Fat-Adaptation

My name is Patrick McGilvray, and I’m an experienced marathoner, ultra runner, Sports Nutritionist, Master Life Coach, and weight loss coach for runners. I’ve dedicated my life to helping runners just like you properly fuel your body and your mind. So you can get leaner, get stronger, run faster, and run longer than you ever thought possible. This is Running Lean.

Hey there, and welcome to episode 108 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners. And today, being an example of what’s possible with Eva Bailey. So I have this very special podcast episode for you today. I recently sat down with one of my clients, Eva Bailey, and we had a fun conversation all about her experience getting fat-adapted and training for her first ultra-marathon.

So she shares some of the doubts she had going into all of this and how she worked through them. This wasn’t always smooth sailing. For Eva, she and I discussed a few of the things she struggled with along the way, and how she had to make some big shifts in her mindset in order to kind of keep going right. She also talks about training for then running her very first ultra-marathon and how that whole experience really solidified all of this as a way of life for her.

Eva is living proof that with the right mindset, you can do anything you want. She’s truly being an example of what’s possible, and I’m super excited about this conversation. I know you’re gonna get a lot out of it. And my hope is that you get inspired to also start being an example of what’s possible.

But first, if you’d like this podcast, come check out the Running Lean podcast community on Facebook. This is a fun, informative, supportive, encouraging group of like-minded runners who all come together to share goals to ask questions to get answers, I do some weekly training in this group. And did I mention it’s fun? Come and join us over on Facebook, just search for Running Lean Community and join us.

And then listen, if you’re tired of trying to figure all this stuff out on your own. If you’re tired of starting diets and then quitting whenever things get tough. If you’re ready to end the constant struggle with not being the person you know you’re capable of being, then I want to encourage you to do something to take action. Nothing changes, if nothing changes, right.

So I want you to get into action change something today. Start this year by learning how to create the habits you need to make eating healthy a permanent part of your life. We’re not interested in short-term results, we’re focused on the long game, I want you to make being healthy, just a part of who you are. And the easiest way to do this is to have someone there guiding you every step of the way, encouraging you, supporting you, keeping you on track.

Having a coach means you have someone in your corner, someone who’s got your back, someone who’s holding you accountable to do the things that you don’t want to do. So that you can become that healthiest and most badass version of yourself, right? Be an example of what’s possible for yourself, for your kids, for your community, and be an inspiration to others. I want you to inspire others to do the same. I want to create a ripple effect of health and positivity in this world. And it starts with you! Apply for coaching over at runningleanpodcast.com/apply. And let’s get you to that healthiest and most badass version of yourself yet. Yeah, cool.

Patrick McGilvray
Alright, like I said, I know you’re gonna get a lot out of this conversation that I had with Eva. She’s open. She’s honest, she brings the real stuff, the struggles, the doubts all of it. My favorite part is that she’s experienced this amazing transformation through this whole process, right? She’s a different person today than she was three months ago, but I’m gonna let her tell you all about it. So without further ado, let’s get into this conversation with Eva Bailey. All right, cool.

So today, I’ve got a very special guest, Eva Bailey is here. And she and I have been working together for the last few months. And Eva had quite a transformation. So Eva started out as someone who, and I’ll let her talk about this but she was a little skeptical about all this fat adaptation and low carb diet blah, blah, blah.

And so we’re gonna kind of talk about that a little bit, but she had quite a transformation. She was such a good client. She just dove into this all the way. Had a lot of questions. Along the way, we addressed those, and we worked through all that stuff. It was not always smooth sailing.

But at the end of the day, she ended up having an amazing experience doing her first ultra marathon, being a fat-adapted runner. And so we’re going to talk about all that today.

So, first of all, either Hello, and why don’t you just kind of introduce yourself? And tell us a little bit about what, what brought you to me and why you wanted some help with all this stuff here?

Eva Bailey
Yeah. Yeah. So I think health and fitness have been a focus for me, a lot of my life, maybe not early on as a kid. But most of my adult life. I have been a vegetarian since I was in seventh grade. And that has is was kind of how I identified for all of my life. I, I always kind of struggled with my weight a little bit like it was always a focus, it was always like, Okay, well, what, um, you know, what, what plan am I on, that’s gonna just kind of keep my weight down.

I was really active, but I always seem to, it just always seemed like harder than I thought it should be to keep my weight down considering how active I was. You know, and I had dabbled in a lot of different ways of eating, you know, starting to the vegetarian. I worked in a holistic doctor’s office for a few years a while back.

And, you know, so we did food elimination diets, and we did a low-fat vegan diet and you know, also did a calorie restriction Eat less run more kind of thing. And in the vegan diet, which, which is great. Like, I still I think vegan is great, which is kind of a mix between paleo and vegan.

