Running Lean with Patrick McGilvray
Today I have a bit of a different episode for you. I’m going to be asking you a lot of questions about your diet, your weight, your current health, your running performance, and a few other …
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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 121 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners and today, is it time to change your diet? So today I have a bit of a different episode for you. I’m going to be asking you some questions about your diet, your weight, your current health, your running performance, and a few other things.
The reason for this is that I want you to consider how your current diet, whatever you’re doing today, might be affecting you in a bunch of different areas of your life. Most people don’t pay attention to their diet unless they find themselves suddenly overweight, or their doctor wants to put them on some kind of medication.
And of course, I’m joking because it’s never suddenly, “I’m overweight!” It’s a slow, gradual process, right? We just don’t notice it until it’s like I can’t put my pants on anymore. The point is, this episode is all about you and your diet. So I want you to be thinking about your diet and your current state of health and fitness as I talk about diet here today.
And by the end of this episode, I want you to have a clear understanding of the effects of food, the effects of your diet on your health, and your sports performance. And I want to help you decide whether or not it’s time to finally change your diet. And listen, I know what it’s like to try to change your diet.
I know how hard it can be. I’ve done this many, many times in the past, it was never easy. For me, it was always some sort of a struggle. And the only time it really wasn’t the only time it finally worked permanently, was when I reached out and I got some help.
I got a coach to help me figure out what I should do. What was going to work for me, not based on some fad diet. But putting together a custom plan that I felt good about that I sort of created myself and man it finally worked.
I lost 40 pounds after making this change, running became easier. I’ve never felt so good. I’ve never had so much energy. And now this is what I do. I help runners like you lose the weight that you’ve been struggling with. For years, maybe I help runners to get leaner and stronger and to become running bad asses.
So if you’re a runner, and you’d like to get that weight problem solved for good, I want to invite you to apply for coaching with me. You’ll fill out a short application, schedule a Zoom call with me, we’ll jump on a call, we’ll talk about your goals. And we’ll see how coaching can help you get there.
I would love to help you lose weight, and do it without all the stupid struggling and frustration. I know what that’s like, there’s a better way. If you’re ready for some realistic lifestyle changes, mindset shifts and sustainable results, then you’re ready for coaching, just go to runningleancoaching.com/apply to get started.
Alright, so today, I want to talk about diet and whether or not it’s time for you to make a change to your diet. So specifically, we’re going to be talking about whether or not your current diet is working for you. And listen, people get pretty emotional when talking about diet, especially when anyone suggests that maybe you should change your diet, I’m not going to make that decision for you.
I want you to just think about this for yourself and make that decision for yourself. Because your diet is either, it’s either working for you or it’s not. And sometimes we don’t understand the effects that our diet is actually having on our health, on our athletic performance on our general mood, you know, and we naturally put up a lot of resistance when anyone suggest that we change our diet, or that maybe somebody suggests that diet could be the cause of a lot of the health issues that you’re experiencing.
And I totally get this. And there’s a lot of information out there. A lot of people that are pushing an agenda on you and I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to push an agenda on you. I want to help you to make a good decision and this is what I do with my coaching.
This is why the way that I do coaching is a little bit different from other coaches, I don’t just tell you what to do, we come up with a solution together, something that you feel good about. Because only you know what kinds of foods you like and don’t like. Only you know what’s going to be sustainable for you.
And when we can put together a plan that you feel good about, that you are in alignment with, this is the game changer here. Okay, and, and this was what was the game changer for me too, when I finally decided to change my diet for good and it started to work and I started to lose the weight and I became fat-adapted, and I understood how certain foods were affecting me.
And I put that together myself, I kind of put that plan together myself, obviously with a lot of guidance with a lot of help from experts and things like that. But I just want you to understand that I just want you to think about whether or not your current diet is working for you. Okay.
Now, before I dive into this, I want to also explain how I’m using the word diet today because I tend to not use this word a lot. Just because people freak out a little bit when they hear diet. I’m not saying diet in the sense of like, you need to go on a diet, or you need to really limit how much food you’re eating.
You know, I mean diet in the sense of a nutrition regimen, a food plan died in the sense of the food that you habitually eat, not like vegetarian or carnivore or vegan or keto or South Beach diet or anything like that. I just mean like, the foods that you eat, because we’re all different. You know, we all eat differently, I can’t really put what I eat, I really can’t put it into a category, like the ones I just mentioned, it’s just different. It’s just what feels good for me and what works for me, which is different from what’s going to work for you.
But people hear the word diet, and they immediately start thinking about cutting calories, deprivation, struggle, suffering, falling off the wagon, it brings up all these negative connotations, right? So today, I just want to use the word diet freely to mean the foods that you eat on a regular basis, right? It’s not good, it’s not bad. I don’t want to be polarizing here. And I’m not talking about the latest fad diet or anything like that, just the foods you typically eat. That’s the way I’m using diet here today. Cool.
And then lastly, I want to help you to understand how profoundly your diet is affecting you, and your running, and your overall health and your weight and whether or not you can lose the weight. And I want to help you decide if changing your diet is right for you or not.
So you might be doing fine. You might be listening to this and like you’re super healthy, you’re at your natural weight, you feel amazing, you have tons of energy, all this stuff, there’s probably not a real big need to change anything.
But I’m guessing that there are a lot of people listening to this right now. And there’s some areas in your life or some areas of your health and fitness that you’d like to improve. And your diet is one of the most powerful drivers of your health, good health or bad health, and it depends on the diet.
So by the end of this episode, I want you to have a clear understanding of how your diet is affecting things like your energy levels, your mood, your sleep quality, running performance, body composition, and really your overall health and happiness.
And then I want you to have what it takes to be able to make an informed decision as to whether or not it’s time for you to change your diet. Cool. Okay, so let’s look at a few of these indicators here.
So again, think about your current state of health and your current diet. When I go through some of these questions like first and foremost, how is your weight? Think about your weight. This is always the number one thing people look at when they consider changing their diet. Am I overweight? Do I need to lose weight?
So one of the ways that people determine whether or not they need to lose weight is they look at something like BMI, body mass index. And they look at this as the one indicator of whether or not they’re overweight. And you see these charts in doctors offices and things like that.
The problem with BMI, I don’t like the BMI to be honest with you because it’s only taking two data points. It’s taking your height and your weight and then making an assessment based on that. BMI is not a very accurate indicator of your state of health and fitness.
And it’s definitely not accurate if you’re pretty fit. So BMI can be very off; it can be very inaccurate, especially if you’re muscular. So for example, my son and I are the same height. We’re both 5’11. But he probably weighs 25-30 pounds more than me. And so if you look at the BMI chart, he’s borderline obese, he’s over, he’s considered overweight on the BMI chart, he’d be borderline obese.
But I have to tell you, he’s nothing but huge. He’s a bodybuilder, you know, he’s muscular. He’s put on a lot of weight in the form of muscle. But the BMI which is telling that he’s overweight, okay. So that’s a good example of where BMI can be wrong.
Right now, I’m in a place where I’m trying to gain weight. So I’m starting to dip into that overweight range of BMI. And I’m not overweight, okay, I’m gaining muscle, I’m doing some pretty intense gym workouts, I’m really focusing on building muscle this year.
So anyway, BMI, not a super good indicator of whether you are overweight or not. Okay, there is a better way to determine your body composition. When we talk about weight, I’m really talking about fat weight, okay, there’s a certain amount of fat we all need to have on our bodies. And fat is not wrong or bad.
Like, people talk about zero body fat, you would die. If you had zero body fat. The minimum body fat requirements to sustain human life for men, I think is 3%. For women is 12%. Women need more body fat to support their, you know, female reproductive systems and things like that.
So we don’t aim, we’re not aiming for a 0% body fat ever, right? Just as to sustain life, women need 12%. So maybe 20-25% body fat is where you want to be. If you’re a female, or maybe you know, 18-16% as a male. It’s different for everybody, really.
But you can use something like the US Navy body fat calculator, you can find this online. So you take some body girth measurements along with height, weight, and age, to determine your body composition. So this is a better indicator of whether or not you want to lose some of the fat weight. Okay.
And the goal when I tell people that, you know, we talked about weight loss, and I asked people like, how much weight do you want to lose? Where do you want your body composition to be? And sometimes there’s just like, I’ve never thought about that before, I just want the scale to go down.
I’m like, well, let’s say we start gaining muscle, you’re losing some of the fat weight, but you’re gaining muscle, the scale is not going to go down, it’s going to kind of stay the same. Are you okay with that?
And so then I’ve got to like, get them to take some other measurements, and we’ve got to do some other type of measuring so that we can see that we are improving our body composition, okay. And they have scales that can do something like this, you know, those smart scales that use an electrical impedance, so they send a little bit of electric current up through your body and it you know, has to do with it tries to determine your muscle weight versus fat weight.
And so it’s trying to make a determination based on how fast the electrical current goes through your body of whether or not your competition is mostly fat, or muscle or whatever. They did a study about five years ago, and consumer reports on these different scales.
And they compare them to a bod pod, so bod pod is an air displacement measuring device, which is very accurate. So you have to go somewhere and you have to sit in this thing that looks like an egg. And they shut you in there. And it’s very, very precise.
Okay, it measures volume, and it can definitely measure, you know, the difference between your fat and muscle weight. But they, they took that as the base baseline measurement, and then they compared these scales, and the scales were off by like, a lot, you know, 20 to 30% difference, this is huge, right?
There’s a huge difference between what is considered to be, you know, accurate. So, I don’t really suggest these scales are very accurate, you know, can they help you to kind of determine if you’re losing some fat weight and gaining some muscle weight, probably, but just know that they’re not very accurate, okay.
Here’s what I want you to do instead, instead of worrying about all these measurements and things like that, some are good, some not so good. Go by how you feel. Use your best judgment. You know your body better than anyone else. Ask yourself some questions.
Do you feel like you’re overweight? Would you feel better if you lost weight? Do you feel pudgy? Or doughy or fluffy or bloated? This was me. I always felt doughy like when I started to feel doughy, like the Pillsbury Doughboy, I was like, I don’t want to feel like that. And if this is how you feel every day, then you can decide for yourself if you want to lose weight or not.
But it’s not up to a number. It’s not up to the government, it’s not up to some standard that you see on a chart somewhere. Just determine this for yourself. How do you feel about yourself? How are your clothes fitting? Are they tight? You know, have you had to go up a size or two?
And a few years back, when I started gaining weight again, my clothes were getting a little snugger. And I refused to buy new clothes. I was like, eventually, I’m just going to lose this weight. But you know, for now, I’m not buying new clothes, there’s no way I was going to go up a size in pants or shirts or anything like that.
So the clothes kept getting tighter. And I kept feeling less confident. I was feeling more self conscious, I would put on the shirts like a button up shirt, and the buttons would be sort of like pulling apart at the around the belly section. This is not a good look. All right. And it was very embarrassing for me.
And so I would like just choose whatever the loosest fitting clothes I had, and not a lot. All the tight fitting clothes, I had just ended up in the back of the drawer or the back of the closet, whatever. And then I remember I had some shorts in the summertime and I had some shorts that used to fit perfectly and I loved the shorts, but I couldn’t even button them anymore.
Could not even get them buttoned. And that was part of my wake up call was like, I’ve got to do something about this because I’m not going to buy new clothes. I’m not going to go up sizes. Alright, just so you know those shorts now I wear them today. And they’re like loose on me. Like I almost could go a size down. I’m not going to do that though.
But listen, I want you to decide for yourself, do you want to feel better about yourself? Do you want to feel better in your body with losing some weight? Maybe some fat weight and gaining some muscle help you to feel better about yourself. Now I always encourage people to work on the way they feel about themselves before they decide to go on a weight loss journey.
Like you have to like, kind of love yourself through this whole process. You can’t just hate yourself and expect to love yourself when you lose the weight. No, it doesn’t work that way. But no one else can decide whether or not you need to lose weight. It’s not up to the scale or to chart or anything else like that.
And it’s not up to other people in your life, either. Because sometimes I work with people who come to me and they’re like, yeah, I really want to lose like 10 pounds. But you know, my husband tells me I look fine, and I don’t need to lose weight, or my mom tells me I shouldn’t lose any more weight.
And I just want to like encourage you to just decide what you want to do. If you want to lose five or 10 pounds, you know, maybe you want to improve your running time. You want to run a faster marathon and losing 10 or 15 pounds is gonna really help you to get there, then absolutely, that should be something that you decide for yourself.
It’s not up to other people, other people just want us to feel good about ourselves, they want us to be happy. And if they see you, you know saying like, oh, I need to lose some weight, they might think you’re unhappy. And it’s not about that. It’s about becoming our best selves. It’s about becoming badass, right?
It’s not about you know, not feeling good about ourselves. Okay, so going back to the question, how’s your weight? How do you feel about yourself? How do you feel about your weight? If you want to lose weight, if you feel like you’re overweight, diet is going to be the number one driver of this for you. We want to change your body composition, then we’re going to change your diet.
Okay. The next indicator of whether or not it might be time to change your diet is your relationship with food. Like if you struggle with food choices, if you struggle with making good choices and staying on track with a pretty healthy diet, then it might be time to give that diet an overhaul. You know if you find it very difficult to avoid junk food, sugar in particular, then it might be time to change your diet.
Listen, sugar jacks you up. It’s more like a drug than a food. There’s no real positive nutritional benefits from eating sugar. There aren’t. There’s a lot of negative consequences though. You know, sugar causes all kinds of metabolic issues like higher blood pressure, inflammation, gain, weight gain, diabetes, fatty liver disease, increased risk for heart attack and stroke.
Too much sugar in the diet is the number one cause of metabolic diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, Alzheimer’s and all these things that I just mentioned. And what it really does is it puts your body into this state of hyperinsulinemia with too much insulin in your blood, or insulin resistance, that means your body just can’t regulate insulin properly, and so it just keeps pumping out more and more and more insulin.
Insulin drives fat into fat cells. Insulin drives your body into fat storage mode. So when insulin is high all the time, you’re just storing fat all the time. You can’t burn the fat. And then in researching this podcast today, I found some other negative side effects of too much sugar in the diet.
And some of these things I did not realize first is dental health. Now of course, we all know that eating too much sugar can cause cavities, right? You know, bacteria in your mouth feed on sugar. And they release these acid byproducts which cause tooth decay, right and cavities. Think we all know that one.
But sugar also cause like an increase of kidney disease risk. Having consistently high blood sugar can damage the delicate blood vessels in your kidneys. And that can lead to an increased risk of kidney disease. Too much sugar can cause gout. Gout is an inflammatory condition characterized by pain in the joints, especially in the toes, like big toes.
