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Low Carb Didn't Work For Me
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I thought I'd give a low-carb diet a try because it was January and because I'd heard so many good things . . .

After six weeks of eating substantial amounts of fat, protein, vegetables and some fruit at every meal, I lost about 5 pounds (actually this was almost instant, so it was probably mostly water) but I was hungry all the time. Ravenous. I would need to snack every two hours (cheese, nuts, pork crackling (!), full fat yogurt). My training load is moderately high (currently about 9-10 hours a week of running and spinning), and I know I was fat-burning during the sessions (could smell the ketones) so the diet was working properly. But it felt like I needed a ridiculously high volume of food to make up for the lost carb element, or something about the the diet was messing with my satiety hormones.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar. I'd love to become more fat-adapted but not at the expense of constantly feeling hungry.
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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The description of your situation sounds completely normal. That you are hungry is a consequence of your weight-loss endeavor, not that you are consuming more fat and protein than carbohydrate.

There is no way that I am aware of to make the body use itself for fuel that doesn't concurrently cause discomfort. Dieting is no fun for anyone; that is why most people fail. Congratulations on losing 5 lbs. in 6 weeks while exercising at least 1.25 hours every day!

DFL > DNF > DNS
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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I don't think low carb diets work very well for people who are really active. The body runs on carbs. I think to lose weight, you should probably choose which carbs are best, like veggies and fruits and whole grains over processed stuff. But it never made any sense to me to eat really bad foods like full fat dairy and bacon etc and cut out things like sweet potatoes and brown rice. It all comes down to number of calories used vs eaten.

There are multiple threads on here about weight loss. Suggestions of what has worked for people in the past. I suggest you take a look at some of those for ideas if you're trying to lose weight.

Good luck.
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [nad] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks to you both!

I'm not really interested in losing weight, in fact I wouldn't mind gaining a couple more pounds of muscle. I'm building for an IM and want as much as possible, to rely on fat stores rather than quick-carb replacement for long sessions and races. Many advocates of high-fat, low-carb fueling have claimed that they don't feel hungry on this type of diet but that wasn't my experience at all.
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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Low carb or low low low carb?

There is a professional triathlete that went on the high fat/protein and very low carb diet. As far as I know, 3 years later, he still isn't racing his body got so wrecked. I don't know if it is a direct relationship to his diet but I do know the timing makes me pause. Not sure what he would say.

I've personally found that when I get below about 40% carbs I don't function well so that is my lower limit. When I'm doing a lot of training I shoot for 50%. I do think it is individual to an extent. I worked with a dietician for a while that insisted I go 65% carbs and I just wasn't losing weight. When I dropped down it started to come off.

Find the right balance for your body and enjoy your sandwiches! :-)

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce
Last edited by: JenSw: Feb 15, 13 11:34
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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Like Jen said. There's a balance. I think you can gain muscle w/ protein in diet, just not at the expense of carbs.
I think people who gain muscle usually go to a lower fat diet.

The not needing supplements in racing doesn't work for most people. You'll feel better and go faster if you use them in racing. If you want to train your body to use fat as fuel, there is a theory that training when you've been fasting helps your body to learn how to do this. for example - first workout of the day before breakfast. I've heard some people say it's not worth it, because the workout isn't as good of quality. You'll probably have to experiment to see what works for you.

Good luck.
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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My husband and I did a paleo-based challenge in January called "The Whole 30." We did a similar diet to what you're describing (no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no alcohol and no legumes.) We were supposed to do three meals of protein + fat and lots of veggies, but they recommended doing a small pre and post workout snack if you needed it. (Because it's Paleo, they were mostly talking to cross-fitters, but there were a fair number of runners/endurance folks on their forum as well.) The main advice they gave if you were hungry between meals was to make those meals bigger and make sure you were eating enough fat.

I definitely had energy lulls as my body transitioned to the new way of eating, but after about two weeks I really didn't feel hungry between meals. Theoretically, that's the whole fat-adapted thing, but who knows. I didn't want to go into ketosis, so I was pretty diligent about making sure I was eating a lot of starchy veggies (So. Many. Sweet Potatoes!) I've actually been really happy with this way of eating and have largely continued it, save for a few special occasion treats here and there. I'm not currently training as much as you are, so as I ramp up, I expect I'll need to add stuff back in, but we'll see.


If you are interested in continuing down the low-carb path, I highly recommend the book "It Starts With Food." I found it to be very helpful.


