Can A Marathon Runner Be On Peat Diet?

[SolRosenberg]

Hello everyone, longtime lurker and occasional commenter here. I have been reading the forum for awhile now and I’m very interested in following the RP diet but I have read Ray Peat perhaps advises against doing endurance activities. As an avid ultra marathon runner I’m sad to hear that my running could be going against what Ray recommends.

So is it pointless for me to try and follow the RP diet if I’m going to continue running?

If not are there any special diet or nutritional supplement recommendations for endurance runners on the RP diet so as to allow them to continue running?

Thank you for any suggestions!

 

[800mRepeats]

RP (and others) may not consider endurance athletics to be healthy. But ... if you're going to do it (and you are), RP offers many ideas on protecting your health that may be helpful while so engaged.

Now, some of the things you'll see in his articles and on this forum may directly counter some of the adaptations you're trying to achieve in training. As ever, it's about finding a balance that works for you and understanding that the metabolic context in which you're operating is always shifting - just as in training.

I have no answers for you but to learn more about how the body and your body in your context work - in response to training, in running marathon distances and longer, in applying pro-metabolic principles from RP and the like.
I'm on a similar journey of discovery still, after 3 years here.

 

[lollipop]

RP (and others) may not consider endurance athletics to be healthy. But ... if you're going to do it (and you are), RP offers many ideas on protecting your health that may be helpful while so engaged.

Now, some of the things you'll see in his articles and on this forum may directly counter some of the adaptations you're trying to achieve in training. As ever, it's about finding a balance that works for you and understanding that the metabolic context in which you're operating is always shifting - just as in training.

I have no answers for you but to learn more about how the body and your body in your context work - in response to training, in running marathon distances and longer, in applying pro-metabolic principles from RP and the like.
I'm on a similar journey of discovery still, after 3 years here.

+1 My initial thought reading the title was it would certainly be worth pursuing and could end up being protective for you.

 

[MrThyroid]

stop peating raypeat is against any form of stress and indurance is stress and ultra marathon runner is death sentence

 

[SolRosenberg]

RP (and others) may not consider endurance athletics to be healthy. But ... if you're going to do it (and you are), RP offers many ideas on protecting your health that may be helpful while so engaged.

Now, some of the things you'll see in his articles and on this forum may directly counter some of the adaptations you're trying to achieve in training. As ever, it's about finding a balance that works for you and understanding that the metabolic context in which you're operating is always shifting - just as in training.

I have no answers for you but to learn more about how the body and your body in your context work - in response to training, in running marathon distances and longer, in applying pro-metabolic principles from RP and the like.
I'm on a similar journey of discovery still, after 3 years here.

Thanks for your reply! I’ll keep reading here, find out what works best for me and apply what is useful. There’s such a fine line between getting enough nutrition and too much…

+1 My initial thought reading the title was it would certainly be worth pursuing and could end up being protective for you.

And thank you for your reply as well! It’s a little bit daunting trying to figure out where to start first, that’s for sure. Any tips?

 

[lollipop]

Thanks for your reply! I’ll keep reading here, find out what works best for me and apply what is useful. There’s such a fine line between getting enough nutrition and too much…



And thank you for your reply as well! It’s a little bit daunting trying to figure out where to start first, that’s for sure. Any tips?

I would start with diet: low PUFA’s, good saturated fats, good levels of sucrose/fructose/maybe some starch, good proteins, etc.

Also, there are a few threads about how strenuous activity causes cortisol to raise and some ideas how to mitigate that stress before and after your training session. That would be my suggestion

This forum is FULL of good advice. Choose threads wisely, they can become wieldy. Checking your temps and pulse is a good way to get started self awareness about your health. Peat’s suggestions are really about experimentation to see how you react to certain changes and be able to tell where you are.

Kate Deering’s Book: “How To Heal Your Metabolism” is also a great way to start.

Good Luck @SolRosenberg!

 

[SolRosenberg]

Awesome info!!!

Yes, you’re absolutely correct there is so much information here that it seems much like the first visit to a really big city—easy to get lost, hard to get good directions and no way to know all that I’m missing out on

And a gracious thank you for the tips and book recommendation!

 

[Ania]

You might find this one interesting Strategies for athletes following a Ray Peat inspired diet

 

[800mRepeats]

...

Also, there are a few threads about how strenuous activity causes cortisol to raise and some ideas how to mitigate that stress before and after your training session. That would be my suggestion

... @SolRosenberg!

Lisa's post is right on.
And this line points to one of the conundrums between "Peat-ing" and running ... stress is a necessary part of attaining adaptations (of being able to go farther, faster, longer, harder). Stress and recover. Stress and recover.

Ideally, the stress reaction should be acute - the stress happens and resolves quickly, and adaptation occurs so that future encounters with a similar stimulus will be less stressful.
Endurance training can become detrimental when the stress never resolves and one is continually in a stressed state. (And, many would contend we are all always in such a state in our modern world.)
And eliminating the "stress" (e.g., lowering cortisol) won't work either, for an athlete who wishes to improve.
So - the trick is to find the balance. To support the body in recovering quickly. Quickly enough for health, but not so quickly the training yields less than the possible adaptation.

Great place to start?
- Lisa's diet suggestion: low PUFA’s, good saturated fats, good levels of sucrose/fructose/maybe some starch, good proteins, etc.
- Smart training plan design (minimum effective dose + adequate recovery) and ongoing adaptation based on response & changing context
- Ample sleep

 

[SolRosenberg]

You might find this one interesting Strategies for athletes following a Ray Peat inspired diet

Thank you!!! This is pure GOLD!

Lisa's post is right on.
And this line points to one of the conundrums between "Peat-ing" and running ... stress is a necessary part of attaining adaptations (of being able to go farther, faster, longer, harder). Stress and recover. Stress and recover.

Ideally, the stress reaction should be acute - the stress happens and resolves quickly, and adaptation occurs so that future encounters with a similar stimulus will be less stressful.
Endurance training can become detrimental when the stress never resolves and one is continually in a stressed state. (And, many would contend we are all always in such a state in our modern world.)
And eliminating the "stress" (e.g., lowering cortisol) won't work either, for an athlete who wishes to improve.
So - the trick is to find the balance. To support the body in recovering quickly. Quickly enough for health, but not so quickly the training yields less than the possible adaptation.

Great place to start?
- Lisa's diet suggestion: low PUFA’s, good saturated fats, good levels of sucrose/fructose/maybe some starch, good proteins, etc.
- Smart training plan design (minimum effective dose + adequate recovery) and ongoing adaptation based on response & changing context
- Ample sleep

Awesome!!! Thank you!