I had gout some time ago, years and years ago, because I was eating a real crap diet. And I will tell you it is one of the most painful things you can experience. There was almost nothing I’ve ever experienced that was as painful as gout. I couldn’t even couldn’t even walk, couldn’t put shoes on, couldn’t have the sheets touching my feet. I had to sleep with my feet like not touching the sheets. Not good.
But sugar raises the uric acid levels in the blood, which helps make gout worse, it makes it really bad. And then another thing that I did not know is that high sugar in the diet can lead to cognitive decline, impaired memory and increased risk of dementia. Right. So why are we eating sugar?
Listen in moderation. Yes, very, very limited amounts, you know, whatever. Okay, but listen, sugar is not healthy, this is not good for you. There’s only negative consequences to eating sugar, it’s more like a drug than it is a food. It causes harm at certain levels like a drug does, it’s very difficult to quit eating sugar.
And if you struggle with giving up sugar, this is an indicator that something may have to change in your diet. Okay, if you find yourself craving sugar all the time, or just thinking about giving it up kind of sends you into like a panic mode, then it might be time to get off the sugar and change your relationship with food or change your food choices and change your diet. Okay.
Another indicator that it might be time to change your diet is your eating habits in general, like are you using food as an emotional management tool, because if you are, we got to change something here. Okay. This is about changing your thoughts and feelings, but it’s also about changing what you’re eating.
Because if you’re binging on junk food, if you’re using this hyper palatable food, you know, most processed foods most junk food is considered what they call hyper palatable, it’s been engineered to be incredibly delicious, and give you like a dopamine hit and, and make you feel good and releases all these chemicals that make you feel amazing. Again, like a drug, right?
And so if you’re using food as an emotional management tool, maybe it’s time to change your diet. Right? If you’re eating because you’re stressed, you’re bored, you’re anxious, you’re frustrated, you’re overwhelmed, angry, lonely, whatever. These are reasons to consider making a change to your diet.
Okay, you have to be able to handle your emotions and your emotional experiences in this life. Like a mature, evolved adult human being not like a toddler. The toddler reaction to our emotions is when we just want them to go away right away. I don’t want to feel this way. Give me some food to make me feel better. Right?
That’s what we do. And I’m kind of like saying it funnily. But listen, funnily is a word. I don’t even know if that’s a word. I’m saying it in a funny way. But we got to deal with our emotions like mature evolved adults, we have to actually be able to just sit with our emotions and experience these emotions without having to eat over them when we’re eating just to feel better.
This is a problem. These are not good eating habits, okay? And listen, ending emotional eating, this is not an easy thing to do. And I get it. This is a complicated topic. And we actually spent a whole month last month on this topic in the coaching project.
And people got a lot out of it, to be honest with you, we really dug deep into emotional eating and how to stop doing it and how to deal with our emotions instead, it was pretty powerful stuff. But if you regularly find yourself eating, not because you’re hungry, but because like you just want to feel better, maybe it’s time to change your diet, okay?
Another indicator that it might be time to change your diet, are you hungry all the time, because you shouldn’t be. If you’re hungry all the time, there’s something wrong. Humans evolved over, you know, millennia, I would say, lots of millennia, hundreds of thousands of years, if not millions of years, we’ve evolved to eat a couple of times a day, at most, and then sometimes we would go for days without food altogether.
So think about our human ancestors, we were amazing, persistent hunters. That’s why we’re such good runners, because we would, you know, call an animal from the herd, and then run it down. And we could just keep up with this animal, they would, they would die of exhaustion, but we can sweat really well.
We maintain our body temperature. And we’re really good at running we have big butts, which help us to balance when we’re running. And, you know, we are really good at long distance running. Right? That’s why I love endurance events, especially ultra running, where you’re running through the woods for extended periods of time, because this most typically, most directly mimics how we’ve evolved as humans, it’s like built into our DNA, this persistent hunting and this running.
But we would run down animals, this would take days sometimes. And we wouldn’t have food during that time. And during that time, if not having food was a problem, we would you know, crash and burn and die along with the animals. Right. But no, that’s not what we did, we could maintain.
Our brains actually got more focused, we became more cognitively aware of what was going on in our surroundings. And we had plenty of energy to just keep going. And if we had to eat every couple of hours, if this is the way we’ve evolved as humans, this wouldn’t have worked at all right?
This is just not normal, our digestive systems, our pancreas and things like that are designed to work sporadically to work intermittently, not all the time. So if you can’t go for a couple of hours without food, this means that your body is not working the way it’s supposed to. Okay, it means your hunger signals are messed up, your hormones are messed up.
And what causes that is the wrong kind of diet. If you’re eating the kind of diet where you know, you’re hungry all the time, this is a problem. This is not right, you need to change your diet. Speaking of energy, how are your energy levels, because if you’re crashing and burning every afternoon, then this is a problem. This means your diet needs to be changed, right?
You want to have sustainable energy, that’s pretty consistent all day long. We don’t want to be having these spikes of energy, oh my gosh, I feel amazing. And then crashes where you just feel like falling asleep at your desk at three o’clock in the afternoon, right? The wrong kind of diet will cause these spikes in your blood sugar.
And when we have these massive spikes in our blood sugar, when we come down from that, we actually kind of dropped below baseline. So we want to stay near that baseline as closely as possible. But when you spike really high, you crash really low. And that’s where people say, oh, my blood sugar is low, I need to eat some sugar, whatever, you know, I need an energy drink in the afternoon.
So this is a problem. Again, this is not normal. We should have pretty pretty steady energy all day long, right? But a diet high in sugar, high in refined carbohydrates, high in highly processed foods is typically the cause of these energy spikes and crashes. All right. And as a runner, you don’t want this. You want steady energy being delivered to your brain into your muscles like all day, especially for running especially for your athletic performance.
Speaking of which, how is your running? How is your endurance? Do you find yourself hitting the wall during long runs? Are you just getting gassed? Are you running out of energy at some point? Do you have to like wash down a bunch of gels and goos and stuff just to like, get out there and do a 10 mile run or something?
So when we talk about, you know, running out of energy, this is like hitting the wall or bonking when you’re running, right? And if this is you, if you find yourself consistently just running out of energy, then we need to look at your diet, it could be, it could be a big problem, okay?
So, running out of energy hitting the wall is a pretty common thing, especially with the marathon runners, right. And for me, I used to hit the wall between mile like 18 and 20, pretty consistently. And this is where most runners that I talked to tell me that they typically would hit the wall.
This is when you run out of glycogen in your muscles, and you have no alternative energy source. So you’re not fat-adapted, you’re not burning fat efficiently. And you’re you have no more fuel, and you just crash and burn, boom, you’re done. You just have to stop and walk. And then it’s kind of a slog fest, those last five, six miles on a marathon, right?
So you know, for me, one of the big reasons I got into sports nutrition, and especially sports nutrition with this, you know, kind of leaning towards the fat-adaptation side of things is that I wanted to figure out how to become a fat adapted runner, I wanted to figure out how to stop the bonking, how to stop hitting the wall at mile 18 or 20, I wanted to have unlimited, you know, fuel for running.
And when you become a fat-adapted runner, you virtually become bulletproof. You have this endless supply of fuel onboard in the way of your own stored body fat. And just to prove this, I’ve heard other people that have done endurance events without any calories at all. And I wanted to see, you know, can I even do this? Is this even feasible? You know, is this possible?
And then last year, once I got fat-adapted, I ran two marathons. And then the year before I did a 50k, and I did all these events on zero calories, I didn’t eat breakfast beforehand, I didn’t take in any calories during the event. And I had plenty of energy to complete these distances.
So you can absolutely do it once you’re fat adapted, you can absolutely do these long distance events without having a bunch of fuel or any fuel really, except for the fuel that you’re producing, using your own body fat. Now, is this optimal for everybody? Maybe not, I just wanted you to understand that when you become fat-adapted, you no longer need massive amounts of fuel, you can get away with not very much, right?
I actually teach my clients how to use fuel strategically during races to enhance running performance, you can use some types of fuel to keep the fat burning going, but also take advantage of you know, the carbohydrate sources or, you know, other sources of fuel to give your muscles more glycogen, so that you can like, get a little bit faster, maybe have that top gear, okay.
Speaking of speed, how is your running speed? This could be an indication that you need to switch up your diet, you know, if you find yourself just stuck at the same speed, and you just can’t make any improvements, your diet is going to help with this. Okay, your diet could be hindering your speed and your performance.
And of course, you know, when it comes to running faster, you’ve got to work on strength training, you’ve got to build stronger muscles. You want to become a more powerful runner. And you also have to do speed work, right? These are things you need to do. But diet plays a huge part in this too. Right? The wrong diet can kill your speed.
If you’re eating a bunch of junk food, processed food, a bunch of weird ingredients, you’re not giving your body, you’re not giving your muscles the nutrition that it actually needs to perform at its best. And you’re just doing yourself a disservice you’re not going to get faster, it’s going to be very difficult to get faster. Put it that way.
So look at your running speed and if you’re trying to, you know PR a marathon PR a 5k or 10k Let’s look at the diet it could be having a negative impact on your running speed. Okay. And then how are you recovering from running? Most runners who eat the Standard American Diet who eat a lot of sugar, a lot of processed foods, a lot of refined carbohydrates and refined grains experience chronic inflammation.
This means that recovering from hard workouts takes a lot longer, which will actually decrease your running performance overall. And when we get fat adapted when we change the diet, the runners that I work with telling me that they have, they are recovering faster than ever, they’ve never experienced this kind of like, they’ll go and run a 20 miler, and the next day, they feel amazing.
They no longer feel all the inflammation and the bloating. And even their doctors report the lower levels of the inflammatory marker, I can’t remember what it’s called off the top of my head here. But when you get your blood work done, there’s that inflammatory marker.
And they can see that that’s greatly lowered because of diet. So diet can have a huge impact on your recovery. And when you recover faster, and your body’s not in a state of chronic inflammation, you can become a stronger runner, you can improve your running performance, you can actually get faster too.
A couple more things. What about sleeping, how is your sleep? Sleep is often overlooked. But this is an important part of your training, it should be. It is crucial to get a good night’s sleep, your body has to use that time to, to rebuild to recover, and so that you can go out there and get after it the next day. And if you’re not getting the right amount of sleep, if your sleep is horrible, and you wake up not feeling good, feeling tired of feeling exhausted when you wake up in the morning, this is a problem, this is going to put your body in this state of chronic stress.
Chronic stress will increase your cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone, your body will produce more glucose in response to that stress hormone, which increases insulin levels, which keeps your body in that fat storage mode. Chronic stress leads to chronically storing body fat, and it makes it very difficult to improve your body composition.
If you’re super stressed out, we want to practice like acute stress in our body. So we want to run hard. Sometimes we want to lift weights hard, sometimes that’s acute stress, it’s short, short term, your body can adapt to that kind of stress.
There’s an adaptive response that happens when we experience that kind of stress, chronic stress being stressed all the time, which what is what happens when you don’t get a good night’s sleep every night, you can be just chronically stressed out, this is going to just keep it keep you from losing weight, it’s going to keep you from running at your best, it’s going to just make it very hard for you to recover.
So you gotta get a good night’s sleep. diet plays a huge role in this diet plays a huge role in your sleep. If you’re not, if you’re not eating the right diet, if you’re eating a bunch of junk food and eating a bunch of sugar, I’m going to tell you right now your sleep is going to be messed up.
People that I work with report that they’re sleeping has never been better, once they get off of that sugar kind of roller coaster. And then the last thing I want you to consider is your ability to focus and concentrate. One of the best things about being fat adapted for me, is the clear headedness that I experience, I can think more clearly, I concentrate more easily. And I can stay focused all day long.
The wrong diet doesn’t give your brain the kinds of fuel that it needs to function properly, your brain actually thrives on fat as a fuel source. So if your diet isn’t promoting fat burning, then you’re probably experiencing, you know, brain fog. And it’s hard to know that you’re experiencing brain fog when you’re in it. It just seems like this is the way things are.
But I’m telling you right now, when you get off of that sugar roller coaster, when you change your diet, you start eating real food, you start burning fat more efficiently. All of a sudden, it seems like the world comes into clearer focus, and you can concentrate and you can think more clearly.
And it’s like the fog has been lifted. It’s amazing. This is like one of my favorite parts about eating this way is that I just feel like my brain works the way it’s supposed to. Right. So all these things we just talked about are all indicators that your diet is either working for you or it’s not, you know, and if you’re finding yourself deciding that, yeah, you know, it’s time for me to change my diet. I want to encourage you to do something about it. Don’t just think about it. Don’t just listen to this and go okay, good stuff.
Let’s move on to the next one or whatever. I want you to do something, try something, take a break from sugar. Start eating real food, you know, food that still looks like food, right? Get fat-adapted as a runner. It takes a little bit of time to do that. It’s not for everyone. It’s a little bit of an uncomfortable process to go through. But once you get there It’s amazing.
And I’m going to tell you right now, you’ll never want to go back to doing what you’ve been doing in the past, right? Maybe eliminate processed food, that’s a good place for a lot of people to start. Anything that comes in a package, just stay away from it. Stop it with all the ingredients, right?
Most of these processed foods are not designed for your health, but they’re just they’re designed to taste amazing and to sell you more food really. They keep you hungry. They keep you craving foods so that you’ll buy more of their crappy processed packaged foods, right? The food companies are making a lot of money, but we pay the price with our health right?
And then consider getting some help. If you’re looking for some help with all of this. If you want some help and guidance, consider joining us in the Running Lean coaching project because you’ll learn exactly what to do and how to do it. You learn how to get fat-adapted the right way.
You’ll get support from the group and from me as your coach, you’ll get encouragement to keep going accountability to help you stay on track. And you’ll just get to your goals faster when you have the expert guidance helping you get there. Okay, so if you’re interested, love to have you just go to runningleancoaching.com/apply, and we can get you started on your journey to becoming a badass today. Cool. Okay, that’s all I got for you today. Love you all. Keep on Running Lean, and I’ll talk to you soon.
If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.
I have a 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 …
Continue Reading about 108. Being an Example of What’s Possible with Eva Bailey →
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.
If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.
I’ve received a lot of questions about the Running Lean Coaching Group’s January 8 Pounds Down Challenge so I decided to address all of your questions in this bonus podcast episode! Starting on …
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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 this special bonus episode of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners. And today I’m going to be talking about the coaching group’s January eight pounds down challenge.
I’ve received a lot of questions about this challenge and about what we’re going to be doing over in the coaching group. And I wanted to make sure that I addressed all of your questions. And I was going to do this in this week’s Facebook Live. But there are some mitigating circumstances where I cannot go live on Facebook right now. I’ll talk more about that in a minute.
But I just want you to know that starting on Tuesday, January 4, we’re going to be focusing on getting fat-adapted as a group, we’re going to be doing this in the coaching group, we’re going to be getting fat-adapted and dropping some weight.
