All about the Scandinavian dissociated diet

On the morning of D-3, it will be about definitively “finishing the emptying.” And then: the “best breakfast of your life.” That one, believe me, you’re going to love it! Have a breakfast with fast sugars: orange juice, banana, honey, jam, baguette, bagels, pancakes, cornflakes, muesli, dried fruits, fruits, etc.! Go ahead, treat yourself! From D-3 to D-1, for the meals following Thursday morning’s feast until the morning of the race, you enrich your diet with sugars, preferably complex ones (whole pasta and rice primarily). The goal is to replenish glycogen stores as optimally as possible, banking on the fact that the body will be even more eager for sugars after being deprived of them during phase 1.

AdvantagesNo need for a PhD in nutrition to define your own SDD. Like anything binary, the Scandinavian Dissociated Diet is easy to implement and simple to follow. Let’s recap? No slow or fast sugars from Monday to Wednesday evening. No pasta, no bread, no starches, no cereals, no legumes, but also: no white sugar, no candy, no fruit, no sodas—in short, everything you love: you give it up! Well, almost, you can ration yourself on lipids and drizzle your salad or beans with delicious olive oil, rapeseed oil, or walnut oil, or whichever you like best, or even mix them. Let’s say that to simplify, in phase 1 of SDD, you can combine fats with your exceptionally high-protein diet: chicken, fish, eggs, and rich in green vegetables (beans, broccoli, salad, spinach, cabbage, etc.). I’ve tested it many times: the Scandinavian Dissociated Diet is devilishly effective. But on the condition of not getting the body too used to it, as it won’t be fooled so easily if the SDD is repeated too often. Let’s say that the carbohydrate pathway, so prodigiously mobilized in competitions, is the nerve of war. Increasing glycogen reserves remains one of the best dietary tactics in terms of nutritional strategy.

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Disadvantages

Good luck though! You’ll have to be a warrior! I don’t know if you like to eat as much as I do. But here, you might resent the whole world. Nevertheless, no one asked you to get into this mess! You are solely responsible! Grin and bear it for the first three days, your stomach will be screaming for food… Indeed, the body struggles with the scarcity you put it in. And this relative suffering can be accompanied by sleep disturbances in phase 1 and diarrhea in the second phase if you only refuel with pasta (by the way, a tip: alternate forms of starches in phase 2: rice, wheat, Ebly, spelt, semolina, etc.). Furthermore, this voluntary depletion of reserves weakens the body at the precise moment it should be accumulating energy (physiologically) and confidence (psychologically). Be careful though and be in a good headspace when you do it! Another point of threat, at the moment of transferring from a low-carbohydrate diet to a high-sugar diet: this voluntary anorexia sometimes triggers excesses that are difficult to control. Although usually well-tuned when it comes to an objective, I have already seen myself gain small love handles before a race because of my abuses in phase 2. I am not the only one; the pasta rations consumed from D-3 to D-1 are often far too excessive for most athletes who improvise the SDD. Don’t forget that glycogen is heavy. Especially since there is water contained in your spaghetti (two-thirds is water). Thus, you sometimes find two or three kilos “foolishly” added immediately before the race or causing bloating and a feeling of heaviness.

Some advice

A little flexibility, por favor? Indeed, don’t unnecessarily tire your beautiful machine ready to beat its personal record. Don’t exhaust yourself physically and mentally so close to a race that means so much to you. Furthermore, don’t improvise and, as always, don’t try it seven days before your goal. Test it beforehand! Finally, don’t be too drastic. You can put a little sugar in phase 1 – subtly dose it as you gain “SDD experience” – we can say 20% of the total caloric intake could be sugar in phase 1. That seems reasonable to me. The ambition is to truly empty the fuel reserves for effort (glycogen) and put the body in a state of deprivation, but not to weaken it and destroy its desires and morale.

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To conclude

We’ll say yes, the SDD is effective, but we can advise you to follow a softened version. Without completely questioning the principles of the protocol, let’s respect the two phases but not to excess. Let’s not disrupt the body’s habits too violently. 50% less sugar than usual in phase 1. And maybe no sugar at all in the evening after 5 p.m. And 20% more sugar than usual in phase 2 and starches on the plate every evening for dinner from Thursday to Saturday, but not in gargantuan doses. And finally: enjoy your SDD as you enjoyed your “prep” and as you will enjoy your Sunday race.

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