Hey I have been on the Atkins Plan since January 1. Lost 25 pounds so far and my cholesterol is below 150.
I joined (ok re-joined) a gym yesterday. I know I need carbs for energy for excercise…or do I?
It seems to me that I would need to add carbs to my diet so that I have an easy reserve of energy from which to pull. But I also understand that since my body is in ketosis, it looks for fat to burn.
Can I metabolize fat at a fast enough rate to support a workout?
If not, any suggestions on how I can add carbs to my diet without taking myself out of ketosis?
I also appreciate the fact that my glucose level stays around a steady 70 while I am on Atkins. I don’t want to mess with that because I have a history of diabetes in my family.
Some medical books on this type of dieting advise to add carbs only at one meal - usually lunch or dinner. Eating carbs within the very same hour that a protein meal are eaten helps use the carbs most efficiently without falling into the trap of craving carbs.
It works for me…maybe you can give it a try, but don’t go overboard with it. - Jinx
white sugars, fructose, sugary drinks, white breads, white potatoes, white rice
okay: 1-3 daily servings of WHOLE wheat bread/brown rice/fruits/nuts/beans
My okay list includes the types of items that Atkins ENDORSES. He wants you to eventually include ‘good’ carbs, such as those from whole grains and fruit. Atkins is not about giving up good carbs for life.
I’m not an Atkins fan based on the typical misunderstanding that Atkins means "no carbs’ as a blanket statement. The lates Atkins plan/book I read said to dabble in good carbs.
An apple is an example
A cup of whole grain rice
two slices of whole wheat bread
…these are good examples…
Similar to what Jinx said, I am on a diet called the “Carbohydrate Addicts’ Diet” which allows you to have carbs one meal a day, and recommends you do it at lunch or dinner. It is basically a modified version of the Atkins Diet. I haven’t seen a cholesterol problem yet, but my family historically has low cholesterol.
I just don’t have the discipline to do Atkins even though I love meat, and this diet allows me to effectively “cheat” once a day. I’ve lost 20 lbs since starting it in January. Weight loss is not as fast as with Atkins, but I find I can stay on without as much grief as Atkins people and I can still have a well rounded set of meals without vitamin deficiencies, and other health related issues.
If diabetes is an issue for you, however, I would probably consult a doctor or nutritionist first before adding back the carbs because who know what that can do to a borderline diabetic
Well, as a veteran Atkinser, I can say that you may not need any exceptional carbs at all in order to work out.
While I was losing weight (3 years ago), I found it a bit draining to go running in the morning on an empty stomach (as I had done before Atkins, too). My general experience with the weight-loss phase of Atkins was that I slept like a rock and woke up with almost no energy reserves at all. So, in order to go running without feeling like total hell, I would down a packet of peanuts (bought a box of those 1-oz peanut packs at Costco) first. The carbs there are minimal.
Once I got into long-term maintenance, I didn’t need to. I had enough energy reserves to make it through the workout and on through the morning until I could have breakfast.
So I think the issue (for me … YMMV) may just be one of calories rather than carbs. My recommendation is to have a small low-carb snack shortly before you work out to bolster your reserves.
Just a note: the author/Dr. of that book is a psycholgist, and his wife -who is used as an example of how it works - ate one meal a day to lose 100# of weight and she was diagnosed with an eating disorder.
He has no background in nutrition and his case study has an eating disorder.
I don’t know the answer to this, but maybe we can commiserate on it over the next few weeks. I’ve lost 10kilos since Jan. 10 and started my kickboxing once a week in Feb. Did it for 4 Saturdays and REALLY noticed a lack of energy. But then again, kickboxing for 1.5 hours is hard to survive anyways. I got sick last month and am only returning this weekend for the first time. I’m going to try and add carbs on the dinner before my morning workout plus peanuts or something beforehand. Let me know how you handle it and we can compare, m’kay?
Just a note: the author/Dr. of that book is a psycholgist, and his wife -who is used as an example of how it works - ate one meal a day to lose 100# of weight and she was diagnosed with an eating disorder.
He has no background in nutrition and his case study has an eating disorder.
As I said, my cholesterol is fantastic, even though I regularly eat eggs, steak, bacon etc…and I attribute this to my bodies ability to metabolize fat/cholesterol because of the lowered carbs in my intake. If I increase carbs, even though I am working out, will this affect how my body approaches cholesterol?
Also, and I mean this semi-seriously, I just found out that Guinness Stout is low in carbs. Could these carbs give me any energy? Is this a poor way to add carbs to my diet? I used to drink 2 pints about twice a week.
As said above - good carbs only! cool to see a few LC’in’ Dopers round
You might also want to post on the active low carbers forum - http://forum.lowcarber.org/ a lot of excellent info (tiz also the place where I first
heard about the SDMB :)) . Good Luck!
Just keep in mind that alcohol is metabolized by your body in preference of anything else (cause it’s poison). So whatever else you’re trying to do will take the back burner.
A beer a day probably won’t hurt, but drinking heavily is not a good way to get in shape.
I started Atkins on January 2, 1997. I started to lose slowly. I began Tae Kwon Do in early March, two months later. The weight shed INCREDIBLY quickly. This is with normal Atkins Induction, followed by normal Atkins.
You do not need to bulk up on Carbos, IMHO, to work out. I had boundless energy, and did TKD 2-4 times a week.
The idea of cramming carbos before a workout is very NYC Marathon, but isn’t really a part of the Atkins world…
If you’re planning on starting a really serious workout regime, you might want to take a look at the Body for Life plan. His eating plan is relatively low-carb, but not as much so as Atkins, and I think the carbs are supposed to be timed to support your workouts.
I have been on Atkins going on 10 yrs. While working out retest for your CCL (critical carb level) with ketosticks and find if yoru level has changed, If so you may be aboe to increase your carbs a little.
And no you don’t need carbs, Your body will manufacture them as needed for primarily brain function nad the rest will run off of fat just fine.
