PaleoAce Blog: October 2016

A Different Kind of Training

Posted by Ace on Tue 25th Oct, 2016

It has been a while since I posted on here. After an amazing year of training and racing in 2014, I decided to take a year off racing (although still trained pretty hard) and allow myself to enjoy time with Monkey, my spaniels and friends as well as exploring some new places. It was good to take time off to recharge the batteries not just physically but also mentally and identify my next goal. As it happens Monkey and I decided this was going to be an attempt at having a baby.

With this decision a different kind of training started… During the period when we tried to conceive, I carried on exercising including high intensity sessions but eased off racing and pushing my body to the point of exhaustion during training. I ate well (paleo and where possible organic produce) which has an important part to play in fertility through insulin regulation to hormonal balance: http://paleoleap.com/paleo-guide-to-fertility/. I introduced yoga to my week and believe that this helped with positive thinking and focus as well as core strength ‘

I decided not to take folic acid (pre-conception and during pregnancy) and instead to receive the daily required amount of folate through my diet – not so difficult if you have a paleo diet. Here are some foods that are high in folate:

• Beetroot
• Mango
• Lettuce
• Brocolli
• Avocado
• Eggs
• Cauliflower
• Strawberries
• Grapes

During pregnancy

Once we found out we were expecting a baby I discussed with our midwife my intention to ensure sufficient folate intake through my diet instead of folic acid. Having discussed my diet with her she was supportive and that’s what I did. A typical day’s diet during my pregnancy.

I have made some modifications/exceptions to the strict paleo diet I had been following. These were to include some dairy products and occasional rice. I did not have any cravings. I wonder whether this is due to having a good balanced diet and therefore the body not feeling the need for something else. It may of course just be luck…

During the first 4-5 months I felt nauseous at various times of the day but I was able to manage this as follows:

• Chestnut crackers (gluten free made out of chestnut flour)
• Sucking on star anise
• Mints with xylitol 

Exercise continued to be an important part of my life during pregnancy and Monkey and I think that coupled with a healthy diet has ensured a smooth pregnancy and a healthy baby. A typical week’s exercise.

During later stages of pregnancy our midwife expressed surprise at my iron levels which were still very healthy. I gather that by third trimester some women experience iron deficiency resulting in low energy levels and necessitating iron supplements. I am grateful that until a week before the birth of our son I was able to continue working (out of choice) and I swam for an hour the day before our son was born. My energy levels have remained consistent throughout allowing me to keep on doing what I believe was good for me and our baby.

Our baby’s growth was consistent throughout the pregnancy and his birth weight was a healthy 3.5kg (7lb 12 ounces). I am aware that some of you reading this may be concerned that a high protein and low carbohydrate diet may increase the risk of reduced foetal growth and low birth weight (http://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/paleo-diet#3). In our case, with the above modifications following a paleo diet did not negatively affect our baby’s growth/birth weight. I would however urge anyone to discuss these with their health professionals to make safe and appropriate decisions in your individual cases.

A healthy and active pregnancy meant I was fairly robust come labour on 4.10.16. Perhaps from my experience of pushing my body to its limits at races I had a fairly elevated pain threshold. Having had 2 paracetamols and codeine for pain relief and used the exercise ball, mat and lunges the latest stages of labour may have taken the midwife by surprise. Our son was born in 3hours and 45 minutes with no other pain-relieving medication. I lost 1.8 litres of blood due to tears but made a quick recovery and whilst the medical professionals thought I might need a blood transfusion my levels picked up very quickly and this was not necessary. I believe this was down to a fit body and a healthy diet.

It has been 2 weeks since our son was born. In that time whilst we had initial problems with breastfeeding, he only lost 4% of his birth weight aged 4 days (up to 10% is considered normal). He was back to his birth within a week (it could take up to 2 weeks or more) and he has continued to grow consistently since by breastfeeding on demand, sleeping in between and receiving endless love. I think a natural diet and strong, healthy body have been a big part of our speedy recovery from labour.