And the goal is to try to lose eight pounds by January 31. So if you think about it, it’s roughly two pounds a week, maybe a little less than two pounds a week. Very doable. Can I guarantee everybody’s gonna drop at least exactly eight pounds? No, but you know what, we’re going to set ourselves up for success, okay.
Some people might might lose a bit more, some people might lose a bit less. It’s all good. So if you’re interested in stepping up your game and joining us for this fun and transformative challenge, be sure to listen to this episode, because I’m just gonna be talking about what we’re going to be doing over there. I’ll give you all the details, and then join us in the group, it’d be fun to have you in the group. Okay.
So normally, I would be talking about this on my Facebook Live that I do every week in the Facebook group. And because of some glitchy thing that I did a couple of years ago, apparently, the Facebook algorithm found some old posts that I shared some meme or something like that, that apparently went against the community guidelines for Facebook.
And I’m basically restricted from going live for 30 days. No big deal. Whatever I posted was innocent enough, there was something sarcastic, which I’ve been known to do every now and then. And looking back on it, I can see how it was maybe just in poor taste or whatever. Okay, so, lesson learned. I’m kind of restricted from going live on Facebook right now.
So for this month, I’m going to maybe do a couple of bonus episodes of the podcast, is that cool with you guys? Cool. So it’s all good. Lesson learned. You’ve got to be careful what you post on Facebook, I’m telling you right now they take stuff very seriously, you know, even if you’re joking around. So just be careful with that kind of stuff.
You guys, you know what? I always try to keep things positive, you’re probably listening to this going, like, I can’t believe you would post something like, what did you post I know, it was just something dumb that I shared that somebody else created, you know, some meme, you know.
But apparently, it went against their guidelines, so lesson learned.
Okay, so here’s what I’m gonna talk about today – I want to talk about this challenge that we’re doing over the Facebook group. So this is all about getting fat-adapted and doing our best to lose eight pounds by January 31.
Okay, so why are we doing this? Well, first of all, this is a great time of the year to do this not because it’s January 1, and we’re all like setting resolutions and all this stuff. No. It’s a good time to do it because we are just getting started with marathon training.
Or maybe your half marathon training hasn’t started yet. So this is the offseason and this is a good time to kind of get started with any kind of nutrition changes, any kind of dietary changes.
You don’t want to wait six weeks until your marathon to start something like this. Okay? So, most spring marathons are going to be in, you know, April, May June, kind of in that timeframe. So we’ve got plenty of time to get fat adapted, okay.
I want to help you create some momentum as well to start this new year. I want to help you develop some new eating habits and some new relationships with food really, and with exercise and I want you to understand what it takes to become a fat adapted runner.
I want you to see the benefits of becoming a fat-adapted runner, and I want to create some momentum. I want you to create the momentum to help you just project yourself into the rest of the year like really give you some momentum to just keep things going and really create some good positive habits.
You know, when we talk about losing weight, we talk about getting fat-adapted, we talk about getting healthier, we talk about getting more fit, improving our health, improving our fitness, whatever it is, it’s all about changing your habits. It’s all about what you do, every single day.
And most people, what they do is they, you know, they get to a day like January 1, and they’re like, I’m gonna lose weight, you know, and then they just kind of arbitrarily kind of half-ass a plan and sort of, you know, try to eat better, whatever that means.
And they don’t really succeed at that, right. I mean, this is why the gyms are full in January, and then by March, they’re empty again, right. So most people try to do this in a way that just doesn’t work. Okay.
And so, a couple of other things that kind of don’t work is trying to do it on your own. Right? It’s hard to do this on your own. Without guidance, it can be challenging, okay. Without accountability, it can be very challenging. Without direction, or somebody to help you get through the tough stuff, it’s going to be almost impossible for you.
So what we’re going to do as a group is we are going to learn together, exactly how to get fat adapted. So you’ll be able to do this with a group, you’re going to get expert guidance and direction from me and from other people in the group.
I’ve got people in my coaching group who have been in my membership program for many months. And some people, I would consider them to be experts at this as well, they’ve got a lot of experience doing this.
So you’re going to hear from me and from other people that have had a great experience doing this, okay, but I’m going to be your coach, I’m going to be coaching you through the tough stuff, okay. You’ll have a clear and proven plan, you’re going to have a plan that has worked for countless other runners.
And we are going to kind of figure out our plans together. And you’ll have a chance to ask questions. Every week, you’re going to get encouragement, you’re going to get that accountability, where you have to sort of check-in, you’ll get to talk about what’s going well, what’s not, you’re going to stay motivated, you’re going to stay on track when you do this as a group. Okay?
That whole accountability thing. Somebody asked me this recently, like, what does accountability look like? It looks like this. It looks like every week, we’re going to say hey, this is what your job is for this week. Here’s the work you need to do. Maybe you got some homework assignments you have to do this week. Here’s what we’re going to do as a group together, yeah, let’s do it.
So we all say, yes, we’re committed, we’re going to do this thing. And then every week, you’ve got to show up and say, did you do it or not? That’s what accountability looks like. Okay, because you don’t want to show up to the group and say, I didn’t do it. I didn’t stick to my plan. You know, I just gave up. You don’t want to do that. Right?
So you’re going to stay on track, you’re going to do what you said you’re going to do, because you got to check in with us and tell us you did, or you didn’t do it. That’s what accountability looks like. Okay.
And I also need to say this, I need to say that when we do this when we go through this process in this group together as a group, we are going to have fun doing it. Okay. It doesn’t have to stop at losing weight, getting healthy and becoming fitter can be fun. Is that crazy to say, does that totally blow your mind? Because it can be fun.
Most people think you have to suffer. Most people think it has to be super terrible. And you have to live in this world of like, dust deprivation and white-knuckling it. And, you know, just being hungry all the time. And feeling like crap. Like we’re gonna try to minimize that kind of stuff. Right? We’re gonna have some fun doing this.
Okay, um, I always say like losing weight doesn’t have to be a suffer-fest. Like we can do it in a way that feels good. That’s actually kind of fun. Okay. So how does all this work? So, what you’ll want to do is you’ll want to join the Running Lean coaching group and do this before Tuesday. Okay, Tuesday, the fourth.
So Tuesday, the fourth at 8:30 pm is our first group coaching call for January. And those are the only that’s the only time each week that we do this call. Okay, right now, I only have one call time each week.
As this group grows and we get more interest, you know, I could change that time or add more times, but for now, we just have the one call time and I try to accommodate, you know, as many people’s schedules that can there’s no way I could possibly pick a time that would work for everybody, but this time seems to work for a lot of people.
But don’t worry, if you can’t make the live calls, you can still get a lot out of the program by listening to the replays. So I post all the replays, all the video replays, from our group zoom meetings on a private website that you’ll have access to, I also have a private podcast feed that you can listen to.
So you can actually just listen to the coaching calls as you’re out running or whatever, which is a great way to kind of, you know, replay and get that information if you can’t make the lives but I do encourage you to make the live calls.
The people that make the live calls get a lot more out of the program, I’m just gonna tell you right now. Okay. So as soon as you sign up for the program, you’re going to get immediate access to all of my online training materials.
So my big flagship program is called the Weight Loss Training Course for Runners. And this is a big, multi-module program, it’s got, I don’t know, 40 videos, 45 videos, something like that, of training on a variety of topics about fat-adaptation, about the mindset required to lose weight and keep it off.
Strength training, explosive workouts for runners, there’s just so much information in there, okay, you get my course called Achieving the Impossible. This is all about setting big, huge impossible goals and then making them happen, you’ll get access to my course called Getting It All Done, which is a productivity course and helps you with planning.
A lot of what we do in the program is about planning, we plan our meals ahead of time, we plan our workouts, and then we stick to our plan. So I show you exactly how to plan your whole week, using different calendar tools and a very effective way of getting everything done.
And then you’ll have access to all the previous group coaching calls to all the recorded stuff, like I said in the private podcast, so in addition to all of that you get access to my private Facebook group where we kind of do a little bit of Q&A in there, sometimes you get to ask questions and get answers. So I would encourage you to get signed up before Tuesday. And we will all get started together on Tuesday, January 4. Cool.
So each week, you’re going to have you know, some different work to do, you’ll have some different sort of assignments, you’ll have different layers of like, what it looks like to get fat adapted, and how we change our diet, and how we, you know what you’re supposed to eat, what you shouldn’t eat, things to avoid, things you should definitely add in how to schedule your workouts around all this. How to make sure you’re getting the most out of the out of your running workouts, how to get through this tough fat-adaptation phase because the first few weeks is a little bit challenging.
And so you know, got some tips and tricks for getting through that quickly. You’ll get to ask questions and check in every week in the program. Cool. So that’s what the program looks like, I just want to encourage you, if you’re the kind of person who is like interested in doing this, you’re interested in starting your year off, by getting yourself fat-adapted, like this is something you’ve been thinking about for a long time, and you’re ready to take action, just I’m just gonna encourage you to take action. Okay?
Go over to runningleanpodcast.com/join and you can read all about it. And then you can just get yourself signed up. And as soon as you get yourself signed up, you’ll have access to all the online training materials, and then you can join in the live call on Tuesday.
You know, if you’re the kind of person who keeps gaining and losing the same 10 or 20 pounds over and over again, and you want a different way to do things, you want a different way that’s going to maybe work permanently for change, this is a good program for you.
If you’ve been running a ton of miles like trying to lose weight and it’s just not working for you anymore, this is definitely the program for you. Okay, if you want running to feel easier, you want to become virtually bonk-proof so you can run without hitting the wall and have this like steady energy for running also just for like getting through your day and not having these energy spikes and crashes all day long – definitely the program for you.
Okay, take control of your nutrition game. Let’s get you fat-adapted once and for all. We’re gonna do it together and experience all the fun and all the benefits and all the health benefits, especially of getting yourself fat adapted and losing some weight in January. Cool.
I know you guys are gonna have questions you can post questions in the Facebook group about this. I’m excited to be on this journey with you. I’m excited to take a group of people through this together. I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun doing this. If I haven’t mentioned that already, I’ll say alright, we’re gonna have fun.
And then together we’re going to have an awesome January and set you up for success for everything that you have scheduled for the rest of the year. All of your spring marathon and half marathon goals, and just all of your overall health and fitness goals. Cool. All right, you got this my friends love you all keep on Running Lean. Reach out if you have any questions and I’ll talk to you soon.
If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.
The 2021 Flying Pig Marathon is officially in the books! I did some things differently this training season from a fueling perspective. Some things worked pretty well, some not so much, but I …
Continue Reading about 98. Marathon Recap: What Worked and What Didn’t →
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 98 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners. And today I’m giving you a marathon recap, I’m going to talk about what worked and what didn’t in my recent marathon.
So the 2021 Flying Pig marathon is officially in the books. And it was fun, had a great, great weekend. And I did some things differently. This training season, especially from a feeling perspective, some things worked pretty well, some not so much.
But I definitely learned some very valuable lessons this training season and during the marathon itself. So in this episode of the podcast, I’m going to go over how I feel differently for this training season and how I feel for the race itself, what worked, what didn’t, and what I might do differently next time.
And just so you know, I originally recorded this episode, over in the Running Lean community on Facebook. So each week I do a live call where I do some teaching and coaching and answer questions. And so this was one of those calls, this is the call we did last week.
And if you’re not currently in the Facebook group, this call that you’re going to listen to now in this in this podcast episode will give you a good idea of what those live calls are all about.
So I would love it if you would join the Facebook group and join in on the conversation. So just search for Running Lean community on Facebook, and join us over there.
And then here’s a recent message that someone in the Running Lean community on Facebook posted so they posted this right after finishing their marathon. And so this is from Jima and she wrote: “2021 was the year of unexpected achievements. In each race, I was able to experiment with fat-adapted running with excellent results. With this last marathon, I was able to run 20 miles fasted with no bonking and only consumed a slow-burning energy gel at the end just for replenishment. Thank you, Patrick McGilvray, for sharing your expertise and knowledge.”
Also, much thanks to you all in the Running Lean community, as you are all inspiring. Love it. I love those kinds of messages. And congratulations on an awesome marathon season, Jima.
And then people ask how they can work with me. And one way you can do that is to join the Running Lean coaching group. And I’m going to be talking more about that later on in the podcast.
This whole month of November, we’re talking about self-sabotage just in time for the holidays, you guys. So we’re going to learn how to recognize self-sabotage, how to understand what it really is, how to stop it before it gets out of hand, and how to eliminate it from your life for good.
So if you’re interested in learning more about the coaching group, just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join. And then as always, you know, I do one on one coaching with people, this is what I do, this is my jam.
So if you’re ever interested in a little expert guidance, support, encouragement, accountability, maybe a little tough love every now and then. Then just reach out. You’ve got to apply for coaching.
So just go to runningleanpodcast.com/apply. And we’ll just see if coaching is a good fit for you. Cool. All right. So I’m going to go ahead and play for you. The marathon recap what worked and what didn’t from last week’s Facebook Live.
Hey, everybody, welcome to your Sunday live coaching call. This is something we do every single Sunday afternoon. For the most part, I didn’t do it last week, because I was running the flying pig marathon. It was Halloween. And I thought we’d all take the afternoon off.
But today what I want to do is kind of give you guys a little bit of a recap of specifically sort of how I did my training, how I fueled for my training this marathon training season, how I fueled specifically for this marathon, and I did some things differently than I have been doing in the past. And I want to talk a little bit about that.
Some of it was, you know, there were some positives and there were some you know, I wouldn’t say negatives, but there were some things I would recommend doing maybe and some things that I’ll probably do again, and there were some things that I maybe won’t do again.
So let’s get into this whole marathon training, thingsthat I did differently, I want to talk about what I did differently this time and share some of my insights with you guys. I get a lot of questions about what I eat and how I fuel for these things. And I’ve talked a little bit about some different fueling strategies in the past.
And I’ve talked about how I’ve done several marathons and even an ultra marathon, completely unfilled, like just not needing any kind of fuel at all. And then I did things a little bit differently this training season. And I want to talk about that.
And I want to explain to you guys why I made the decisions that I made. And what I was trying to do with all that. A lot of the stuff that I do here is just to like, share the data with you guys, you know. So just to kind of give you guys a little perspective here, everything that we do is a is an experiment of one.
So everything that we’re doing in here when it comes to how to fuel properly for a marathon, or what’s the right diet for weight loss. When people ask these questions, I always just say, like, try something and see if it works.
That’s it like just try something and see if it works. What works for me may not necessarily work for you. And I don’t even know what works best for me. I’ve tried all kinds of things, and I keep continuing to try different things.
I do different fueling strategies and training, different fueling strategies for long runs. Sometimes I’m carb-loading, sometimes I’m not. And all this stuff is to just find out how I feel and how my performance is affected by these different strategies. Okay.
