Intense Exercise, Sweating and Low Carb Diet

olymp1a

Ok guys, I'm only low carbing for approximately one and a half month due to doctor's orders. In the begining it was quite difficult but once I got into ketosis it started getting amazing. I feel better, I have much more energy, I do not crave food, I even push myself to eat more at some days. At the moment I am not following any plan, I eat 20-30 carbs per day including nuts and every 7-10 days I may have 5-6 berries and I am constantly in ketosis.

Now I have some questions for the most experienced ones. 2 weeks ago I started a very intense exercise program. I exercise intesively 6 days per week (burn anywhere between 600-950 cals per day) and I have a day off which is never completely off, meaning I will do some walking or yoga or both. So first thing is: How do you manage to get the needed calories on intense days? There are days that I struggle to reach 1200 net calories and I do not want to deplete myself. Being an athlete in the past I know how important food is, it's the fuel for our body. But I remember back then I used to eat 1500-2000 net per day and still feel hungry, now I can barely reach 1100 most of the days (and that's after pushing myself).

Second and very important question. Those of you in ketosis do you find out that you sweat more? I have never ever sweated so much in my life. It was very hard for me to break a sweat even when I was working out for 3 hrs in a row, now I'm sweating like crazy even if I just walk! How is that possible does anybody know? It just seems strange and I am really scared I might have some electrolyte deficiency if I keep sweating at this pace. Should I up my carbs, would it make it any better?

Thank you all in advance!

LowcarbNY

"I have never ever sweated so much in my life." Ok, but you've never worked out so intensely with this much weight on you either, right?

I think you are doing very well. When you cut carbs you cut your bodies major source of glucose, which, in the end what most of your body runs on. So what's fat and protein good for.
Well, some cells can metabolize fatty acids directly, so fat is OK for them. And you need protein as a substrate for repairing protein structures in cells. Now comes the "magic" of low carb. Two first, ketosis, lower insulin requirement and your more tightly regulated (less swings) blood glucose levels lead to less hunger so you don't eat as much. 2nd your body manufactures glucose for you, out of protein and fatty acids. This is very important. http://biology.about.com/library/organs/bldigestliver5.htm
You you need to keep your protein levels adequate, which you seem to be doing a decent job of.

On days when I play tennis for several hours I have a hard time eating enough. I don't feel like eating right after playing, I need a couple hours to hydrate and cool down. I try to get a little extra protein the day before and the day after to feed the glucogenesis process in my body.

You can up your cals by eating more nuts, maybe going a little heavier on the salad dressing, or adding mayo to 'saladize' foods.
You'll find a way. You know how hard you worked out and if the next day you feel more exhausted then you think you should then you know you need to be eating more.

Losing so rapidly that you have no energy and can't be active (I saw a story about brides on an 800 calorie diet to get into their wedding dresses) should be avoided IMHO.

Being as active as you are you can probably afford to eat more carbs without harm. Atkins called this finding your OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) level. If I remember properly, you add 5g of carbs each week until you find the level at which weight loss stalls and then back off a bit from that.

olymp1a

"I have never ever sweated so much in my life." Ok, but you've never worked out so intensely with this much weight on you either, right?

Actually I have worked out 3 times more intensive than now. And the weight difference was at 5kgs which is not that much and honestly I would rarely break a sweat! I think it has to do something with ketosis!

I definitely agree, very low caloric dieta are bad, bad BAD! That's why I struggle getting at least 1200 net. I do eat nuts and peanut butter but still doesn't seem enough...

shar140

How do you manage to get the needed calories on intense days?

I don't sometimes until the next day. I eat when I'm hungry - today, i'm starving after last night's hour trail run (plus some pushups and sit ups after)! An avocado and coconut oil on my salad for lunch (heated up the coconut oil with the chicken) - I also had some slivered almonds, but was so hungry I forgot to toss them on my salad, haha.

Be careful with the high omega-6 nuts and soybean-oil-laden mayo and salad dressings; while they are fats, you don't want too much of these types of fats as they can promote inflammation in the body when not balanced with enough omega-3s.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Personally sweating doesn't bother me, unless it's running in my eyes!! it's your body's way of cooling itself. Gross, perhaps, but a normal bodily function. However, you do make a good point to be careful of your electrolyte levels - though this is generally more of a concern when starting low carb (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/ plus Atkins also knew of this, which is why he suggested drinking broth when starting out). The avocado is also high in potassium, which can sometimes get out of whack when low-carbing. (however my only reference for this is other LC MFPers who have had this problem.) Have you had any symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance? muscle cramps, fatigue, etc? Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Though it wouldn't be a bad idea the next time you see your doctor to mention the sweating issue - could be a sign of something else entirely.

olymp1a

How do you manage to get the needed calories on intense days?

I don't sometimes until the next day. I eat when I'm hungry - today, i'm starving after last night's hour trail run (plus some pushups and sit ups after)! An avocado and coconut oil on my salad for lunch (heated up the coconut oil with the chicken) - I also had some slivered almonds, but was so hungry I forgot to toss them on my salad, haha.

