Low Carb and Exercise?

[beerbelly]

Hi!

I've been low carbing for about two and a half weeks. My only naughtiness has been berries, the odd square of 90% cocoa chocolate and dry wine. I also had one disasterous day (my Mum's birthday) when I had a piece of birthday cake and a bowl of pasta (we were eating out at a very small Italian and the low carb options were rather pricey!).

Anyway, I've found this pretty easy to stick to on the whole. I've lost 4lb which is OK as I know I haven't been as strict as I could be.

My only issue is exercise. I do a 30 Day Shred workout most mornings, which I find doable, but I also like to go running. I am finding it not too bad on the flat but I cannot get up a bloody hill! I have stopped going with the people I normally go with so I don't hold them up! I did a fairly flat 5km yesterday and was exhausted!

Is anyone else struggling to exercise? And can anyone tell me that it got easier?

I am doing a 6 mile fell race with some huge hills at the end of June so I need to start training. Am thinking I might need to introduce a few good carbs for the next 6 weeks.....

Low carb does make exercise more difficult. Try some wholemeal pasta or bread instead of white, will give you more energy.

Low carb only makes exercise more difficult at the very start, or if you are not eating enough fat. Once you're keto adapted (can take up to four weeks) you will have plenty of energy. But are you doing low carb/high fat? Because that is absolutely key.

Also low carb really doesn't work if you have disastrous days too often, as it will set the whole process back. If you want to continue with it you should probably aim for very strict in the next few weeks so that your body is properly adapted by the time your race comes up. Lots and lots of fats, lots and lots of water. Both of those are vital. Also add plenty of salt to your foods. Eat lots of the lower carb veg and not too much protein.

I found exercise a lot easier once I had adapted to eating low carb as I had more consistent energy even when exercising before breakfast. Adapting to a low carb diet is actually a pretty complex set of metabolic changes so don't expect your exercise performance to be quite up to par for the first couple of weeks.