But anyway, so I’ve tried all these things. And every time I heard people talk about low carb, I was just like, “Oh, God, that’s, there’s no way that’s healthy.” Like you know, plant-based whole foods, just eat real foods. And that’s all you have to do. And which I like, I still think there that that’s valid, you know, eat real food. And that’s, and that’s something that I don’t think I’m ever gonna get rid of.

But um, how can eating more fat and more protein more animal products be good for you? It just didn’t make sense. And but when I heard your podcast and I was started hearing about this, like, I heard you describe me, like, as far as you know, you can’t, you know, do you do training for this marathon, and I’m running all these miles, yet. I cannot seem to like, keep the weight down. Like if I eat less, I just start getting tired and cranky. And then now my performance is suffering.

I’m like, There’s got to be a better way. Like, why? Why is this so difficult for me? Like, why am I the weight that I am if I’m being so active, it just did not make sense. And especially when I’m thinking I eat really well. Like I wasn’t coming in from a point where I was eating a lot. A lot of junk. Like I thought that I was eating really well. Like I was eating a vegetarian diet. I was eating all these fruits and vegetables and quinoa and sweet potatoes like why why is this so hard?

I should be between 100-115 pounds for what I’m doing but it just wasn’t happening and so I hear you you know on your podcast like you know how people train and they run all these miles and they’re still gaining weight and you know, restrict calories and feel bad I’m like oh my god that’s me. That’s me.

So I’m like I feel like there’s something I’m missing. There’s something that I’m not doing right even though I think I am I’m doing everything that they’re saying to do but I’m missing something and I’m but all my life knowing and hearing that low carb is bad animal protein is bad and it’s gonna kill you.

Like hearing that in the back of my mind all my life. I’m just like, I can’t do it. There’s no way but something about what you said. I’m like, I got to try it. I got to try it. But I was kind of scared to do it on my own because I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to do it. Then my hormones started getting messed up or, you know, I didn’t want to become unhealthy. So I really wanted somebody to kind of walk me through it. So that and that’s kind of how I got to you.

Patrick McGilvray
What were you hoping to get out of this? Like, I understand that you tried all these different things, you know, the calorie restriction, the vegan diet, the plant-based or, you know, vegetarian? You had these thoughts about, I don’t know, maybe animal proteins are bad for you, and, and you wanted to give it a try? Why did you want to give it a try? Like, what were you hoping to get out of this? Like, what was sort of the end game you’re shooting for?

Eva Bailey
Yeah, I want to run I want to run far. And I just want to keep going. So really, my goal, it wasn’t really even about the weight, because I didn’t think I was overweight. I wanted to just run far. So you know, when I started working with you, I had run a couple of marathons already.

I think I was running far and I was doing really well on my running. But, you know, it’s off-course, isn’t it? The book that brings everybody to running, you know, Born to Run? You know, I’ve read, I read that a few years ago, and the thought of running 100 miles was like, super badass to me.

I’m like, that sounds good to me me I want to be able to run 100 miles. But it just didn’t seem realistic. So for me, my goal is to run farther. And just to feel good. I just wanted to run and keep going and never stop. And then you know, hearing you talking about being bonk proof and, and using fat for fuel. I’m like, huh, like, that’s interesting. That makes a lot of sense. How do I do that? So that was my goal is just to be able to run a long time and feel great.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah. And specifically you had, I believe you had signed up for an ultramarathon like your first ultra-marathon. So you sign up for a 50k having never done one before. And you and I started working together a little more than three months, I think before your 50k. So it was a good timing to like get started with this.

Because you know, as we talked about the fat-adaptation process, there are a few weeks there where it’s not amazing, right, and you don’t feel very good. And so you kind of went through that experience, describe that sort of experience of like, going through your training and changing your diet, and then going out there and running and having it not be what you thought it was gonna be. Yeah, for, like, what was that like for you?

Eva Bailey
Yeah. And that was another thing. Like I signed up and I had this goal and was like, “Okay, if I know that there’s this transition, I better get started now.” But so, getting started on my first run, when after a few days of really having no carbs, I was like, oh boy, I know what they mean.

Everything just felt heavy and slow, like my muscles were. It felt like I was working out in the gym. And I was going on cramping. So it just really sucked for a minute and then also I had some long runs coming up.

I was getting to a point my training plan where I was hitting, you know, my 20 to 25 mile long runs. And going into it like my first long run really having no carbs was was really bad. It was just a slog, but knowing going in that like this isn’t going to be fun, but I’m just gonna take it slow and knowing that this is part of the process as like okay, I’m just gonna do it. I am paying the piper here. Like I have to do this in order to get out to the other side. But yeah, no, it was not fun.

Patrick McGilvray
Did you have some doubts during that period where you were just like, I don’t know if this is this is gonna work this sucks.

