People self assess they eat right but are often confirming bias. You even yourself said you splurge. So tell us your diet, and splurges

ha, well nothing like opening myself up for a ton of criticism on what I eat by everyone on ST... I know people are very opinionated on "what's best" but you asked... so sure, I'll humor you on my relatively boring diet (and I am sure some people will think I eat terribly!) First off: I am not vegan, paleo, or anything that has a name.

I worked with a nutritionist about 17 years ago and I still put into practice what I learned back then. I am by no means perfect I am sure people on ST could school me on why I should change this or that. I said "I eat healthy" and that is a relative statement to the general population. I am careful about what meats I eat... mainly fish and some chicken breast. Not to say I won't eat red meat.. I do a few times a year have a fillet or tenderloin, but that is about it. (I actually had my cardiologist tell me on Thursday to go eat some lean red meat... which he laughed at knowing it was counterintuitive to the situation, but they have been concerned that my blood work keeps showing that my hemoglobin levels have been very low and I am anemic, so I had a small portion of some really nice tenderloin that night :) There's the obvious stuff... I don't touch fast food, creamy foods, or fried foods (well.. I might have a few french fries if they are good!) . I love salads and I have learned to eat them without dressing... I actually think they taste better that way!) I eat a lot of nuts, raw almonds being my favorite. I will add in fruit, sort of depends on what we have around the house. In the summer we grill up tons of veggies on the BBQ, sometimes we will add some Salmon or Halibut. one of my favorite dinners. Brown rice with grilled chicken breast is always a simple dinner. I rely heavily on almond butter in or on just about anything. I often make protein shakes (breakfast or other meals)... I use Vega or some other protein power as a base, add spinach, frozen berries, Almost butter, etc. Breakfast is usually Greek yogurt (I don't eat much in the way of dairy except yogurt.), egg whites, oatmeal Not super exciting but it works. Lunch is typically a salad with some sort of protein or a protein shake if I am at the office and don't have much time. Love veggies with hummus. When we go out to eat it can get tricky but I have learned how to find something that works. So, in general I watch what I put in my body and I apply what I learned years ago about around nutrition. I stay away from prepared foods since they are always loaded in sodium (well.. just about everything is loaded in sodium these days!). I have a very strict (and even more dull) diet that I snap to 6-7 weeks out from a race to help me lean out and get to race weight. Not always the most exciting way to live, but it works, it is easy and there is always the celebration once I cross the finish line:). There is always a finish line beer:).

Also, I usually (none Covid world) travel internationally for work, 100k+ miles a year, usually in Asia, LATAM or Europe once or twice a month, in some ways it is very hard to stick to my diet when on the road and in other ways it isn't hard. I eat most meals alone, so it is easy to do what I need to do. I take along protein bars and some healthy snacks on every trip to get me through the long days where a meal that works for me may not be accessible. The hardest part is customer dinners, I do a lot of dinners with customers and that can get challenging. Thankfully my team in the field understand some of my restrictions and they try to pick places that will work for me (seafood, sushi, etc.) but I have certainly had to make some compromises at times to get through these dinners. For me it is about sticking to my way of eating 90% of the time (or at least when it is in my control to make the choice on what I eat) and most importantly... when I am stepping out of bounds (ie: eating pizza) it is a big deal in my head, I know I am making an intentional choice and that is totally okay from time to time. I have always said that I know I am in trouble if I am eating pizza, etc and I don't think anything about the choice.

My "cheats"... first off: No cheating allowed in my pre-race lean out phase, just not worth it. Otherwise... I love a good IPA or even a light beer if I am out on the boat in the sun in the summer. I also love a good Margarita on vacation :) I also love a good glass of red wine. I love dark chocolate :) Might have some cheese, crackers and nuts with my glass of wine. as mentioned above: Pizza: the family loves pizza... especially watching football on Sunday nights, sometimes (in the off season) I will jump in and join them. If the Kids order from our favorite burger place then I will usually order a salad (they have some amazing salads) but I might have them toss one onion ring on top as my "cheat" :).. and yes, I will grab some fries from my kids (so that they don't eat them all, right?) I never get too far out of bounds (the really unhealthy stuff just isn't appealing to me) but even some good bread can be loaded in sodium and so many things that you think are "healthy" are just full of crap.

Anyway.. there ya go.



How about I start with what I have eaten in the last 24 hours:

Lunch - Protein shake (not fruit or juice based, a few Pistachio nuts, seaweed w/ a little tzatziki
Afternoon snack - wheat rice cake with some almond butter and blueberries
Dinner - Spinach and kale salad (no dressing), a few bites of tuna mixed in, some nuts. I did sneak 3 easter colored Almond M&Ms with my after dinner tea :-O
Breakfast: Coffee, plain Greek yogurt w/ a little honey, blueberries and sprinkling of granola mixed in, plain oatmeal with ~10 raisins added.
Mid morning snack - small protein bar (one that isn't covered in anything and is actually not terrible for you.)
Lunch - 3 hard boiled egg whites (yokes removed) filled with fresh pico de gallo, seaweed w/ avacado and tzatziki.

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Team Zoot

Crazy story bud, glad you're on your way back! Will you make a full recovery and be able to resume all sports? What caused the build-up in the artery? Is the stent in their for life and is all you need is regular check-ups to ensure the artery isn't getting clogged?

