Exercise and low carb?

[Rollerbird]

Does anyone know if you still have enough energy for cardio and strength work at the gym on a low carb diet?
I want to try and shed about a stone but continue to work out. I'm worried about feeling weak and light headed
Anyone got experience?

In the initial couple of weeks (or so) while your body is transitioning from burning carbs to burning fat for fuel, you may find exercise difficult. But once you are successfully fat-adapted you will be fine. You may even find that your performance improves.

If you'd like to know more about it, there's a really good book called The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Drs Pholek and Vinny

Our bodies are all a bit different in what balance of fuel we use (in the same way that we're all a bit different in hair colour/shoe size etc), but essentially you have to get through a period of time, usually a week or two, where your body keeps trying to use carbs/looks for carbs/craves carbs/is symptomatic without carbs, until it gets its head around the fact that carbs aren't that available anymore. Then it starts using fat instead, and you stop being symptomatic. It's not easy because the cravings are strong, and one slip up essentially reassures your body that there actually are carbs available, and sort of sets you back to square one.

How hard it will be for you will depend on what balance your body uses currently. We all favour carbs, but use some fat too. If you're 98% v 2%, it'll be much harder than if you're 60% v 40%

Give it a try, and just workout gently until you're adapted. Don't expect too much of yourself. The transition is enough of a challenge, and a couple of weeks easing off won't wreck your training program.

I’m day 5 of LC and I’ve just been aiming to go for an hour long power walk per day, yesterday I didn’t feel like it so I didn’t do as long. Today I feel really thirsty so I’m hydrating then will head out - I’ve lost 4lb so far and I’m delighted with that, I also have a stone to lose. I’m planning on sticking with 25grams of carbs for a couple of weeks then slowly upping to 30-35.

Just a pointer - if you're really thirsty, and assuming that you have been drinking plenty of water, this suggests that you need to up your sodium intake.

Thank you @BIWI ive been reading a lot of your posts and it’s really helped me, I did think that I needed to up sodium, I’ve been eating foods that are quite high salt like bacon and smoked salmon. I’m probably not drinking enough water tbh but will work on this. Oh and I’m super grumpy today :(

Don't worry - you'll soon be through it!

With the grumpiness, it's good to remember that you're essentially pulling back on something that your body has a relationship with that's like an addiction. Your body currently thinks it will die if you don't give it carbs (it's wrong, but that's the message you're getting from it) There's no wonder you're having some 'withdrawal' moodiness. In fact, if you think of all the symptoms of giving up/cutting back this unnecessary and addictive substance, it does look a lot like withdrawal; headaches, dizziness, flu like tiredness, nausea...

Go easy on yourself.

I think it depends what you mean by low carb and also what level you're exercising at.

No professional athlete would eat a very low carb diet, but it would be possible to go for a daily walk, for example.

I compete at a reasonable standard for my age group and whilst I can reduce carbs and very rarely have refined carbs, I do always start the day with porridge and do have higher carb fruit and veg with every meal.

I'm exhausted and my performance dips if I don't. Always increase carbs in the days before competition.

As someone who exercises hard regularly, if I need to reduce weight, I find low fat much more successful.

Drs Phinny and Volek (whose book I recommended up thread) specifically research low carb eating with athletes and elite athletes. It absolutely can be combined with hard exercise!

I’ve read similar that you can exercise hard once established on a low carb diet so I will increase exercise once the next couple of weeks are over and I’m through withdrawal. I’ve also hurt my hip and back so the walking is helping with that, it’s a relatively new injury (3 months) that has seen me piling on weight and eating food I normally wouldn’t touch - never been a chocoholic but I’ve eaten more of it in 3 months than rhe last 10 years so no wonder my body is crying out for it.

I think that I naturally ate a lower carb diet prior to injury for example I would have had berries and Greek yogurt for lunch, nuts and seeds for snacks, lots of chicken/fish/steak with veggies for dinner. I would have occasionally had pasta but maybe only 1-2 per fortnight for example. Recently though (mainly because DP has had to do most of the cooking) it’s been carb heavy hence weight gain.

I’m definitely going to stick with it and can already feel it working!

Your performance dips because you're not fat adapted.

It doesn't look like you've done any research, and rather, found that you struggle to exercise if you've not had your porridge for breakfast. It's not a good basis for offering advice.

Which successful endurance athletes train and compete low carb? I know lots of athletes. I know some who do some of their training low carb or fasted, for fat adaption and somewbo use it for weight loss in the off season, but I don't know any who follow a low carb diet all along.

Oh, well, if you don't know of anybody who's doing it, @OctopusSay , that's obviously the definitive, global case.

Try a bit of reading. It isn't too hard to google, and I'm not here for a bun fight.

Too many carbs in a bun fight

That's why I was asking you to tell me who's successfully trained this way. If they have, I don't know of them and I am pretty well read regarding athletes and their training.

[Grin]

Can't believe I didn't spot that as I said it! Bun pun fun :)

It's hard. I got a peloton tread recently so have been trying to work up to running a full half hour. I was happily running 10+ minute segments before restarting keto (probably took about a month break after moving house) and my energy fell off a cliff. I struggled to run more than a minute at a time.

Six weeks later, it's finally getting easier. I do occasionally have a few bites of banana and a coffee before a run, and been better about keeping my electrolytes up. I dont think it's as easy as it would be with carbs for easy energy, there have been a lot of studies that show low carb is still not as good for even long distance running as properly planned carbs (but minimally). I can jog for twenty minutes now without too much issue. I've also seen a few reddit communities based around doing keto and exercise, but tend to be male dominated and a lot about putting on muscle vs just fitness. Carb cycling is probably optimal but v v difficult to accurately manage so probably worse than sticking to low carb in reality.

Add some lo salt and table salt to your water as well if you can bear to, it will really help how you're feeling. The sugarfree sports electrolyte drinks (hi5) are good as a topup but not enough if you are restricting carbs at 25.

Yes, absolutely you can.

I do a couple of sessions in the gym most days. I'm currently fasting for Ramadan too and train every day.

For an alternative perspective, it might be worth reading some of Stacey Sims' writing on this issue. She recommends that women in particular avoid low/reduced-carbing while active; e.g. www.drstacysims.com/blog/female-athletes-need-carbohydrates.

@UnaOfStormhold that link doesn't work - tells me 'page not found'!

Ah I think it might be the full stop - try this one:

www.drstacysims.com/blog/female-athletes-need-carbohydrates

Thanks - I found it on her blog.

Happy to read more of her stuff, but I was a bit that she was basing some of her stuff on a study that was based on only 28 people though.