Eva Bailey
Um, so I think I initially did but just hearing so many people’s experiences that it’s like a temporary thing helped me be like, no, no this is part of the process. I kind of was able to shift my thoughts on it and look at it like, and be excited. Because I was like, oh, you know, this is part of it. It just means I’m doing it right. So the fact that it sucks so bad right now, just means that I’m on the right track.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, so you are so you, you weren’t really having doubts, but you were just like, “Okay, this sucks. I see what they’re talking about now.” And, and you were just committed to the process. Right?

Eva Bailey
Exactly, exactly. The doubts that I had a couple of weeks into the whole process, I had to go on vacation. Well, I didn’t have to go on vacation. But I had a vacation planned, and I was going with some girlfriends to Boston. And so my doubts were on myself on how am I gonna stick with the plan, when I’m in this environment where everybody around me is eating the cannolis and eating the Boston cream pies and having all the drinks.

And like, and I’m two weeks into this, and but I know like if I go off track too much like it’s gonna you know, I’ll have it’ll slow me down. And so my doubts were like, “Oh, my God, how is this vacation gonna go?”

Patrick McGilvray
How did it go? Like, how did you end up like doing on that vacation?

Eva Bailey
I stuck to my guns really well, and but it was, and thank God, we had a call while I was out there, because I was describing it to you. So I was like, Patrick, and like, I’m sitting here and I’m watching all my friends eat these cannolis at Quincy Market. And I’m like, I just this is a special kind of hell.

And I remember we talked about that. And it’s like, remembering, that’s just a thought that I’m having in my head right now. Like, it’s, and the thoughts are, like just that they’re just thoughts. So kind of removing this factual nature of like, “Oh, this is a special kind of hell that I’m going through” to just like, “Oh, you know, I can actually look at this however I want.”

This is actually really great practice for the rest of my life when I’m going to be in front of people that are eating lovely pecan pies or drinking drinks with umbrellas. And I am choosing not to because I want to feel great on my 50k in December like I am choosing to do this because I know I’m going to feel better.

And just because that looks really good right now. Yeah, it’s just like a temporary thought. And that thought is going to be gone in just a moment. As soon as that thought comes in, it’s going to be gone. So remembering that those thoughts are kind of not really facts, they’re not real. And that was really helpful for me to kind of get through that, because I just felt like it was torture.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, I do remember that conversation. And you were just like, in the hotel room. And you’re like, I don’t know about this, um, this is hard. Yeah, but you’re touching on something that is very important, which is that we have the power to think whatever we want. We don’t believe that though.

And until you really believe that you can’t start changing your thinking. So if you’re stuck with these thoughts of like, “Oh, this is a special kind of hell, or I can’t do this, or this isn’t gonna work for me.” Or, you know, “I’ve tried everything, nothing ever works.” Whatever thoughts and beliefs you have about yourself, or whether you can or can’t do something, what you’re able to achieve, how far how fast you can run, whether you can lose weight or not. Those are all optional. All those thoughts. And feelings are just optional. A lot of them are programmed.

You know, they’re programmed from decades ago. And so we’ve just always had these thoughts about like, “Oh, when I’m around other people who are eating cannolis, it’s going to be hell for me.” You know, you can choose to believe that and you can keep thinking that or you can shift your thinking. And when you shift your thinking, guess what? There’s more that’s available to you.

And maybe you can just get through that situation a little better. Here’s the reality, those kinds of situations will come up. Other times they’re going to come up your whole life. You get to decide what you want to think and feel in those moments and what you want to do. If you want to eat cannolis, go ahead, eat the cannolis. That’s up to you.

But if you don’t, and you’re doing it because you feel compelled or you feel like you have to or you feel like that’s just your programming, that’s a problem. But if you decide ahead of time, “Hey, you know what, tomorrow we’re going out with these friends I’m going to eat I’m going to eat a piece of cannoli and enjoy it.” Like, that’s totally fine, you can do that.

But if you if that’s not what you want for yourself, if you’re like, “Hey, I’m in training mode, I got this 50k coming up, I’m in this fat adaptation period where the more sugar ate, the slower this whole fat adaptation period is going to take, it’s going to lessen, it shuts down the whole fat burning process when I’m eating sugar.” You know that is something you can choose to do or not do. And it sounds like you, you know, you made some good decisions that weren’t easy, but you got through it. You know. So that was cool.

I’m glad you shared that. Because I think it’s such an important thing. And we don’t think about that we don’t think about how our thoughts are really creating these results for us, you know when you really look at it that way, right?

So you got through sort of the fat-adaptation period, you started running, started to feel better. Describe that moment when running started to feel better because I love hearing that from people.

