craig, can you name some olympic athletes that adhere to atkins???
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>>His most interesting work was with the swimming programs at Stanford University, not previously known as an Olympic threat. This school took eight gold medals in 1992 in Barcelona, and six consecutive NCAA swim chamionships in the last three years. One of the swimmers was Jenny Thompson. "Some people were saying that Jenny must have been doing something illegal to swim the way she did," her coach said in a "Swimmer's World" interview. "They thought there was no way she could have gone as fast as she did without drugs. But I can absolutely gurantee that wasn't the case. It was the dietary program outlined by Dr. Sears." Sears also claims his diet to be a factor in the championships of other athletes including Dutch sprinter Miguel Jannsen (200 meter), and triathlete Laura Lowe (1994 Maui Ironman), and Gatorade Ironman champ Dave Scott.<<
>>Following is an article that appeared in July 1995 edition of DELICIOUS!
Magazine, pp. 36-37.
SWIMMING AGAINST THE HIGH-CARBO TIDE
by Kathleen Finn
It's been called Stanford swim team's secret weapon. No magic
supplements, no outrageous training schedule or mind-body rituals. It's a
specific diet based on the theory that the human body reacts to the
hormonal consequences of food, and these hormonal reactions can be
controlled and used to enhance an athlete's performance.
"In this diet, each meal should have the correct ratio of protein,
carbohydrates and fat," says program developer Barry Sears, Ph.D., a
medical researcher based in Marblehead, Mass. "The right balance of all
three is what gives an athlete his or her best performance. The focus is
on macronutrients rather than micronutrients - proteins, fat and
carbohydrates have a unique role to play in hormonal responses
within the body."
The low-calorie, low-fat and adequate protein diet, originally formulated
by Sears for heart disease patients, has become the mainstay of the
Stanford Cardinals swim team. Since 1992, when Sears first introduced his
program to coaches Skip Kenney and Richard Quick, the women's and men's
teams have won seven of eight national championships. In the same year,
they sent six swimmers to the summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where
they garnered eight gold medals. As they prepare for the
1996 Olympics in Atlanta, they remain committed to a program that's shown
results.
Sears' program in the near antithesis of the conventional athlete's diet,
which predominantly has centered on "carbo-loading." Too many
carbohydrates, especially those with a high-glycemic index such as pasta,
bread and starches, cause insulin levels to spike as does eating too much
at any one meal. This translates to increased sluggishness, muscle
soreness and elevated body fat, according to Sears.
"Right now a diet has been prescribed to the American public that's high
in carbohydrates and low in protein and fat. Yet, on this diet Americans
are fatter than ever. There's been an increase in obesity in the last 15
years," Sears contends. "This type of diet causes a hormonal disturbance
by increasing fat-free carbohydrates. In other words, insulin increases
and that, in turn, causes the body to store more fat."
"The idea is to reduce insulin levels because insulin makes and keeps you
fat. Protein, on the other hand, stimulates glucagon - the hormonal
opposite of insulin. When one rises, another falls," he explains.
Glucagon causes the release of stored glycogen from the liver and releases
stored fat from fatty tissues - another high energy source. In order to
burn stored fat for energy, you need to increase the level of glucagon in
the body. "It's like going to the bank using food as a hormonal ATM
machine. Stored fat is high octane and there's lots of it," says Sears.
"To access it, you have to hit the right code, which is
the right hormonal balance of foods."
To hit the secret code or the right balance of protein, a precise formula
based on lean body mass (using body fat percentage) and activity level is
used. Roughly, the per meal breakdown for a high performance athlete comes
out to 30 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate and 12 grams fat. The
protein amount we come up with is split among all meals, and then we
determine mathematically what amount of carbohy- drates and fat each
athlete will have, Sears adds. The concern with this diet program isn't
how many calories, but how much protein each athlete consumes daily, he
emphasizes.
The low-calorie element of the program seems improbable for
high-performance athletes such as the Stanford swimmers, but the theory is:
If you're eating in perfect balance, you're functioning more efficiently
and thus, you don't need as many calories.
The program calls for three meals and two snacks throughout the day. So,
what do the Cardinal swimmers eat to get the correct combinations? Sears
suggest low-fat protein sources such as tuna, chicken, egg whites, low-fat
tofu and yogurt, and cottage cheese paired with complex carbohydrates in
the form of fruits and fiber-rich vegetables. He suggests minimizing
carbohydrates such as pasta, breads and starches. The only restriction is
to limit saturated fats found in butter and full-fat daily and animal products.
A typical day's menu might consist of a breakfast of oatmeal and an egg
white omelet or oatmeal mixed with protein powder. Lunch might be four
ounces of tuna or turkey and two pieces of fruit. Dinner could consist of
a chicken breast with two cups of steamed vegetables and two pieces of
fruit. Snacks might include low-fat yogurt without fruit, muffins made
with soy protein powder or a half a piece of fruit with
one half-cup cottage cheese. The swimmers occasionally supplement their
diet with fish oils, but Sears recommends getting nutrients from food
sources first. Sears is adamant, though, that a precise balance be reached
at each meal or snack because "you're hormonally only as good as your last
meal."
The results of all this food combining are remarkable physiological
changes - increases in oxygen transfer and blood flow, and an increased
efficiency in the body's ability to use stored fat - that allow athletes to
raise their physical limits.
A Successful Athlete's Menu
Quick, the women's coach, is a staunch proponent of the program and
believes diet is one of the most important elements in an athlete's
training regimen. "The swimmers who have had the highest level of
commitment to the program have shown the most dramatic improvement and
results," he says. He points to a significant improvement in body
composition (decrease in body fat and increase in muscle) and higher energy
levels in the athletes. The increased energy, he says, translates to
better performances in the pool and faster recovery from intense practice
sessions.
"There's a debilitating effect from high levels of training, and recovery
is the key to an athlete's success. If you recover well, then you can put
in consistent, tough workouts," says Quick.
"Everyone on the team is committed to the program in varying degrees. It
takes a lot of discipline." The major complaint from the athletes is the
challenge of following this regimen while living in a college dorm. Here,
they don't have much control over their food choices, Quick explains.
"Even those who aren't as compliant still see results and have a much
better understanding of Sears' nutritional philosophy. Overall, it gives
us a huge edge," Quick asserts. "In today's world, with so many athletes
using illegal substances to enhance their performance, it's exciting to be
using a natural method in the competition arena."<< |
