Adkins/low carb diets and running

Greg said:

hello folks. Just wondering if anyone follows a low carb diet while participating in a serious
running program. Do the lack of carbs create problems or does the body compensate? Thanks.

This is a topic like tell me the best running shoe. Take google and run it against atkins for
rec.running. Lots of opinions.

From my opinion porch it sucks for endurance running. If you want to run and lose weight eat
balanced (toss out simple carbs and ugly fat) and try to eat a few less calories and the weight
will melt off slowly and in a healthy way.

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

Greg said:

hello folks. Just wondering if anyone follows a low carb diet while participating in a serious
running program. Do the lack of carbs create problems or does the body compensate? Thanks.

I'm an ultra runner and my diet is relatively low carb compared to most runners but I do consume
adequate carbs while running.

--
- The Trailrunner

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I've been on Atkins for about 3 or 4 months now. I don't follow it strictly (anywhere from 30-70
carbs on a day). The only problem I had, after awhile, was that I felt bad when I did morning runs.
It took me about 3 weeks to figure out that I needed to eat something before I went out and ran.
Once I started doing that I felt great and was running strong again. I'm not doing a major amount of
miles yet (16 last week), but I'll be working up to 20 or more shortly.

My advice...lower your carb intake, but don't do the induction phase. Do phase 2 and you should see
lots of weight loss. I saw 2-3 pounds every 2 week. Now I'm just maintaining. I suspect in the
summer I'll be below my goal weight (170), with all the activities I plan on doing.

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Quoted message said:

hello folks. Just wondering if anyone follows a low carb diet while participating in a serious
running program. Do the lack of carbs create problems or does the body compensate? Thanks. -greg

The Trailrunner said:

Greg said:

hello folks. Just wondering if anyone follows a low carb diet while participating in a serious
running program. Do the lack of carbs create problems or does the body compensate? Thanks.

I'm an ultra runner and my diet is relatively low carb compared to most runners but I do consume
adequate carbs while running.

What do you consider low if you had to estimate percent? Subtracting out the carbs what percent of
the remaining are fat and Protein? Where and what kind of fat?

Out of curiosity, is this eating regimen Oked by your cardiologist?

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

Doug Freese said:

The Trailrunner wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm an ultra runner and my diet is relatively low carb compared to most runners but I do consume
adequate carbs while running.

What do you consider low if you had to estimate percent? Subtracting out the carbs what percent of
the remaining are fat and Protein? Where and what kind of fat?

I don't have a clue but I'm guessing 60% of my normal daily calories come from fat/protein. I eat
virtually no grains/starch, other than the occasional hamburger bun & french fries :-), and very
little fruit. I do eat a fair amount of vegetables but tend to consume (lean) meat by the pound. The
one exception is my pre long run meal where I will have pasta and/or baked potato with my steak and
ice cream. I used to get my carbs from malt and hops, but when I stopped indulging I just never
replaced the source.

Quoted message said:

Out of curiosity, is this eating regimen Oked by your cardiologist?

As far as my cardiologist goes, other than the VT, my arteries, BP and all other heart/circulatory
systems were those of a 20YO. He was jealous! Don't get me wrong, I eat pretty healthy with proper
preparation and freshness. I just don't have carbo type foods with most meals or for snacks. And at
6', 155 lbs, I can eat anything and as much of of it as I want so when I do indulge in double
chocolate brownies, I don't worry about it. And I do woof down the carbs while running.

--
- The Trailrunner

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The Trailrunner said:

I don't have a clue but I'm guessing 60% of my normal daily calories come from fat/protein.

Sounds like you're closer to the 40/30/30 Sear's Zone split than Atkins but what's in a name.

Quoted message said:

I eat virtually no grains/starch,

I can see avoiding processed grains since much of the good stuff has been removed but no whole
grains? Since the term starch gets tossed around as both good and bad, what do you consider starch?

I would guess I'm 60-65% carbs to include pasta and lots of vegetables and not enough fruit. Beef
maybe once a week with lots of chicken, fish and to keep Perdy off the unemployment line, an
occasional pork roast. If I've changed anything in the last 5 years it's more fat. The night before
a significant race I'll do the pasta and vegetables with lots of olive oil. A lot to be said for fat
loading before endurance races. The morning before a long run/race, assuming the race is not a 4 am
start, I'll have bacon, eggs and pancakes.

Quoted message said:

and very little fruit.

Again why? Insulin sensitive or dislike the taste?

Quoted message said:

The one exception is my pre long run meal where I will have pasta and/or baked potato with my
steak and ice cream.

There's help for you yet. 😉 I assume you also consume significant carbs during your races? If
you're stoking up on carbs before endurance work, does it not suggest your daily 40% is less than
ideal? Or asked differently, is your eating style for weight control, health or just taste?

Quoted message said:

I used to get my carbs from malt and hops, but when I stopped indulging I just never replaced
the source.

I haven't got that much religion. If I gave up malt and hops I'd be damn near perfect(excluding
morality, so heaven is questionable)). 😉

Quoted message said:

And at 6', 155 lbs, I can eat anything and as much of of it as I want so when I do indulge in
double chocolate brownies, I don't worry about it.

True for most of us on the circuit but in all honesty if abused( I'm not suggesting you but in
the general sense) we can still be doing harm. Too many people tend to equate thin with healthy.
While keeping one's weight down does remove some dangers it does not imply invincibility as some
like to think.

I've shrunk to 6' 1/2", lost about an inch, and hit the scales at 175 +/- with training. At one time
I hit 165 and even my fellow trail runners wanted to know if I was dying and could they fight over
my shoes and Gortex running togs.

I would sure like to see more free range meat(zero chemicals to induce poundage) and organic plants.
Contrary to what some health people try to suggest, I'd bet many of our human maladies would
evaporate with the disappearance of chemical growth.

--
Doug Freese "Caveat Lector" [email hidden]

Doug Freese said:

The Trailrunner wrote:

Quoted message said:

I can see avoiding processed grains since much of the good stuff has been removed but no
whole grains? Since the term starch gets tossed around as both good and bad, what do you
consider starch?

When I have grains I try to have whole grains. I use the term starch to distinguish between grains
and non grain carbs such as potatoes.

Quoted message said:

Again why? Insulin sensitive or dislike the taste?

No particular reason. I don't snack a lot so I tend to only have fruit/juice in the morning.

Quoted message said:

There's help for you yet. 😉 I assume you also consume significant carbs during your races? If
you're stoking up on carbs before endurance work, does it not suggest your daily 40% is less than
ideal? Or asked differently, is your eating style for weight control, health or just taste?

I load up on carbs before long runs mainly because I'm just loading up. I would prefer to load up on
steak, but that can get expensive! So pasta/potatoes smothered in butter/sour cream gets me the
calories at a fraction of the cost. I grew up in a situation where almost all of our food was home
grown/raised/caught/killed and consisted of a wide variety of vegetables, some fruit, chicken/eggs
and some beef/pork, lots of seafood (grew up on the Chesapeake Bay) and game and did not include
much grains/"starch". So I guess I've just continued my childhood eating pattern, except that West
Coast seafood sucks (actually all store bought seafood sucks compared with what one pulls out of the
water themselves). At least I didn't grow up on Big Macs :-)

--
- The Trailrunner

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