Greetings,

I am new to the forum and have been reading it for a little while trying to learn what I need to do with my situation. Here is what is going on:

1. I am a type II diabetic.

2. I have been cycling for the last 9 months and have gotten my blood sugars under better control by losing weight (down from 290 to 260). I did this by eating vegetarian and low fat. I quit doing that back in December and began considering a Paleo style diet.

3. I have gained back about 10 pounds.

4. My cycling times and distances were improving for awhile and then I think I overtrained and have started running out of gas.

5. I ride my bike 3 days a week. I have been doing about 110 miles on those three days. I do a 50 miler, and a couple of shorter rides.


So, I have decided to take the plunge and try a low-carb approach. This is very difficult for me to do because I have been indoctrinated all of my life with the low-fat approach. I am a nurse and have been for years. I have taught diabetic classes, taught people with heart disease and so on and am relearning and changing how I think about and see things.

So, I am going to do this for 90 days and see if it makes any difference. I would like to weigh 210 pounds again. I am 6'3" tall and haven't weighed that since I graduated from high school in '78. Of course, I was shorter then too. I grew after I got out of school.

I have been participating on BikeForum and watching what everyone posts regarding low-carb diets and I have been a little afraid to try it. I worry about running out of gas when I get out there. I found a new book called The Paleo Diet for Athletes. I've been going through it and I'll give you some continuing reports on how I am doing.

My ride log for the week was 50 miles Thursday 3:40, then 14 miles Friday 1:05 and 14 miles on Saturday of 1:00. I've been feeling washed out and like I have nothing to give while I'm on the bike for the last month or so. I thought I just needed to push harder and then yesterday (duh!!) I finally realized I'd been pushing too hard. I'd gone from no riding in July to where I am now.

I want to do a 125 mile ride by the time my year rolls around and I feel like I am less close to it now than when I was riding back in October. I just feel crappy while I'm on the bike.

So, I'm taking 10 days off of the bike. I'm going to walk for an hour every day and then I'll pick back up. I think I need some advise on how to start back up and reasonable mileage and time goals so that I don't overdo it again.

Thanks,

Taylor Payne

Well, I got to feeling pretty badly today after my ride. I ate scrambled eggs, grapes, an apple and some stir fry pork and vegetables. I went grocery shopping with my wife and my sugar bottomed out at 58. I got a bad headache, really grouchy and had trouble focusing on any thought.

So I ate 80 grams of carbohydrates for lunch. My two hour post-prandial sugar was 114. Normal 2 hour post-prandial sugar is less than 120. Every time I have tried this, I end up feeling the same way and can't do it. I still feel like crap, have a bad headache that hasn't left and wonder how I am going to deal with this?

Welcome obsidian,

I am also a cyclist. After adjustment, my cycling performance has increased greatly.

During the transistion phase (from carb burning to fat burning), you will be short on endurance and energy. Take it easy and give your body time to generate the chemicals it needs to burn more fats.

Don't try to up the carbs to solve problems. You will end up yo-yoing around and not adjusting.

Check out the article here on Ketogenic Diets and Physical Performance.

One thing to consider is that
you are doing pretty well with
your cycling right now, given
the weight you are at. While
you are 6' 3" tall, you still weigh
260 lbs and shouldn't expect to
do as well as when you reach goal
weight. You don't say how old you are.

As boring as it sounds, I would just
keep doing what you are doing and
see how your times improve as the
rest of the weight comes off.

For the record, I don't believe in
eating too much FAT either. I am
on a High Protein, Low Carb NO FAT
diet and got a lean body with mostly
muscle mass compared with the fat
blob I was.

I ride about 100 miles per week on
average, mostly on the street tho I
did my ride today on the recumbent
bikes at my gym.

When I am on the street, if I go for 25 or
40 miles I always try to carry a couple of
bananas and a diet coke or two with me so
I can get a little carbo boost and a potassium
and salt boost to get me through the ride.

This seems to work for me. I don't really ever
bonk unless it is about 108 degrees out and
I do an 80 miler.

I am on the Bike Forum too, as well as
the Bentrider Forum. I post with my
same name on those forums too.

Good Luck in your weightloss and keep
ridin. There is nothing as much fun to
me as riding my bike. It makes me feel
like a kid again.

So, as I make the conversion of metabolism should I lay off of my riding so that I don't bonk? What do you recomend?

Hi Taylor: Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution is a must read for diabetics! He advocates a 6/12/12 grams of carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a total of 30 grams daily. And sorry, but fruit is not acceptable because fructose causes unpredictable blood sugars. You will find that vegetables are as good or better in terms of vitamins and fiber than fruits, but they will stabalize blood sugar.

You can read parts of his book on his website here:
http://www.diabetes-normalsugars.com/

We also have a Diabetes and Dr. Bernstein forum on this site.

He has a whole chapter devoted to exercise. For people on medication (either insulin or oral) then he says you will need some carbs to cover exercise and avoid going too low. He is quite an exercise nut himself and at 71 brags about his strength and stamina.

I've recently lowered my blood sugar down from 160 to 105 by eating 20 grams of carbs daily (no sugar, fruit, starch or grain). I hike for 2 hours in the afternoon once a week and do not get a low blood sugar feeling like I used to. Do you do weight training? That is very important to improve insulin sensitivity.

You are right to give it at least 90 days, because the body has to adjust and your energy should improve. Hopefully you will realize it is the best way to stay healthy!