And I’m always learning. And I don’t know it all, I’m just going to tell you guys right now, I don’t have all the answers. But because you know what the answer is within, you know, the answer is within each of us the right answer as to what is the right fuelling approach for you as an individual.
So but what I want to do today is give you guys a little bit of a look a little snapshot of what this looked like, for me though, this training season and some of the lessons I learned, so that maybe you can like start experimenting with some of this stuff on your own. Okay, so that’s kind of my high level to look at why I’m talking about this today.
And what I’m hoping that you get out of this today. Okay. So I have a question. I want to ask you guys and feel free to answer this in the comments. Because this is just kind of a funny question. Could be a serious question could be a funny question.
But what has been your best or worst fueling strategy for a marathon or half marathon? Like, what’s something you did that worked really well? Or what’s something you did that just went horribly wrong? Those might be more entertaining. So drop your answer in the comments, and we’ll get to those later.
I also want to let you guys know that if you have any questions about anything that I’m talking about here today, just ask away, ask in the comments, and I’ll get to all your questions. before we’re finished here today.
Okay, so if anything comes up for you, and you’re like, you know what, how did that work? Or what do you mean by that? Like, just ask, ask away, okay, that’s what we’re here for the interaction, okay?
I do this podcast or I’m talking into a microphone. I like these lives where we get to have a conversation, okay, where you get to ask the questions, and I can answer them live. That’s super fun for me. So feel free to ask questions. Okay.
So, what did I do differently this time around? So, like I said, most of the last year and a half of training for me, I’ve done now.
Two, I’ve done through three marathons and a 50k. So three marathons and an ultra marathon in the last year basically, and all three of these, or four of these, events have been you know, done as a low carb fat-adapted athlete, okay.
Within that, you know, those parameters of being fat-adapted and low carb, there are lots of different ways of doing things. Okay, so it just doesn’t mean like you never eat anything, it just doesn’t mean you’re eating nothing.
But you know, steaks, you know, for your training and stuff like that. Steaks and sticks of butter, although pretty delicious. Melt some butter on a ribeye steak, there’s really nothing better. So the fueling strategies can be different for all these different kinds of events.
But within the parameters of a low carb endurance athlete, a low carb fat-adapted runner, I’ve done some things a little bit differently. So last year, I did a marathon at this time of the year. Zero calories I did a 50k zero calories, and then I did my marathon in the spring, basically zero calories.
And those three events were fantastic. I felt amazing, especially the last marathon that I did. And I ran that one a little bit harder actually had sort of a time goal. And I felt amazing. So that last marathon was sort of the culmination of for me what it felt like to be a truly fat-adapted athlete, and not really needing any fuel.
So for me, and I’m not crushing goal times here, I’m not qualifying for Boston or anything like that. I ran a 4:15 in the spring. And that was really good for me. And I was pushing the pace. And I had to step up my game a little bit for that one. And I felt amazing.
And again, no, like carb-loading before that event, actually, my ramp-up to that event, I made a point to like, pretty much eat zero carbs. So I talked about this on a podcast called Zero Carb Marathon Training.
And I basically went carnivore for about 40 days leading up to that marathon. And felt amazing, and it was a great experience, okay. And so when, when it came time to do this next marathon, I thought I could do the same thing, and feel the same way and sort of stay in that carnivore sort of mode, and just see how that goes.
But I didn’t want to do that I was actually really interested in getting some carb adaptation, okay. So when you’re fat-adapted, and you’re really good at burning fat and your low-carb athlete, if you want to start incorporating carbohydrates back into your strategy, you have to practice with it and do it for a while.
So you have to sort of get yourself carb-adapted again. And so I made a point to add more carbs in for this training cycle. So what does that mean? Like, what am I talking about?
Was I eating a bunch of cupcakes and stuff like that? No, it’s not that kind of carbs, I wasn’t eating sugar, I’m not eating processed flour and stuff like that.
I was eating more salads, I was eating more avocados, I was eating more yogurt, and some berries, like I love like yogurt with strawberries, and blueberries, nuts.
And then the day before or two days before and the day before my long runs, I would incorporate more slow-burning carbohydrates like wild rice, and sweet potatoes, that’s kind of my go to has been my go-to.
So this was a pretty intentional strategy for me over the last 12 weeks or so, you know, maybe longer than that. Really just to kind of ramp up during this marathon training, because I wanted to make sure that my body could also use the carbohydrates as fuel.
So when you’re really good at burning fat, and then you start introducing some carbohydrates into the mix, you’re not really efficient, and bringing the carbs and having the carbohydrates in the system kind of shuts down the fat burning the efficiency of the fat burning.
So we just have to be careful with this sort of approach. Like if you’re a super fat-adapted athlete, and you’re like, oh, I just want to like run harder, run a better time or something like that.
And you start adding in a bunch of carbs, like just the day before your marathon or something like that, and you haven’t been training this way, you’re not going to have a good experience.
And this was my take when I first started introducing carbs back into my training, I noticed a little bit of a downturn in my performance. So that was one thing that I would say was a negative.
And that was something that I did not enjoy. I didn’t enjoy adding the carbs in and then having this more of a sluggish feeling. Okay. So I pressed on, though, because I’m like, okay, I need to really do this. And I know it’s hard. And I know it doesn’t feel good, but I’m just gonna continue doing it.
Kind of like we do when we get fat-adapted, you have to kind of push through, there’s like three, four weeks of really tough running. Well, I kind of experienced the same thing when I started incorporating carbs back into the mix. So I found that very interesting.
And I’ve done a bunch of reading on this a bunch of research on it, and it’s totally normal. It’s like, part of the process. Okay. So, if you if you’re desiring to add carbohydrates into your marathon training strategy and into your marathon fueling strategy, you have to train with them for I would say a few months leading up to this, okay.
So that’s something that I just wanted to make sure you guys kind of understood and that it is something you can’t just you don’t want to just like incorporate it in the last minute.
Like, you know, you’ve been training super low carb all season and then all of a sudden, drop a bunch of carbs into the mix the night before your marathon and think it’s going to help you because it could really hinder your performance, at least for that one event. So that was interesting.
And the other thing that I started doing this training season and I experimented with, I started using a line of products called S fuels. So S fuels makes endurance, fuel for endurance for low carbon dirt, athletes fuel for low carbon endurance athletes, so the fuel that they have is mostly kind of fat and protein-based.
So MCT oil, amino acids, electrolytes, and they have different types of fuels. So they have a product called Train, which is something you add to water, it’s got a very, you know, water-like consistency, tastes great, and fat and amino acids and electrolytes, great for like, you know, two, three hour runs four or five hours, whatever it is, you can just kind of take that as you go.
They have another product called Race Plus, which has some slow-burning carbohydrates in there, as well as the fat and protein. And electrolytes, that would be something that you would, you know, kind of practice with and use for your events that you want to like run harder and run a little bit faster.
Okay, that’s really not my strategy to run super fast, but I played around with the fuel just to try it out. And then they make another product called Life Bars. And the life bars are basically well, they’re delicious. And they’re like chewy bars are made with like, almond butter or nut butter, cacao nibs and they have the MCT oil and amino acids and things like that.
So it’s kind of like the equivalent of like the fat and protein like you would eat almond butter or something like that. But it’s a little easier to, you know, chew up and swallow.
The almond butter can be a bit of a problem because it’s super thick. And if you’re trying to eat that, while you’re running, it’s difficult.
Somebody posted a comment about that. I think today, they were like I had to drink a lot of water with that almond butter just to get it down. It’s like yeah, it’s a bit much.
So S fuels makes a whole line of products, they make a recovery drink with like a protein powder. And listen, these guys don’t sponsor me or anything like that. I should talk to them about that though, right? Yeah, I probably should.
But, um, so I’m not like getting I’m not trying to like get you guys to go by this, I’m just giving you an example of something that I use that works pretty well for me.
Okay, so I practice with these fuels during the training season. And I enjoyed them I think they are spot on because what you’re doing is you’re adding the fat and the protein in which is what you really want as a low carb athlete.
You want that sort of exogenous fat, the fat that you eat, and the protein helps to keep your keep you feeling good and, and keep the fat-burning going.
So when you’re efficient at burning fat, you can burn the fat that you’re eating as well as for fuel, right. So that’s why we want to keep our fuel intake to the fats and proteins and not the carbohydrates when we’re trying to stay fat adapted and stay in that fat burning zone and really maximize fat burning. Okay.
So for the race itself by I did a life bar beforehand. And I did the Train product and some electrolyte drink. And I did some of the Race Plus beforehand. So I had a little bit of carbs in me, I did some carb-loading the days before I did a bunch of sweet potatoes and wild rice and stuff like that.
And I really wanted to like prime the tanks with glycogen, you know, make sure that I topped up my glycogen levels and got into the marathon. And I have to tell you – so this is the one thing that I noticed that was different from the last three long events that I did.
Where I did them unfold basically, the one thing that I noticed is that I felt very sluggish for the first half of the marathon. Like the first 12-13 miles I was not feeling it.
And you know, I was maintaining a decent pace and listen, we were out there just to have a good time. We had done the 10K and the 5K the day before. And so this was sort of just a fun run for us. Me and some friends we hung out together. We had a great time. It was super fun.
We all helped each other get across the finish line, but I just wasn’t feeling it for about the first half. The longer I was out there, the better I felt. And so this tells me something, this tells me that I probably had more glycogen on board at the beginning.
And as I burn through that, I got more efficient with the fat burning. And I felt better. And I had more energy and more stamina. And I just, I finished feeling much stronger than I did at the beginning of the event. So that was something I thought was really interesting. And I did not like that.
So for me, my biggest takeaway from the actual marathon itself, was that next time, I’m probably going to do away with the carb-loading and the training with the higher carbs, you know because it didn’t give me the boost that I thought it would.
I thought though, beginning half of the marathon, I would have like more energy and feel better. And then the second half, I would, you know, sort of be feeling a little bit more tired or whatever. But it was exactly the opposite. It’s very fascinating.
Again, now, this is an experiment of one. So this is my experience with this, I’m not saying you would have the exact same experience if you did the same thing. Certainly, try it and see how it works for you.
So if you’re if your goal is to run a super fast marathon, maybe some sort of carbohydrate loading would be a good strategy for you to try. For me. I wasn’t trying to run a super fast marathon just like slow and steady, and it didn’t really work for me. Okay, just keep that in mind.
Okay, so definitely try something, some of these things, and see what works for you. But my biggest takeaway was that I didn’t like the feeling of eating the carbs, you know, the sweet potatoes and the rice and stuff like that prior to the event.
I did enjoy the s fuels, I think they helped. And I think that’s what sort of got me like through the event. I did take another life bar with me because I wanted the extra fuel. But I didn’t want to have to mix a drink. I didn’t want to carry a water bottle with me.
And I was trying to do this as like as Spartan as possible. So the only thing I took with me was salt tablets and the life bar. And that was like my fueling strategy during the event.
Now, here’s my other very interesting takeaway. I usually fuel with Elementi Element, the electrolyte mix from Elemental Labs. I love this stuff, I’ve been training with it for a couple of years now. Never had any problems.
I decided, for this training season, I was going to practice using like, what is it called salt stick tablets, like the little capsules with electrolytes, because I didn’t want to have to carry a water bottle with me. During the marathon again, I was just trying something different. So I practice using the salt tablets and they were okay.
Honestly, I do better with more sodium, electrolytes, sodium, potassium, magnesium, the element product has just a very high amount of sodium – 1000 milligrams of sodium per packet. And something like 400-600 milligrams of potassium and magnesium.
So the electrolyte profile is very high. And something fascinating I learned recently is that when we’re exercising, when you’re out there running a marathon, you lose something like 1200 milligrams of sodium per hour, per hour.
So you need to be replacing that and the salt tablets that I was taking either I probably wasn’t taking enough of them, or they didn’t have enough sodium so the sodium content was lower, and I didn’t take as many.
So I think I did something like two salt tabs every four or five miles maybe two every hour or something like that, every 45 minutes or two an hour and I thought that would be sufficient.
I kind of did the math but because the electrolyte profile is different in those things. I don’t know, I probably could have done better with a water bottle just carry a water bottle and take my own electrolyte drink with me.
So there are different ways we can do this stuff. I was just trying to like not have to carry a water bottle with me. You can carry a backpack, mix up your electrolyte drink in your Camelback or whatever. And then you can just like sip on it the whole during the race.
You can carry it in a water bottle and keep refilling it if you want to. That’s what I’ve done in the past and has always worked really well for me. But again, I was just trying some different things this time just to see what works so that I could share it with you like I’m doing right now. So that’s something else I would do differently.
Next time, I’d probably just carry my water bottle like I’m used to doing, it does take a little bit of extra time at the water stops to, you know, unscrew the top, open up the packet, pour it in, get the water, and you got to sort of dork around with that at the water stops.
But you know, if the electrolyte that you’re using isn’t really working for you, you need to fix that, like, it’s super important to make sure that we’re getting enough electrolytes during these events. It was a great day, it wasn’t super hot, but still, we sweat out, like, close to 1200 milligrams of sodium per hour. So you got to be replacing that up there.
Okay. So, all in all, I’m gonna say this, we had a super fun time at the event, I felt better the second half of the marathon than I did during the first half. And I have to tell you guys that, you know, we did this thing where we ran the 10k and the 5k, the day before, so I was starting this marathon on tired legs already.
And so that has to be sort of factored into all of this too. Okay, so that’s typically not recommended to do like a nine-mile shakeout run the day before your marathon. So that has to be sort of factored into all this stuff, okay.
But what I would do differently next time, I think next time, I’m going to stick with my low carb during training season and not introduce the carbs and not try to do any carb-loading or not try to become more metabolically flexible.
So metabolic flexibility is where you can use more fat and carbohydrates more efficiently, but you got to like work through that and you got to really get good at that. And maybe I didn’t do it the right way.
Or maybe I didn’t do it long enough. Whatever the case is, for me, the way that we’re I’m sitting here today, looking back on the last year of events, the ones where I did the best is where I didn’t do any carb-loading and I didn’t do any fueling during you know.
I would say you know, maybe the next time I just add the s fuels products, which I think are pretty amazing. And nothing else. So just kind of stick with those. And that way I’m just getting a little bit of extra boost you know, that might help with the longer distance stuff especially when you start getting into like a marathon distance.
So that’s kind of the recap I’m going to go through your questions you guys and find out kind of what questions you have.
So Gene says, “Fat for fuel, no glucose.” Good job. Awesome. “Ran three marathons fat-adapted, no fuel just electrolytes and water felt good.”
Yeah, me too. Gene. I’m with you on that approach. Okay.
Let’s see Bill says. “Sorry 10k is the farthest I’ve done.” Don’t be sorry 10k is awesome! “Always fasted so started training that way and will continue.”
