low carb and training

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julestar777
julestar777 Posts: 60 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi there I know this topic gets talked about alot, but I still toy with this idea on and off. Being low carb makes me feel really good, and really helps with my cravings, yet I find it hard to get nrg for work outs and also generally hard to maintain this life as I love rice and legumes. What is anyone else's opinion?

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  • khristiana
    khristiana Posts: 131 Member
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    I recommend watching the documentary Forks over Knives, in it they explain the benefits of HIGH carb, LOW fat eating. I've been doing this for a little over 5 weeks and I feel phenomenal! Before when I would work out, it was hard to get there energy-wise, and after it was over, I could literally fall on the floor.

    Now when I go to the gym, it's easier to go AND I have a huge amount of energy left after working out! It's the greatest thing I've ever done for myself and I know it's only going to get better.

    Good luck!
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    How long have you been low carb?
  • julestar777
    julestar777 Posts: 60 Member
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    khristiana wrote: »
    I recommend watching the documentary Forks over Knives, in it they explain the benefits of HIGH carb, LOW fat eating. I've been doing this for a little over 5 weeks and I feel phenomenal! Before when I would work out, it was hard to get there energy-wise, and after it was over, I could literally fall on the floor.

    Now when I go to the gym, it's easier to go AND I have a huge amount of energy left after working out! It's the greatest thing I've ever done for myself and I know it's only going to get better.

    Good luck!

    Thanks, i will check it out.
    2Poufs wrote: »
    How long have you been low carb?
    I am not doing it at the moment but in the past i have and was just curious to hear what peoples thoughts are on it.
  • DinnyJau
    DinnyJau Posts: 1 Member
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    I do low carbs every so often to clean up my frame from any access fat from a lean bulk. I'm not sure what kinds of workouts you're conducting, my advice is to save a chunk of your carbs for before your workout. This always helps me get a proper pump.
  • ki4eld
    ki4eld Posts: 1,215 Member
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    If you love a food that's not going to work on low carb, then low carb isn't sustainable and you shouldn't do it. However, if you can find a way to incorporate those foods, it's worth a try. Low carb is under 100g per day, which is doable for a lot of people. Only you can figure out if it's doable for you. Watch documentaries and talk to people, but please make sure the diet you choose is sustainable and it's backed by some lab work to ensure you're getting proper nutrition.

    I'm in keto and my carbs are generally around 20-30g per day. Sometimes closer to 10. I also practice IF, so all my workouts are fasting too. I have gobs of energy, moreso than I ever did on any other diet. Granted, I'm still very overweight, so they aren't huge burns. The Low Carb Daily Forum Group has some great resources and *lots* of people who workout like mad. I'm specifically thinking of @KittensMaster

    I love LCHF and being in keto and I'll always eat like this. Any diet that encourages bacon and cheese is always going to be for me!
  • nljoyce104
    nljoyce104 Posts: 2 Member
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    julestar777 wrote: »
    Hi there I know this topic gets talked about alot, but I still toy with this idea on and off. Being low carb makes me feel really good, and really helps with my cravings, yet I find it hard to get nrg for work outs and also generally hard to maintain this life as I love rice and legumes. What is anyone else's opinion?

    Try carb backloading. It's more effective for people who work out because you're giving your body a chance to refuel. There's a lot of science behind it.
  • Melmo1988
    Melmo1988 Posts: 293 Member
    edited September 2015
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    khristiana wrote: »
    I recommend watching the documentary Forks over Knives, in it they explain the benefits of HIGH carb, LOW fat eating. I've been doing this for a little over 5 weeks and I feel phenomenal! Before when I would work out, it was hard to get there energy-wise, and after it was over, I could literally fall on the floor.

    Now when I go to the gym, it's easier to go AND I have a huge amount of energy left after working out! It's the greatest thing I've ever done for myself and I know it's only going to get better.

    Good luck!

