Atkins and triathlon?

Quoted message said:

I'm a newbie and am wondering if there is anyone out there doing atkins low-card diet and
triathlon. Any pros and cons? Thanks.

There is a rather in depth and fairly active thread on the subject of swimming and Atkins
going on over at R.S.S. IMO Atkins is a severe handicap in any sport particularly endurance
based sports. Without going into the nitty gritty, what are people doing the day(s) before a
race CARBO LOADING. What are people eating/drink during IM's, marathons etc. CARBS. I've not
seen many people bringing along a plate of bacon and eggs, although fat intake during
endurance sports is probably a good thing. From the personal experiance file. My brother,
not an endurance athlete, recently dropped Atkins after suffering from several days of
diahrea and cramping while being on it for 10 days or so. However my mother in law, probably
not following it as strictly as my brother, has had no ill effects.

~Matt

Regarding this issue, I recently read:
sportsmedicine.about.comaa080803a 2.htmOpen ↗ which sums up what a lot of other
sports physiologists and sports nutrition experts are saying regarding the long term effects of high
protein diets.

I am just as ignorant as the rest (or probably more so), but there's a lot of conflicting claims and
very little empirically backed claims to the high protein camp.

Hopefully, we have an expert here that can make some sense of this for us all as this issue comes up
again and again.

Tom <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm a newbie and am wondering if there is anyone out there doing atkins low-card diet and
triathlon. Any pros and cons? Thanks.

I'm NOT an expert on nutrition or training......this is just my personal experience as a
recreational, middle-of-the-pack triathlete who started doing lowcarb a year ago because I felt my
high-carb diet was no longer healthy, and I felt tired all the time:

PROS: When I'm not training really hard (less than 10 mile runs, 1 hour swims, 1.5 hour rides) I do
a modified Atkins based on protein, veggies, good fats and nuts, and some fruit and dairy. I had no
problems after an initial 2-week adjustment period of bonking on runs where I assume my body was
getting accustomed to burning more fat for fuel, after which I could run 8 or 9 miles on almost no
carbs without running out of energy. I don't eat any bread, pasta, rice, sugar, or potatoes and I've
seen numerous benefits that I think come from consuming more protein and good fats, and less sugar.
Now I eat a *lot* of protein and vegetables (they go down easier with a little olive oil and butter,
let me tell you!) and feel much better and a few pounds skinnier, although weight-loss was not my
goal. Plus I think the increased protein helps my recovery time between workouts. Also I discovered
I have low-grade wheat and dairy allergies.

CONS: I'm not all that fast though (never have been in 15 years of doing these things), and I don't
know what would happen if I tried to seriously train for speed on low-carb. Also, getting into the
final phase of training for a Half-ironman last spring I ate a lot of carbs (fruit,
energy-replacement bars and liquids)......I just assumed I needed more easily-digested calories and
salts and electrolytes than I was getting. On race days I do eat carbs for breakfast and during the
race if needed. My opinion is that strict Atkins is geared towards people who need to lose serious
weight for health reasons, and established triathletes don't fall into this category. Also, I don't
see how you could avoid carbs if you are training very long and hard. And then there are the elites
and front-of-the-pack people who are trying to optimize/fine-tune their performance---for them
nutrition is a science, and not a low-carb one.

Keep in mind you don't have to do Atkins to do a low-carb diet.....you don't need a Harvard study to
tell you it's OK to avoid Chips Ahoy and Wonder Bread. You may want to google
alt.support.diet.low-carb......many there are struggling with a ton of weight but there's a small
subgroup who are endurance athletes who have given advice on this topic. Try googling that newsgroup
for "marathon" for some interesting hits.

Finally, you will save yourself from a lot of boring conversations if you stop using the word
"Atkins"......people immediately attack because they think you're living off bacon grease......you
may want to say "low-carb" instead. Just my $.02.

Long and rambling but I hope it helps.....

Susan in LA

There is a guy on rec.sport.swimming that is doing Atkins and working out (swimming and ground). He
is giving reports on his progress and findings. I have done Atkins and found it to be ok for light
workouts. The first two weeks are hard, but after that it gets much easier. I seem to be keeping
much of my muscle, but I don't really need to lose that much.

Enjoy, Curt

<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm a newbie and am wondering if there is anyone out there doing atkins low-card diet and
triathlon. Any pros and cons? Thanks.

I had no problems after an

Quoted message said:

initial 2-week adjustment period of bonking on runs where I assume my body was getting accustomed
to burning more fat for fuel,

I have to jump on this because it drives me crazy. In his book Atkins presents arguments that look
like you are either burning fat or you are burning carbohydrates. Nothing could be farther from the
truth. But because it seems like Atkins said it many believe it. I say seems because I can't believe
anyone who has gone through there first exercise physiology or anatomy and physiology class could
believe this. Carbohydrates and fat burn together. The ratio changes based on the intensity of
activity. The idea that your body doesn't burn fat, forgot how to burn fat etc. is absurd. You would
not be able to complete a 5-mile run if this were the case. There is also no imperical evidence that
you can train your body to burn more fat instead of carbohydrates (even though many have tried).
Your body is a complex mechanism that requires fat and carbohydrates to be burned together for
energy. When your body does not get enough carbohydrates through diet, it synthesizes it through
protein to maintain a necessary ratio. So an idea stating if I don't eat carbohydrates I will only
be burning fat or mostly fat does not work. The brain can only function on carbohydrates. That's why
you start feeling a lightheaded just before you bonk. Then as you go further it begins to effect the
rest of your body.

