Paleo hockey

The Paleo diet has been in the news again, this time because of a book called PaleoFantasy which purportedly debunks the reasoning behind the whole diet. I haven't read it myself yet, so this is only hearsay, but apparently the author completely misses the point of the Paleo diet. Most Paleo bloggers out there agree with a lot of the author's points, but not her overall conclusion. Some summaries and critiques I've read include one on Mark's Daily Apple and Nerd Fitness. I strongly believe in reading a wide variety of opinions, including dissenting ones, so I'll read it eventually. But, since I am cheap, I will get the library to buy it (if they haven't already) and read it that way.

In our household we more or less follow the Paleo Diet (with dairy, therefore not strict Paleo).
I won't go into the details of how we got to this point, but losing 70 lbs between me and my husband (30 lbs for me, 40 lbs for him) has been a life-changing result. The interesting thing is that, contrary to popular belief, it is possible for me to play hockey and my husband to run triathlons on a low-carb, Paleo-type diet. Actually, our energy levels and training ability seem to be much better because we never "hit the wall", which is the result of depleting glycogen stores and being unable to mobilize body fat for fuel. Since we are constantly in a relatively glycogen-depleted state and efficient at burning fat for fuel, there is no wall to hit. It took a few weeks to transition to feeling good on this type of diet but every time we stray significantly we feel awful, which is motivation to get back on track.

What does this have to do with hockey? Once I adjusted to a lower-carb lifestyle, the timing and composition of pre-game meals didn't seem to matter much. I can eat a small meal, a big meal, a snack, or nothing at all, and still perform pretty much the same. (No bonking! Did I mention that already?) Here are some variations I've tried:

• cheese omelette with bacon for breakfast, then play fasted at lunchtime (this is by far my favourite way to play)
• baked haddock with garlic mayonnaise and creamed spinach around 5:30pm (with our kids) before an early evening evening game (though this results in nasty garlic breath!)
• hamburger (no bun) and salad before an evening or bedtime game
• pepperoni stick, cheese, and almonds before a late afternoon training session with supper afterward

I like it because meal timing does not matter much. I can eat right before I head out to a game and not get cramps or stitches. (A bit of self-experimentation here - I concluded after an incident with rice at a Sri Lankan restaurant that it was the digestion of carbs that results in cramps while exercising.) On the Mom hockey front, it's nice to be able to eat the same thing at the same time as the rest of the family, instead of having to have strategically-timed snacks at odd times.

The weight loss is a help because I'm fitter and faster than I would have otherwise been. My sprinting ability is improved and I can win races to the puck. I do lose out when I take a direct hit, though! Last year I actually flew through the air and landed on my tailbone after a solid collision with a girl who is considerably heavier and taller than me. When I play shinny with the guys and collide with one of them it's like running into a wall, literally. In a way I'm still not used to being this light.

And the triathlon stuff? My husband's standard pre-race meal is ham and eggs. He doesn't carry gels or Gatorade or bars around with him when he trains because he just doesn't need them. Very handy, and much simpler (and cheaper).

I've finally come clean. I play Paleo hockey.