Carbs or fats for energy

martinh78

I have always believed that a low fat diet is the way forward as it worked for me as a teenager.

I have also had a VERY HIGH carb diet in the past, and this worked for endurance (cross country mountain biking marathons etc) when I was training hard every day.

Anyway, my current plan relies a lot on increased protein as I'm looking to develop muscle as I loose fat.

I'm finding that whilst I am not tired during the day (understanding GI has stopped this - yeah!) I don't have enough energy for some of the longer, intense workouts I do (I do a mix of workouts). My muscles and mind could carry on I'm sure, I just run out of energy.

My base calories are 1530
Carbs 191g
Fat 34g (sats 17g)
Protein 115g

My body fat is at 24.6% (and has come down from 25.2% over four weeks). Am I wrong to think that a low fat diet results in low body fat?

How can I increase my energy levels for the higher intensity workout days? Should I be looking to take in more fats that day, or more carbs? Or should I increase generally (so each day rather than just the endurance training days?)

I can't eat during workouts, or even before, as it just repeats on me. I've used energy drinks before but that's been sipped throughout the course of 4-8 hours of biking.

Maybe I should just do an energy drink before a workout?


Oh yeah, my question lol Fats or Carbs for energy??

Emma1903

Personally I say fat for energy! Your body will work better on a lower carb higher fat diet, as long as they are good fats, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts ect.
My best weight loss/ fat loss was on a week of carbs below 80g, fats at about 45-50g and protein over 100. Try cutting out grains completely for 2 weeks and see how you go. A good book to read is the primal blueprint. It is a real eye opener on how grains affect the body.
Also to recover glycogen stores, have some sweet potato after a workout.
When do you train? Do you eat anything at all before a workout?
Your bmi is in a healthy range though?
Carbs below 50 fast fat loss, below 100 fat loss sweet spot, 100-150 maintenance.

BerryH

Your diet the night before is what you should be looking at. Plenty of complex carbs such as pasta or potatoes will fuel your muscles with glycogen which will be readily available during your workout. During a long workout, your body will start burning its fat stores naturally, but not to the exclusion of other sources.

You don't need fat to make fat stores, just an excess of calories from any source. Eaten fats are difficult to digest, so go steady on them before a workout as you could feel a bit nauseous.

Have you tried energy gels for hard workouts over an hour? I like SiS Go Gels are they're isotonic, don't affect my digestion and don't need to be glugged with gallons of water.

SergeantSunshine_reused

Personally I say fat for energy! Your body will work better on a lower carb higher fat diet, as long as they are good fats, avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts ect.
My best weight loss/ fat loss was on a week of carbs below 80g, fats at about 45-50g and protein over 100. Try cutting out grains completely for 2 weeks and see how you go. A good book to read is the primal blueprint. It is a real eye opener on how grains affect the body.
Also to recover glycogen stores, have some sweet potato after a workout.
When do you train? Do you eat anything at all before a workout?
Your bmi is in a healthy range though?
Carbs below 50 fast fat loss, below 100 fat loss sweet spot, 100-150 maintenance.

Low carb for endurance. LOL.

Carbs are definitely very good. I do long distance running a lot and if I dont have my carbs I get a brain fog and my run more then suffers. Just need a good ratio! I would say up your fats a little. You need fat to live and is very good for you!

Cutting down on an entire macronutrient isnt the answer

Low fat may have worked before because with less fat, you consumed less CALORIES TOTAL.

good luck :]

SergeantSunshine_reused

Ooh and for me how i get my energy.. coffee! 6 am pt heh :P caffeine always is good for energy xD just saying xD

Emma1903

No I'm saying low carb for fat loss. If you are doing major endurance training then as I said sweet potato for your carb source. But if it's only up to an hours workout you don't need carbs for it. I'm not saying you have to eat fat to store fat either, I'm saying your body will use fat for energy the same as it will use carbs. For fat loss I would go with low carb high fat all the way, you will feel fuller for longer with more fat more protein rather than just carbs. There's a lot more to it than just what you think your body uses for enegy many chemical reactions take place in your body pending on what food source you have eaten. Read and you will understand how your body reacts to different foods.
Also how often do you do 4hour plus bike rides?

martinh78

LOL, it's conflicting/confusing isn't it )

To answer a few questions:

I train mid-morning and before dinner if i can, but I don't have a routine as such. Sometimes I'll train before breakfast but know that is for fat loss as I don't have lots of energy then. I tend to keep my higher levels of training for before lunch or before dinner.

I never eat within 2 hours of a workout. I do find this limiting at times. Sometimes I haven't eaten but then get a slot for a workout and then I can't push as hard because I feel the lack of energy after 30mins or so. Not always easy to plan.

My BMI is 27.3, so still "overweight"

Complex carbs for dinner would be good, although I had read that carbs should be in the morning...?

Carbs were definiately good for long distance endurance, hence why I ate loads when I was mountain biking!

Currently I am not doing any 4 hour plus rides. I do one "day long" session of walking and climbing a week, or I'll do an endurance session on the rower.

I used to uses SiS drinks for mountain biking. That was all about energy before, during and after the rides.

I'd rather go with foods at the moment though, spread out through the day.


Thanks all.

martinh78

Looking at fats, Salmon and mackrel are really high in fat but as these aren't saturated fats I'm guessing they are ok, same for a splash of olive oil instead of dry frying?

I'm still less than 50g per day, but up from 25-30g of fat.