Thanks, yes, at this point I should make a full recover. I already feel 100% (and there was a lot more than my heart that needed to heal... I ended up with pneumonia from being intubated and really had struggles with breathing for a while, chest was trashed from CPR, had a sprained thumb from falling, and had holes all over my body from the various lines they had in me. But today I feel great. Yes, I will race again, my dr. doesn't have any concerns. This week I am back on the bike no all our or sustained hard efforts.


Hard to say what caused the blockage. I wasn't healthy (didn't exercise, overweight and ate like crap) early on in life (collage years) and I am sure that had a negative impactbut hard to say how much. Beyond that we just chalk it up to genetics. There isn't always a clear answer. Yes, stent is there for life and I will be on some meds for life. Yep, just need check-ups to make sure all is good. That's it. I know it is not supposed to be that easy in situations like this and it is actually hard to believe that standing here today I feel absolutely normal, ready to go tackle everything I did before, and six weeks ago I was laying on the side of the road having breathed my last breath till a few guys came along and gave me a chance at surviving. (

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Team Zoot

well it seems your diet did improve as you didnt mention that college diet, probably caught up to you. yet i guess one thing to know, the fried foods (french fries, onion rings) contain transfat, an unnatural fat the liver has no enzyme to bind with for metabolization, so they just collect in the arteries

Yes, because everyone eats perfectly healthy in collage :-O. And yes.. well aware of the transfats in fries and such, which is why I typically don't eat them... but I am not going to beat myself up over grabbing 2 or 3 fires once a month, i'm not sitting there eating a bowl of them.

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Team Zoot

"I do a few times a year have a fillet or tenderloin"


What is the difference between a filet and a tenderloin?

I love where this thread it going.. all about food:). As I understand it... nothing, they are the same part of the cow. Maybe a "filet" is served more like a steak and a "tenderloin" is cooked as a large piece of meat you cut into slices. But really no idea. Someone from Texas can answer that.

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Team Zoot

You are correct.

A filet mignon is an individual steak that is cut from a tenderloin.

A tenderloin is the entire strip of that muscle.

Have you ever tried kangaroo or ostrich?

I think they had me try Kangaroo when I was down in Australia... but don't remember much about it. Not sure I have tried Ostrich... any good?

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Team Zoot

There are a few muscles in the ostrich that are very similar to the tenderloin in a cow, but are leaner. Make sure you cook them rare to medium rare.

Gregtay, I had a mild heart attack while swimming on March 15th. I’m back to working out and I’m wondering if you are as well. I feel like a bit of a slouch now as I’ve got nowhere near the stamina or power I had before. I’m wondering how you’re doing with it, if you’re working out yet. The beta blocker I’m on is keeping my heart rate down and I feel that’s what is holding me back.....as well as my insecurities about pushing hard.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad to read that you're getting better.

At Endurance Exchange last year in Tempe I listened to a great presentation from Gale Bernhardt on how endurance athletes are not impervious to heart disease. She has a blog post on the topic: https://galebernhardt.com/blogs/news/74370501-the-fit-heart-s-story-recognizing-signs-of-a-silent-killer


My take away was that blood panel analysis and a healthy diet are not sufficient to mitigate the risk of a deadly or near-deadly cardiac event. The CT calcium score test was critical to identify potential blockages and overall risk. If you're over 40 and haven't had one, go get one.

https://www.slowtwitch.com/...art_Health_7911.html

Thank you Dr. Toce for putting this article together for ST.

To Everyone... please take the time to read it and know that it applies to you. It might just save your life.

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Team Zoot

About 10 days ago I was given the green light to start training again but until my cardio stress test on April25th I am limited to "no hard breathing/high respiration." I decided to just hold off on running till after the test, just too easy to get the respiration up while running. I am back on my bike (on the trainer for now) and I have been able to do a few short trail swims with my wife observing (I really wanted someone watching me the first few times.) I feel great both swimming and biking. No issues with my HR or any sluggish feeling (other than my legs feeling like you would after 6 weeks off.) . My cardiologist did lower some of my med doses already so maybe that helps... I do know the first few weeks were rough on the meds. But I truly feel better than I did before the event. Maybe some of that is mental... I am just so happy to be alive and training. Maybe when I start pushing my HR above 130 I will feel more of the effects of the meds like you are, I will let you know when I get to that later this month. We are down in AZ for Spring Break with the kiddos and I feel great, tossing them around in the pool, playing games, having fun and just feeling totally normal. Hard to believe that is even possible this soon after the event.

Good luck with your recovery.

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Team Zoot

I’m also sticking to my zone 2, which is around 130, like you are. I’m on these meds for 6 months and after that I expect to start getting back to normal. My cardiologist gave me the green light to swim and bike but no running for 6 weeks. I’m supposed to stick to zone 2 as a highpoint. It’s frustrating to feel like I’m starting over again but I know I’ll get better with time. Hopefully you’ll bounce back and be racing again next year.

Don't get frustrated... consider yourself very lucky that you caught it before something tragic happened. My life had come to an end on Feb 13th... but the pure luck that it happened while someone was driving by, saw me, and took action to get help. Otherwise.... I'm not writing this. Let that sink in for a minute the next time you get frustrated that you have to hold back in training. For you... think how lucky you are that you weren't out on a run or a swim and that you didn't have a full cardiac arrest.

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Team Zoot

As last year's ST heart patient....

It's a long and winding road. Take the long view. Call it an extended base building period. Nothing bad comes from too much zone 2.