Eva Bailey
It was kind of gradual, like, I just kind of noticed my paces just started getting better. Like it still felt hard. But eventually my pace just kind of got back to where it was before. But I do remember, I think it was on one of my longer runs that I did not need any, any goo or like, or I always bring little nut butter packets. But I was like, “Well, let me see if I can get by without it.” And so I think I remember I did it one of my 25-mile training runs and I used nothing. And I was fasted. And I was like, holy cow, and I felt like I could keep going. I feel like the only like, the only thing holding me back right now is just like my muscles and my connective tissues are not quite ready for me to go do 30 miles just yet.

But I think yeah, I think it was like one of those long runs where at the end I’m like, I didn’t have any fuel. I just had my electrolytes and I feel pretty darn good. And that and I think that was when I was like oh, okay, I see I see the benefits here.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, I love that moment of like that sort of light bulb moment that goes off and you’re just like oh, there might be something to this after all you know it’s so awesome. I love hearing people talk about that so let’s fast forward a little bit so you got fat-adapted you got through some tough times keep in mind that we’re sort of like getting into the holidays here.

You know we got Thanksgiving going on and we’re getting into the Christmas season and all that, but you had this ultra-marathon in December. How did that go? Like just kind of describe what you did to prepare for the race and kind of like you know what your game plan was going into it and then kind of what happened.

Eva Bailey
Yeah you know I was consulting with you quite a bit, but my plan going in you know I have somebody else that kind of writes my run plans so I had all my taper planned but as far as like the night before meal I didn’t do anything different.

I had had a steak and some asparagus and kind of my usual thing I had been practicing the strategy for you know my long runs before I just had my coffee. I had my butter coffee in the morning and I used the s-fuels in the morning of and just loaded up on my hydration in my electrolytes and I brought my little nut butters just in case because it’s like my little security blanket like if I need them I want to have them.

But I’ve had the same nut butters in my little pack for months now. And then I just carry with me just in case. But mentally preparing I’m just gonna have fun. I feel ready like telling myself I think I did one of my like a 28 and 29 miler about my goal pace for the race.

So I’m like I’ve done everything I can I think my paces are looking good. I think I’ve got my fuel strategy dialed in. The weather was kind of the only curveball because it was going to be really bad weather. So I’m like it’s going to be a little rainy or that I’m used to them. Add some, some extra Body Glide, you know, maybe bring some extra shoes to change into if I need them. So I’m like, you know, going through this whole strategy that is pretty, pretty typical. So and then I get out there, I’m kind of rushed, trying to find a bathroom. Anyway, so we get going. And so now we’re off to the races. So that’s my preparation.

Do you want me to start talking about the actual race went?

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, just start talking about how the race went. I know that for you, this is your longest distance running in that sort of fasted state with minimal fuel. And when we talk about fuel, you know, you’re using some s-fuels, which I recommended, which is mostly just fat and protein. So it’s amino acids and some MCT oil, and some electrolytes, basically, so it’s minimal fuel, it’s not like you’re not eating sugar. There’s no carbohydrates going on in there. So just, you know, you kind of have very minimal fuel going in there, but it’s enough to fat and protein will help keep you going forever. Do you know what I mean? So you don’t really need much more than that. So that’s awesome.

But talk about how the race went for you. And you know, how you ended up?

Eva Bailey
Yeah, yeah. So the race, you know, I was feeling good. I was feeling good for a while I did an early start. And so it was a smaller group, a lot of people ended up not showing up because the weather was really bad. But in Seattle, like you just, you’re used to that. So I was like, you just show up, showing up is half the battle, right?

There was, there was one guy that was ahead of me most of the time. And so I’d always kind of just see him a few hundred yards in front of me and, and there was a point where we did end up running together because he would stop at all the aid stations. And so then that kind of gave me a chance to catch up with him each time.

But there was a section where we were running together, and we were talking and he was telling me, “Oh yeah, I run 50 miles, 100 miles, I’m gonna do a 250-mile race next in May.” I was like, holy smokes, this guy’s like, badass! He’s, he’s a real runner, you know, starting to compare myself.

But anyway, so we ran together for a little bit. And then he kept going, but every time he’d stopped at the aid stations and eat the carbs, and the chips and whatever. And I’m feeling good, the whole time, you know, still feeling good.

And then we get to the last turnaround. And I start gaining on him. And he’s, you know, we pass each other or I pass him and he’s looking at me, he’s like, you’re killing it. And I’m like, yeah, come on, you know, thinking he’s gonna kind of keep like, run with me some more to the finish line.

And I realize I’m passing him and then I realize he was the only one ahead of me the whole time. And so I’m like, I’m about to be the first one to finish this finish line! And then and I know there wasn’t a whole lot of people in the race, but I was like, holy cow.

