UCAN Super Starch Experience
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blambo61
Posts: 4,372 Member
I've lost my of my weight (about 43-lbs) doing a 20:4 IF diet (sw 252, cw 209, still have 30-lbs to lose at 6' 1", age 55). I've tried working out fasted, both running and lifting weights. I would usually bonk at about 35-40 min into a distance run and almost immediately when trying to lift heavy. This has been my experience many times and it has been the same always as much as I can remember.
Last week I ate a scoop of UCAN super starch an hour before lifting after a 20-hr fast. Did not bonk and lifted very well!
Today I ate a scoop of UCAN an hour or so before a 5k running race while also otherwise fasted for 20-hrs. I did not bonk and also did not have an upset stomach like I usually get if I eat even 4-hrs before the race. It wasn't long enough to see how that would work out (I ran 29:49 on a hilly course) but I felt like I had a lot of energy.
This stuff seems to really work for me. It is not supposed to spike insulin so that fat metabolism isn't interrupted. Would hard core LC folks use this stuff since it doesn't cause insulin spikes but is still pure carbs?
I will probably only use this stuff for a race day (to avoid stomach issues) and eat for other workouts since the stuff is expensive.
I've not run much lately so I hope to improve my times a bit in the near future.
Last week I ate a scoop of UCAN super starch an hour before lifting after a 20-hr fast. Did not bonk and lifted very well!
Today I ate a scoop of UCAN an hour or so before a 5k running race while also otherwise fasted for 20-hrs. I did not bonk and also did not have an upset stomach like I usually get if I eat even 4-hrs before the race. It wasn't long enough to see how that would work out (I ran 29:49 on a hilly course) but I felt like I had a lot of energy.
This stuff seems to really work for me. It is not supposed to spike insulin so that fat metabolism isn't interrupted. Would hard core LC folks use this stuff since it doesn't cause insulin spikes but is still pure carbs?
I will probably only use this stuff for a race day (to avoid stomach issues) and eat for other workouts since the stuff is expensive.
I've not run much lately so I hope to improve my times a bit in the near future.
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It's 22 grams of pure carbs, no fiber. It's just corn-starch. You can eat that from the box. I think there was a freaky eaters episode about someone eating that stuff.
No. I wouldn't eat this, just about ever.1 -
It's 22 grams of pure carbs, no fiber. It's just corn-starch. You can eat that from the box. I think there was a freaky eaters episode about someone eating that stuff.
No. I wouldn't eat this, just about ever.
It is slower release than regular corn-starch and does not elicit the same insulin response as corn-starch. I think the reason a lot of people do keto is to avoid the insulin response so that you can stay in keto. Peter Attia used this while on keto to be able to stay in ketosis and also maintain the ability to do high intensity anaerobic biking (glucose can be burned anaerobically but fat cannot).
So if it all works that way, it might be a good tool for even keto people.
http://eatingacademy.com/sports-and-nutrition/introduction-to-superstarch-part-i2 -
If that's how you feel, more power to you. It's a straight carb. I wouldn't add it to my diet.
I hope it does everything you hope it will do for you.0 -
This is yet another time when I wish ketone testing strips weren't so dad-burned expensive! It'd be cool to test throughout the day when taking the SuperStarch, before and after the physical event, at night, the next day, etc.3
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It's probably the activity that's keeping it from stopping ketosis, assuming it is.
There was a guy in the group who used to eat a snickers bar before a long, intense bike ride and he'd apparently remain in ketosis too.
He used the sugar to fuel the ride but was well fat adapted so he easily switched to fat burning and didn't hit the wall.
I've heard of some using pure glucose for the same benefit.1 -
If that's how you feel, more power to you. It's a straight carb. I wouldn't add it to my diet.
I hope it does everything you hope it will do for you.
Has nothing to do with what I feel. If it doesn't kick us out of ketosis, why not? Some people maybe should avoid carbs for other reasons, but there should be a basis for the decision.1 -
Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »It's probably the activity that's keeping it from stopping ketosis, assuming it is.
There was a guy in the group who used to eat a snickers bar before a long, intense bike ride and he'd apparently remain in ketosis too.
He used the sugar to fuel the ride but was well fat adapted so he easily switched to fat burning and didn't hit the wall.
I've heard of some using pure glucose for the same benefit.
Attia also talked about being able to stay in ketosis and still eat some carbs when he thought he should (eating his kid's birthday cake) by not eating, working out fasted, then eating the carbs so that he was just replentishing his depleted glycogen.
I think he did make the claim that the exercise wasn't necessary to stay in ketosis with this stuff though.
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I don't believe the science actually supports this claim, not even their own research and studies which show only moderate improvement over eating boxed corn starch. Even Attia responds that they really don't know what it does or does not do, especially for non-athlete low carvers. Then he goes on to tell the person to just try.
Attia is a much better salesman than I could ever be, finding a way to sell carbs to people who are restricting carbs.
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I'm in the "wouldn't touch it with a bargepole" camp. It has been stated - and proven - time and time again, that carbs are not needed by the body.
Why take in something you actually do NOT need, at all, ever?
beats me....
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@AlexandraCarlyle Think about caffeine/coffee. There is no metabolic "need" for it, but many people find they prefer incorporating it in to their lives for the benefits it confers. Possibly the same could end up being the case with SS: people could get the athletic performance boost that glucose can provide while staying ketotic. I'm sure we'll know more in the next few years.3
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There was a time not long ago when smart people thought all red meat and saturated fats were bad.
Do we really think we have starches completely figured out?3 -
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There was a time not long ago when smart people thought all red meat and saturated fats.were bad.
Do we really think we have starches completely figured out?
Probably not. All I know, from my own experience, is that I feel 100 times better without them.
Coffee, I can take or leave, and honestly? I don't notice any difference at all in my energy levels when I drink it, compared to when I don't.
But starches? Oh yes. Big difference there.....0
