exercise and soreness

ddiestler

HI
I have been doing low carb for about 6 weeks. I've decided to add in exercise. Yesterday, I did 30 minutes on the elliptical and it was tough. I am not new to working out by any means. However; my legs felt very heavy. Is it from eating so low carb?

danimalkeys

When was the last time you did any exercise? Even a couple weeks off can make things seem harder when you go back to it.

kiramaniac

Probably two factors here. As danimalkeys points out, some of this could just be related to resuming exercise after being off for a while. A second though is that our bodies operate differently on LC.

If you've been moderately low carb (let's say 50-100 c per day), and haven't been trying to be in ketosis, your body probably isn't keto adapted. Your body still uses glycogen stores for energy, and you are continuing to replenish these stores (albeit at much lower levels). Because your glycogen stores aren't as high though, you may feel low energy.

If you've been very low carb and in ketosis for these 6 weeks, you many be keto adapted at this stage. During keto adaptation, your body is able to convert fat directly into energy. Some endurance athletes are experimenting with keto for this reason.

When following a VLC (ketogenic) diet, you may find that High Intensity workouts seem more difficult; you can still do it, but you may not set new PRs. But for endurance activities, ketogemic diets may provide an advantage - when you become keto adapted.

Light reading on this - http://www.ketotic.org/2012/05/keto-adaptation-what-it-is-and-how-to.html
More in depth - "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living" and "the Art and Science of LC Performance" by Phinney and Volek

Be sure you are getting a lot of hydration and supplementing your electrolytes. Those can also factor in.

Jestinia

It actually took me closer to three months to completely adapt to ketosis for workout purposes. Some strategies that helped: a few carbs beforehand or right after, from nuts. Stay hydrated! Don't fret if it takes awhile to get full endurance back.