So then the last eight miles of the race I’m like, I’m still feeling good. I’m still feeling good. I still don’t need the aid stations. I still don’t need the crap that all the other people are eating. I’ve got my s-fuels and my electrolytes and then I just that’s kind of when I got that that last wind or it wasn’t even a second wind because it just I never lost my wind, I just kept going.

And then seeing the last eight miles I smoked the dude that’s gonna run 250 miles in May! And that was when I was like, “Okay, I’m a believer.” Nobody can tell me that carbs are gonna keep you going for you know long distances like this they may be good for shorter you know faster distances. But this was like the proof to see this guy bonk you know in the last eight miles, and I just go faster. Like I went faster, and then the last bit of it then the whole thing. So that was amazing. That was eye-opening and my overall paid like I beat my goal by you know, 15 minutes or 15 seconds average. So I felt pretty stinking good at the end of it!

Patrick McGilvray
You should, and you should be proud of yourself. And you ended up being the first female because you guys started in stages. So you kind of went with the early group. And there are some later groups that started and then they took the chip times, basically. And you ended up being the first female, which is amazing. So not only was it your first ultra marathon, but you basically came in first, let’s just say that, okay?

Eva Bailey
Yeah. And that, to me, that’s bonkers. You know, like, my first one out of the gate. Right, you know, and so I’m like, well, is, it was, it wasn’t a huge race, you know, I but, but at the same time, like, yeah, that’s, that was pretty cool. That was, that was pretty cool.

Patrick McGilvray
And then just a little side note here, apparently, like a week later, after the results were already posted. Some other female ended up getting that top slot because she got lost. And I want to, I want to say that she like, talked to the race director and said, “Oh, I got lost and so you should like make my time, you know, the number one time or whatever.” Which I don’t think is fair at all. Because if you get lost, I’m sorry. You don’t win. You lost. Right?

Eva Bailey
Yeah. I don’t know what happened. I think, you know, maybe some signs blew down, or I don’t understand what happened. But there was a lot of confusion with the timing. But, you know, when the first results that were posted, like I was the first first female.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, we’re just gonna go with that story. Yeah. Okay, cool. We’ll put an asterisk next to her name. You are the, you’re the real winner. I mean, there’s all ultramarathons all the time where people get lost, or they take a wrong turn, they don’t give them extra time, they don’t take that back. You know what I mean, they just lose the race. You know.

Anyway, I’m so proud of you either for like, not only, I mean, I’m proud of you for winning this race, but I’m just so proud of you for sticking with it more than anything else. And really seeing the power of changing your diet and changing your mindset. Because that’s what it’s all about.

It’s about you becoming this confident and healthy version of yourself, you know, which that’s what you really set out to do. You know, you didn’t, you know, when we set out, you know, you didn’t have a bunch of weight to lose, you know, a little bit, but it was just like, that wasn’t really the main focus, the main focus is on getting you to the, to the place where you could run long distances, and feel amazing, and just feel like you can keep going, which I would say, totally mission accomplished there.

Yeah, you know, and then the fact that you, you know, you’re observing this other guy out there, which is very typical. So, you know, you see all these other people out there on these ultras, who may be very, very experienced, you know, and of course, we’re all different levels of speed, you know, different paces and stuff like that.

But this guy was, you know, pretty experienced, and sucking down all the sugar and carbs all throughout the race and ended up just like crapping out towards the end. And here’s you, you know, the Energizer Bunny just keeps going and going. I love that it’s such a good comparison. You’re catching up to this guy. And then you pass him. And he’s just like, I can’t do it anymore.

Eva Bailey
Exactly. That was the moment where I was really sold where we’re like like you said, the comparison is just right in your face, you can’t deny it.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah. So let me ask you this, you really had a shift in how you sort of thought about all this, because at the beginning of our conversation here, you were talking about how you were skeptical. And you were like, I don’t know how this is all gonna work. This can’t be good for you eating, you know, animal products and things like that. But you, you went in and did it.

And you did eat, you know, you were eating steaks and things like that. And so you did embrace that. The animal products part of all of this. And, and I’m just curious, like, what was that shift like for you? Or what shifted for you during this whole experience? Like, what did you know, you know, the person that you were going into this versus the person you are today? Like, what’s the difference there?

Eva Bailey
Yeah, yeah. I think getting educated on some of the science, I think there’s a lot of resources that you kind of pointed me to that really made me rethink what was true about the science about the dietary guidelines that are given to us and not less thing, our ideal ideology trample our biology, you know. And like, let me try something just because I have, you know, I feel really kind of hoity-toity and superior being like a vegetarian or a vegan. Like, let me make sure that that’s really best for me.

So when I started, like the first thing that I noticed that I couldn’t deny, going low carb was like this, the stomach pain and bloating that I always thought was normal on previous, you know, plant-based diets like it went away within like a couple of days.