Awesome. Yeah. Never apologize for your resistance distances right you guys like our people say oh, I only ran the half. Like team, you ran a half marathon! That’s awesome.
Let’s see Zoey says, “Fueled and hydrated better on days leading up to the second marathon compared to first.”
Yeah, lighter meals less carbs had less gels. Ricard also, yeah. Lots of whey isolate chocolate shakes.
Yeah. I do a little protein supplement here, especially after hard strength sessions for sure. Denise did a gel, wants to try peanut butter cups, wants to carb bounce protein wraps. These are all solo marathons or ultras, there is no difference to water only interesting. But I ran my first in-person marathon in December. Thanks for your vices. Absolutely, Denise.
Yeah. So that’s interesting. So you’re actually trying a bunch of different things. And I think this is super important. You’ve got to figure out what works for you. You know, and so, I think we put too much emphasis on like, we have everything has to be perfect every single time.
I purposely do things just to find out like, how does it how’s it gonna feel? You know, I may crash and burn. That was definitely a possibility. The way I was fueling for this marathon, I was like thinking to myself like this may not go well.
Especially that first half I was feeling kind of sluggish. And I was like, oh, this may not go well. But I was like, you know what, I’m gonna just try it. I gotta try different things.
Josh says, “Trying to consume less carbs for my train this time.” Yeah. Give it a shot. Denise says, “I can relate to this. I ran 400 miles in October.” Nice job. “So I just did some carb loading because I thought it might help to maintain the training load, now a week later still feel sluggish. Oh, yeah. I’ll get off the sugar again and see what happens.”
Yeah. Here’s the thing. If you want to get off the sugar like it’s a process like you got to get fat adapted you have to go through that, that sluggish period, where, you know, you get off of sugar, processed carbs, and you’ve got to keep your carb, you know, intake pretty low for anywhere from 2-6 weeks. You know it averages about three weeks, 21 days or so. And that’s where training is very sluggish. It’s very hard.
Don’t do this a couple of weeks before your event, like make sure you start this process at the beginning of your training season or in the offseason, get fat-adapted, and then start your training for your big event.
Because once you’re fat-adapted, the training is going to be so much easier, you’re going to get stronger, faster, and you’re going to be like, super efficient at burning fat and you’re just going to kick ass at your event.
Let’s see. Kim says, “Hi from Canada. I love my element. And I’m excited to start trying s fuels.” Yeah.
And then Marianne, “Any suggestions for after the race food feel like I should be allowed to eat anything? But I get tummy trouble doing that?”
Okay. So that’s such a good question, Marianne. So here’s my take on it. After a marathon, I do give myself a little bit of permission to indulge a little bit. But here’s what I mean by indulging.
Okay, you guys are gonna laugh because here’s me indulging. So after the marathon, it was Halloween. And so I went to my son’s house and in the main room and Halloween, with the family and stuff like that.
And they made his big batch of chili, you know, with ground beef and stuff like that, but it had beans in it. And I’m like, I’m eating beans, I’m just going to go ahead and eat all these beans, this thing was loaded with carbohydrates right in the form of beans, well, I’m gonna eat it.
So that was me, carb-loading or whatever you want to call it, like carbing it up after my marathon. But that’s, like, that’s not a big deal. That is not a big deal, right? Usually my go-to would be something like tacos, I love tacos. So we’d go out and have chips and salsa and tacos or something like that. That’s going kind of off the deep end for me.
But listen, you get to decide what you want to do for yourself. And so if you want to indulge a little bit, here’s my suggestion for you. Plan ahead, just make sure you’re planning ahead.
And you’re not just you know, giving into the moment, you know, because if people are eating pizza and ice cream and a bunch of junk around you, and you’re like just getting into that and stuffing your face and it makes you feel terrible.
Don’t do that. Okay, plan ahead what you want to do. So if your post-marathon go to is something like tacos or whatever do that. Honestly, for me, like an indulgent thing for me, or something that really makes me feel good is eating a big ribeye steak and eating that.
And I do this pretty often. And so that’s sort of a way of treating myself and it tastes great, but it doesn’t throw me off my game. You know, it’s a fun thing to do. It’s indulgent. And it’s part of my plan.
And I plan it and I just keep doing that. Bill says, “Yeah, it hurts not to be perfect.” Yeah, he’s talking about the 10K’s. Yeah, but you’re awesome, so there!
Kristen says, “This is my first marathon fat adapted. And I felt great. Even with the racing the day before.” Super awesome. Kristen, you did such a great job, too. And Kristin went through the whole fat adaptation process. And she, her running improved like crazy.
She became this badass runner that she knew was inside her. And she was like, I’m determined to make this happen. And she did. And then she showed up. Kristen actually lives in Cincinnati, and I saw her after the marathon. So that was super fun. So good stuff, you guys.
I hope you all learned something from this. I hope you got a little something out of this. I hope that me taking one for the team here helps you guys kind of learn maybe what to do maybe what not to do, or maybe something some things that you can try for yourselves because it is fun to try this stuff. It’s fun to experiment.
Listen, we take ourselves pretty seriously. Sometimes we take running pretty seriously sometimes. And I’m at this place in my life where I’m like, I just want to have fun with this, you know, and if that means trying a different feeling strategy, see how it goes. Just so I can like, share my experiences with you guys. So be it. It’s fun for me to do this stuff.
Okay. Next time though, I’m going to kind of go back to my more low-carb ways and more. Just kind of sticking with the non-carb fueling strategy that I’ve done in the past that’s just worked so well for me and increase the electrolyte intake.
I think those are my biggest sort of fuels you know or biggest takeaways from my dueling strategy. Cool. All right, you guys. Well, everybody, enjoy the rest of your amazing Sunday afternoon.
I don’t know about you guys, but here, it’s just gorgeous. You know, it’s something like 63 degrees, super sunny outside, the leaves are changing colors. It’s this amazing time of the year. I love it. We’re getting into the holidays.
And in the coming weeks, I’m going to be talking about how we get through the holidays. This is going to be a good topic for us coming up. Okay. How do we survive the holidays?
You know, what does it mean to get through like Thanksgiving, which is all about indulging in food, right? Like, how do we get through a holiday with that without totally losing our minds, you know, without totally like, screwing up everything good that we’ve done for ourselves up to this point, right?
So we’ll be getting into topics like that. And then how do we get through the winter because it’s gonna start getting colder and darker. And how do we get through the crazy holiday season that is looming just in front of us?
Okay, so you guys all have an amazing day. We’re going to have some fun over the next several weeks here. Okay, if you have any other questions, drop them in the comments here and I’ll get to them soon. Okay, great seeing you guys all on here. Everybody. Have a great afternoon and talk to you soon. Bye.
If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.
On Sunday afternoons, I do live training and coaching sessions over in the Running Lean Community of Facebook. This past week I brought on a special guest - Kelly French - for a fun and informative …
Continue Reading about 89. Fat-Adapted Ultrarunning Success with Kelly French →
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.
Patrick McGilvray
Hey there, and welcome to episode 89 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners. And today I’m talking fat-adapted ultra running success with Kelly French. Actually, she’s talking about her fat-adapted ultra running success.
So on Sunday afternoons, over in the Running Lean community on Facebook, I do these live training and coaching sessions. And this past week, I brought on a special guest, Kelly French, and we had a fun and informative conversation all about her experience of becoming a fat-adapted runner.
So Kelly’s an ultra runner, who came to me for help transitioning to the low carb way of life, she wanted to lose a little bit of weight, and she wanted to improve her running performance. So she made it through that tough transition period, I helped her kind of get through the transition period from you know, being primarily a sugar burner to be becoming a super-efficient fat-burning machine.
And since adopting this approach, she’s run two ultra marathons with great success. And she’s going to tell you all about that. She’s also become quite a bit leaner in the process and says she feels the best that she’s felt in years. Kelly and I had a ton of fun working together, she’s done an amazing job of sticking with the program, as you will see. And I just have no doubt you’re gonna enjoy this conversation with Kelly, and you’re gonna get something out of this episode.
But first, if you like this podcast, definitely come check out the Running Lean community on Facebook and the two kind of go hand in hand, the community on Facebook gives you a chance to ask questions and join in the conversation. And you can participate in those Sunday lives that I do. And you can ask questions, and we can have some fun.
And sometimes I interview some of my clients and some other professionals and other people, experts in the field of health and fitness running in nutrition. And we just have a lot of fun over there. So just search for Running Lean community on Facebook and join us.
And here’s another five-star review of the Running Lean podcast. And this one’s from BW45. And BW45 says, “Great information. I started listening as a way to get motivated to train for a half. But I’ve continued to listen because of all the great information Patrick shares each week, I’ve learned so much about health and nutrition, that I’ve started making changes to my diet. And I can’t wait to see how these changes improve my running. This podcast is great for anyone looking to not just improve their running but their whole life.”
Patrick McGilvray
Yes, I love it. And a lot of the principles I talked about here, yes, they apply to more than just running more than just you know, trying to lose weight. mindset. Mindset is huge. It’s the foundation of everything we do. If you want to get success in any area of your life it requires the right mindset.
And if you enjoy this podcast, it would mean a lot to me if you would just take a moment. To leave a quick review, you can do that on Apple podcasts, just go to the podcast, scroll down where it says, rate and review, tap the stars and leave a few words, I would love that.
And then we’re still doing the four weeks to fat-adapted running over in the Running Lean coaching group. So this is my monthly membership program. And each month we have sort of a different topic that we cover in great detail. We have a lot of work around a specific topic this month, September 2021. It’s all about fat-adapted running, becoming a fat-adapted runner.
So we’re talking about how to do it, how to get started, what foods to eat, which you should definitely avoid, the kinds of carbs that are good, the kinds you should stay away from, and how to get through this tough transition period. All that stuff. And we just got started this past week. So you haven’t really missed much.
If you want to still join us you can absolutely do that. And we have replays of all the coaching and training sessions that we do in there. So you won’t miss anything. I promise you just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join and join us it would be super fun to see you in there.
And if you ever want a little bit of help, a little more personalized help. I’m a coach. I do one on one coaching, this is what I specialize in. This is my forte. This is my specialty. If you just want help becoming a fat-adapted runner and you just want to work with me like imagine what you can accomplish working one on one with a coach for like three months at a time, you can just become the most badass version of yourself, I promise you, it’s awesome.
And with one on one coaching, you also get access to the Running Lean coaching group. So it’s kind of like a win-win. If you want to apply for one on one coaching, just go to runningleanpodcast.com/apply. And hopefully, we’ll have a little conversation and see if coaching is a good fit for you. It’s not a great fit for everybody. Some people are like, no, that doesn’t sound like me.
But for a lot of people, it’s exactly what they need. And Kelly was one of those people. So like I said, in the intro, Kelly French is an ultra runner, she decided she wanted to try this like low carb thing, you know, she wanted to lose some weight. But really, she wanted to improve her running performance.
Weight loss wasn’t her like her main goal, she wanted to become a better runner. And she’s done an amazing job of making this work for her. And she’s somebody that has kind of special, special dietary considerations. And so you know, I want you guys to see that you know, you can make this work no matter what your dietary sort of preferences are. Okay.
So she’s had some pretty great success with a couple of recent ultra marathons. So since becoming fat-adapted, she’s run two ultra marathons. And this is only in the last few months. This all happens sort of in the last three months-ish. But I’m going to let her tell you all about it.
So without further ado, here’s my recent conversation with Kelly French, Kelly is an ultra runner, and just an awesome human being, by the way. And she came for me, came to me for some help in getting leaner and getting stronger as an ultra runner.
And so together, we, you know, kind of coached her through the fat-adaptation process through a low carb approach to running and helped her get through that challenging fat-adaptation phase, which I think she’s going to talk to us a little bit about hair today too.
And since then, she’s had some really great results, including two pretty successful ultra marathons that she’s done recently. And so we’re gonna just get into this, I think you guys are gonna have a lot of fun with this. I know, Kelly and I were just talking before we started here that we’re gonna have fun today. Right?
So Kelly, introduce yourself, just tell us who you are. And let’s talk a little bit about what drove you to seek out coaching? Like, what was it that was going on with you where you wanted to get some help?
Kelly French
Yes, um, well, hello, everybody. I guess it was maybe a few months before I decided to do the coaching that I just was almost in a place of just some bad habits and just some lifestyle habits that just was not working, I was going to be completely honest. Like, I’m not gonna hold anything back I was drinking on a regular basis. No matter if I was happy, celebrating, sad, whatever it was, I was using that to cope.
I was doing the same thing I’m doing now – running all the time, I’m still doing trail races, still exercising, but I was also, you know, kind of having the mentality of, I can eat whatever I want. I just ran all these miles, I didn’t have the mindset of what I was putting into my body, you know, maybe wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t getting a lot of the results.
As in, you know, my speed, I wanted to hit certain things. And I and I wasn’t, and it was probably, you know, a couple of weeks before that I was at work, you know, listening on some headphones and was like, you know, I wonder what is out there that I could listen to that maybe there’s some podcasts or self-help, or somebody who’s in the running community.
Because I was just at a little bit of a low point at that time. And it was very interesting because I started listening to a couple of your podcasts. And there were a few things that you said, you know, hey, this is what I went through. This is what my life was like. And now here I am today, doing a to z and I just have all these results and a better person mentally.
So I saw that you were looking for people you could sign up and kind of give your story on if it was a good fit to get some coaching and to get some help. And I said you know what? I listening to you. I felt like I knew you I felt for a reason you could help me so I reached out and I said this is what I’m doing, going through, this is what I’m looking to do and, and then the next day you got back to me and we had a one on one. And it was just the best thing that could have ever happened to me in my life. So yeah, that’s kind of how it started.
Patrick McGilvray
Yeah. So what were a couple of those goals that you are hoping to accomplish? Like, what did you want to get out of coaching? Besides just like getting a little bit faster? Like, talk a little bit about that?
Kelly French
Very interesting. So in the very beginning, I think my goal was to just feel better, feel healthy. And definitely, I wanted to at that time, the goal was to lose 15 pounds to take some of the weight off to kind of have some mental clarity. I just needed, I needed direction.
And before this, I mean, I tried things like cleanses, right? I tried, at one point, Weight Watchers, I tried just things that were very much so quick fixes things that were not going to be long term. And, you know, that’s just kind of how it was in the beginning. So at that point met you, I was like, my goal is just it really was just to lose weight and feel better. I did it like when I first started, there wasn’t anything concrete yet. Yeah. And the fear of getting weight loss surgery. That was it.
Patrick McGilvray
That’s fair. And so tell me a little bit about what running was like for you like before we started working together? How was your running performance? How did you feel running? How do you feel about running? Where were you?
