Hello,
Thanks for asking your question. If you are looking for more
information, please do so via the answer clarification option and I
will be happy to explain or expand any of my research.
You asked the following question:
“I am a happy Atkins dieter. However, I serve in the military and may
be exposed to severe circumstances that will require long physical
work (e.g. walk 80 miles etc.)
I would like to know whether the Atkins diet can make that difficult
or impossible; and whether eating carbs prior to these activities can
solve the problem.”
Here is some information addressing your concern. Most of the
information is in the context of athletes who are active low-carb
dieters.
From the Atkins Center:
“As a runner, I'm used to carb loading before competitive events. Will
following the Atkins Nutritional Approach impact my endurance?
It is a misconception that carb-loading is the best way to prepare
yourself for endurance exercise. Although an overabundance of carbs
might give you an initial burst of energy, that surge can then lead to
a sharp drop in your blood sugar—resulting in fatigue--later in your
workout. This isn’t to say that you should eliminate carbs from your
diet, but endurance athletes will do better by consuming moderate
amounts of nutrient-dense, unrefined carbohydrates, found in foods
such as kale, spinach and broccoli, to ensure stable blood sugar
throughout a workout.
A 1994 study of well-trained cyclists demonstrated the principle that
a controlled carb diet contributes to improved endurance. Subjects on
a 7 percent carbohydrate diet were able to pedal nearly twice as long
as those whose diet consisted of 74 percent carbs.
If you are contemplating switching to a lower-carb eating plan, do so
during training, never right before a race. It should take your body
about two weeks to adjust, so don’t worry if you don’t experience
extra energy immediately. The amount of carbohydrate you should
consume also relates to your percentage of body fat. If you are
overweight, stay on the lowest level of carb consumption that suits
your needs while still allowing you to lose weight. On the other hand,
if your weight is normal, simply stick to vegetables, whole grains,
berries and other fruits low in sugar and other healthful complex
carbs, avoiding junk foods and refined sugar.”
http://atkinscenter.com/helpatkins/faqs/faqfitness/index.html
From Leonard Fitness:
“How would the human body react to a workout while on the Atkins diet?
For intense or endurance training, the Atkins diet is not ideal.
Because 1) you're depleting your body's primary source of energy, and
2) everything else will literally shut down over the long haul as a
direct result of depleted carb levels. Your energy and strength levels
while training will suffer!
It is unrealistic to assume that anyone could stay on the Atkins diet
for any significant amount of time, given the drawbacks/dangers of
this diet. It wouldn't take long for someone to realize that they
literally couldn't live without the consumption of carbohydrates.”
http://www.leonardfitness.com/atkinsdiet.htm
Here is a review of the Atkin’s Diet on weight-training athletes by
Dr. Life, M.D.:
“High-fat, low-carbohyrate diets like Atkins' may not only increase
our risk for heart disease and many cancers, they greatly reduce our
ability to sustain high-intensity exercise. Low liver and muscle
glycogen stores (the storage form of glucose), combined with the
slower rates we are able to convert fat and protein to glucose,
produce a feeling of sluggishness or staleness. This state, which is
characterized by increased difficulty recovering from workouts,
chronic fatigue, depression, insomnia, poor exercise performance,
frequent infections, injuries, and a loss of interest in sustaining
high levels of training, is often inappropriately blamed on "the
overtraining syndrome.”
The key to successful training, therefore, is to maintain adequate
stores of glycogen in our muscles and liver. This can only be achieved
by consuming a carbohydrate-balanced diet.
My advice - stay away from the Atkins Diet and stick with 6 meals a
day with each one consisting of a portion of lean protein and a
portion of complex carbohydrates. You won't go wrong because you will
not only gain muscle mass and strength while you shed body fat, you
will also improve your overall mental and physical health and prevent
many serious diseases. “
http://www.betterbar.com/atkins.html
Here in the Active-Low Carb Forum, a discussion on weight training and
low-carb diets are explained in detail. It does suggest a role for
carb-loading:
“KETOGENIC DIETING AND ATHLETES
If, by using the ketogenic diet, we've created a fat burning machine
that will:
Still function perfectly fine,
Will make and preserve necessary glucose,
Will not store fat easily,
Won't raise cholesterol,
What else could there possibly be to say about the diet and why isn't
everyone using it?
The first point to address is using the ketogenic diet along with
weightlifting or other exercise.
While we've created a fat furnace of sorts and the body functions
optimally during daily activities, muscles need glucose and/or stored
glycogen to be at their very best. This is why we must incorporate a
period of carbohydrate loading to refill or even overfill muscle
glycogen stores so they have the energy needed to function optimally.
If you're not exercising this carbohydrate loading period is not
necessary. But if you're not exercising, you're also not following my
recommendations for proper weight loss.
Earlier I stated that liver glycogen stores are gone in 12-36 hours
after beginning the ketogenic diet. Muscle, however, retains its
stored glycogen, even after liver glycogen is gone. This is great!
With liver glycogen gone we use fatty acids and ketone bodies as fuels
and muscle retains glycogen for physical activity. One problem…
When we hammer our muscles in the gym on a daily basis, the glycogen
in them also gets used up and because our dietary carbohydrates are so
low the glycogen isn't replaced to proper, maximally optimal levels.
This is where the carbohydrate loading comes in.
THE CARB LOAD
Very simply, we follow a ketogenic diet for 5 1/2 days per week and
for the remaining 1 1/2 days we eat a typical high carbohydrate diet.
During the 1 1/2 days of high carbohydrate eating our muscles will
supercompensate with glycogen and while we're also causing liver
glycogen to refill and insulin to be secreted like crazy, this 36 hour
period is not long enough for the body to store any appreciable fat.
What did I just say? I said you can go nuts for 36 hours a week after
5 1/2 days of watching calories and eating a ketogenic diet, without
any fear of getting fat because of it. And as an actual survivor and
thrive on this diet I can tell you that those 36 hours are absolutely
great!
Eat carbs like there's no tomorrow and don't worry about calories but
don't exceed 36 hours or you'll start laying down fat like crazy.
Here's what I do when I'm on the ketogenic diet
Sunday through Friday at lunch I keep my calories at 2000 (10 times my
body weight) per day. At supper on Friday I start my carb up, right
after my workout (if your workout doesn't fall on Friday don't sweat
it).
I then eat a grand total of approximately 2000 additional calories
above my daily goal of 2000 calories for a total of 4000 calories on
Friday.
On Saturday I consume approximately 5500 calories with carbohydrates
making up approximately 60-70% of my dietary intake.
When I wake up Sunday I go right back to the ketogenic diet.
It takes time for the body to refill the muscle with glycogen but by
Sunday night or Monday morning my muscles feel pumped and full. My
best performance in the gym is between Sunday and Thursday of every
week. As I go through workout after workout between Sunday and
Thursday I use up muscle glycogen. By Friday my workouts are
suffering, just in time to refill again come Friday night.”
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16165
Please use any answer clarification before rating this answer. I will
be happy to explain or expand on any issue you may have.
Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.
Links:
Here is an active forum discussing the issue of carb-loading while on
a low-carb diet:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?s=f3ac1723452f9883dea158ebff1e0f01&forumid=52
The Atkins Center:
http://atkinscenter.com
Search Strategy:
Using Google, FAST, Inktomi, Teoma (all via Hotbot.com)
adkins diet exercise
adkins diet training
adkins diet athlete |
