LC exercise kicking my butt

GiGiBeans

For some reason after losing 10 pounds, exercising started to become more difficult. I checked my atkins book for reference and iit suggested adding physical activity after induction. This might explain why I feel so strained yet I see many others at my carb level doing much greater activity. Should I try upping carbs, upping cals, waiting it out a bit? Also I've been losing about 2 lbs a week instead of 1 lb the last 2 weeks altho I have not changed much outside a little less dairy.

Any advice? Thanks!

edit to add: I don't always log my exercise if I feel the activity makes up for a more sedentary work day.

LowcarbNY

My opinion.

If you are losing 2 lbs/week w/o exercise and you add exercise (say 500 cal / day) then you'd be losing at a rate of 3 lbs per week.
That is VERY VERY Aggressive!

You probably just don't have enough fuel to carry on.

In general I think:

1 lb / week loss. Very nice (ie 500 cal/day deficit) this is a great pace for a long haul
2 lb /week loss Aggressive, ( 1000 cal/day deficit) after a tough workout I feel like my fuel dank is dry and recovery is longer.
3 lb / week loss VERY Aggressive (1500 cal/day deficit) this is getting to or at what people get from medically supervised liquid diets of 800 cal per day

I won't go any further.

I'm operating in the 2 lb / week loss area With Exercise and it is tough trying to keep my energy needs balanced. My MFP cals are set at 500 cal/day deficit. Then I'm adding more exercise than my profile demands to get me to 2 lbs / week.

I burned 1000 cal Saturday on the Treadmill, 1000 Sunday in tennis and 1000 Monday in tennis. I only ate at or slightly above my MFP set calories. Today I'm feeling like I can really use a day off so my body can catch up energy wise.

In Low carb I frequently get into the area of consuming energy faster than my body can produce ketones. My urine ketone level will fall to zero because I'm consuming all of them for energy. There are no excess ketones available to be excreted. It is only a day or so after, with adequate nutrition, that I'll see them rise again. There is no danger getting into this area time and again but athletic performance will suffer. If I had to play 2 matches on the same day (as might happen in the playoffs) the I would eat excess carbs so I would not fall out of energy in the 2nd match.

Everyone is different. We recover at different rates, age and history of exercise (how well your muscles are trained) plays a roll. You need to experiment a bit and find your comfort zone. I'm a big proponent of keeping things on the the moderate size of the equation and only slowly testing your upper limits. Busting to the high side and having a colossal fail will teach you where your limits are but is risks sending you into tailspin and doesn't give you any faster results over the long haul.

Hope this Helps (hth)

GiGiBeans

Thanks LowcarbNY!. I agree 1lb a week is a better rate for me. I have been working out all along though, it's just taking more out of me and off of me for some reason. Someone messaged me to try liquid l-carnitine in the morning. I checked atkins amd seems he does recommend it for exercise energy amongst other things. Guess I will try that a week or two and see if my energy improves. If I am still losing 2lbs a week I will definitely up my cals and carbs.

Sarah_Wins

By the look of your diary, I'm guessing you're out of induction, so why not try protein shakes? Since whey is a milk product, it will likely slow your rate of loss a little bit, but I'm sure you will feel better. I prefer Syntrax Nectar Sweets chocolate truffle, unsweetened cocoa, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk. If you're in the nuts rung, you can add peanut butter. If you eat fruit, blend in some frozen berries. The possibilities are endless, and it'll be a nice reward at the end of your workout!

LowcarbNY

Someone messaged me to try liquid l-carnitine in the morning. I checked atkins amd seems he does recommend it for exercise energy amongst other things.

l-Carnitine. Just eat red meat. A lot more cost effective than a refined supplement.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/22647-foods-containing-l-carnitine/

Really, isolating specific amino acids out of proteins is way expensive. Just eat more protein and and you'll get all you need. If there are specific amino acids you think you need more of than just choose sources rich in that component. You need the others any way. Pick a cheap source and get them all.

spoox71

I am in week 2 of induction and I usually go to the gym 3-5 times a week but wow! It sure has become hard to do my work outs! I did drop about 10 lbs super quick though..

foochick

I've had the same issues. I'm in week 5, extended induction and it's so freakin' hard to do my workouts. Sounds like that's kind of normal then. I've been trying to figure out if if makes a difference when I eat my largest carb meal, in relation to when I work out. I havent had the time to be that clinical about it though. Swimming for 30 minutes kicks my butt. Seriously.

LowcarbNY

Some of us report that workouts are going better on LC. Have you tried some MCT (ie coconut oil) before your workout.
MCT's are directly available for energy.

Clownfish423

I had the same problem. I was just "lower carb" and was eating some greek yogurt right before I exercised. I was really struggling at about the 30 minute mark. Just felt like I didn't have the energy to go on! Lately, I've been lowering my carbs a bit more (I aim for 30-50 per day) and found that by eating a good low carb meal with higher fat and then exercising about 2-3 hours later, I could go forever! I've even pushed my treadmill workout a bit by adding inclines! I also lift weights on alternate days.