Muscle Stamina and Low Carb Diet - Help!
 

Hi, I am new to the site and to low carbing but not new to the gym. I took two weeks off to get acclimated to the new diet (Atkins). I returned to the gym this week to discover that after about 30 minutes of strength training group, I was toast. By the end I could barely do anything with my legs. I know this is not about the two weeks off, this was a sad, sad site.

Is this normal? Why is this happening? Does this go away? And if so how long does this weakness last? Any insight is appreciated. :wave:

It's happening because your body does not yet produce the necessary enzymes to effeciently utilize the fat for fuel. Give it another couple of weeks and it should get better. Once you're fully adapted, you should be good-to-go. Be sure you're eating enough calories.

A better approach would have been to reduce the carbs more slowly until you got them down to where you needed.

magnesium and potassium could be low
 

Hi BeccaBex,

One of the typical problems with switching from a high-carb diet to a very low carb diet like Atkins Induction is that you experience massive water loss, which unfortunately also causes loss of electrolytes, such as potassium, magnesium, sodium and calcium. The loss of potassium and magnesium in particular are problematic as they are important for many different functions.

Most of our magnesium, for example, is found in our muscles (and most of the rest in our bones, if I remember rightly). What's more, our bodies need magnesium to make our cells' fuel source, ATP, so, if you are low in magnesium then your muscles will have too little magnesium and you will also have less energy than normal.

Atkins was well aware of this problem and specifically mentions in DANDR many times that it is of paramount importance to supplement with magnesium and potassium to offset the problems caused by the water loss.

Have you been supplementing with a mineral supplement as Atkins recommends?

If not, then you can do the following:

- eat more nuts and seeds (also recommended by Atkins if weight loss is too fast and weakness ensues)
- eat more carbs, especially ones containing potassium and magnesium (leafy greens, brown rice, legumes)
- find some good mineral water (Adobe Springs?)
- make some magnesium water
- get some Mg supplements, such as Mg chloride, Mg malate or Mg glycinate

These different methods should all help to get your Mg and Ka levels back up again.

amanda

Actually glycogen reserves are about 60% of normal while on LC. I believe this is Lyle McDonald. My normal HIIT for 30min is no problem on higher carbs but on LC 15min is disastrous.
There are some changes that take a month but really your muscles should be fueled by ketones and gluconeogeneisis by day 2.
Lifting heavy is fine just increase your time between sets. I ended up moving to a 3 day split so I could keep it under 45 minutes a session unless its high volume low intensity like shoulders and upper back.

My first workouts were godawful on low carbs, but I did just run a quarter marathon in less than an hour, so I think it works out overall in the end :)

i can not train on LC.. feel like death warmed over

Same here.
The only time I have a little something high carb is before a workout. I only workout once or maybe twice per week but the workouts are short and very intense with no rest between exercises. I am wiped out at the end and have to lay down.
I find that high fat is great when I'm at work or just general day to day stuff but I would always feel sick when I tried working out intensely.

I train moderate carb. at least 3 meals a day

I know this is an old thread, but just wanted to add my 2 cents.

I was training hard, then went LC and was knackered so didn't exercise much for a month so that I could adjust. Eased myself back into training and I was just stuffed after a session and recovery took about 3 days. Proceeded with this for another few weeks and nothing improved.

This last week, I have been having high GI carbs (glucose) and high protein (shake) within 30mins after training then my meal within 1 hour after of some lower GI carbs (sweet potato) and high protein (meat) and my god, the difference is unbelievable. I am have smashed many PR's and am a machine! So what I find is moderate carbs throughout the day as well as lots of protein and mid range fat, and the high GI carbs right after work to refuel glycogen stores.

LC I was having approx 100gr fat, 100 gr protein and 40gr carbs. Now i'm having 45gr fat, 130 (or more) gr protein and 80-100gr carbs.

If I was not training and doing hardly any exercise, then low carb high fat works very well, I have plenty of energy, but with training, it just doesn't do it for me. I do crossfit HIIT 4 x a week and weight training 4x a week. So I need my carbs, but it is all in the timing. Just like having low fat post workout as dietary fat slows digestion and therefore does not get the nutrients there fast enough to refuel and repair muscles.

Thank You
 

Upping carbs to about 75-90 did help!!