I found myself sort of crashing during a long (2.5 hours) mtn bike ride the other day, I am in atkins induction (was about day 8 at the time). I'm wondering how to handle this. It seems if I am aerobic for 30-50 minutes I am fine. Thanks for any advice in advance!

I did not take any extra carbs before my weight workout which is followed by a bicycle ride during induction. It was a hard two weeks doing it that way. Now I've switched to having a half of a banana before the workouts and things are better. I can't recall Dr. Atkin's take on this but I would imagine taking in a little extra before a 2.5 hour bike ride would be ok. I'd just be sure that the carbs are not coming from anything that's been refined and you only use enough to improve your performance to the point of not crashing as you did. On the other hand it seems you don't have a whole lot to go with induction, maybe just cut down the length of the ride until this period is over. Either way I think you'll be fine as long as the foods stay high quality.

Joe

thank you! The trails around here are long so its almost impossible to do a short ride. But there are lots of other things I can do for excercise. I will try the bananna idea after induction is over!

Wow, you have bike trails that long close by? Cool.

Joe

yes the looped trails are long! I suppose you could only do part of the loop and ride back down the hill but that doesnt feel very successful in the end!

Been low carbing 3+ years. Started heavy lifting in the last six months. I experienced regular nausea (fortulately not requiring mop ) and lightheadedness. So started eating 3-4 pieces of Dove Dark Chocolate (less than 22 grams of carb), and it seemed to solve the problem.

Remember though carbs pre workout can cause rebound hypoglycemia and hamper performance.

have you tried BCAA' or glutamine powder before your workouts?

Also glutamine powder with Whey protein post workout can be usesd for glycogen synthesis..in the place of carbs.

I agree with this - stick to a healthier source of carb...banana sounds like a great suggestion. A simple carb will give you the quicker energy boost.

For the most part sugar is sugar. Bananas are at the bottom of Atkins list. But if you need a little carb boost, banana, a little dark chocolate whatever. But not more than you need. For me, 20 grams carb does the trick, for Joe half a banana.

New Rules of Lifting recommends HIIT after your weight lifting. Incidentally there are three major workouts in the book, Fat Loss, Strength, and Hypertrophy (visible muscle).

I ride a road bike, and I find that I am fine under 3 hours of good riding, but around that time, if I don't take some carbs I will bonk.. I do not take carbs before the ride, but during, starting after 2 hours and continue 100g every hours. I would not have been able to do a century without taking carbs along the way...

I read something on the computer yesterday while searching some info about running and it said you don't need to load on carbs unless you were going to be exercising for over 13 miles. Like running a marathon. I was curious because I eat very low-no carbs and I do have the energy to run 6-7 miles, (thats about 60- 70 minutes for me) but then I start to wind down after that.

I think eating carbs before a workout is just a waste and goes against what we are talking about here on this forum.

we all know that carbs are the bodies preferred fuel source. So why on earth would someone eat them before a workout? Why would you r body burn fat when you are eating its preferred fuel source? Your body will have no reason to burn fat.

That's why I always found it amazing to watch people on treadmills slamming Gatorade or other "power"drinks. They just don't know how much this is setting them back.

Here is my take on this. What I am saying here is based on some reading I did over the years, and mostly based on my experience in working out while on LC.


Here is the theory: Carbs is the energy muscle use. The body stores a reserve of carbohydrates in the form of Glucogen. Glucogen is stored in the liver and muscles and is water soluble. When the body needs a quick boost of energy (i.e. in a intense workout) it secretes Glucogen into the blood and it gets converted to energy by the muscles. When we rest the body does the reverse by taking sugar and store it as Glucogen in the muscles. When we are on LC diet and we have no available sugar in the blood, the liver breaks down fat and converts it to Glucogen. this Glucogen goes into storage in the liver and muscles. The process of converting fat to sugar is slow and the energy flow from the liver is more like a drip then a flow.

The amount of Glucogen stored in our body varies from person to person based on the physiology, shape age etc. When I am in top shape I know I am good for 3 or so hours of intense bike riding, and if I try to go further I either bonk (i.e. hit a wall) or have to eat carbs.

here are some effects of the cycle of using and storing glucogen. When we use the glucogen storage the body flushes the water that the glucogen was stored in, and we lose weight. That is why when we start LC for the first time, we lose sometime 5 lbs in the first 2 days.. it is water.. On LC it takes a long time to replenish the Glucogen reserve while the liver is metabolizing fat only to make glucogen. and that's how we lose fat. Also, when the liver metabolizes a lot of fat (i.e. no carbs in the diet) it produces katones as a by product of the process, hence ketosis.

Body builders know that if the rest a couple of days and and the body has the opportunity replenish glucogen in the muscles, their muscles pop up a bit and seem more defined..


This is MY theory, which I kind of developed over the years, and it helps me understand how to eat, when to eat and what is happening with my body.. So far it worked.


Glucogen is also known as Glycogen ..

Over the last year I've really worked to find the right fitness balance for me and have come to love weight training. I have an interesting background in that my foray into weights and cardio at the gym spans my "high sugar, low calorie, low fat" diet days as well as my "return to LC" days. Now granted earlier in the year I was also newer at working out, but I must admit that I always felt hungry and light headed when trying to go on the standard low cal breakfast and then workout at the gym. I frequently had to curtail my workouts because I felt weak. Well now that I do LC and have good protein and fat and limited, carefully chosen controlled carbs (ala PP guidelines) I feel GREAT. I realized I currently work longer and harder having consumed fewer calories for the day than I did before...and I am also not starving right after working out (though I try not to wait long to have something to eat). Now, that being said, I am also a novice and my workouts are certainly without question not as vigorous as the rest of you. But I'm no slouch either! And it's exciting to finally have that energy to push further. Just my $.02!

I first did Atkins 3 years ago to go from 250lbs down to 225lbs at 5'10". I had been a heavy weight lifter for about 20 years. When I was doing Atkins for my first time 3 years ago, my energy was for crap in the weight room (my strength dropped like a rock during my 25 lb weight loss).... energy was crap both during the 1.5 hours of weight lifting and the 30 minutes of cardio....I gave up on Atkins because of my lack of energy during my workouts.

Ive since returned to Atkins to try to get to 200 lbs and give up strength for a leaner body. This time around, my energy has been excellent in the gym and also during cardio....my workouts are about 1.5 to 2 hours long every other day. I think my higher energy this time around might have something to do with only exercising intensely every other day......maybe as someone mentioned above the one day off gives ample time for my body to restore glucogen levels high enugh for the next 2 hour workout.

I also eat one of my daily salads and vegetables (about 7 grams of carbs) about 2-1 hours before the workouts. I try to never go into the workouts hungry....if I feel hungry just before the workout I will eat like a tablespoon of cream cheese or something to take away the hunger feeling.

I dont really know why my energy levels are a whole lot better this time around with atkins but something is working. I am definitely very pleased with my energy levels and my strength is holding in there steady as I lose the pounds this time around. I am running about 20-30 grams of carbs per day.......mainly from salads and vegetables.