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Stomach problems: JulieAnne's article and thoughts.
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I read with GREAT interest JulieAnne White's article on G.I. dysfunction and training. My stomach is a disaster area (and everything south of it). In the last 2 years I could count the days I haven't had a stomach ache on two hands. Many times my stomach and its attendant aches and pains have been a huge limiting factor in training and racing. I got sick in East Africa a long time ago and hve been to the doctor twice (says there's nothing wrong) and landed in the hospital once. Does everyone have these issues? Do you guys have constant problems with you stomachs? For the record, no, I never sleep, my life is stressful ("WHERE'S MY BIKE DAMMIT!?") and my diet absolutely sucks- but other than that I can't imagine why I have stomach problems.....:)

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: Stomach problems: JulieAnne's article and thoughts. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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The two most important things that I learned from bodybuilding.

1. You don't grow in the gym--rest,rest,rest

2. Diet is 70%, weights is 10%, and sleep is 20%

This being said, get your diet under control. I eat 6-7 meals a day. I eat alot of food. Its hard with our busy schedules, but cook on Sunday, buy a cooler and take it with you. It will only help in the end.

I just discovered getting that are flushed below the belt. It costs 55 for a hour. I went 3 times in 4 weeks and now I go to see her 1 every 6 months. I use the toilet twice a day now feel much better. You can not believe the stuff that is built up on your walls of your colon. It will scare you when you see it come out. People have gotten pennies, matchbox cars they ate when they were kids. Believe me it will help.

If you need help with your lifestyle of eating habits, email me and I will be happy to answer or tell you where to read some good stuff. I tell all my clients, remember its not a DIET its a lifestyle. Just like training and sleep.

One last point because I am so proud of him: My father has been a vegan for 15 years. He rides every day, the last 2 years he has put on 11000 miles per year. He is 5'10, 190 pounds, and 60 years old. In October of last year he agreed to follow a eating plan I set up for him. He rides every day, And I talked to him last night, he weighed in at 172!!

Pretty good for the old man--he'll be kicking my butt on Pedal to the Peaks this year.
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Re: Stomach problems: JulieAnne's article and thoughts. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Have you been tested for Gluten intolerance? Gluten is a protien in Wheat, oates, malt and barley. Might be worth checking out. Symptoms range from GI problems to fatigue to other autoimmue dieseases. Since my young daugther cannot eat these items we have eliminated them from our house, and our diets as well. After I went on the diet I haven't had any stomach issues.
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Re: Stomach problems: JulieAnne's article and thoughts. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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Tom, you've mentioned a few times before about your fast food eat on the go bachelor diet. I was like that at one time in my life but then I went to the book store and purchased several books on the basics of nutrition and cooking. I started following the recipes and have never looked back. You have to take more time when shopping and in your food preparation but the health dividends will certainly pay off. This could be part of it. Also you seem like a type A personality always on the go-go-go. These type of people are generally believed to be more subject to ulcers and stomach problems.

You have to stop and look at lifestyle and see if there is anything that should be changed. If you want some suggestions for some good healthy cooking books to read email me privately and I'll get a list for you.
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Re: Stomach problems: JulieAnne's article and thoughts. [Tom Demerly] [ In reply to ]
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I'm a bachelor like Tom, and I can appreciate how difficult it is to eat well while constantly on the go. But I've found that my diet is more important to my overall fitness than my training, and I virtually never suffer from GI problems anymore. (Am I really stupid enough to tempt fate by committing that to writing?!)

In 1999, I began following the Zone Diet (40/30/30) and noticed that my endurance increased by an truly unbelievable amount. Hey, I thought, maybe I'm on to something here. Many months later, I began to experiment with eliminating wheat and dairy from my diet, and my GI problems nearly vanished. The difference is incredible, and I would encourage anyone on a typical high-carb/low-fat diet to give this a try. Wheat and dairy are not foods that human beings evolved on, and although we can digest them, we can't do it very well. This inability to adequately process these foods leads to a lot of the GI distress that we've all faced at one time or another.

Last November I went to Costa Rica to compete in "La Ruta de los Conquistadores," which is a three-day, coast-to-coast mountain bike race with 24,000 ft. of climbing. Because of the hills, I was very careful to avoid lugging any extra weight with me on my journey. Even so, I committed myself to carrying ALL of my own food, heavy as it was, even though there were several all-you-can-eat aid stations spaced along the course. I finished the race very comfortably, and I'm confident that my diet played an absolutely critical role in helping me to complete the race without stomach problems or other incident (bonking, dehydration, etc.).

I would strongly encourage anyone suffering from stomach problems to give these changes a try. Your mileage may vary, but I'm convinced you'll be happy with the results.
Last edited by: Dominic: Feb 10, 03 15:43
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IBS -doc advice? [ In reply to ]
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funny you mention that today Tom.
Yesterday, I finished my day (and most of the night)
emergency room, with really nasty stomach cramps.
It was bad to the point I could figure out how to sleep so my wife took me to the ER when the pain was inducing lower back pain as well, and I looked like an 8 month pregnant woman (which looks very odd with abs muscles drawn on top of the huge belly).

did xrays, bloodwork. everyting normal. the dr. said it was viral gastroenteritis however, as I didn't have either diarrhea or vomitting, I think it is unlikely.

I have many of the IBS symptoms (diarrhea to constp. and back, heartburn, chest pain, specially after swimming in pool with lots of chlorine etc...)

after november to figure out the intestinal issues I have in nearly all IM races, I switched to a paleo diet. However, when xmas arrived, I did a few steps away from it until recently where I was back to my old see food diet (see food eat it)...time to get back to more paleo diet...

however, re. IBS, if there is an MD around here with tips (and also -as it is self diagnosed at this point- other possibilities) please shoot a post...
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