Many things have changed in the way I eat since I started the Paleo/ Stone Age Diet. The one meal that has not changed much, however, is breakfast. The reason for this is that I usually don’t eat breakfast – I just have a cup or two of coffee (no, I have not given up drinking coffee — there’s a limit to everything). On days that I run or go to the gym in the morning I usually eat a late breakfast/early lunch (brunch) which includes eggs and a salad.
This morning I woke up nice and early at 4:11am (I like setting my clock to odd numbers) and was out running by 5:00am. I didn’t make up my mind ahead of time about how far I was going to run, but according to my running program it had to be at least 20 miles. These kinds of long runs are usually a weekend activity but I’m spending this weekend at Tom’s sailing competition.
It was quite chilly when I started to run and I actually suffered for the first few miles. (I was wearing shorts and a running T.) Knowing I would be out for a while and that it was supposed to be a hot December day (the forecast for today was 82F°-83F°), I didn’t take a long-sleeved shirt or a running jacket with me (a mistake). I had a good run and my blood sugar levels were fine, starting at 143 and staying 150-200 during the run with the help of energy gels. I have a good system now, taking my first energy gel after 15 minutes, the next two every 45 minutes and then one every half hour.
I ran 23 miles in 3:22 with my pace increasing throughout the run. It wasn’t easy, but I felt great. If I run this way on marathon day I should easily break 4 hours. I got home at around 9:00am (I walked a mile or so after the run) showered and started to think about food.
I knew I needed two things – carbohydrates to fill my muscle stores and protein to build muscle.
One of the things that has changed in the way I think about food since becoming a caveman is that I no longer feel like meat (beef, chicken or fish) has a time of day in which it should be eaten. I remember an interview I read once with Arthur De Vany where he said that many times, breakfast is dinner’s leftovers – chicken, turkey and beef. I liked the idea of eating such things for breakfast but I admit I don’t usually have the stomach for it.
This morning though, after a long run, I did. So I warmed up some leftover quinoa (not strictly Paleo but I need a complex carb and it’s not really a grain) and meatballs I had made for the kids (no breadcrumbs or flour in them). By 10am I finished eating dinner for breakfast and loving it. And then it was time to start working!
