Team Beef!!?!!

This week I recieved notification that I have been accepted to the Pennsylvania Team Beef!!! And yes, this is a real team and I’m very excited to be a part of it!

I came across Team Beef twice: once while researching Achilles tendonitis (I’m still dealing with my bout,) and then while reading “The Running Cat” blog–a fellow nuun Ambassador. I’m not exactly sure how I found his post from 2015, but it intrigued me. And it sent me to Google to find out how to join.

Team Beef is a sponsored team by your state’s Beef Council. I’m not sure if every state has a Team Beef, but Pennsylvania does! The PA website stated the team for 2015-2016 was full and offered a form if you were interested. I decided to fill one out and get on the list for the next season. A couple of weeks later I got an email looking for more information; a few more weeks and I got the “Welcome to Team Beef” email. And I’ll say it again, I AM EXCITED about this!

Let me explain my excitement before I explain the team.

When I started my weight loss journey in 2008, I ate a low fat diet, I cut out red meat, and by mid 2009, I was pretty much a vegetarian. I was running a lot and I stopped losing weight. Then I took my 5 year break from running where I went back to my old eating habits and regained almost all of the weight I lost. In 2015, I started the Ideal Protein weight loss plan and hit my goal in 10 months (170 pound LOST.) However, over the next year I gained back 30 pounds before I realized I’m VERY insulin resistant. With the help of my Chiropractor (who is my Ideal Protein Coach,) I found the Low Carb, High Fat (LCHF) diet–or the Banting Diet that Prof. Timothy Noakes advocates for runners in his book “The Real Meal Revolution: The Radical, Sustainable Approach to Healthy Eating (Age of Legends)” And yes, this is the SAME Timothy Noakes that wrote the “Lore of Running.” I discovered that there are a lot of ultra runners that live the LCHF lifestyle– Tim Olsen and Zach Bitter are two of the more notable elites.

There’s a lot of science behind the LCHF diet. There’s also a lot of controversy around it for endurance athletes as well! Is it right for everyone? I’m not sure. But I know it’s right for me. My weight has stabilized, and as long as I stay on track, my weight starts coming down. As soon as I add ANY type of carbs (outside of low glycemic veggies,) my weight goes up–and quickly. I eat on average less than 30 grams of net carbs (total grams of carbs minus the grams of fiber) daily. In fact, most days I eat less than 35 TOTAL grams of carbs. I eat a lot of eggs, some dairy, and of course BEEF!

At first, my running slowed for a few weeks. I felt sluggish and my legs felt like stumps on long runs as I adjusted, but soon my workout intensity improved. Within a month, I was back to running the same pace I ran before I started LCHF. Then, my pacing improved a little. I trained for the 2016 Erie Marathon throughout the summer with nothing but water and electrolyte replacements during my long runs. 20 milers in August–water and nuun. And for the Erie Marathon? I had a bullet proof coffee for breakfast (coffee, scoop of About Time Protein powder, heavy cream, and a tablespoon of coconut oil.) And during the race, I drank water and nuun–no calories, not carbs, nothing else. And I set a PR of 4:39–over 30 minutes faster than my previous PR.

So the LCHF diet works for me. And beef is a big part of my diet. (I’m not going to get into the grass fed versus grain fed discussion at this time.)

So when I discovered that the PA Beef Council had a team that promoted a healthy lifestyle, I had to try to become a part of it. I like to talk about what works for me and hear about what works for other people. I like to try to help folks that haven’t found what works for them yet and I truly believe an honest effort towards LCHF will work for almost everyone. And being a part of Team Beef will allow me to be an advocate for not only my diet of choice, but also our local beef farmers and butcher shops.

So what’s required of the Team Beef athletes? Not a lot. They ask that you wear your team jersey when you participate in races/events that you are being reimbursed by the Beef Council (more on that in a bit) and that you educate yourself to be able to answer the questions you will get about the concerns people may have about beef. That’s it.

In return, the Beef Council sends you a team jersey, posts your bio and photo on their athlete page (I’m waiting for my jersey before I send in my photo and bio,) and reimburse you for up to $100 a year of entry fees. That’s a lot of perks in my book.

I’d promote the benefits of eating a clean, healthy diet (and discuss the merits and health of beef) without the perks. I’ve been doing it for almost a year now!

I run for my life! What do you run for?
Brad