Kelly French
Sure. So I would have to say, I’m still, I can relate at this time. The best part about running for me, in general, is the group of women that I run with, that’s always going to be special to me, I have really close friends that run such an amazing group of athlete women. At that point, I didn’t have concrete goals with running, my goal was to always be able to finish quote, unquote, I guess I was more like, am I back of the pack, I’m okay with that. I’m just here to finish and I was slower.
And even when I ran, you know, I would just carb load before I was like, Oh, my gosh, I have a half marathon, I need to eat a bagel or peanut butter, I got to get up an hour early and just, and I almost I would run and I would feel kind of slow and being kind of like, just I wasn’t feeling good about myself. I love to do it for the fun of it.
But I was more settling with being slow, mediocre, um, just kind of being there and then not feeling good when I was running. Like I just kind of, I would swear I’d have these conversations with girlfriends every day, I would load up on goos. Oh, you’re gonna have these goos you’re gonna feel so great. You know you take the goos, take goos with you, you’re going to feel fantastic. Take salt tablets. I mean, the list goes on. You’re going to be high performance if you eat this before. And you just, I felt like trash really. Um, so I was not feeling good. Like, during the runs. I loved the people I was with. And I love the group. I still love the group of people I run with, um, but I didn’t feel strong at that time. No, I was just there. I was just there.
Patrick McGilvray
So we started working together and you want to kind of get into this fat-adaptation thing you wanted to become a fat-adapted runner. What sort of changes did you make? Like, how was that process for you? What was the hardest thing about that process for you?
Kelly French
Cool. I would say that’s a good question. Um, I would say in the beginning, I would say I’m taking away things that helped me cope better. With alcohol, I stopped drinking the alcohol. So I felt like my advice was kind of gone. I was after long runs. I was used to getting whatever I wanted like pizza was my life at that time.
And I was like, okay, so I wasn’t able to. I made the choice. I’m not gonna say I was unable to I made the choice to not have those foods that I was used to, I was used to alcohol is used to kind of eating whatever I wanted. Although I snapped pretty healthy, I was used to eating throughout the day like snacks, even if they were peanuts, or just fruit or random stuff here and there I would like, because where I worked, I usually ate at my desk.
So I would bring like a ton of snacks. So I had to kind of sit there with no snack, and just kind of in watch, you know, drink water or coffee or something. So I wasn’t used to just having minimal, minimal things. So I had to kind of wait and I wasn’t eating for 16 hours, you know, I was doing the fasting. So that was different for me as well. And then I guess I would say, after you know, three or four weeks, your body just did it adjust to it. Um, but in the beginning, it was not fun not being able to have what I was used to having.
Patrick McGilvray
Especially, so you’re talking about using alcohol and using, you know, food, basically, as you said, like a coping mechanism, or I call that like, how we deal with our emotions, you know, it’s like emotionally eating or drinking. So, right? Was that hard at first for you? Like, did you find that that was pretty challenging to like, you because you made a decision to stop drinking for a little while?
Kelly French
So that was difficult in the sense of. Um, so this is, in grade two exercise was still every day for me to at that time, so I never missed work. But I had a schedule of working out, or going for a run cross-train, whatever it may be, you know, having a glass of wine or two at night, making, you know, pasta, maybe getting a pizza, maybe making too much of, you know, whatever the food may have been. So just I had that routine of unhealthy habits.
So when that was kind of taken away, that was difficult, especially if I had a stressful day at work or you know, people piss me off. And you know, you want something. I mean, we can all relate, right? So, it was hard to deal with certain things like that, or go to an event or a party and other people that your social drinking, you know, and however you want to put it to having you know, water or a diet soda or something when everybody else is having this or that. And they’re like, oh, what are you doing? Like you’re not drinking? You know, things like that. It’s like, well, no, actually, I’m not because I’m, you know, making that choice. But it was difficult to adjust to that in the beginning.
Patrick McGilvray
So did it get easier?
Unknown Speaker
Oh, super easier. It’s for somebody who drank alcohol, whether it was one glass of alcohol, whether it’s going out after a group run, and going to a brewery, you know, and just being after a race and drinking to drinking almost every day or on the weekends with friends after 10 miles or brunch or mimosas to now the last time I had I had half a beer was when I finished the ultramarathon in July. And I couldn’t even taste it because my taste buds are so different now.
So I don’t miss it at all. Wow. And for me, that is huge. Because I was so used to that for so long, where it’s now it’s like it’s just not in my life anymore. It’s not a part of it anymore. And I never would have thought in a million years, I would say that I have gone to barbecues and brought my own stuff and everyone’s drinking, having fun. And I still have a great time. I just choose to, to not I mean, I could if I wanted, I just I don’t have the urge like I used to, which is in a good way.
Patrick McGilvray
That’s beautiful. Because with the urge being there, like when you have this desire for alcohol or for food, whatever it is, and you’re trying not to do it but the desire still there that’s really hard to do. That’s where most people find themselves kind of white-knuckling it and trying to get through it.
But when you get to the point where the urge is gone or the desire is gone, then it’s no big deal. You can just like go to the party and hang out and you’re not craving you’re not thinking you’re you know, missing out on something. You know you’re not craving that thing. So that’s super awesome.
And I want you guys to know that are watching. If you guys have questions for Kelly, go ahead and drop them in the comments. And we’ll get to all the questions at the end. So you got through this place where you were eating a lot, you are drinking you, you change these habits, you know, started to anyway. And then things started to get a little bit easier for you.
So let’s talk about that. Like, when did you know, cause I know that like getting fat-adapted is tough. There’s a transition period, right when you’re running. And there’s a period where running is pretty terrible, right? Like, how hard was it to get through that, and then what’s running like for you now?
Kelly French
So I would say, maybe week five to six is where I started to feel kind of crappy, during the fat adaptive with the longer mileage and with the heat coming. I had done there was a three-hour run and it was kind of the same mile loop every time it was in PA was a trail. And each loop there was this terrible incline uphill. And I was just super mad I couldn’t get up there as fast as I wanted to, I was literally taking two to three breaks, even trying to like, hike up there.
Granted, it was pretty wild the incline, I just felt like trash, but you just keep going anyway, um, I still made it through the three hours, I’m not gonna give up. But I knew going into it, just by the research and just by listening to and getting the knowledge that that that’s what it’s gonna be like because your body is used to all of the things you’re doing to it before and then you know, you’re taking some of that out, it’s almost like your body’s trying to cleanse itself and, and reset.
So I feel like that’s part of like the reset progress or process. So that was difficult. And there was another time where I had like a longer run, and I was just getting aggravated. And I started walking and probably swore a little bit. And I was like, you know what, just do what you gotta do, you know, and then I might have told you about it. And I was like, oh my gosh, like this is I just, I feel like I’m not doing what I need to be doing. You know, it’s I’m slower.
But then it must have been maybe three weeks later. And I felt like a brand new person. So it was probably week six when I felt not great. And maybe a few weeks after that I started to feel different, better. And my body, adjusted the schedule to the food to get rid of things that were not fueling my body, I guess to say.
Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, so you, you know, adapt, embrace this whole low-carb approach to running. You got through the fat-adaptation period, it was a little bit challenging, a little terrible. Trade. Kelly’s always very honest with me about how she’s feeling. So I remember that. And then I remember you telling me about your 50k because you had this 50k planned, and you had a pretty good experience at that. 50k, tell us about that.
Kelly French
Well, I feel like a lot of the races that I do are never the weather is always down for so that was the first thing 24 hours before the run. It was nothing but down for the whole night. So we’re in the hotel room and I’m like, great, great. And you just hear it it’s just heavy. And so we got to the start I think was seven and it started at A and it was just a total down downpour. Granted this was a trail 50k and I knew it was going to be sloppy, I knew it was going to be a mess, but I was with two girls that I always run with just a fantastic group of women and we were going to embrace it anyway. It’s never gonna be perfect running conditions. You just figure it out and you do it.
So we did it. They did have a lot of it all to my do. I brought only the noon tablets that’s what I use. Um, and I did have some coffee before so I was feeling pretty good. And I would say maybe mile 10 or 11. They had some like rest areas and stuff where they had people there so they had electrolytes water, and usually if anyone who does trail they know a lot of this stuff is kind of garbage that they’re going to give you. There’s lot of candy needed, goldfish, cookies, you know. So I ended up doing a couple of pickles shots that they had their mile, I want to say 18-19 is when I started to feel a little bit cranky that I knew I was like, okay, I need something here.
So I ended up having half of a banana, some pickles, and I felt fantastic. And I just had my noon tablets. And I didn’t need anything else. So and then after, which was cool, they, you don’t have food for you. They have stuff for vegetarians, meat-eaters, whatever. So they had bean burgers, which I like and mix it with whatever you want. So and I felt fine. I wasn’t sick. I had no major GI issues during that run.
And the conditions were absolutely out of control. So the same loop twice that we did. There were a lot of people who dropped out who didn’t do it. There were even people who went as far as did the 50 miler, and it just down-poured the whole time. The second loop we did, was barely runnable you had water up to your knees. People were falling. And we just did it.
So it was and I did it with barely anything to eat. So and I felt great. I felt great. So yeah, that was awesome. I felt really good. Which a couple of years ago, if I did something like that, I would have probably felt like I had to eat two meals doing something like that. So but I felt great. And that was the first time where I got done with a run. And just felt fantastic. So, so awesome. Good. It was a really good feeling.
Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, and to be able to do a 50k, which you know, that’s good, that’s a long time you’re out there running, it’s like between, you know, five and eight hours, depending on how long it takes you and especially in those conditions, you’re probably on the higher end of that.
Kelly French
I was gonna have flowers.
Patrick McGilvray
What was it six and a half? Something like that. Yeah. So that’s a long time to be out there running and to just be like, oh, yeah, I have like a half a banana, and some electrolytes. That’s so awesome. Another thing I didn’t mention is that you’re doing this and you’ve been doing this as a vegetarian. And a lot of people say, oh, you know, it’s really hard to do the low carb thing as a vegetarian or if you’re a vegan or something like that. So was that extra hard for you? Because I don’t, I don’t remember that being really that much of a challenge for you.
Kelly French
I have to say I would 100% disagree with somebody who would say that that’s difficult, um, even so, I would say, maybe two years ago, I did incorporate fish into my diet. So I was a vegetarian for many years. I was an overweight vegetarian is what I was. Um, but the last couple of years I did include fish. So even if I didn’t eat fish, I could tell you what I did. There are so many options.
There’s bean burgers, if you don’t want to buy them, you can make your own you could do the beyond sausage. I think they taste incredible. I eat them almost every single day to be quite honest with you. You could do mushrooms you could do all the greens you want. You could do fish. I love salmon. I do salmon at least two to three times a week. If you don’t like fish, all you have to do like I mean tofu – marinated tofu. I put tofu and buffalo sauce. You could do whatever you want to eat. You could grill it you could saute it. There are just so many options.
You know I have that a lot of the time with broccoli. You can put that with the shredded cheese you could do marinated Brussel sprouts with buffalo sauce. I put buffalo sauce on everything so there’s just there are way more options than you think. I was like that in the beginning. I was like huh, so then I had looked before I worked with you and I can tell you I’ve never eaten so many eggs in my life until I started this process.
I love a soup can scramble omelet pickled however you want. I’ve fallen in love with eggs. Eggs are awesome. Avocados do the trick. There are just so many options and you could fill your plate with all these different things and it’s awesome. There’s so much food, so many different things you can have. You just have to, you know, look it up. I did a lot of research on different foods I could have, you have a pamphlet that says foods that you know you recommend. To me, it was not even, it wasn’t even difficult now you were the first second with not eating meat.
Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, one of the things you mentioned was like the beyond product like the Beyond Meat products, which are, are gluten-free. They’re sort of they’re like plant-based burgers and sausages. But they don’t have a lot of carbs in them either. And they don’t use, you know, wheat or anything like that. And so they’re kind of made for people like you who are doing more of a low carb type of thing. And then what a good source of protein. So they’re loaded with good quality protein, like pea protein.
Kelly French
Yogurt, to a lot of the yogurts that I that have very low sugar have like 16 grams of protein. There are just a lot of options at the store that you want to think but I think super easy to do it without being a vegetarian, you could do it being a vegan, all you’re doing is cutting out all the carbs. It’s easier than you think.
Patrick McGilvray
Yeah, for sure. I just said that because I think I think that’s true. I believe that that is true. It is easier than you think. But I think it’s just people have this concept of like, if you’re going to do low carb, then you’ve got to be eating a bunch of meat. And that’s just really not the case. You just take out all the garbage trash. We mistake eating real food, right?
And so okay, so you set out at the beginning, I remember when you and I started out you were talking about losing a little bit of weight, you’re like, I just want to lose maybe 10 or 15 pounds. And then I remember on the very last day that we had our last coaching call, you’re like here’s my weight, and you’d lost how much exactly?
Kelly French
Now it’s 22 pounds. Oh, yeah, so my goal weight. This is, let me see. Eight pounds less than my RIT original goal weight with you. I had a number between this number between that number. And then I even and I didn’t even do it on, I don’t even do it on purpose. That’s the thing. Like this is just I don’t even the best part for me. This is, it’s so easy. You don’t have to track everything.
You don’t have to keep pressing numbers into a phone. I did use that carb adapted those carb app carbs. Yeah. And I tried that. I did that for a month, just so I knew what was in certain foods that I didn’t really know before. I don’t even use that at all. Now, I don’t have to track anything. It’s just my will. It’s just my life. It’s just what I eat, and I don’t pay attention to it anymore. So awesome.
Patrick McGilvray
And that’s sustainable. Because like, I don’t think it’s sustainable to be tracking your food every single day. I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Because then we start to get a little too obsessed with this stuff. You know, I encourage people to understand what their kind of macros look like and what a day looks like, of what they’re eating.
Like, how does this all break down? Like what are the calories look like where the carbs look like what is the protein look like? But at the end of the day, we want to just be like, you know, let’s put all that stuff away. And just make this like a lifestyle like you’ve done Kelly, which is so cool. So you recently did another ultra event. And you did a Ragnar Relay, but you did it in a little bit of a different way. Tell us what you guys did there.
Kelly French
Oh, yeah. So before COVID I was signed up for Ragnar to do in West Virginia. And then COVID happened so it got canceled. So then we just had it with a month ago. Yeah, mid-August. So we did West Virginia. So as I was on, there must have been 35 people total like just from our group, but people came from all over the place. But in our group alone, there were some people that had a team of eight, or a team of seven.
We were the women’s Ultra team. We had four and then there was another women’s team that came with us there was a team of four. Then there are people from all over. They had Ultras or they just had, you know, regular teams. And it was awesome, it was a really, really cool experience. And I would say, so it’s interesting.
