Now that I’m in my offseason, I’ve decided to toy around with a few different things – diet, workouts, etc.
I’ve decided to start off with a 48-hour trial of fruitarianism. Fruitarianism means different things to different people, but generally, the diet revolves around acid fruits (citrus, pineapples, cranberries); subacid fruits (sweet cherries, raspberries, figs); sweet fruits (bananas, melons, and grapes); nuts (hazelnuts, pistachios, cashews); seeds (sunflower, squash, pumpkin); oily fruits (avocados, coconuts, olives); and dried fruits (dates, prunes, raisins).
What made me want to try being a fruitarian?
Until recently, I was only familiar with one fruitarian – ultra runner Denis Mikhaylove. Then, I recently listened to a podcast with another ultra star, Mike Arnstein – also a fruitarian. A tiny bit of research informed me that Steve Jobs was a fruitarian (—> Apple), as was Leonardo da Vinci.
The Research
To be honest, there isn’t much out there.
The Critics
If you only eat fruit, your diet will be missing X, Y and Z. Also, you won’t get enough calories.
The Response
Denis and Mike haven’t had any problems, and they are running (and winning) one hundred mile races (full disclosure: Mike takes a B12 supplement and Denis may or may not be taking supplements as well). They go years at a time without being sick.
Day One
Here’s what I had on day one:
Breakfast
4 apples (500 calories)
Snack
3 oranges (300 calories)
Lunch
2 pounds of carrots (350 calories)
Snack
3 pears (375 calories)
1 apple (125 calories)
1 cucumber (75 calories)
Dinner
1/2 pineapple (250 calories)
1/2 cantaloupe (150 calories)
Not bad for my first day as a fruitarian. I managed approximately 2125 calories and I had a decent variety of fruit. As you may have noticed, I also ate carrots and a cucumber. I’m having some vegetables in addition to fruit.
