and felt
great. It wasn’t until the afternoon
that the wheels fell off the wagon. The
first thing to happen was that I bonked/ experienced a hunger knock because I
was out of energy and not fat adapted yet.
This happened about mile 9 of 13 and my legs became like spaghetti. I could have called for my wife to come get
me, but instead opted to take those last 4 miles really easy. It was rough, but a bad day on the bike is
still better than the worst day in a car.
When I got home, I destroyed a chocolate chip cookie and about
7 Mr. Goodbar Hershey miniatures. I knew
what I needed, which was a quick carb fix and those and sitting for a bit did
the trick. Bonking like I did was a
stark reminder that I was sick for 3 weeks and the first 2 really took a lot
out of me.
That was Thursday and between Friday & Saturday there
were 3 other incidents of non NSNG eating.
In the past when the wheels came off and I fell off the wagon it would
be a week or more before I got control of it again. Not so this time, I’m back on track.
Transitioning to this way of eating isn’t easy. Temptation exists all around and the
proponents of it all have one thing in common.
Sugar & grains are not healthy and we are better off without eating
them. However the by-products of them –
pastry, donuts, bread, and chocolate are delicious and there is no disputing
that. All I need do and I know this from
past experience is get through those 2 weeks to start feeling better and then
after 1 month the longer I go, the more noticeable the benefits will be.
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