Report on Experiment:

Day 1:

0800 Fasting BS-88
Breakfast-tuna and egg salad, alfalfa sprouts, salsa, walnuts, dried plums
1000 BS-89
Snack-large apple
1200 BS-71
Lunch-Stir fried vegetables and pork, grapes
1400 BS 75
Snack-grapes, plums, walnuts
1600 BS-92
1700 BS-84
Supper-1/2 chicken
2000 BS 84

Used stairs all day at work. 12 hour shift as nursing supervisor in 4 story hospital. Probablly 15 trips up and down and other walking.

Day 2 (today)

0700 FBS (83)
breakfast-scrambled eggs, 3 slices bacon, plums, walnuts
0900 BS 84
Snack-large apple
1100-BS 90
Lunch-chicken salad, summer squash
1330-BS 101 (I went and did 10 flights of stairs)
1430-BS 80
snack-banana
1730-BS 64
Supper-chicken salad

I am feeling better and will continue to report. I ride my bike tomorrow and have purchased whey powder to add to CHO drink in ratio of 1:4 for recovery.

THIS MAY WORK!

I am also taking Chromium Picolinate, alpa lipoic-acid, grape seed extract, vits. C,E, B complex, zinc, magnesium, and garlic tabs. I also am taking a fiber (metamucil).

Obsidian, I had the same problem when I first started LC, except I'm not diabetic. I was in the middle of my 2 week induction and I went out and did a 45mile ride. Now normally this would be no problem, even though I'm 5'11 and was 300lbs. I've trained and riden a Century and numerous metrics. Well that 45 miles was the worst I've ever ridden. It was primarily flat, a few rollers, and I bonked at mile 30. I had forgotten to take any lc bars with me, and I didn't want to blow the induction by eating the pb&j sandwiches at the SAG rest area. By the time I got back to my car, my avg speed had gone from 17mph to 13mph, and I couldn't make my legs work any harder. Very depressing. Fast forward 3 weeks and I went out and rode this past Saturday. I had done some trainer rides in between, but nothing on the rode. I was concerned that my performance would be the same, and that I might have to stop Atkins as I'm training for the Tahoe Century in June. Anyway, did 30miles, with alot of rolling hills. I felt great. I didn't bonk, and my avg speed was at 15mph, which for this ride is right where I normally am.
So it gets better. The fact that I've also lost 10lbs helps me mentally move faster.

Day 3

FBS-80
0600-Breakfast-scrambled eggs, apple, banana
0800-Ride-21 miles
0930-Post ride sugar-94
0940- cup apple sauce and whey powder
1030-BS 71
meal-tuna and egg salad, baked yam

Lunch-tuna/egg salad, baked yam
1230-BS-114
1345-BS-74
Chicken breast cooked in spaghetti sauce, grapes
1545-BS-100

Day 4
Weight down another 1.5 pounds
0600 FBS-93
Scrambled Eggs, grapes
0800 50 mile ride, felt well took Gatorade and sipped it during ride.
1300-Out of town at end of ride and had to eat at friend's house had two sandwiches, applejuice and 750 ml Gatorade
1500 BS-133
1630 BS-83

I don't think my glycogen stores are depleted. I felt very well during the ride and did the 50 miles in 3 hours and 5 minutes. I overdid it on the recovery stage today with the bread on the sandwiches but couldn't refuse a meal as a guest. I'll have to be careful for the rest of the day.

Day 5

Weight down 1.5 lbs

FBS-93
Scrambled Eggs, grapes
yardwork, ride 25 miles
Recovery-1 cup applesauce, protien powder, banana-smoothie
Pork chop, vegetables
1400-BS 113
1500-BS 91
Tangelo

Ride into strong headwind, a little tired today. I'll make just a little less recovery drink for tomorrow and try and keep sugar down below 100.

Obsidian,

That sounds like a GREAT recovery drink.
I have gone exotic like that but it always
leads me down the path to destruction.
I am too much of a compulsive eater.
But the darned applesauce, 2 scoops
of protein powder and a banana or two
in a blender sure sounds damned good.

I just ate a big chunk of turkey (I just got
back from a brisk 25 miler myself and YES
coming home I had fierce headwinds too.)
Southern California 20 miles East of Pasadena.

I am gonna have a protein smoothie now too,
and hit the showers.

Good luck in your weightloss and
maintenance journey.

Ned,

I've had wind here from 4 directions today. My wife came in and asked; "The wind was blowing from the west and now its blowing from the east. I wonder why it has to switch directions?"

I replied; "'Cause we'd run out of air if it blew the same way all of the time!"

She didn't think it was as funny as I did. Down here in SW New Mexico we've got wind that is of very high quality this time of year. Most of the time it is packing alot of dust with it too. I thought about painting the tumbleweeds on my place that way I could identify them when they rolled back through.

If it is calm tomorrow, I'm going to burn some of them. Nothing burns like a tumbleweed, hot and fast and it's over. I've convinced my wife that I have to ride first though. She's been pretty patient with the cycling. Gotta love her for that!

Day 6

Weight down 0.5 lb

0600 FBS-93
Scrambled eggs, sausage, tangelo
Yardwork
0900- 31 mile ride, felt well, good energy
1130- BS 83
1200- Applesause, banana, protien powder smoothie
Lunch- Brautwurst, cabbage salad (leftovers baby!)
1445-BS 93