And I was like, Wait a second. “So you mean I can eat a meal and my stomach doesn’t hurt?” And so just in the first couple days just seeing that I don’t have stomach pain was like, okay, that’s really hard to deny.

So it was just seeing, seeing the undeniable results was like, I think there’s probably a lot of science that is not correct, that they’re teaching us. So it was just seeing the results firsthand, feeling the results, and kind of doing some more research on the science.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, I think it’s interesting. So you bring up something interesting, like the feeling, like the stomach pain, the bloating, the inflammation that a lot of us are experiencing when we’re eating this high carbohydrate diet. And we just assume that that’s normal.

And you don’t notice that you’re experiencing all that stuff. Because that’s just the way you’ve been living your life forever. But when you stop eating that way, and you change your diet and start eating whole foods, you stop eating processed foods, you stop eating sugar, you stop being refined grains and carbohydrates, you start noticing that, why doesn’t my stomach hurt? How come I’m not gassy? How come? I’m not bloated? How come? I’m not? My body isn’t all inflamed and achy all the time.

And until you actually start experiencing that it’s hard to describe to people but it’s, it’s such a better way to live your life, isn’t it? I mean, why wouldn’t you want to do this? And listen, I hear people talk about this all the time. They’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, I remember I did that low carb thing. For a while I felt great. I was less inflamed. I was, you know, my stomach didn’t hurt.’ And then they then they’ll tell me like, ‘Oh, but I just couldn’t keep up with it.’ Or I just, you know, it was too hard or something like that, you know, what do you say to those people who think that this is too hard?

Eva Bailey
Oh, I was about to say, this is like the most sustainable thing I’ve tried. And I’ve tried just about every variation that you can think of. And this is by far the easiest thing like you can even if you’re out and about like you can always find stuff to eat and it’s yeah, it’s not that hard.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, I would agree. I agree with that. I think it’s like one of the simplest things you can do. It’s about eating real food and simplifying your food, not making it more complicated. You know?

Eva Bailey
Yeah, it’s like the first couple weeks, the when you’re trying to kind of figure out, you know, when you when you’re learning what to do, and you’re creating new routines, you know, that’s difficult, but once you figure that out, that’s it’s smooth sailing.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, obviously, there’s always going to be a transition period where you’re, you know, whenever you’re changing your diet or changing your behaviors, like there’s going to be a period of like, there’s discomfort, there’s not knowing what to do, you know, you’ve got all these old habits and you’re sort of been just operating on autopilot forever.

And so when you change all that, like yeah, it is a little bit difficult. I always describe it as being a little bit of a clunky process, like it’s a little clunky like you got to like get the wheels greased up and get things working properly. But once you get it going, it should be simple. The idea is to simplify, simplify, not make it more complicated.

So tell me what you’re doing today. So you mentioned at the beginning like you’re doing sort of a pegan diet. Tell me what that means. And kind of how that looks for you.

Eva Bailey
Um, it’s basically you know, and it’s still low carb I’m not I haven’t really gone back to a full pegan because they have a lot of kind of starch. There’s still some sweet potatoes and quinoa and things that I’m not really doing now but I am bringing back I am going to do some carb cycling. So it will be those things for like a couple days out of the month.

And so it looks like, you know, I’m doing the time-restricted eating. So basically in the morning, I have my coffee, I drink that all morning, and then I don’t eat lunch until noon or one. And it’s usually some, some scrambled eggs with some onions and mushrooms in there. You know, maybe some uncured no sugar bacon, so I’m really focused on the quality of the food too.

So even the animal products I eat are grass-fed, grass-finished. No, no nitrates, and free-range chicken and things like that, and all of the green leafy vegetables that I want, you know, asparagus and Brussels sprouts, and, you know, some green beans. So it’s like, I still feel like I’m still eating real food. And it totally doable. It’s delicious. I feel like we eat better now than we ever have before.

I don’t even, I know COVID We’re not going to restaurants, but I don’t even want to go to restaurants anymore because I just eat so many delicious things here, you know, and then, you know, dinner’s, you know, some chicken and some vegetables, but it’s like, there are so many delicious recipes that we’ve been trying. It’s just been scrumptious.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, and that’s one of the beautiful things about eating this way is that you can do it in a way that’s very simple. And where your, your taste starts to change. So we get used to wanting to like, we get used to the hyper-palatable foods, you know, that are like marketed to us and stuff and that are amazingly delicious. And when you stop eating that stuff, just like eating a steak, or just a chicken breast or just some Brussels sprouts, you know, with some salt and pepper on it becomes incredibly delicious.

