Sports and Coeliac
Back in 2009 I was diagnosed with coeliacs disease. The diagnoses followed over a year of struggling with constant lethargy, an inability to concentrate and a stomach that had no idea what was happening. Originally just assumed to be vitamin deficient, it took the development of migraines and the need to sleep during school hours for my blood work to be followed up with an endoscopy which showed how severe my condition was.
Since then I've followed a very strict gluten free diet and gradually began to feel more human. Initially, sports did not feel possible – even running a few mornings a week completely knocked me out. When I went to university I tried to get back into sports, taking up basketball, and although I found myself struggling it was a nice change.
2012 rolled around, the London Olympics and my focus now switched to rowing.
Gluten is, unfortunately, in almost everything. You have the obvious: bread, pasta, wraps, cake etc. but you also have many gravies, soups, coatings (for most potato products), sauces and protein powders. To make it a little more difficult for students most gluten-free products come at a premium. Balancing nutrition, cost and being able to fuel my body efficiently has been a challenge over recent years. Ramping up training volume has meant that the amount of calories I need has increased drastically, on the flip side of this I've always struggled with my weight/image. It’s made me go through phases of starving my body of the food it needs, restricting it, or just absolutely over feeding myself to the point of excess.
Weight wise I currently average 74-76KG. A few months of very strict eating and I’ll probably get down to 73KG but a few weeks of paying no attention/just eating whatever I want can see myself balloon all the way up to 85KG (hello, winter season of 2015). Gluten free bread and pasta is usually full of sugar, which makes it frustratingly moreish and actually makes loading up on those foods pre-race day less beneficial versus athletes who can eat lovely gluten-filled variations. Rice is OK but you can only eat so much rice before wanting to drink your tears instead.
Overall, my attitude to nutrition is generally all over the place. I’m not even sure what a healthy diet consists of anymore (I’m going to assume it doesn’t involve the large amount of chocolate I currently devour). Although I’ve found myself able to eat well enough to train, I still have no idea if the food I’m eating is affecting my results.
Could I be going faster if I ate better?
Luckily, at Leander there is a chef and access to nutrition advice. I’m planning on taking FULL advantage of this in the first few months of training, so I can really wrap my head around what the hell I am supposed to eating. Hopefully I can pass some advice onto you guys! I’ll certainly want to share any tasty recipes or gluten-free food I get to try.
Natalie x
