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