Quoted message said:

Keep in mind you don't have to do Atkins to do a low-carb diet.....you don't need a Harvard study
to tell you it's OK to avoid Chips Ahoy and Wonder Bread. >

Very true. If people said a diet that avoids simple sugars rather than a diet that is low carb
people would honestly look at things differently. Just look at something as simple as the food guide
pyramid. Where do simple carbohydrates fall, Fat oil sweets. A red flag that goes up in most peoples
minds when followers of the diets want to throw almost all carbohydrates out the window. Complex
carbohydrates provide a slower constant release into the blood stream. This type of carbohydrate
does not cause the problems. Too much Simple carbohydrate does. We have known this for many years it
is nothing new.

Well I will get off my soap Box now Mike

"Mike Lana" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had no problems after an

Quoted message said:

initial 2-week adjustment period of bonking on runs where I assume my

body

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was getting accustomed to burning more fat for fuel,

I have to jump on this because it drives me crazy. In his book Atkins presents arguments that look
like you are either burning fat or you are burning carbohydrates. Nothing could be farther from
the truth. But because it seems like Atkins said it many believe it. I say seems because I can't
believe anyone who has gone through there first exercise physiology or anatomy and physiology
class could believe this. Carbohydrates and fat burn together. The ratio changes based on the
intensity of activity.

I don't believe all the Atkins "theories" myself, but I do have to wonder..........why did I bonk
for 2 weeks every workout and then, almost overnight, I could run 12 miles on almost no carbs, no
problem? It seems like there was *something* going on there........

Also, I realize the body is a very stable metabolic machine and can't be tricked into
favoring/ignoring certain fuels, but I *did* lose a few pounds of pesky fat that never went away
through training and low-fat eating, even though I was eating tons of olive oil, cheese, nuts, etc.
However, it's possible that I'm just eating fewer calories even though it doesn't seem like it.

Quoted message said:

The idea that your body doesn't burn fat, forgot how to burn fat etc. is absurd. You would not be
able to complete a 5-mile run if this were the case. There is also no imperical evidence that you
can train your body to burn more fat instead of carbohydrates (even though many have tried). Your
body is a complex mechanism that requires fat and carbohydrates to be burned together for energy.
When your body does not get enough carbohydrates through diet, it synthesizes it through protein
to maintain a necessary ratio. So an idea stating if I don't eat carbohydrates I will only be
burning fat or mostly fat does not work. The brain can only function on carbohydrates. That's why
you start feeling a lightheaded just before you bonk. Then as you go further it begins to effect
the rest of your body.

Quoted message said:

Keep in mind you don't have to do Atkins to do a low-carb diet.....you

don't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

need a Harvard study to tell you it's OK to avoid Chips Ahoy and Wonder Bread. >

Very true. If people said a diet that avoids simple sugars rather than a diet that is low carb
people would honestly look at things differently. Just look at something as simple as the food
guide pyramid. Where do simple carbohydrates fall, Fat oil sweets. A red flag that goes up in most
peoples minds when followers of the diets want to throw almost all carbohydrates out the window.
Complex carbohydrates provide a slower constant release into the blood stream. This type of
carbohydrate does not cause the problems. Too much Simple carbohydrate does. We have known this
for many years it is nothing new.

True........but a lot of intelligent people, including me, thought it was OK to live off bread,
pasta, and sugar because they're low-fat, so the message is not getting fully transmitted....or
received......or something! And I still think a vegetable salad with grilled chicken and fat-based
dressing is a more nutritious meal than whole-wheat pasta for most people. Although if you need a
ton of calories I guess you could eat both.....

I just started training for a spring marathon and half-ironman so if anyone cares I will report on
how the low/moderate-carb thing plays out...........

Susan in LA

Susan in LA said:

True........but a lot of intelligent people, including me, thought it was OK to live off bread,
pasta, and sugar because they're low-fat, so the message is not getting fully transmitted....or
received......or something! And I still think a vegetable salad with grilled chicken and fat-based
dressing is a more nutritious meal than whole-wheat pasta for most people. Although if you need a
ton of calories I guess you could eat both.....

I just started training for a spring marathon and half-ironman so if anyone cares I will report on
how the low/moderate-carb thing plays out...........

Sure, I think that would be great to track your performance. Good luck.

I have not tried the Atkins diet, it just doesn't seem very nutritious. But I did stop eating a lot
of breads and cereal (I used to eat only whole grains starches), and felt a whole lot better.

I found that I thought much better, after I got rid of most of my wheat products. I never wanted to
do that before, but one day, I just didn't want to eat them any more, and it continued on, and I
started to eat more protein (I never used to eat much protein) and I felt a whole lot better. I
wasn't as hungry, and I stopped craving as much sugar. However, when my protein intake goes down and
my starch goes up, I do crave candy and breads.

Also, I did find that I was able to run a lot better, and do much better at weights, when I ate this
way. However, I am not sure how long that would have gone on for. I injured myself a few times, and
I stopped running for 6 months.