In this post I go further in explaining my approach to my freediving diet and also explaing what kind of feeling I want to achieve in my body before freediving. There is so much to explore when it comes to diet and freediving. The one thing I am already convinced of though is that everyone need their own custom made diet based on
facts, experience and discovery.

…diet was optimized to what I believed in then. Now it has changed, regarding what and when I eat.

A changing diet

In my last post about diet I wrote about my approach to my diet in general. I also wrote that diet, nutrition and health always has interested me. Before doing freediving, I spent a lot of time in the gym lifting weights and, in the tracks, running. My diet was optimized to what I believed in then. Now it has changed, regarding what and when I eat. For me an optimized diet for intense gym training and running is not the same diet as the one optimized for long breath holds and deep diving.

The photo to the right by: Bastien Soleil

My diet is based on what I have read, discussed, experienced and discovered myself.

During some periods of freediving training and preparations before a competition my training does change. Therefore, what I eat and when I eat changes a bit. But overall, I try to keep it the same as long as possible since I want my diet to be a natural part of my lifestyle. I have done the extreme and I have understood it is not good for me. I must stick to diet that is good for me both physically and mentally in the long term. Probably many people would still say the lifestyle is extreme, but I keep it on a level that works for me.

Unique diets

My diet is based on what I have read, discussed, experienced and discovered myself. I trust my guts when it comes to diet. Apparently, I do something good since I achieve quite good results within freediving. So, what is the diet I stick to then? What is the optimal freediving diet? Well, the answer is: I am not sure at all. What I am sure of though is that every individual need to discover what is good for themselves, both physically and mentally. We have different bodies and different minds and there is not one truth, on diet, that suits us all. I would say that what the diet every individual need depends on what they need to work on or improve at the moment. Someone might need to lose weight, someone might need to eat more vegetables, at the same time as someone just need to be kind to him or herself and let go of restrictions and rules for a while. What I write in this blog might be true for me today but not for everyone else.

The feeling to achieve

So, until now I have written about how diet is individual and that my diet changes due to what kind of training I practice but also what makes me stay healthy both physically and mentally. The feeling I want to achieve to feel good before while diving is calm body in balance. I want to have, just enough energy to do what I should but not more. The feeling I want is a flexible and light feeling giving space for the air I inhale and pack into my lungs. I want nothing to bother me because of something I ate. My body should be able to hold a lot of oxygen but still working slow during my performance. I would say that the situation is a little bit complex for a freediver and that is why freediving and diet is so interesting.

The feeling I want to achieve…is calm body in balance.

Deeper into the subject

In my next post I will go further and deeper in this subject and give concrete examples of what my diet actually contains to achieve this feeling. I did these two introductory posts to introduce you to my thoughts about diet and my diet approach. Because I think that the general diet approach is the most important.

Be kind to your self, be kind to others.

Nicole Edensbo, 2020-02-08
Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

A topic that I often comes up spending time with freedivers is diet. Many freedivers experiment with food and make changes in their diet to achieve better results. Diet, nutrition and health has always interested me. I am aware of what I eat. In this blog post I introduce you to my diet approach.

Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.

Hippocrates, 400 BC

Eat for the future

During my time as a freediver I would say that my diet has changed. One thing that has not changed though is my awareness and the fact that I am conscious of every choice I make. If someone asks me about my diet I would say that I am not only eating for today. I am eating for next week, next month. I am eating for the rest of my life. Normally I want everything on plate to fill a purpose. I try to eat food high in vitamins and minerals compared to energy given. Food with empty energy is not what I want. On my plate I want nutritious food that is good for me and kind to my body.

What is most important is to truly believe in the choices that you make.

Freediving diet?

I have never heard about this super-freedving-diet that makes everyone being able to do 10 minutes STA and equalize to -100 meters. I guess there are as many freediving diets as there are freedivers on this planet. Some of them more particular about their diet than others. Everybody has their own theories and their own way to approach this issue. No matter if you eat only rawfood, a low-carb-high-fat-diet (LCHF) or if you simply just eat what you like and make no difference between a ruccola, prosciutto or refined carbohydrates. What is most important is to truly believe in the choices that you make. I would say that is the most important when it comes to achievements.

Let food be your medicine

“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” is a well-known quote by Hippocrates who lived more than 2400 years ago. That is the way I try to approach my diet. For me what is the most important detail for progress results is to be healthy. For me that is everything. A healthy diet in combination with high quality sleep and physical movement and you are on the right track for a healthy body.

I have never put a label on my diet, because there is no label to put.

Alive products

In general, when I chose what to buy and what to eat I want to be able to see what the product looked like when it was still alive. I normally try not to chose products that need a label on a package to explain to me what is inside. I want to be able to touch and smell what I buy. When it comes to putting my food on the plate I still want it as alive as possible. I therefor prefer cutting my vegetables just before I put them on my plate. Some of you who read this text then probably understand that I prefer not to eat processed and refined food. That is something I try to avoid.

I want my diet to be a natural part of my lifestyle living the life I want.

My lifestyle

I have never put a label on my diet, because there is no label to put. I prefer certain food, yes. I avoid certain food, yes. But, I still eat cheese even though the long process of achieving its taste, I still eat meat even though it most of the time was not even close to alive when it ended up on my plate, I still eat sweets even though all the refined products that it contains. I have learned that a diet that is too strict is not good for me. I want my diet to be a natural part of my lifestyle living the life I want. My diet is unique just as I am unique. We are all unique individuals and prefer eating our own way. Find your diet you believe in and I will believe in you.

Be kind to your self, be kind to others.

Nicole Edensbo, 2020-02-01
Villefranche-sur-Mer, France