360 Health/ Published: Jun-16-2020

• Gluten Intolerance

The report showed that Taher was gluten intolerant. Gluten is present in grains such as wheat, barley and rye; wheat being the grain consumed more commonly.

• Conventional modalities recommended Taher to replace refined flour (maida) with whole wheat flour, and reduce the portion size. However, they completely failed to take into account that Taher was gluten intolerant. He was recommended that he completely stop eating gluten containing grains.

• Lactose Intolerance

The report showed that Taher was lactose intolerant. Lactose is a carbohydrate found in milk. Milk is considered to be on of the healthiest foods that we can consume. Healthy fats, proteins, and rich in micronutrients like calcium, milk is a wonder beverage, and hence strongly recommended by nutritionists. However, Taher was intolerant to lactose (and hence, to milk), which was leading to his body’s adverse reaction to milk ingestion, which manifested as weight gain. He was recommended to limit consumption of dairy products and find alternatives.

• Salt Sensitivity

The report showed that Taher had high salt sensitivity. This meant that his body was sensitive to high salt intake, which leads to a lot of water retention in the body.

Therefore he was recommended to strictly limit salt intake.

• Caffeine Sensitivity

The report showed that Taher’s caffeine metabolism was good. Caffeine is a widely used ergogenic aid which enhances fat loss response to exercise, and helps to improve the intensity of the exercise due to its property of acting as a stimulant. Taher’s good caffeine metabolism ensured that caffeine intake would not result in anxiety, high blood pressure or digestive issues. Therefore, he was recommended that caffeine be used as an ergogenic aid before workouts.

• Fat Loss Response to Exercise

Taher had a good fat loss response to exercise. This meant that with adequate exercise, his body could efficiently burn off fat. This was a motivation for him, which helped him to put faith in exercising again. Therefore, we recommended he start doing any form of sustainable exercise.

• Endurance and Lactate Threshold

Taher had an excellent score for endurance and a very good score for lactate threshold. This meant that he could do well in endurance activities. Initially, he was recommended to walk 5 to 7 kilometes a day and post than increased to 12 - 15 kilometers a day.

• On the basis of the above mentioned recommendations for nutrition, he was provided with a highly detailed diet plan. His diet included large amounts of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and elimination of gluten and lactose. 

10 Month Progress
In the first 10 months, Taher dropped a whopping 51 kilos. Completely being off allergens like gluten and lactose breathed a fresh air into his metabolism and reduced system wide inflammation. Nine months into his plan, Taher decided to train for a half marathon as well. He was put on a half marathon training plan which was altered based on his genetic tendencies for endurance and muscle damage and recovery. While Taher had an overall good genetic profile for endurance, his workout plan was slightly focused more on improving his aerobic capacity. This was achieved by increasing the time spent on speed interval training and reducing the time spent on slow long distance base building runs. This high intensity of training could’ve been prescribed due to his lower risk of muscle injury. In about 40 days of training, Taher finished his first half marathon in 1 hour 57 minutes.

1 year 10 months Progress
One year after his first half marathon, Taher dropped 20 minutes off his time to finish the Tata Mumbai Half Marathon in 1 hour 37 minutes. On rigorous training based on his genetic strengths and weaknesses, Taher increased his muscle mass over this one year and improved his aerobic capacity from 43 ml/kg/ to 60 ml/kg/min. Given his average risk for Achilles Tendinopathy, he was also put on specific strengthening exercises and eccentric drills for his calves which ensured that he stayed free of any Achilles Tendon issues.