Troy Busot

This is a copy of a post from the Gangplank Fat Off blog regarding a recent change from wheat - which has had an enormous impact on my health.

Hello All! For those of you who don’t know me yet, I’m Troy Busot from Athlinks.com - a new anchor at Gangplank. I have been a fairly avid athlete all of my life - having wrestled, played football, and baseball during my formative years, and in the past 8 years or so I have taken more toward endurance events - namely triathlon (swim, bike, run). 

I have had a passion for fitness for as long as I can remember - always enjoyed walking, running, or riding over driving. My diet has been what I would consider very healthy for the most part.
I mention this because I want to share a recent experience with you that illustrates that it’s never too late to learn - and experience - new things in areas that you thought that you had covered.
I have struggled with asthma for about 20 years (I’m 39). Growing up, I never had breathing issues - it wasn’t until I started smoking in college that I developed exercise-induced asthma. Basically, I had to use an albuterol inhaler each and every time I would train. Absent the inhaler, I would seize up and have to stop the activity. Sometimes, it was possible to ease into the training slowly enough over a 10-15 minute warmup, but that was pretty hit and *usually* miss, so I tended to opt for the pre-workout inhaler.
For the past few years, my doctor had been trying to get me on a daily steroid inhaler to try to manage the condition. Of course, there’s no cure for asthma, right? I watched my grandfather die of lung disease and was terrified that I would one day follow him to the wheezing grave. Still, something told me not to go for the dependency route that the daily inhaler would have taken me down.
On one of my recent visits to Gangplank, Tyler shared his experiences with ditching wheat and the positive effects that had on his body - like gastro and sinus problems. I took it in, agreed with his thinking, but didn’t really see any application to myself. You see, we are a fairly low-wheat household. We eat Amy’s Spelt tortillas, organic corn chips, brown rice pasta, rice toast … you get the idea. So, I didn’t really think about how much wheat I was really eating. 
Then, about 4 weeks ago, I took a pump off the inhaler and went out for a 8 mile, slow run. I got about 1/2 mile in - at a very slow pace - and felt like I was drowning. My back muscles were cramping from over breathing, I wasn’t able to inhale or exhale completely, and I had to walk slowly back to my house. Fuck it! This isn’t me. I’m not a sick person. I’m not a weak person. I wasn’t going to let this shit beat me.
So, thinking about Tyler’s talk, I decided right there to cut what little wheat I was eating as well as dairy completely from my diet. Again, it wasn’t much - nightly cereal, Subway a few times per week, Rubios burritos, etc. 
I shit you not, within three days, I completely stopped using the inhaler and my fitness nearly doubled. I was able to run farther, faster without even thinking about that damn inhaler. It has been 5 weeks now and I have slipped twice (pizza once and a Starbucks multigrain bagel) and I have paid both times with in-workout attacks on the day of the slip. On other days, I can do things that I simply couldn’t do before. I feel better than ever and my performances verify the increase in speed, endurance, and strength.
So, the point of all of this is that 1) you are what you eat. It’s cliche, we’ve all heard it before, but it’s true. 2) listen to your body. I preach this all the time, but I wasn’t really paying attention. I knew that I would crash from breads and other carbs, but I didn’t put it all together. Please, listen to your body - it will tell you everything that you need to know. Think about how you feel after you eat certain foods, after you don’t get enough sleep, after you do or don’t exercise. And 3) you’re never too old, seasoned, “expert”, etc - to learn new things.
I’m here to help. If we haven’t met yet, please stop by and say hello. I’ll answer any questions that I can with regard to diet and exercise, listen to your story, your goals and fears, or just offer any encouragement that I can -  and I’m happy to do so.
Best of luck to all of you doing the Fat Off - I know it’s tough. Consistency is king.
Best,Troy