So you’re no longer like your taste receptors are like working the way they’re supposed to again, and you’re no longer required to eat this food that’s been engineered to be extremely delicious, or whatever, you can find just as much satisfaction out of eating. Like, for example, just last night for dinner, I had two chicken breasts with salt and pepper on them. That was it. That was my dinner. And I was like, This is so good. Who is this person eating this stuff? You know, but it was just like, so good.

You know, and I’m not saying you have to eat meat or anything like that. But I’m just saying like, you can really do this in a way that just simple food can be incredibly satisfying again, and there’s such a freedom in that too, because then you’re not relying on, you know, making all these recipes and making things really complicated and going to the grocery store six times a week and all these other things. So I love eating this way.

Is there anything else you wanted to share that we haven’t really talked about? I just think your story is so amazing. And I’m so happy you took the time to kind of come on here and talk to me. But is there anything else that we didn’t cover that you wanted to talk about?

Eva Bailey
Um, well, I think just the other thing that shifted for me was how I look at alcohol. You challenged me in the first 30 days to not have a drink. And I used to have a drink you know, a few times a week. And like a wasn’t a big deal. But like when I’m cooking dinner, I would like to have a drink. And you challenged me to go 30 days without I’m like, “Okay, I’ll give you a 30 days Patrick but that’s not a not a day longer!”

And now like you know, it’s I feel like so much of it is just creating a new habit. But now I don’t even miss it. And I don’t really even want to have a drink because again, you go back to kind of feeling the comparison of I feel so great. And then I had a drink. I’m like, I don’t really feel so great anymore.

And so now I don’t even want to drink and that was kind of a big shift for me too. And yeah, I think that was just one other thing, and preferring fasted running was another thing that like when I heard people say that they run fasted. I was like, they’re crazy! There’s no way that’s healthy, because I’m thinking like, ‘Oh, you know, we’re supposed to eat breakfast and like you shouldn’t do that.’ And then I started trying it and I’m like, “Wow, I feel way better when I fat when I run in the morning fasted.” And so that’s life-changing, and it just simplifies everything.

So, you know, I’m not running around feeling hungry all the time. So, last weekend, we went out for a mountain bike ride kind of midday. And normally I’d be like, ‘Okay, well, we’ve got to make breakfast in the morning, I’ve got to make lunch, I’ve got to make some wraps on something that I can bring for lunch.’ And, like, now, I have so much more time in the morning where I don’t have to worry about cooking breakfast, we went out for a mountain bike ride. And it was like, one in the afternoon we’re driving home.

And normally I’d be like, okay, I need my snack bars. And you know, I need my lunch. And I’m like, I feel perfectly fine. We just did a, you know, a mountain bike ride, which is, you know, that’s pretty physically demanding. And like, I feel great. And I’m not frantic and like, I have to hurry up and get home and make lunch or like, it was just, huh. I’m not hungry all the time. I don’t need to snack.

I used to snack like I would eat eight times a day. I need breakfast. I’d graze in the morning and I eat lunch and I graze until dinner. And then I so I was just eating all the time. And I realized that that’s not how even though they’d say, “Oh, yeah, eat more, and it’s gonna make your metabolism go faster, and then you’re gonna lose weight.” No, no, no. I feel it was like an imbalance in hormones.

And so now doing all this has corrected my hormones and just balanced and I just don’t feel hungry as much all the time might that’s, that’s not my world, food is not my world anymore. I can focus on you know, whatever I’m doing right here right now with my friends and, and just be present, rather than thinking about what I’m going to be eating.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, or drinking, you know, yeah. Yeah. And that’s so cool. I’m glad you mentioned that because this is about changing our relationship with food. And with alcohol. These substances can be very difficult to do in moderation, especially the refined carbs, the sugar, or the alcohol, that’s hard for a lot of people to do in moderation.

Some people just be like, oh, yeah, just moderate, but it’s very hard for a lot of people. And so some of us, you know, like, I don’t drink alcohol at all. Some people can just, you know, we talk about that relationship they have with alcohol, and if they want to change that, then we work on it, it doesn’t mean you have to, you never can drink an alcoholic drink again in your life. But it just means that we got to change the relationship, you got to change how you think and feel about this stuff, you got to stop using these things, like drugs to make yourself feel better.

It’s, you know, stop using it as a coping mechanism or as a reward mechanism and start using it as, as fuel. Or in the case of alcohol, you can drink every now and then. But it’s if it becomes an issue, you can back off again. Like we want to work, we want to have this relationship with these things to where we are in control. And as long as we are feeling like we’re always in control, we’re good.

Because then you can just say no, you can just stop, you can say no. But when we feel like we’re out of control, when we feel like the food is something we have to do every couple of hours, because, you know, we’re so hungry, we can’t not eat, or I can’t imagine not drinking every other day or whatever. That’s a problem. We need to fix that, you know, so we need to work on the relationship. And so I’m glad you brought that up. Because you did a good job with that, too. Was that scary for you to like, maybe give up the alcohol for the first 30 days or so?

