I'm 15, about 130 lbs (I have a more muscular build with bigger bones but would still be considered slim/in shape), and 5'3.
Despite age, I'm really in to nutrition and exercise and want to get to prime fitness.
I swim for high school team every day for 2 hours (school ends at 2:40, practice is from 3-5), usually bike (about 15-20 miles) or otherwise exercise on weekends, and need a lot of energy to keep me going through the day (I'm taking all AP and honors classes, am treasurer of class (class of 2016!), and am in school's science and math national honor societies and in the process of creating own nutrition club).
Recently I've been reading up on the Paleo diet. I've been doing a lot of research on it and want to take it on but am unsure if it's right for me.
In regular diet I eat:
A strawberry banana pineapple (and sometimes non fat lite yogurt) smoothie every morning (I know it's high in sugar but it lasts me until lunch) at 7:00 am
Grapes, raisins, and a sandwich with applegate (Organic, grass fed, nitrate free) turkey, ham, and cheese on flax seed and fiber whole wheat thin bread for lunch at 11:30 am
A snack usually consisting of an avocado, homemade salsa , these organic wheat-free, GMO free super healthy chips and maybe some homemade apple sauce right when I get home from practice at 5:30 pm
And for dinner I usually have some type of lean meat with barilla plus pasta, brown rice, or whole grain cous-cous and some kind of vegetable(s) at about 7-8pm
I'm very health-conscience and am obsessed with cooking healthy meals..
As for the Paleo diet, I really really really want to do it
The only thing I would really be changing is lunch and dinner (I probably wouldn't be getting rid of super healthy chips just because I'm in love with them <3) but I'm scared of being low on energy
I don't want to be tired and lethargic for practice and have it therefore negatively affect health
I'm also nervous about the lack of dairy.. I've been reading a lot about dairy and how we don't really need it but what about all of the probiotics and live cultures I get from yogurt and cheese? (I take acidophilus for probiotics but is that good enough?) I'm not worried about calcium or vitamin D because I take calcium pills and I'm in the sun so often I get enough vitamin D
Also would I be getting necessary amounts of iodine as I don't like seafood and Paleo prohibits salt?
I want to be cautious about starting this diet (lifestyle!) so any experiences or thoughts would be great to hear!
And what could I eat for lunch that I can bring to school, isn't too hard to make, and will keep me energized (the biggie!)
Swimming ends in a week and then water polo begins but that's only twice a week for 2.5 hours per day 7-9:30 (In January it will be every day 3-5 just like swimming since that's when the actual season starts)
I might want to wait until then to make the switch to Paleo but I will eventually run in to the same problems so I might as well solve them now
Thank you so much for even reading all of this and any help would be so appreciated
))))))))) Please share ideas, experiences, comments, or anything else!
Thank you!!!!!
-Aubree