Today my father and I embark on a 30-day excursion into the realm of hocus-pocus. After much discussion and debate, we have both decided to undergo a 30-day dairy and sugar-free challenge. Our reasons are as follows:
First, in the homeschooled community where I find myself, there are many claims as to the incredible health benefits of going sugar and dairy free. Even today at church when I discussed my diet with a homeschooling mom, her predicted benefits ranged from reduced mucus consumption to getting rid of that pesky "brain cloud". Yet even though many of the claims seem to be nebulous and unquantifiable, the sheer amount of them leads me to question whether they might just be on to something.
Second, I am a well-known unhealthy eater. I drink chocolate milk by the pint and have eaten well over 5 pounds of candy since Christmas. Thus, it should come as no surprise that my Body Mass Index (BMI) consistently clocks in at an overweight 25 despite avidly training nearly every day. So really, barring anything else, just cutting out desert and candy will likely yield some great results. My hope is to approach the body mass indexes of the pro Ironman triathletes, who are somewhere between 20 and 23.5.
I hope to be regularly blogging what I am eating, my weight, and its effect on my training. In the meantime, here are the official rules of the diet, as agreed upon by myself and my father:
1. General Premise: The general promise of this diet is to, wherever possible, limit consumption of dairy and sugar. As such, all food and drinks with more than the tracest amounts of dairy and sugar are prohibited. Exceptions and specifics are included below.
2. Beverage Clause: Any beverages with sugar added such as soda and Gatorade are right out. Fruit juice and honey are not allowed in drinks. All drinks with any amount of dairy are banned. Water is strongly encouraged.
3. Fruit Clause: Raw, uncooked fruit is permissible.
4. Moderately Limited Substance Clause: 2 beers, 4 slices of bread (or buns), and one pasta meal per week are allowed.
5. Ingredient Clause: Recognizing that sugar and dairy are ingredients to commonly consumed and prepared food, reasonable allowances can be made to allow for minor amounts of banned substances in a group meal. Participants are encouraged to seek other options whenever possible. These exceptions only apply in group meals or when using the tracest amounts of banned ingredients.
6. Race Clause: If during the 30 day period either participant enters into a race that will last longer than one hour, he or she will be permitted to break any of the aforementioned rules, but only after crossing the start line and before crossing the finish line.
7. Conflict Resolution Clause: If either participant is unsure as to whether or not a certain food or drink is permissible. he must contact the other party for a ruling. If either party believes the food to be unapproved, it shall be so.
First, in the homeschooled community where I find myself, there are many claims as to the incredible health benefits of going sugar and dairy free. Even today at church when I discussed my diet with a homeschooling mom, her predicted benefits ranged from reduced mucus consumption to getting rid of that pesky "brain cloud". Yet even though many of the claims seem to be nebulous and unquantifiable, the sheer amount of them leads me to question whether they might just be on to something.
Second, I am a well-known unhealthy eater. I drink chocolate milk by the pint and have eaten well over 5 pounds of candy since Christmas. Thus, it should come as no surprise that my Body Mass Index (BMI) consistently clocks in at an overweight 25 despite avidly training nearly every day. So really, barring anything else, just cutting out desert and candy will likely yield some great results. My hope is to approach the body mass indexes of the pro Ironman triathletes, who are somewhere between 20 and 23.5.
I hope to be regularly blogging what I am eating, my weight, and its effect on my training. In the meantime, here are the official rules of the diet, as agreed upon by myself and my father:
1. General Premise: The general promise of this diet is to, wherever possible, limit consumption of dairy and sugar. As such, all food and drinks with more than the tracest amounts of dairy and sugar are prohibited. Exceptions and specifics are included below.
2. Beverage Clause: Any beverages with sugar added such as soda and Gatorade are right out. Fruit juice and honey are not allowed in drinks. All drinks with any amount of dairy are banned. Water is strongly encouraged.
3. Fruit Clause: Raw, uncooked fruit is permissible.
4. Moderately Limited Substance Clause: 2 beers, 4 slices of bread (or buns), and one pasta meal per week are allowed.
5. Ingredient Clause: Recognizing that sugar and dairy are ingredients to commonly consumed and prepared food, reasonable allowances can be made to allow for minor amounts of banned substances in a group meal. Participants are encouraged to seek other options whenever possible. These exceptions only apply in group meals or when using the tracest amounts of banned ingredients.
6. Race Clause: If during the 30 day period either participant enters into a race that will last longer than one hour, he or she will be permitted to break any of the aforementioned rules, but only after crossing the start line and before crossing the finish line.
7. Conflict Resolution Clause: If either participant is unsure as to whether or not a certain food or drink is permissible. he must contact the other party for a ruling. If either party believes the food to be unapproved, it shall be so.