Be careful with the high omega-6 nuts and soybean-oil-laden mayo and salad dressings; while they are fats, you don't want too much of these types of fats as they can promote inflammation in the body when not balanced with enough omega-3s.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Personally sweating doesn't bother me, unless it's running in my eyes!! it's your body's way of cooling itself. Gross, perhaps, but a normal bodily function. However, you do make a good point to be careful of your electrolyte levels - though this is generally more of a concern when starting low carb (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/ plus Atkins also knew of this, which is why he suggested drinking broth when starting out). The avocado is also high in potassium, which can sometimes get out of whack when low-carbing. (however my only reference for this is other LC MFPers who have had this problem.) Have you had any symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance? muscle cramps, fatigue, etc? Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Though it wouldn't be a bad idea the next time you see your doctor to mention the sweating issue - could be a sign of something else entirely.

Thanks for your reply. I did have Potassium issues way before I started low carbing. My blood tests were exactly at the lowest number I would get awful cramps but back then I could eat bananas and unlimited amounts of brocolli without caring for the carbs.

Fast forward now, I started experiencing cramps 2 days ago. And I always take an electrolyte replacement after I work out. That's the reason why I am so concerned about sweating that much. I mean, I used to to martial arts hardcore training for 2-3 hrs daily and never had such a big issue.

shar140

How do you manage to get the needed calories on intense days?

I don't sometimes until the next day. I eat when I'm hungry - today, i'm starving after last night's hour trail run (plus some pushups and sit ups after)! An avocado and coconut oil on my salad for lunch (heated up the coconut oil with the chicken) - I also had some slivered almonds, but was so hungry I forgot to toss them on my salad, haha.

Be careful with the high omega-6 nuts and soybean-oil-laden mayo and salad dressings; while they are fats, you don't want too much of these types of fats as they can promote inflammation in the body when not balanced with enough omega-3s.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Personally sweating doesn't bother me, unless it's running in my eyes!! it's your body's way of cooling itself. Gross, perhaps, but a normal bodily function. However, you do make a good point to be careful of your electrolyte levels - though this is generally more of a concern when starting low carb (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/ plus Atkins also knew of this, which is why he suggested drinking broth when starting out). The avocado is also high in potassium, which can sometimes get out of whack when low-carbing. (however my only reference for this is other LC MFPers who have had this problem.) Have you had any symptoms of an electrolyte imbalance? muscle cramps, fatigue, etc? Otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about it.

Though it wouldn't be a bad idea the next time you see your doctor to mention the sweating issue - could be a sign of something else entirely.

Thanks for your reply. I did have Potassium issues way before I started low carbing. My blood tests were exactly at the lowest number I would get awful cramps but back then I could eat bananas and unlimited amounts of brocolli without caring for the carbs.

Fast forward now, I started experiencing cramps 2 days ago. And I always take an electrolyte replacement after I work out. That's the reason why I am so concerned about sweating that much. I mean, I used to to martial arts hardcore training for 2-3 hrs daily and never had such a big issue.

I read somewhere (I honestly don't remember where, lol, I need to start documenting stuff like that!) that insulin supposedly helps the body absorb potassium better, which could be why low-carb can throw it off. I actually started tracking my potassium, and wow I wasn't getting nearly as much as I should have. I still do bananas and sweet potatoes occasionally (depends on training) for potassium, but mostly get it now from meats, tomatoes, avocadoes, spinach, etc. Sometimes tomato or vegetable juice. Maybe try some spinach, it's hardly got any carbs but loaded with potassium!

Oh, lol, and for muscle cramps - try drinking pickle juice. I have no idea what the carb content is, and don't even track it (no idea what to use! lol), but it works wonders for muscle cramps!!

olymp1a

I do eat at least 2 cups of spinach daily, love it!

Hmmm... it's the first time I heard about pickle water! Might just try that! Well for me at the moment bananas, sweet potatoes and stuff are forbidden. Maybe I will eat a bit more spinach and try this pickle water!

caraiselite

crystal light hydration has potassium in it but its discontinued, which sucks! i love that stuff. sometimes you can still find it in smaller mom and pop stores.
you could try a zero carb powerade though for the muscle cramps if you don't want to take the pills.

easiest way to get extra cals is pecans. sometimes i'll just eat a cup of them for breakfast and there goes half my daily calories! not that i count cals of course.

olymp1a

crystal light hydration has potassium in it but its discontinued, which sucks! i love that stuff. sometimes you can still find it in smaller mom and pop stores.
you could try a zero carb powerade though for the muscle cramps if you don't want to take the pills.

easiest way to get extra cals is pecans. sometimes i'll just eat a cup of them for breakfast and there goes half my daily calories! not that i count cals of course.

Thank you for the reply! I am afraid where I live we do not have crystal light or zero carb powerade, we have pecans but only in gourmet stores and they are very very expensive. I did some good job with peanut butter and hazelnuts yesterday, will try the same today!

ZipperJJ

Here's an article about making your own LC sports drink. Pretty simple!

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/beverages/a/sportsdrink.htm

olymp1a

Here's an article about making your own LC sports drink. Pretty simple!

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/beverages/a/sportsdrink.htm

Thank you that was great information!

LowcarbNY

You know you can buy a salt substitute, (for people who are on low sodium diets) which is Potassium Chloride. You could use that instead of the lemon juice as the source for your Potassium.

<groan warning>
Dauchter comes home last night,
Daughter: "Dad; Want to hear a Potassium joke?"
Dad: "Sure."
Daughter: " K "

Yuck, yuck, yuck.

cramernh

Lets see if you can concentrate on the more natural sources of food that are potassium-rich... http://www.algaecal.com/potassium-rich-foods.html


Keep in mind also - your high intensity workouts will require more of a caloric intake. You have to be extra diligent in eating foods as it is and even you have agreed, its not healthy to be doing it the way you are doing it right now.