So I would say two years ago, I would think that I was going to be not the weakest link on the team, but just maybe, you know, the person who may be the slowest one on the team, which at that time, I’m like, It’s all right, you know, no worries, you don’t really have a lot of goals, you’re just there to, quote-unquote, have fun. So throughout this time, I have just seen so much progress in just my speed, my endurance, my overall health.
So I was like, eff that I’m coming, I’m gonna like, I’m going to see what I can do during this thing. And I’m going to, I’m going to go out and it’s going to be awesome. So when you have an ultra team, you do two loops at a time. And so you’ll have two loops, and then two loops at night. And then two loops in the morning. So this was like 26 hours. And then I had a night run, which was a 10 miler.
And, you know, you have your headlamp, there are bears, there are roots everywhere, there’s bold, it’s technical, you have to climb. It was wild, you know, but it was beautiful. It was cool. The adventure was awesome. And by then, you know, you’re just dead after the night runs, you’re not really paying attention to your times, you’re not paying attention to a lot of stuff. You’re just there, you know, you’re able to see like strong people running, you know, friendships and people having fun laughing such a fun, supportive environment.
So, as we got into the morning, and we’re on, you know, our last loops, someone was like, you know, you guys are on track to get first place and the women’s Ultra, and I’m like, no, really? And I was probably delirious. I mean, I didn’t sleep in I don’t know 30 hours. Yeah. And I was like, that’s pretty sweet.
So I had a friend that she was on our team, she ended up having some GI issues. So I ran her loop at the end. And then another girl ran one of mine, and then I ran the last one. So then we’re finished. And they said, This is the first place women’s Ragnar, so we came in first. So cool, and it was like, and I was telling you that. I mean, that was a cool experience.
But I’m gonna just tell everybody this because I think it’s so important. I have a girl on my team, she has lost over 100 pounds I had to be I just met her within the last month. And I didn’t know her backstory, I haven’t known anything except for I see her at the gym, she does a lot of obstacle course stuff. She loves to do the running. And she finished and she started crying.
And she was like, I never would have thought in my life, I would do anything like this. And she’s like, I’m so happy, I can’t even tell you. And that is what was important to me. It wasn’t about the first place it was about seeing somebody else who reached a goal and who was in a place where they needed help and support. So it wasn’t until a couple of weeks later that she had a before and after picture. And I was floored. I just couldn’t even believe it. It was her and she was on my team. And I just was like, you’re just so amazing. I’m so happy for you, you made this experience even that much better for me.
And then I kind of you know, I got home when it sunk in and like, Oh, we got first place, you know, then it’s like getting all like, this is awesome. I’ve never been in this situation before, you know. So I was looking at the results when it came to my legs. And I was like, I want to just compare them to like the other girls on my team and I want to compare them to maybe some of the other ladies who ran just to see where I was at.
And I’ll tell you, I was like at the same kind of pace or better than a lot of women. I would have never thought that it would be like that and that’s when I knew I am getting so much stronger because I’m at such and not even on purpose. Like it’s just I’m just getting faster and stronger and you know mentally and physically So that experience was awesome. But this is just an icing on the cake to be like, Oh, we got first place, let’s go.
Patrick McGilvray
And I don’t want you to downplay this at all, because you are doing this on purpose. You know what I mean? You are doing this on purpose like this is something you’ve been really focused on, is getting stronger and faster. And then this is one of the reasons why you set out to do this in the first place.
And when you lose 22 pounds, running is going to be easier, you know, and you’re going to be faster, you’re going to be a little more powerful as a runner. And then I remember you telling me and I want you to share this like picture in your mind of like, what it was, like you mentioned, like seeing somebody at that race at that ultra, and all the like, food or goos or whatever that they had, versus, versus what you had.
Kelly French
It’s just really funny, like where I’m at now. So I brought that I brought bananas. Um, I bought in the stores, they have like a Keto granola, like very low sugar, like a trail mix, like a cleaner trail, mostly nuts. Yeah. Correct. And then I brought, um, waters, noon tablets. That was it. But yeah, it’s just all water. Nothing really.
And I knew they were gonna have food trucks there anyway. Because I researched before. So I knew that there was going to be stuff that I could eat, and there were no grills or anything, so I’m not going to bring it.
So we’re with a bunch of different people. And so there’s like just one big tent with a canopy with just food in there. I mean, you name it. There’s like, I couldn’t even believe it there. Doritos, Oreos, sodas, Ginger Ales. Sandwich bread. Granted, there are food trucks there. And I’m just like, Oh, God, if I eat any of that like it’s over. Like, there’s no way I’m going to feel good on the runs. Because, I mean, you’re in the wilderness. There are no restrooms out there, you know?
Patrick McGilvray
So it’s like, I mean, I know what you mean.
Kelly French
One of those things. No, so I didn’t need anything. You know, I had dinner. I knew I wasn’t getting anything until after my first two loops were done. So I had a 3.5 and then a 4.5. And then I was like, Okay, then I’m going to eat dinner. I don’t want to eat really before. So they had like a bean burger, which I knew that they would have. They had eggs there. They had coffee they had and then I had my own stuff.
So I had like the night runs that stuff saved me. Because you’re feeling kind of crappy already. You haven’t been sleeping, you have to do 10 miles in the dark. You don’t know what’s going to be behind some of these boulders. So it’s like, that’s when I was, you know, had my banana. They had coffee. You know, if I wanted the trail mix, it was there. And I was fine. I had no stomach issues. And I was up for many hours. And I felt pretty good. Even on no sleep.
Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, that’s awesome. That’s a good sign of that adaptation right there for sure. Yeah, I remember you describing like, you looked over and saw somebody some guy maybe that you were, you know, one of the runners out there. And he had this bag of like goos and gels and just like so much stuff. And you were thinking to yourself, like how many weeks do you plan on being out here with all that stuff that you brought with you, you know, bars and shoes and all kinds of stuff.
Kelly French
And there’s people drinking like a ton of beers there. Oh, oh, God, like I just can’t I can’t even imagine while you’re doing that. And then okay, go for your 10 Miles have a great time. It’s like no way. But yeah, it was nice to not act like that anymore. You know, you’re already nervous enough about I have to run the next day, and when you don’t and who wants to bring a load of food? I sure did it. So I feel like you’re gonna be just fine.
Patrick McGilvray
Oh, yeah, for sure. You can eat in bring your own if there’s not, not a big deal. So anything else you want to share with us? Kelly, this has been really fun talking with you. But any other thoughts on any of this stuff?
Kelly French
I know I’ve told you many times, but I have to say what I’ve learned the most. And what I’m most happy about. It’s not about weight loss. I think in the beginning people have that mindset of, I just want to lose weight and, you know, be this or be that it has really overall helped me in my life.
You know, I have a new job now I’m, I have mental clarity, I’m physically stronger, faster, I’ve become a better person, you know, I’m volunteering on Tuesdays for Special Olympics, and I do track and field, there are so many things, I’m doing better myself because of this process. And it’s not, you know, just about the food. It’s just about you as a person, and how do you want to spend your life and what do you want from it, and I would say anyone who’s on the fence about working with you or getting the coaching, it is the best investment you could ever do for yourself.
100% It’s worth it, it’s your life, it’s, you know, becoming better, you know, sister, it helps me become a better spouse, friend, employee, just all of those things. Once you get your health under control, everything else just falls into place. And that’s just honesty. So that’s the bigger picture is it’s investing in yourself, you owe it to yourself, and people who are listening, you know, they’re listening for a reason. And they might be thinking, maybe this is something I’d want to do. And but I’m just not sure. But if you’re not sure, do it, just do it, you have nothing to lose everything to gain, and it’s your life, you know, life back.
Patrick McGilvray
So yeah, there’s this well, thank you for saying that, I really appreciate that. But there’s this real ripple effect that happens. And I talk about this a lot. It’s like you, we worry sometimes that we’re being selfish, you know, we worry that sometimes we’re like, oh, I’m, you know, taking care of myself, you know, and getting this coaching and losing the weight and getting healthy. Now, that’s just me being selfish.
It’s like, No, it’s not being selfish at all, your health is the most important thing that you have. And when you become healthy, and when you feel good about yourself, and you feel good mentally, emotionally, and physically, that has a ripple effect. It you know, you’re more fun to be around, you know, and you get more work done, and you’re a better mom, and you’re a better parent, and you’re a better spouse and all those things that you just mentioned.
So I’m glad you said that. Because, you know, it’s one thing to hear me talking about this stuff, but to hear your experience and to hear you actually say that this is what you’ve experienced and how it’s worked for you. This is really cool. So I just want to say thank you, Kelly, for like being here and sharing all this stuff with us. It’s been awesome.
Kelly French
Well, thank you for everything. Like I say you’re one in a million and you are and you help advocate and you know, you give people the knowledge and the tools and you’re supportive, and it’s it can just help you’re there to help people. And when people make the changes for the better.
Like I said, you came into my life at such an interesting time when I really needed it. And if I didn’t start listening to a podcast, like I would have never met you. It’s just like, What are the chances? You know, and then here I am. I’m just, I’m just a better version of myself right now. So it’s, it’s great.
Patrick McGilvray
Oh, my gosh, Kelly is so awesome. Thank you so much, Kelly for the conversation that we had, it was so so fun. And remember September is four weeks to fat-adapted Running month over in the Running Lean coaching group, you will learn exactly how to become a lean fat-burning running machine and become the healthiest version of yourself yet, just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join and join us over there. Well, I hope you all got something out of this episode today. And if you did, please consider sharing it with a friend. I love you all keep on Running Lean, and I’ll talk to you soon.
If you’re a runner and you’ve been struggling to lose weight or you keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds over and over again. Or you’re finally ready to get to your natural weight and stay there for good this time then I have something you will love. I’ve created a powerful new training just for you called running lean for life. You’ll learn exactly how to transform yourself into a lean fat-burning running machine. So you can run without bonking, lose weight without calorie counting and develop the habits required to make it last for life. To get this free training right now go to runningleanpodcast.com/leanforlife and start your transformation today.
If you really want to create change in your life, you have to focus on changing your habits, right? I think we all get this concept, but most people don't really understand how habits actually …
Continue Reading about 85. Understanding How Habits Really Work →
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.
Well, hey there, and welcome to episode 85 of Running Lean. My name is Patrick McGilvray, the weight loss coach for runners and today we’re talking about understanding how habits really work. If you really want to create change in your life in any area of your life, you really have to focus on changing your habits, right, I think we all get this concept.
But most people don’t really understand how habits actually work. Most people just focus on trying to change the behavior, the actual actions that they are taking, they don’t focus on the things that are driving the behavior in the first place.
So in order to change a habit, you first have to understand how the habit is created in the first place, you have to go deeper and get into the root cause of the habit. So today on the podcast, I take you on a deep dive into understanding how habits really work. So you can create the change that you want in your life and make those changes last.
But first, if you like this podcast, please come check out the Running Lean community on Facebook. This is a group that goes hand in hand with the podcast, I extend the conversation from here, over there, you get to ask questions, you have a voice, you can feel supported, encouraged, inspired by other runners and people that are sharing similar goals to you. And it’s fun to if I haven’t mentioned that already. The Facebook Group is a lot of fun, we do kind of have a lot of fun over there. So definitely just check out the Running Lean community on Facebook, and join us it’d be super awesome to have you there.
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Thank you so much Laurie from Alaska, I appreciate those kind words. And listen, if you want to share the love, you can also just go to iTunes, Apple podcasts, whatever you call that wherever you listen to your podcast, scroll down, tap the stars leave a few words, I would really appreciate it.
And just so you know, for the month of August, if you are part of the Running Lean community, you can leave a review on Apple podcasts just like I described, take a screenshot of it, drop that screenshot in a post. And at the end of the month, I’m going to randomly select somebody from these posts, people that have reviewed the podcast and and you’ll you’ll earn a free, you know, coaching session with me. So it’s just a fun way for me to say thank you for supporting the show. Okay.
And also the Running Lean coaching group is open. All month long, we’re talking about thoughts, feelings and actions, and how these patterns show up in our life. We’re gonna be talking a lot about this in this podcast today. So you’ll get a feel for kind of what we’re going to be covering in the group this month.
But you know, this this topic of the month is, is vital. It’s the foundation for creating any kind of change whether you’re trying to become a better runner, or become healthier or lose weight or whatever your goals are. You have to understand how your thoughts, feelings and actions all tie together to help you create the life that you want for yourself.
As a member in the coaching group, you also get access to the weight loss training course for runners, my course called achieving the impossible which is about creating an extraordinary life by going after unrealistic goals. You get weekly live coaching with me. I just created something new, which I think is pretty awesome.
It’s a private podcast. So it’s not this podcast, but it’s a whole different podcast with all the replays of our group coaching calls, so you don’t have to necessarily show up to the live group zoom call although that is super fun to do. You can listen to the private podcast stream on your runs and stuff like that. So super fun. Come join us over in the Running Lean coaching group. For more information just go to runningleanpodcast.com/join Okay, cool.
Let’s talk about this, understanding how habits really work. First of all, what is a habit? So a habit is a learned behavior. Habits just don’t occur spontaneously, right habits are something that we have been practicing and learning over time. Habits tend to occur unconsciously though.
So habits are something that you’ve been practicing so much that you can do it without much consciousness or without a whole lot of conscious thought. So some types of habits that would fit this would be stuff like tying your shoes, right, you don’t have to think about you just do it. Driving a car, driving the car is something you had to learn how to do. And at first, it took a lot of effort, a lot of conscious thought. But now you can do it pretty much without thinking at all. Sometimes you’re driving and you’re like, how did I even get here, you sort of like zoned out? Have you ever had that happen to you?
Or something like taking a shower, like, you know, we do these things just completely automatically, we don’t even have to think about it. It’s super unconscious behavior, right. Some other types of habits and things that kind of relate to what we’re talking about here today would be like getting up early to work out every day, that would be habit that you do, just unconsciously, you just kind of do it.
Sticking to your marathon training schedule, like you’re gonna show up and do your runs, every day, no matter what that can be something that has to develop into a habit. Or it could be something like, you know, eating sweets late at night, could be a habit that you have that maybe you don’t want that habit, you know, or snacking all day long eating junk food, like some of these habits, you know, like sticking to your training schedule might be fine. And something that you want for yourself.
Others habits like eating junk food might be a habit that you want to change, or just drop all together. Either way, the key to to all of this. And the key to changing a habit is to understand how the habit really works. And the problem is that most people attack habit change, just by focusing on the behavior, just by focusing on the physical action that you are taking.
So if your issue is you know, you’re snacking too much or snacking all day long, they’ll just say, well just stop doing that. Stop eating snacks. Or if the habit is like you, you don’t seem to get up every day on time, or you know, you’re not, you want to hit the gym early, but you just can’t get out of bed.
