Hi,

I am somewhat of a newbie to his, so please excuse me if I am covering old ground.

Today is my first day on the SBD. For the past week though, I drastically reduced the amount of carbs I usually eat. It didnt really agree with me and I had headaches for about 4 days, along with sleeplessness and countless trips to the bathroom. So I have since relaxed a little in reducing my carbs (but staying away from sugar and "white" foods).

Another little side effect I have noticed is, when I go to the gym and work out with weights, I dont have as much strength and energy. I have also heard that this type of diet can make you lose some muscle tissue as the body starts scavenging from other food sources in the absence of carbs. I dont really want to lose any hard-earned muscle!

What I am wondering is if the diet would allow some intake of carb (a piece of fruit?) before and after workouts to keep my muscle glycogen stores topped up?

Any thoughts?

Many thanks.

Having just finshed the book a few days ago I think I have your answer.

If you have the hardcover version of the book go to page 93, the next to the last paragraph says:

"Before a sustained workout (longer than 90 mins), it may help to eat some low-glycemic carb, such as yogurt, oatmeal, or pumpernickle bread. Eat it at least 2 hours before excercising so you'll have a good supply of carbohydrates to give you an energy boost. After excercise, you need to replenish glycogen fuel stores. You may allow yourself white bread or potatoes at that time."

Good luck

Nicole,

What you are going through is perfectly fine and healthy. If you had a diet that had more carbs than you needed before and now your are taking in a lot fewer carbs it may take some time for your body to adjust. Your body was used to burning the carbs in your system for fuel and storing the rest. Now you are tell your body to stop and change to a whole new way of doing things and to begin burning the stored fuel in your fat cells. This may cause some temporary and thereby headaches. This should be temperary.

Regarding the trips to the bathroom: Carbs retain 4 grams of water for every gram of carb. Reducing your carb intake will also free up much more water from your system. You also won’t feel as bloated after meals as when you ate a lot of carbs. That water now goes to your bladder and causes you to pee more often.

Regarding the exercise work-outs: When exercising, the body looks first for carbs as a prinary fuel source. If carbs are not available, the secondary source becomes stored fuel. The conversion of stored fuel is not as effecient and takes more energy then just drawing from carbs. You wont be at your peak performance and you will get tired more quickly. If you are working out to lose weight, you will now lose weight even faster. If you are in competitive work-out events and want peek performance, take in some carbs just before the event.

Thanks for your replies, it has put my mind at rest about the unpleasant side effects I was experiencing. It scared me, I thought I was becoming hypoglemic or something!

I am not a competitive body builder or anything by any stretch of the imagiation, but have been working out consistently for eight months now. While I have seen changes in the shape of my body, I still carry a lot of body fat (esp. around the middle) - hence the diet. It takes a lot of time and effort for females to build muscle, so I was scared of losing the small amount it had taken me so long to gain. The great thing about muscle tissue is that it also helps to burn more calories, even while at rest. To go on a diet that stripped muscle tissue and/or lowered the capability to work out to the best of my ability seemed to be somewhat self-defeating.

I think I will take in a few carbs before working out. It might take a bit of trial and error (and cheating), but i want the best of both worlds!!