My own personal experience contradicts every one of the 10 points the author makes.

Then how come the same article tells us to eat 45-65% of our diet from carbs? The highest carb intake in the list is 52%, so why would we want to exceed that at 65%?

The last part of the first paragraph explains it:

"Interestingly, Kalenjin runners have a carbohydrate composition that tower over their competition with measurements reporting 75+% or 10.4 grams carbohydrate per kg of body mass, which may lead one to argue that running success and carbohydrate intake are directly related.7"

These are elite athletes, running over 100 miles per week on 2% body fat. Some of the negative effects of Atkins I've experienced myself and I'm not an elite athlete. Bonking, sour mood, being prone to viral infections, all are common to runners who don't take enough carbohydrates.

Although a few on this web have said they can be athletic on low-carb, I frankly don't believe them. Without carbohydrates, I can't run as well. The more carb I eat, the better I run.

I admit I don't suffer post-marathon muscle soreness as much as when I was living on carbs, but the trade-off is much slower race times. Before lowcarb, a 3hr,20min marathon was possible. Now on lowcarb, 4 hours is the best I can do. I don't believe that 'less muscle soreness' is due to the fat-burning effect, but is due instead to not being able to push as hard in the race.

I have been low-carbing my own way- and I eat a high protein diet and very low carbs. I have been doing it for several years. I have been training for a marathon in November and I am up to 65 mpw and my times just keep getting faster. I have never felt better in my entire life. I weight-lift twice a week and my weight is 114. I have absolutely no problems with my long runs and ran 22 miles on Saturday and was still able to push it at the end.

wow, I'd like to ask the author why I am able to run an 8 minute mile now and only a 10.5 - 11 minute mile before. Could be weighing 17 lbs less but also...one would think it might have to do with the extra energy I'm feeling and my way of eating. I can't believe these things I read and how they don't match what I experience at all (although I am not an athlete at all!!!)

Donna

I think that most athletes have been conditioned to view carbs as necessary for performance. And they are. Rode a century last year before going on atkins, weighing 50lbs more than I do today, and it took me 9hrs. I recently rode the same century and it took me 7.5hrs. I trained less for the most recent century, but did better. How is that possible, uh duh, I weighed 50lbs less. I am also training for a triathlon, and what I do is low carb during the week, increase carbs the day before a big training day or event, and then carb as needed during race day. I take gu's, hammergel, etc. depending on the length of the event, and then have a good sensible meal post event. It's not rocket science but it works. Your body needs extra carbs doing long distance workouts, because you burn them. If a person is smart you can low carb and still better your times on race day.
Just my 2 cents though

Yeah, I have to carb up or my running time suffers. Once a year I run a 12k race (biggest foot race in the world!). I could barely eek in under 2 hours on low-carb. I carbed up the following year and did 1:37. This past year I carbed up again and did 1:29.

I also take Power Gel carb packs with me and have one at the start, and then every 3 miles. I could FEEL the simple sugars hit my system and it would give me a burst of energy. Then the complex carbs would help me sustain that energy.

A lot of the article is total bunk and unproven hypothesis, but I can't run well on low-carb.

This past Monday I ran 5 miles on the treadmill (go me!), but I could do that because I had binged on carbs on Sunday.

My workouts suffer on low-carb, but I can do them. I just have to really push myself. I think a slightly higher carb breakfast might help with that.

That article is psychotic. :P Here's my experience in relation to their points:

#10 - I am more alert/aware while eating low-carb, it could be due to the fact that I sleep better, but either way, I do.
#9 - I can do 45 min on elliptical/40 min on stairmaster, whereas when I started, I could only do about 10 min on elliptical and was scared of the stairmaster. Part of it could be the 100 lb loss though, I admit.
#8 - I'm rarely sick, even with a 3 year old
#7 - It does affect my mood - I'm happier, thinner, healthier.
#6 - I'm thinking that they don't know about rungs or eating veggies to supply vital nutrients.
#5 - My muscles recover at about the same speed either way
#4 - I haven't injured myself once since low carb vs. constantly pulling muscles before - again, it could be due to pushing myself differently.
#3 - They need to drink their water, they also need to learn that they're specifically talking about HIGH PROTEIN LOW CARB diets.
#2 - Again, high protein. I don't think I'm old enough to test this one though.
#1 - My joints are happy (then again, I'm 25). My 28 year old BF who has like, maybe 10%BF, and eats mad carbs whenever he wants does have joint issues though?!

