Carb intake and exercise - how much is enough?

[marky0077]

Hello. i have recently been diagnosed type 2 I am looking for some advice regarding my carb consumption. My issue is that I exercise to a relatively high intensity 3 or 4 times per week. I don’t have a weight problem so weight loss is not something I’m looking for. I have cut down on carb consumption in an attempt to manage my diabetes and the other day I ended a 2000m swim with a severe headache. Therefore I am trying to work out what quantity of carbohydrate I need to fuel my exercise but not compromise my diabetes. I’m not looking for exact amounts but there must be other diabetics out there like me. Any tips, links or words of wisdom will be very much appreciated .
Mark

 

[Fenn]

Hi welcome

The honest answer is zero, this does open up a huge subject that is a low carb diet, I would suggest having a read of the forum, it’s very interesting, I have personally run a marathon whilst eating low carb.

Your diagnosis of type2 may be in question if your weight is good.

You are in the right place, stick around, some interesting things written by clever people, read on

Edit: apart from the “Hi, welcome” I should be taken with a pinch of salt, I’m like the least clever person here

 

[In Response]

Before adjusting your diet, I would recommend checking your blood sugars.
Your head ache may not be related.
My understanding is you only need to eat extra carbs for exercise if your blood sugar levels significantly drop.

 

[Goonergal]

Could equally be low electrolytes or dehydration causing the headache. I’ve frequently undertaken both endurance and intense exercise water-fasted, with no ill effects. Being fat adapted and using fat as the primary source of energy helps, but carbs aren’t required for exercise.

You might want to check out these guys - a similar group has just done something similar with long distance cycling:

 

[AndBreathe]

Hello. i have recently been diagnosed type 2 I am looking for some advice regarding my carb consumption. My issue is that I exercise to a relatively high intensity 3 or 4 times per week. I don’t have a weight problem so weight loss is not something I’m looking for. I have cut down on carb consumption in an attempt to manage my diabetes and the other day I ended a 2000m swim with a severe headache. Therefore I am trying to work out what quantity of carbohydrate I need to fuel my exercise but not compromise my diabetes. I’m not looking for exact amounts but there must be other diabetics out there like me. Any tips, links or words of wisdom will be very much appreciated .
Mark

Mark, my guess is it is probably at least as likely to be a dehydration headache you experienced - especially at the moment, with the warmer weather.

For me, living a reduced carb lifestyle, if I am to exercise in an intense way, I'll focus on timing. Because my energy release is not likely to be as instant as you might have from carbs, I need to fuel in advance of the exercise.

 

[LaoDan]

Depends on how intense, how long and how often. If i’m training every day, with higher intensity , then I’ll have 20-40 grams of carbs beforehand.

the best way to figure out what is best for you is to wear a CGM, just once is enough. If you’re like me, even training fasted causes a spike. You can burn glycogen faster than your body can replace it. Use the CGM to find how much you can tolerate. I can tolerate a lot, but 20-40 grams is enough to where I can power through.

as others have mentioned, electrolytes is probably the cause of the headaches.

 

[marky0077]

Thank you all for your replies. Your advice is very helpful. I’m getting that I can train ok on a low carb diet but I should also ‘fuel-up’ for intense training. How far in advance should I do that? Carbs for lunch for an early evening workout? Also, regarding my headache - I’d had virtually zero carbs all day. I’ve had dehydration headaches before and this was different. Much more sever and lasted a couple of days. I’m thinking ketosis headache?
Thanks again.
Mark

 

[Marie 2]

@marky0077 Just keep it in mind you could be a misdiagnosed type 1. 35% of us are misdiagnosed as type 2's at first. You can be the right weight and active and still have type 2 since it's a metabolic disease. But it isn't as common. Medication or diet changes and exercise work at first because as an adult it is a slower process and you still make some insulin for a while. Just keep it in mind. If things don't end up making sense you could be a type 1 instead.

 

[Goonergal]

I’m thinking ketosis headache?

That would suggest an electrolyte imbalance. Worth checking out that theory at least.

 

[TriciaWs]

If you low carb with mostly unprocessed foods then you need to add salt to food. The advice about reducing salt applies to people eating loads of processed foods (with lots of salt and sugar added).
One of my consultants told me to increase my salt even though I started adding some - but not enough - I'm so used to not adding salt when cooking now it takes an effort to do it!

 

[AndBreathe]

Thank you all for your replies. Your advice is very helpful. I’m getting that I can train ok on a low carb diet but I should also ‘fuel-up’ for intense training. How far in advance should I do that? Carbs for lunch for an early evening workout? Also, regarding my headache - I’d had virtually zero carbs all day. I’ve had dehydration headaches before and this was different. Much more sever and lasted a couple of days. I’m thinking ketosis headache?
Thanks again.
Mark

Personally, if I were to exercise in the evening, I'd make lunch my main meal, but I wouldn't have any more carbs than usual.

 

[stuffedolive]

@Goonergal is right in that if you are fat adapted then you dont need carbs for exercise. That said everybody's physiology is different and and may find it easier to become fat adapted than others. Personally, i found it quite easy. Before I switched to a LCHF diet I would often get 'the knock' on cycle rides if i didn't refuel regularly, and i suffered a particularly unpleasant hypo at the end of a 2day mountain marathon. Now I'm fat adapted I find I can walk all day on little more than a bag of nuts. I could probably just keep going as long as the intensity is low. However for more intense exercise I find I can run for an hour of so in a fasted state with no ill effects (I usually do this once a week), or even longer cycling, certainly up to 3 hours.