M


------------------------------------------------------------
The beatings will continue until morale improves
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I know I was fat-burning during the sessions (could smell the ketones)


Is this the ammonia smell? Or is that from protein breakdown?


I'm pro lower carb/higher fat, but want to point out that you're burning fat during all levels of exercise...

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I'm building for an IM and want as much as possible, to rely on fat stores rather than quick-carb replacement for long sessions and races.


The majority of this fat adaption will come from training.


As I said, I'm with Jen on our bodies not necessarily needing the fifty bazillion grams of carbs that at one point were recommended for athletes. However, if you are IM training you do need a decent amount.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [mdraegerpnw] [ In reply to ]
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I wasn't eating starchy veggies/rice either, so maybe that's where the plan fell short. But it was very good in getting me off my habitual bottle of coke at lunch and the occasional chocolate-cherry scone at breakfast. Sigh . . . maybe when I'm into very high volume I can sneak that one back in. I have immense sympathy for anybody who is perpetually on a diet after this, though. Obsessing about food/meals/'safe' recipes/snacks takes a ridiculous amount of brainspace. This doesn't seem like it ought to be a normal human behavior (well, ok, except for IMers and ultradistance folk).

(ps the ketone smell was more like nail-polish remover, it would kick in after about 90 minutes. Accompanied by a not-unpleasant spaciness in the head. There's still a bit too much fat there for my body to go after the muscles :> . . . )
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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I tried paleo/primal for a couple of months over the winter of 2010/11 and put on weight - same as you, starving all the time.

It turns out I can eat my bodyweight in steak and still feel hungry, but I'm happy with a fairly small bowl of rice and some veggies.

I lose weight on high carb, low fat, moderate protein. It keeps me satisfied, and I only tend to run into trouble when I start believing all the "eat fat and protein for satiety" hype. My sister in law - who is sort of half-assedly becoming a fitness instructor and believes Rachael Ray is some kind of messenger from god - insists I'm just trying to be different, but I know what works for my body.

Lowest weight this year this morning after a wonderful curried fish and basmati rice dinner last night!

Cheers!

-mistress k

__________________________________________________________
ill advised racing inc.
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [kiki] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
I wasn't eating starchy veggies/rice either, so maybe that's where the plan fell short. But it was very good in getting me off my habitual bottle of coke at lunch and the occasional chocolate-cherry scone at breakfast. Sigh . . . maybe when I'm into very high volume I can sneak that one back in. I have immense sympathy for anybody who is perpetually on a diet after this, though. Obsessing about food/meals/'safe' recipes/snacks takes a ridiculous amount of brainspace. This doesn't seem like it ought to be a normal human behavior (well, ok, except for IMers and ultradistance folk).

(ps the ketone smell was more like nail-polish remover, it would kick in after about 90 minutes. Accompanied by a not-unpleasant spaciness in the head. There's still a bit too much fat there for my body to go after the muscles :> . . . )


The Mark's Daily Apple website recommends an extra 100g carb of each extra hour of cardio. Not sure how you decided how much CHO to eat but that's a thought, should you want to try the low carb-ness again.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [mistressk] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
It turns out I can eat my bodyweight in steak and still feel hungry, but I'm happy with a fairly small bowl of rice and some veggies.


Vegetarian here but often if I eat a high-protein/fat, low CHO dinner, I end up being hungry later and go specifically for a bowl of cereal or a pbj.
I'm starting to trust that my body knows what it wants. (also not trying to lose any weight)


In Reply To:
My sister in law - who is sort of half-assedly becoming a fitness instructor and believes Rachael Ray is some kind of messenger from god

LOL



maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Low Carb Didn't Work For Me [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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LOL i guess my poor body isn't as primal as I'd like to imagine and *wants* that hit of carbs -- i actually ate boiled potatoes tonight along with some fish and they tasted freaking amazing.

Honestly I know I'll work the kinks out of the sit-down meals -- fewer carbs than I used to eat but I'll have the right ones as and when necessary. I'll stay away from wheat because I haven't missed it all. The sugar's a big bye-bye too.

As for road food, I can make my own bars out of peanut butter, coconut, oatmeal, raisins and maybe some whey powder. We'll see how it goes. But I'd be happy to never take another gel in my life -- I know the best racers in the world rely on them completely, but I'm nowhere near that and would like to see if I can train without them.

Thanks for all the advice!
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