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Low Carb/Exercise Nutrition question.

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Fletch

Active Member
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Hi,

Just wondered how others tackled exercise whilst following a low carb diet. I typically eat less than 50g of carbs per day and at the moment do not take on any extra carbs pre exercise - I usually just eat a little extra Protein/Fat post exercise in the form of Soft Cheese rolled up in ham or salami - that type of thing.

My normal exercise routine consists of cycling - by way of a commute to and from work - around 15 miles per day - 3 days a week - and jogging - again only about 3 days a week for around 3 miles per run.

I am considering entering a half marathon and wondered whether I would need to consider taking on more carbs - perhaps in the way of protein/carb shake or bar etc pre training run? This would mean taking extra insulin to cover the carbs as I am Type 1 - this is something I have been reluctant to do so far but I wonder whether this may help my performance.

Just wondered what others do to fuel their exercise of choice and whether the low carb diet I follow should really be enough to cope with the extra training demands of the half marathon.

I look forward to receiving your responses.

Regards.

Paul.
 
Hi Paul,

I wouldn't go for the extra carbs if I were you. It's not necessary for energy and in fact my endurance is much better on a diet even lower in carbs than yours.
Burning fatty acids and ketones for fuel is a much more reliable energy source in my view. When the body burns then runs out of glucose, it gets into trouble. If it's using fatty acids, a much more abundant source of energy than glucose, stamina can increase as a result because even a marathon distance won't deplete your reserves.
Anyway, I do all my running and cycling on minimal carbs and my endurance has never been better.

All the best,

fergus
 
Hi Fletch
I too don't increase my carbs for exercise
Yesterday, I did 4 miles, uphill and down dale cross country on a slice of cheese with a slice of salami.
And today, I was running late, so I did 45 minutes circuits in the gym( with an instructor and class) followed by a cross country walk( not a long one though) on the blackberries I picked in my garden on the way to my car at 7:30. I swim 45 minutes first thing in the morning a couple of times a week.My usual breakfast, if I get up in time is 2 eggs scrambled in the microwave. If I have a LOT of time, I add some bacon to that. I don't need any more. My BG stays steady in the low 5s. I wish I could get into the 4s, but I don't want any more medicine.
 
Thanks Fergus.

I must admit to feeling better at the moment exercising on low carb, I am glad that putting in the extra miles does not have to mean eating extra carbs.

Out of interest Fergus roughly how many carbs do you normally eat per day. Like I say I try and eat less than 50g per day but I have never actually monitored this really - I may experiment and weigh everything I eat tomorrow just out of interest - I may find that I eat considerably less than 50g myself - I tend to eat minimul carbs for breakfast - just a couple of mushrooms with my fryup - lunch carbs normally come from salad & dinner the carbs normally come from veg or again salad.

Will keep you posted as to how I get on.

Thanks again.
 
No worries Paul.
Like you, my daily carbs come in the mushrooms at breakfast and whatever vegetables accompany lunch and dinner. I make a low carb bread too, but at less than 1g per slice, it doesn't add up to very much.
The last time I checked I was totalling about 30g carbs per day. I might work that out more carefully to double check the numbers, but it's probably not far off.
Keep us posted, as you say.

All the best,

fergus
 
Hiya, I've just increased my exercise quite a lot but to fill my energy needs I am making a low carb protein smoothie, which seems to fill me up fine and give me the energy my body needs.

I use unsweetened soya milk with holland and barrett chocolate soya powder - virtually zero carbs in both of those, and add in some frozen berries to give a bit of taste and texture - around 5g carbs per 100g.

Works for me.

I'd say your body adapts when you've been low carbing for a while and will make energy out of anything with calories in, there does seem to be this myth that you need carbs for energy but what are calories themselves if not energy? and every food source be it fat protein or carbs contains calories! :)
 
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