    Different things work for different people. Not everyone can be successful as a vegan, same as not everyone can do low carb.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    julestar777 wrote: »
    Hi there I know this topic gets talked about alot, but I still toy with this idea on and off. Being low carb makes me feel really good, and really helps with my cravings, yet I find it hard to get nrg for work outs and also generally hard to maintain this life as I love rice and legumes. What is anyone else's opinion?

    maybe instead of low carb, take a look at your macro balance and look at what makes up your carbohydrate intake? IMO, if you love things like legumes (which are very nutritious), a low carb lifestyle really isn't going to be a sustainable one.

    in my experience, cravings and the like usually happen with "junky" type of carbs so maybe just cut those out for a bit and anything else that maybe gives you cravings rather than just going full tilt low carb.
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    I'm hoping that a person who loves carbs can do very low carb, because keto solves some otherwise stubborn, uncomfortable, though non-life-threatening health problems for me.
  • Stoshew71
    Stoshew71 Posts: 6,553 Member
    edited September 2015
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    My theory on why the low carb diet is not giving you enough energy is because you are working out in a glycogen depleted state. Are you doing high intensity exercises?

    When you are working out at a high intensity, your body is forced to meet the demand by trying to use glycolysis which is an anaerobic process for converting sugar into energy. Being that you are on a low carb diet, you probably have a low amount of blood glucose which depletes any stored glycogen from your muscles and liver.

    Do you notice you have plenty of energy at the beginning of a workout but quickly feel flat - like you have no energy to continue? You are using up whatever glucose you do have in your blood.

    Your body can use fatty acids instead of glucose for energy, but the process is more complex. The body prefers burning carbs (glucose) because the process is simplier (i.e. quicker to turn carbs into ATP energy). Also, if you are not used to exercising in a carb depleted state, your body will need to adapt to this. Over time, your body will produce more of the enzymes that will break fatty acids down into energy. However, your intensity of the workout will have to be less intense.

    For example, I am a runner. When I run faster on my speed days, I am running at paces faster than my lactic threshold (basically means I am forcing my body to depend more on anaerobic energy conversion and requires glycogen or blood glucose). On my slower days, especially on my long run days, my pace is much slower. Like 3-4 minutes per mile slower. At the slower pace, the body can use my body fat for energy using aerobic conversion as opposed to anaerobic.

    Since you didn't detail much of what your exercise workout routine entails, I have to go on a guess that you are attempting some kind of HIIT, maybe? You either have to slow the intensity down and just struggle through until your body adapts to working out on the low carb- fatty acid energy production. Or you can try eating a simple carb- something like a banana like 45 minutes before you workout. Something to temporarily raise your blood glucose up a bit before you workout.

    EDITED: To add that when you workout at a high intensity in a glycogen depleted state, you also risk the breakdown of your muscle protein to turn it into glucose energy. This is not good!
  • Florida_Superstar
    Florida_Superstar Posts: 194 Member
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    Hey there. I tried cutting carbs down for awhile because of all the hype, but I was miserable--low energy, couldn't concentrate. I didn't lose any weight by cutting carbs. I added them back in and I didn't gain any weight either. Carbs don't make you gain weight, excess calories do. So unless you have a metabolic condition and your doctor has told you not to eat carbs, you should eat them, especially if you exercise as @Stoshew71 explained very well. I do agree that different things work for different people, though. I can't just dismiss other people's claims that eating low carb makes them feel amazing. If you feel better not eating carbs, don't eat them. But if you want rice and legumes I think you should eat them within your calorie budget. Denying yourself foods you love sets you up for failure. I hate the fact that the media has made so many people feel guilty about eating a sandwich!
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Look into carb loading for weight lifters... I do this..

    I will not ever do just low carb every day (ketosis) and try to do as much lifting and activities I do on a daily basis. I cycle carbs around the heaviest load of lifting (such as leg day)..

    I tried low carb (less than 30 a day) and the carb flu was really hard to get through and working out around no carbs was not acceptable for my goals..
  • julestar777
    julestar777 Posts: 60 Member
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    Thanks so much everyone. I didn't even know I had half the responses still learning how to use MFP. @Stoshew71 you have so much knowledge thanks.
    It's really hard would love to be in ketosis and eat low carb but longevity just not there. Really appreciate your help.

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