People will say well just get up early every day, set your alarm get up early. Or, you know, if your habit is eating junk food, those don’t drive past the fast food places, or just don’t eat junk food. And if this was this simple, this would be amazing. But it’s not changing the behavior, changing an action. And then the goal for the what most people would tell you is just like just change the action. And then just keep doing that until that becomes a new habit.
Have you heard this before? Like just change the action? And then just keep doing it? Does this work? Maybe maybe for some people, for most people? No, it does not. And honestly, if it was this easy, I wouldn’t be talking about all this today. I just tell you to stop doing whatever it is you’re you’re doing or tell you to start doing whatever it is you want to start doing and boom, we’re done. I don’t have to have this conversation with you here today.
But it’s not that simple. A habit is a learned behavior that you’ve been practicing, until it’s pretty much an unconscious thing. Right? So you have to understand what’s beneath the action, you have to understand what’s driving the behavior. You have to go deeper you have to understand why you do what you do. You have to have to understand how the thought feeling action pattern has become unconscious for you.
So habit is always a thought a feeling. And then an action is a pattern that you’ve been practicing over and over until it becomes automatic. It may feel like there’s no conscious thought happening. It may seem like everything is happening instantaneously. But I assure you, there’s always a thought and a feeling that precedes every action that you take. Even if it seems like it all happens in an instant.
There are always choices and decisions that are being made by you. Even if it seems like you’re running on autopilot. And if habits are learned patterns of behavior, then it stands to reason that they can be on learned. Right so you can unlearn an unwanted behavior, right you can replace the old unwanted behavior with a new one. But if we only focus on the action, the actual behavior itself, you’re not going to get there, or it’s going to be a lot harder for you.
So habit is really the whole thought feeling action pattern that you’ve gotten so good at doing, you’ve been practicing this over and over and over again, it’s like, you know, eating sweets late at night, you just keep doing it every day until it just becomes like something your brain expects. And there’s a thought and a feeling that precedes the action. But it all happens in a split second, and you just find yourself eating ice cream at you know, 10:30 at night. And so you have to understand that your thoughts and your feelings are the real drivers of your actions, your thoughts and feelings are the real drivers of your choices of your decision making. And whether you are consciously aware of this or not, this is what’s happening.
So habits are not reflexive, they’re not reflexes that are just happening like, like a knee jerk, you know, reaction. So I hear people tell me all the time, like, you know, I was doing fine. The next thing you know, I’m stuffing a Cinnabon into my face. And I have no idea how this just happened.
So we tend to make our habits out to be reflexive, like things that we don’t have control over, we tend to say, Oh, this is beyond my control. And I think one of the reasons why we do this is because when we say we don’t have control over it is because then we are not to blame. But listen, our habits are not reflexive, we are in control, they don’t just happen spontaneously. They don’t bypass your brain, they don’t bypass the thought feeling action process.
But it’s easiest to think of habits as reflexive, like, you know, when the doctor hits your knee with that little hammer thing, the doctor hits your patellar tendon with that little, you know, rubber hammer. And what happens in that moment is a signal is sent from your knee to your spinal column.
And immediately that signal is sent to a motor nerve in your quadriceps, and that extends your leg forward. This is called the knee jerk reaction. And it’s a motor reflex, it bypasses your brain completely, it’s actually called the patellar tendon reflex. And it bypasses your thinking your consciousness your brain totally, it goes from your knee to your spinal column to your leg muscle. That’s it. That’s a reflex.
But that is not how habits work. Habits are not reflexive, they don’t bypass the brain, okay, habits are processed by your brain very quickly. Because you’ve just gotten really good at doing this. You have a thought you have a feeling and then you take action. And it seems it’s so fast that it seems automatic. But it’s just why well formed habits, well practiced habits seem unconscious, but your brain is still involved.
This is good news, your your brain is still involved. The good news is that this is still your fault, okay. It’s still something that you have control over. And that’s good news to me, like I would rather have control over what I’m doing. Because if I feel like I’m out of control, I have no say in the matter, I have no authority over myself, right. And I don’t want that.
I don’t want to feel like I’m being you know, manipulated or controlled by some outside force. So if I know that this is within my control, this is good news. This brings the power back to me. So your brain is still doing the work has just gotten really efficient because you’ve been practicing it so much like eating the snacks, you know, late at night, or taking a shower like you take a shower, you don’t even have to think about it, you just do it right.
And sidebar here. This is why so many great ideas come to us in the shower. Because the activity that we’re engaged in, is using it doesn’t use your conscious mind. It uses your subconscious mind. So the activity of taking a shower is a subconscious activity. This is a really good example of how this works. So the conscious mind is free to think, to dream to think more creatively and this is why we get good ideas in the shower. Because our conscious mind is free and open.
Okay, so anyway, that’s a little sidebar. So the key to all of this is to understand that your thoughts and feelings drive your behavior and this is what creates the habit is the thought the feeling and the behavior all combined. and it’s just something you practice. You’ve been practicing these habits for a long, long time.
And then you might be thinking, okay, I get this, Patrick, it’s the thoughts and feelings. But where are these thoughts and feelings coming from? Like, how are those created? Well, thoughts are just sentences in your mind. They’re just things you say to yourself, or little sentences, you say to yourself, they are the stories that you tell yourself about what’s happening around you.
You know, you might be taking a walk through the park, and you see a squirrel and you see a tree, and you see a fountain, and you see a lake and you see a deer. And you’re telling yourself how wonderful all of this is. These are just thoughts, you know, they’re just stories, you’re telling yourself about what’s going on, around you.
So your thoughts are just your interpretations of your circumstances, your thoughts are the meaning that you give to every situation in your life. And your thoughts are determined by how you see the world around you. So your thoughts are heavily influenced by your past experiences by your beliefs, your upbringing, your culture, your family of origin, your education, the type of career you’re in, and on and on, like, this is what we call our model of the world.
And everyone has their own unique model of the world. So your model of the world is unique to you. It’s how you interpret the world around you. And I would argue that there is no one reality that we each have our own version of reality in our minds, because everything is up to interpretation by your brain. And your brain is going to interpret things very different from my brain.
This is kind of cool, because that means that like, we all have an opinion. And we all have a different interpretation of every situation. I think this is pretty cool. And so here’s an example of how the model of the world can influence your thoughts and feelings. And I’ve probably used this example before, but I love it. It’s so good.
So imagine two guys standing on the beach, and they’re both looking out over the ocean. And each of these people has a different view of the ocean. They have different thoughts and feelings about the ocean. One guy has been a fan of the ocean ever since he was a little kid. He used to surf every day. You know, as a kid, he grew up near the beach. And for decades, he’s been an avid surfer, and he just loves the ocean. To him the ocean is a zen like experience. It’s his happy place. It brings him joy. He can’t imagine not getting into the ocean and surfing every single day. Okay. He loves the ocean, loves loves loves it. He feels a sense of peace and joy when he’s standing on the beach looking at the ocean.
Guy number two standing right next to him looking over at the same ocean. Maybe he had a near drowning experience as a child. For him the ocean is a very scary place. For him the ocean is full of danger, and fear. And for him, he wants to avoid the ocean at all costs. He can’t imagine stepping foot in the ocean, okay.
These two people are experiencing the same ocean the same, quote unquote reality but their view of it is completely different based on their model of the world. Their model of the world affects their thoughts and feelings and actions. And different habits will emerge out of those thought feelings and action patterns.
Okay, so one guy’s become an avid surfer. He has a habit of surfing every day, no matter what loves it. The other guy has a habit of never going anywhere near the ocean won’t get on a boat won’t go on a cruise hates going to the beach would never dream of setting foot in the ocean. Right? So two different people, same circumstances, but different models of the world. Different thoughts, feelings and actions, different habits, different results.
So what does all this mean? This this is not to say that we cannot change that. Once you’ve experienced something like trauma or you know, or you’re sort of you’ve got a well established habit that you can’t change it, you absolutely can change it. You can change anything you want about yourself. The point of talking about all this is so that you understand what’s driving the behavior. It’s always your thoughts and feelings. Okay?
And all month long over in the Running Lean coaching group, we are taking a deep dive into this work all month long, we’re focusing on our thoughts, feelings and actions and these patterns, how they show up in our life and how they are creating the results that we’re getting or not getting in every area of our life.
You know, we’ve got people that are trying to change their diet and lose some weight. And they have to understand how their thoughts and feelings are driving their actions of sticking to their plan or not. We’ve got people who want to, you know, qualify for Boston. And their thoughts and feelings are either driving the actions of like making them, you’re keeping them dedicated and disciplined and running faster or not.
And each week, we’re focusing on one topic. So last week, it was our thoughts this week was our feelings next week is going to be all about actions, the and then we’re going to be talking about how to start to change these things and how to start creating the thoughts and feelings that we actually want, so that we can change our results.
And each week, we’ve got a little bit homework to do. So we’re creating a bunch of self awareness around our thoughts and feelings and habits. And then later this month, we’re going to talk about changing them and creating new habits. So if you haven’t checked it out, come over and check out the Running Lean coaching group. It’s super fun, and we’re taking just such a deep dive into this particular topic. Because I really believe this is the foundation of creating any kind of change that you want for yourself, okay.
But the first and most important step is understanding how all of this works. And understanding how your brain works, you know, you got to understand that your brain is is amazing. It’s like one of the most amazing things in the known universe, if not, the most people think it’s the most powerful thing in the known universe, the human brain, nothing is compares to the human brain, what we can do with it, right.
And you have to understand that you are always in control, even though it doesn’t seem like it. Understand that you have authority over your choices, and over your decisions, these things are not just happening to you, okay, you’ve just sort of lost touch with this part of your brain, you’ve gotten into a habit. And you’ve done you started to do something unconsciously and automatic, you’ve been on autopilot. And that’s okay. You just understand how all this works. Understand that you’re just sort of going through the motions now without a whole lot of conscious thought.
So the first step is to bring all of this back into your awareness back into your consciousness. So here’s a weird thing to think about. This is kind of random. I’m gonna bring it back, though. Okay, so I’m going to go off on a little tangent here. But listen, when you were growing up, did anyone ever teach you how to eat? Now? Of course, you’re like, well, yeah, of course, my parents taught me how to eat when I was like, one or whatever, right?
But no, I mean, like, how to eat healthy food, how to eat food that will nourish your body, how to obtain optimal health. Did your parents teach you about the effects of eating sugar and how you should stay away from junk food? Did they teach you how to moderate these things? Or avoid some of these things all together? Probably not. I don’t know. For most of us, that’s probably no.
If you are brought up that way, that is awesome. Your parents are awesome. Congratulations. For most of us, though. No, no, I grew up in the 60s in the 70s. I come from a pretty good sized family, five kids. And my mom was an amazing cook. And she always was had these home cooked meals. She loved cooking. It’s how she showed love to all of us. And, and I grew up, you know, with this idea that, you know, this is how we show love is but food.
And I also grew up thinking that food was entertainment. So Saturday mornings as a kid in the 70s. Like I would watch the cartoons. And there were all these ads, right for Count Chocula and Captain Crunch and sugar Frosted Flakes. And, of course, every time we went to the grocery store, I insisted that we get like one or all of those cereals and stuff, right?
So I was eating a lot of sugary cereals. I remember drinking a lot of sugary soft drinks, and we had dessert pretty much every night. And listen, I’m not blaming my mom or my parents, right. My parents are amazing. Amazing. People love them so much. And they always did their best. And I would say they did a damn fine job raising their five kids. We are all awesome kids, by the way. But this was my model of the world. For many years. For decades, really. my model of the world was driving my thoughts and feelings about food.
And so some of my thoughts and feelings were food is fun. Food is entertainment. Food is a reward. Food is how you show love, the more sugar the more love, more love. Like more sugar equals more love. And I used food in this way to feel good about myself for four decades, really, this was my model of the world, this would become my thought feeling action pattern.
This was my habit in trying to change this habit, you know, I tried all the diets in the world. And nothing ever really worked. Because I didn’t understand what was behind all this, I didn’t understand what was driving the habit, I was just trying to change the behavior, I was just trying to change the actions that I was taking.
And it wasn’t until I started to understand what was underneath the habit, what was underneath the behavior, the thoughts and feelings, that I could actually start to change things for myself. So I learned how I was using food as more like an emotional management tool, you know, I was using food to feel better, or to not have to feel anything at all.
So I was using food as a way to numb myself a lot of the time. So and have to deal with my thoughts and feelings, which are just too much for me, I’m a very emotional person, I feel my feelings, right. And so for years and years of doing this, you know, I I just was numbing myself as much as possible.
I used alcohol for the same reason, you know. And then eventually, I had to like, take a step back and understand what was driving all of this. And after years and years and years of doing this really decades, this all became, for me, an unconscious habit. And in order to break the habit, I had to develop a deep understanding of how the habit actually worked, how it was formed.
While I was thinking and feeling all this stuff, I was thinking and feeling what was driving the behavior. And all this stuff had to be brought out of my unconsciousness and into my consciousness out of the darkness and into the light. I had to just get really curious with myself and start asking myself, why am I thinking these things about food? Why am I thinking and feeling these feelings about food?
And what’s a different way of thinking and feeling about all of this. So if you can relate to any of this, I want you to know something that there’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with me, there was nothing wrong with me in that moment. This is just how our brains are wired, you know, our brains are we have this primitive part of our brain that just wants to keep us safe.
So we have a part of our brain, you know, it’s called the amygdala. It’s this like, very primitive, I call it the lizard brain, it’s always seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, seeking comfort, avoiding discomfort, seeking, the familiar avoiding anything unfamiliar. And, you know, it’s okay, this is just normal. And it’s okay, that we, that we, we have a brain like this, we just need to understand that there is another way to live our life, that if we want something different for ourselves, and we just have to understand what’s driving our behavior, it’s not automatic, it really isn’t.
And we have the capacity to override that primitive brain, we have the capacity to, you know, seek discomfort and seek the unfamiliar and get put ourselves out of our comfort zone and begin to change the habit. All these habits that we’ve developed over the years, they’re just learned behaviors, driven by thoughts and feelings that we’ve practiced over and over again, your work has to understand how all of this is formed, how it works, so you can begin to change things for yourself.
And once you’re armed with all of this self awareness, it’s like taking the red pill in the matrix like nothing will ever be the same for you. Once you see this and you understand it, you can’t unsee it. Or you can take the blue pill and remain contented and stuck where you are. But you seem more like a red pill kind of person to me. Alright, that’s all I got for you this week.
Be sure to join us over in the Running Lean coaching group for August remember we’re taking a deep dive into all of this thought feeling action patterns, how they show up how you can change them so you can start getting the results you want around weight loss running, health and fitness, all of that runningleanpodcast.com/join. And I truly hope that you got something out of this episode today. And if you did, please consider sharing it with a friend I love you all keep on Running Lean, and I’ll talk to you soon.
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