Eva Bailey
I mean, I have to be honest, it was the thing I was looking forward to the least. Yeah. And I remember our first call like I was kind of bracing myself for you to tell me like okay, you know, let’s see if we can get you to cut that out this next month. And we got to you know, we’re almost at the end of the call and you didn’t mention it and I was like okay, he didn’t say anything about it. Maybe I can keep drinking and then at the very end you’re like, okay, give me you know, 30 days.

Patrick McGilvray
Oh, by the way, it’s I forgot to mention this!

Eva Bailey
Right? So it was like, surprisingly enough like even though Yeah, I was not looking forward to that to not drinking.

Patrick McGilvray
But how’d it go for you?

Eva Bailey
I think the hardest part was when I was with my girlfriends and they were drinking but just by deciding in advance like this is just what I’m going to do. And knowing like, okay, I’m challenging myself for 30 days like this is temporary. This is just what I’m going to do. And you know, you make the decision you set your mind to it, and there’s just no other option. There’s not an option to be like, oh, like actually, maybe I’m gonna have on tonight like, no, that’s just off the table. So for me, it was just, I just closed the door and it’s like, it is what it is.

Patrick McGilvray
Was it hard at first though?

Eva Bailey
It was at first, like, especially when I was like cooking dinner. Because you know, you’re in this habit of like, oh, I’m cooking dinner, I’m going to have a glass of wine while I’m cooking. So it was because like, I’m in that habit. And I was kind of like, looking for the thing that I’m going to, like chopping and oh, where’s the glass of wine that I normally reach for? So that was weird. And I was like, Oh, I really would kind of like a glass of wine right now.

Patrick McGilvray
And then how long before it felt easier? And you just weren’t really thinking about it anymore?

Eva Bailey
I think it was maybe like, after the first couple weeks, I was like, yeah, okay.

Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, yeah, it doesn’t take long. Right. And that’s the experience that a lot of people have, they’re, they’re a little bit’s scared to go into this. Like, I don’t know about that. But it’s, and this is part of the, the reason we do it, part of it is physical because you want to like change your, your, your hormones, and alcohol just acts like sugar in your body, you know. So we want to like kind of eliminate that issue as well. And it also slows down the whole fat-adaptation process and all that.

But then there’s that mental aspect of it being sort of a habit. And so we want to just like, change the relationship. And so it takes a few weeks, usually to like, just go like, oh, I don’t really miss that anymore. And most people go into it scared. And then after a few weeks, they’re like, oh, is no big deal. Which is cool. Because when you get to that place, then it’s not a big deal.

Yes, not drinking is not a problem, because you’re not thinking about it all the time. Just like eating the sugar and stuff. When you stop being obsessed about that kind of food, not eating it is not a problem. You know, it’s like, easy peasy, right? Cool. Yeah.

Well, this has been amazing. Eva, thank you so much for coming on here and sharing your experience with me, and congrats on an amazing 50k. What’s next for you? What do you got coming up another race scheduled or anything like that?

Eva Bailey
So I’ve never been an organized race person. So I think you know, I do have a marathon scheduled in July. That’s just kind of a fun one that I’m doing with some girlfriends because it’s something that we’ve done the last couple of years. And so I’m going to do that again in July.

But I do want to do a 50 miler. I’m just trying to figure out when because this year, I’ve got a lot of plans and I’m trying to figure out how to schedule a 50 miler in with all the things going on. I am trying to figure out where I can squeeze in my 50 miler because, well, you know, with one of my original goals, like I, I still want to run 100 miles one day, I still want to do that.

So I am keeping my mileage up. So that way, if I can find a time to get that 50 miler in that I’m not ramping up from the beginning. I also want to work more on being able to help other people with this transition. I’m looking at, you know, improving my own coaching abilities and certifications. And so I want to figure out how to help other people do this because it’s just been so transformational.

Patrick McGilvray
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you said that too. Because my mission here with all this stuff is to be an example of what’s possible and to inspire others to do the same. And you’re living that right now. You know, I’ve been an example for you. Now you can go out there and be an example for others. And that’s what I want.

This is how we create change in the world. This is how we create impact. This is how we create this ripple effect of good health and positivity in this world. So that’s super awesome. Well, let us know when you get your 50k on the calendar, and then we can like do a little recap and see how that goes for you. I’d love to get you back on here and talk about that experience and then your 250 miler when you do that one. You’ve got to beat that guy! It’s been awesome. Eva. Thanks again for being here. It’s been super fun.

Eva Bailey
Oh, no, thank you so much. I’m so excited to be able to talk about this. Any anytime somebody will listen to me talk about health and fitness and food like I’m all over it. So thank you.

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