General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Could low carbs be kickin' my butt??? Rss Feed  
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2004-08-19 10:04 AM

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Subject: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
As I mentioned in a few other posts, I started a weight loss / fitness program 4 months ago - I'm a 37 yr old male, 5'7", and was 240. I started on the South Beach Diet and have lost 50 pounds thus far. I have another 25 to go to get to my "target" weight but I think my activity level (lift weights 4 days/week, run 15 miles/week, ride 45 miles/week) is really requiring me to need more carbs. I just don't feel like I have the energy I think I should have.

BUT, of course I'm "nervous" about adding carbs because I don't want to gain the weight back. BUT, I am a lot more active now. Boy this is confusing!

So... I'm looking for some advice as to what I should do. Should I add the carbs back (whole wheat bread & pasta, fruits & juices, ...) and no worry about any weight gain as it should eventually come off from the exercise, or stick it out and add the carbs after the weight comes off?

Thanks for any feedback.

Rob


2004-08-19 10:30 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
I did South Beach... I lost about 15lbs BUT, I ended up having to go on Zoloft b/c I had NO ENERGY. I actually was using up my sick leave at work b/c I couldn't get out of bed. They said it was directly related to the low carbs. Carbs are what activates the Seratonin (energy) in your body. ESPECIALLY in women, since they naturally have less seratonin then men. If you are working out, ADD THOSE CARBS!! Your body will thank you for them! Don't burn yourself out like I did. I had to take about 3 months out b/c of it. (and I'm still on the damn pills!)
2004-08-19 1:21 PM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
Add the carbs! I've heard so many people complain of fatigue with exercise on atkins/south beach. Besides, SB is only supposed to be carbless for the first 2 weeks!

Add back good (lower GI) carbs like you said-fruits and whole grains. Have a low-gi carb snack (fruit, clif bar, etc) an hour or so before you plan to workout-that way you'll have energy for the workout and you'll be less likely to store the carbs as fat. Aside from that, add back good carbs to meals slowly and see how it affects your weight. It will probably slow the weight loss down a bit, but you've lost so much in a short period of time that you probably should slow it down a bit. Being skinny is no use if you feel like crap! Try adding beans (pinto, kidney, garbanzo) if you haven't already-they are good carb sources also that are low GI and full of fiber.

2004-08-19 2:11 PM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
Add the carbs. Definitely agree with everyone. Weightloss is time-consuming and takes patience. If you add the complex carbs back in to your diet in moderation you will be able to push your intensity level up and hence you will see better results. Otherwise you will bonk out. I don't trust any diet that won't allow me to enjoy natures gifts like fruit and whole grains. Just stay away from simple carbs and you will do great!
2004-08-20 1:25 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
If your in the middle of your tri season you need the carbs. Trying to train and race on very limited carbs will hurt you. If you want to focus on losing weight do it during the off season and cut your calorie intake not carbs.

Mike
2004-08-20 7:08 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
If you want some good info about how carbs are important to fitness, go to www.divefitness.com and look in the articles for one called "carb's role in..." Cameron has some really good articles about other stuff too. I've done both Atkins and SB with limited, but entirely real, success. But then I read "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips and some of Cameron's articles and I realised exactly how important carbs are. Remember (and I think SB does a better job with this) all carbs are not evil, just the artificial ones Carbs from whole foods (sweet potatoes, brown rice, etc) have so much to offer. Even with the amount of GU-type carbs that I've been taking while training for my first tri, I've still continued to loose weight by adjusting caloric intake according to the workouts I do. Notice I said adjust, not neccessarily cut, but your mileage may vary.

If everyone will indulge a rant for a moment... In our culture of 'everything is not my fault,' we tend to look for a single root cause to blame and we think by addressing that ONE ROOT CAUSE, we fix everything. Well, I'm here to tell you that life is a lot more grey than we give it credit for. There's a lot to be said for seeking balance more than a root cause. Balancing physical acitivity levels with that of chaloric intake quantities, water consumption and yes, even sleep quantities (even just a basic rest day), to me seems like the most sensible approach. Rant off - thank you.

-Frank


2004-08-20 8:21 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
Agree with all, especially your rant Frank!

IMHO, though, I'd skip the fruit juices (more or less, never swear off of anything). That's a lot of "simple" (to use the old term) sugar that gets burned up right away.

Whole fruit, with the fiber and all, is great tho.
2004-08-20 8:28 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
Thanks for the replies folks.

And, Frank, thanks for the link. That was a fantastic article, and an eye opener!

Rob
2004-08-20 9:29 AM
in reply to: #50275

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Subject: RE: Could low carbs be kickin' my butt???
Glad that the link helped out. I started being more active in April of this year to be in the shape I need to be to do the type of diving that I would like to and for whatever reason I picked triathlons as a goal for the efforts of my training. Between the articles that Cameron has on his website, some of the stuff that he has written in scuba magazines, his posts in the fitness sections of some scuba message boards and some personal correspondence with him, I've learned a great deal. He's a good motivator and I wish that I lived closer to him so that I could hire him on fulltime as my personal trainer

As CindyK mentioned about fiber. I recently read some interesting stuff about fiber. I think it was in Men's Health magazine (I just lurk the free articles on the website, I have other issues with Rodale's that keeps me from subscribing...). The essence of the article was that in your small intestine, fiber acts like a brake and slows the progress of food through it in order to let you body have the maximum amount of contact with the food and extract the maximum amount of nutrients from it. In the large intestine, it keeps things moving along so that waste doesn't stay in your body that long. Very cool indeed if that's the case.

-Frank
2004-08-20 10:59 AM
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