Sorry for the tangent, I'm so sick of people writing articles about diets that they don't even bother doing the research on what the diet is about. I'm sick and tired of people thinking that a Low carb Dinner = a deep fried cow, with a side of butter and a glass of oil to drink.

Keep in mind, the word "athlete" is in the title. The article talks about what athletes think of low carb. Low carb diet does a lot for a person's health but to be an elite athlete seems to require a high-carb diet. Because the carb is being used up by exercise, there isn't an insulin response. So a high-carb diet can be healthy, if you're burning off the carbs with exercise.

I've tried the lowcarb approach to marathon and ultramarathon training. For me, there doesn't seem to be this magic transformation to suddenly being able to burn fat exclusively while exercising above 90% of maximum heart rate. At 70% of maximum, I'm probably burning fat. But I don't seem able to keep it up for more than 50 miles. I have run three 100 mile races on low carb but was one of the last finishers while high-carb runners were finished and long gone by the time I crossed the finish line.

Even for a simple 12k race I have to carb up. I tried running it one year while sticking to low-carb and eeked in at barely under 2 hours - one of my worst times ever. The following year I carbed up and had 2 carb gel packs and did it in 1:37. The next year I carbed up and had 3 carb gel packs and did it in 1:30. Carbs make a big difference when I run, period. Walking, even briskly, it easy on low-carb, though.

BTW, the Power Bar carb gels ("Power Gels") actually taste decent.

I just recently started BFL and I HAD to up my cals and carbs. I can't do the required workouts properly on LC. To go to muscle failure, I NEED carbs, and when I first started and was trying to still stay LC, I almost passed out a few times bc I couldn't do it. I switched and am more of a "moderate carb" now, edging my way up the carb ladder, and now my workouts work. I'm a fat chick, but I can work out like a muscular man now, and I honestly think it comes from increasing my carbs. I center carbs around pre- and post-workout meals and have them earlier in the morning, then carb/cal taper for the end of the day, but other than that, my body is about 1,000 times happier on 60 g carbs than it was on 20.

I do understand what you guys are saying, the difference between atheletes and daily excercisers, which is what I am. It's interesting though. I still think the article is overstated and as a daily excerciser who is very active (swims, weights, runs 5 miles, elliptical 5 miles, depending on the day) I would expect to notice some inability to do these things on low carb....? But I don't.
I guess it's that extra something that makes someone an athelete. :-)
Donna

I do my daily workouts on low-carb. However, I seem to average around 60g a day as I am in the later stages of Atkins.

Gah. What a load of garbage.

#10: Low carbohydrate diets leave you mentally drained

Not true. Almost every qualified doctor in the country will tell you that you need to feed your children PROTEIN, not CARBS, for breakfast, because CARBS make them slower and with decreased brain function at school. The tendency in the US to feed our kids sugary crap for breakfast is why many schools now offer breakfast in the cafeteria, to circumvent having a bunch of little zombies wandering around all day.

#9 Low carbohydrate diets trigger premature muscle fatigue during exercise

Nope. Muscles are built of protein, not carbs. And frankly, with regard to the runners the article is geared towards, maybe they need to step back and look at their output, rather than their intake. I personally don't need glycogen that will take me out past a 2 1/2 hour workout.

#8 Low carbohydrate diets compromise immune function

According to WHO? The doctor quoted in the article did research on how immune function in *athletes* varies. The author of this article is simple taking huge, grotesque leaps between the study and the generalization.

#7 Low carbohydrate diets affect mood

If I pop up and down on carbs, yep, I'm a booger bear to be around. But if I eat a balanced, steady amount of protein, carbs, and fat, I have far LESS mood swings than I ever did before.

#5 Low carbohydrate diets slow muscle recovery

Huh. Then why do all trainers tell you to eat protein after a workout to aid your body's recovery from the workout? Because muscles are built with PROTEIN. All a carb binge will do after a workout, is undo the effort that you just put into it.

I can't even go on with this.