Runners eating low carb

grinch031

Just looked at your diary - you are not eating enough!! Seriously, looks like you are netting under 1000 alot. Your body is going to hang onto every pound just to survive. Check out the eat more weigh less group and myriads of other threads on the subject. Stop starving yourself - you'll feel better, your runs will be much better, and you will start losing again.

Yeah if someone is eating so little calories, it won't make a difference if its high or low carb, they will feel lethargic during runs.

brooke800

So how do I find that balance of eating enough to make running enjoyable again while losing weight vs. eating too much so that I gain weight? I'm really stuck and unfortunately I do think my thyroid is to blame because this has never been an issue for me before. But shouldn't my medication be making my metabolic rate "normal"?

Grinch- Why does it take about 2 weeks for the body to adapt? Should I still try to run during that time? I increased carbs yesterday and today I still felt horrible. I did a run which should be extremely easy for me and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. This is not normal!!

ang4liz

I am not an expert, but you body will kick into survival mode and hang onto everything. Your body will also start to utilize other resources to maintain your activities such as muscle and bone. 100 net carbs is not really a low carb diet. Especailly if the 100 carbs are all bad carbs.

MoreBean13

So how do I find that balance of eating enough to make running enjoyable again while losing weight vs. eating too much so that I gain weight? I'm really stuck and unfortunately I do think my thyroid is to blame because this has never been an issue for me before. But shouldn't my medication be making my metabolic rate "normal" ?

In theory, it's supposed to. In reality for many people with thyroid problems it's never quite "normal". Even when it stabilizes and comes back as normal on the tests, it doesn't necessarily work the same as a person without thyroid issues. This is not true for everyone, some people find a medication that works for them and are perfectly fine with it the rest of their lives. Others of us struggle. I consider it a learning disability for my weight loss- it's a problem that I can overcome, but I know that I will always have to work a little harder and get less impressive results than a person that doesn't have thyroid issues. I haven't figured out the right numbers for me yet- I've gained quite a bit of weight in the past couple years while never overeating (compared to a healthy person). To get the balance right takes time and experimentation, and when I got frustrated and gave up trying to figure it out, I packed on the lbs- with "normal" tests.

yarwell

There are endurance athletes who eat low carb, but you do need to allow at least two weeks for your body to switch over and adapt from sugar burning to fat burning.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/jonas-colting

http://www.dietdoctor.com/the-worlds-best-tennisplayer-a-low-carber

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716

grinch031

There are endurance athletes who eat low carb, but you do need to allow at least two weeks for your body to switch over and adapt from sugar burning to fat burning.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/jonas-colting

http://www.dietdoctor.com/the-worlds-best-tennisplayer-a-low-carber

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716

I don't think Novak Djokovic is a low carber at all, he removed wheat products because he's gluten intolerant.

grinch031

So how do I find that balance of eating enough to make running enjoyable again while losing weight vs. eating too much so that I gain weight? I'm really stuck and unfortunately I do think my thyroid is to blame because this has never been an issue for me before. But shouldn't my medication be making my metabolic rate "normal"?

Grinch- Why does it take about 2 weeks for the body to adapt? Should I still try to run during that time? I increased carbs yesterday and today I still felt horrible. I did a run which should be extremely easy for me and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. This is not normal!!

You can still try to run, but you will feel exhausted way earlier than you normally would. I couldn't even run 4 miles straight during the first two weeks of a very low carb diet, and I had just run a half marathon a few weeks prior to changing my diet. Anyways it takes a couple weeks for your body to get used to fueling the brain with mainly ketones and fueling the muscles with mainly fat. When you first start your body will try to generate glucose through gluconeogensis which is very inefficient and causes your performance to suffer because of inadequate fuel. Just hang in there and within a couple weeks you will adapt and performance will come back to normal.

brooke800

So what are your thoughts on why something worked at one time that doesn't work at another time. So why would eating a certain number of calories/exercising a certain amount/intensity give you your own ideal body and then at a different point in life that no longer works? Obviously I know age is a factor, but age aside? I've eaten a diet primarily made up of carbs. I only ate protein that was in carbs (some protein in bread, yogurt, etc). It was a low calorie diet and I was able to maintain my weight for 10 years where I wanted. Now it seems that calorie amount is too low and not high enough in protein and I'm gaining weight. I think that adding more calories and more protein is good, it is healthy, but why would the same intake/output suddenly result in a different outcome? Thyroid, yeah, but any other reasons? Can the body just suddenly require different things?