adjust carb intake for cardio exercise?

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hamptontom
hamptontom Posts: 536 Member
in Food and Nutrition
soooo...i've been at this since the end of May, and have had some pretty decent results in that time - 36 pounds down, as a result of deeply cutting carbs and sugar, making sure i get in 10K steps a day and - as of a few weeks ago - adding regular bike rides of anywhere from 5-10 miles a ride. that put me at around 245 from sitting on the precipice of 280.

yesterday, i got out some old clothes that haven't fit me for years and was happy to be able to add some of them back to my wardrobe, but i was a little surprised that some of them still didn't fit...stuff that i was wearing as recently as 255-260 pounds still didn't quite fit my current 245 pound frame.

i understand that our bodies change as we get older, and i've got a bit of that "frontal sag" that I've heard other people discuss elsewhere here, but the question this has raised for me is this:

is it possible, since i'm increasing my physical activity, that my diet content (low carb) is possibly affecting what kind of weight i'm losing? could i be losing muscle mass as a result of keeping carbs at bay? would that account for the fact that i weigh less than i have in almost fifteen years but can't fit into clothes i was wearing five or six years ago?

still new enough to this that there's much i don't understand...thanks for hearing me out.

Replies

  • marcae70
    marcae70 Posts: 72 Member
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    If you are not getting enough protein and cutting carbs at the same time, yes, it is possible that you are losing muscle mass. Go to this website to calculate your appropriate protein goal since you are cutting your carbs http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/ . You are technically following a ketogenic diet when you start to watch your carbs. Just look up keto recipes for some good ideas and stick to your macros recommended by the Keto Calculator.

    To simplify...keep your carb count under 20 NET carbs a day (fiber does not count towards your carb count). Hit your protein goal. The rest of your calories should come from fat. The fat macro is not a goal though. If you are not hungry, you do not have to eat fat just to hit that macro. It's not mandatory like protein is.

    if you make sure you hit your protein goal you shouldn't see your muscles atrophy. Your body shape could have just changed as you aged as well! That belly fat just gets harder and harder to get rid of.

    Please remember that fruits contain a lot of carbs. Pasta, rice, and bread are all big no-nos. Keep an eye out for hidden carbs in powdered spices, gum, and sauces (contains flour). Let me know if your have any other questions.
  • scamp07
    scamp07 Posts: 17 Member
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    Congrats on your success.
    I have been doing pretty much the same thing since January. I had the front sag too and it was the last part to go. I would say keep on doing what your doing. You don't start using muscle for energy unless you're at a serious calorie deficit or doing very high intensity exercise and have used all you glycogen. If you keep eating low carb and keep the cardio at a low intensity you'll be burning all fat. You're weight loss has been pretty high so far so I would expect that would slow down at some point. I saw that you have 44 pounds to do. It might still take a little while to get there but you're on the right track.
  • hamptontom
    hamptontom Posts: 536 Member
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    scamp07 wrote: »
    You don't start using muscle for energy unless you're at a serious calorie deficit or doing very high intensity exercise and have used all you glycogen. If you keep eating low carb and keep the cardio at a low intensity you'll be burning all fat.

    i think this was exactly the information i was looking for. MFP has me at 1800 calories, and I'm actually trending closer to 1300-1500 per day...and that's before the MFP "credits" for walking and biking. I just wondered, because of the the whole "old clothes" experiment, whether i might be doing something wrong.



  • hamptontom
    hamptontom Posts: 536 Member
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    marcae70 wrote: »

    To simplify...keep your carb count under 20 NET carbs a day (fiber does not count towards your carb count).

    i might need you to elaborate on this statement...i've been logging everything i eat with the simple rule that if i swallow it, it goes in the log. is there a means of categorizing carbs that i've overlooked? i've completely eliminated bread, rice, potatoes and pasta from my diet. are you saying that something like Triscuits, for example, which are high in fiber - would offset the carb content in favor of the fiber content?

    i've been considering a fiber supplement, but i haven't looked into it yet...my average number of bowel movements are a fraction of what they were before i started down this path, and i'm not sure that's an altogether good thing. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    Misterwendy,

    You're only eating 1300-1500 a day when MFP has you at 1800? Under eating is a great way to lose muscle mass. It's important to fuel your body as well, and that calorie count seems low for all the exercise you are doing. Also, men need more calories than women.

    Weight loss happens in the kitchen, which means to lose your tummy you need to lose more fat. You don't get to choose where it happens, though.

    Fitness happens in the gym, or on your bike. In addition to your spectacular bike rides, have you thought of doing some heavy weight lifting?

    I suggest you raise your calorie goal, do some weight lifting to retain your muscle mass, make sure you are eating enough protein, and simply decided what you want to do in the way of carbs and fat. Eat carbs and you retain more water, but it's not fat, it's water.

  • hamptontom
    hamptontom Posts: 536 Member
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    i'm actually planning on starting a gym regimen within the next month or so...honestly, i've been so pathetically out of shape, i've felt like it was something i needed to work my way up to. i'm just getting to the point within the past week or so where i can get in ten miles in on the bike without stopping in under an hour.

    if you looked up "sedentary" in the dictonary, there'd have been two pictures...mine, next to a boulder.

    and i'm working on the diet thing...it's a moving target. my choices of late have boiled down to things along the lines of "i can grab something with a high calorie content that's convenient" or "i can grab the 50 calorie packet of Jack's Links beef jerky"...life has been pretty chaotic through all this, and i need to settle into a routine that allows for more healthy choices - i'm less than two months in, and i still have a LOT to learn.
  • marcae70
    marcae70 Posts: 72 Member
    edited July 2015
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    misterwendy wrote: »
    marcae70 wrote: »

    To simplify...keep your carb count under 20 NET carbs a day (fiber does not count towards your carb count).

    i might need you to elaborate on this statement...i've been logging everything i eat with the simple rule that if i swallow it, it goes in the log. is there a means of categorizing carbs that i've overlooked? i've completely eliminated bread, rice, potatoes and pasta from my diet. are you saying that something like Triscuits, for example, which are high in fiber - would offset the carb content in favor of the fiber content?

    i've been considering a fiber supplement, but i haven't looked into it yet...my average number of bowel movements are a fraction of what they were before i started down this path, and i'm not sure that's an altogether good thing. :)

    I'll use Triscuits as an example! http://calorielab.com/brands/nabisco-triscuit/64/2003409 This website gives the nutritional facts for Triscuits. We can see that they are have total of 20g of carbs per serving. 3g of those total carbs happen to be fiber. I simply take 20g total carbs- 3g fiber = 17 net carbs. That 17g of carbs is what I would count towards my daily allowance. Since my daily allotment of carbs is only 20, that would leave me with 3g of carbs left for the day. I prefer to eat vegetables like avocados since their fiber count is so high. Watch out for fiber supplements since they usually only give you about 5g of fiber per serving and some contain loads of sugar! If you really want to take one, try a pill form or a sugar free one. Hope this helps!

    Oh and the lack of bowel movements are totally normal on low carb diets. Try eating more fat/fiber to grease everything up. Should make everything go a bit smoother. Bonus TMI: No more farts on low carb! Love it!

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