I Hit The Wall...Hard.

After two days of very low carb, shrimp, beef, coconut oil, and vegetables, I made the classic mistake of runners and marathoners. A morning session of 60 minutes of circuit training with weights (4 sets to failure) and jogging, followed by an evening session of 60 minutes interval training, depleted my glycogen stores. My average carb intake was 35-40 grams a day. Don't try this at home. No fun, kids.

I could barely get out of bed this morning. This was my first time hitting the wall. I usually take my own professional advice and eat enough unrefined carbs to fuel exercise performance (like one of the following, 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup blackberries, 1/2 a banana, a slice of whole wheat bread, 1/2 cup sweet potato). Vegetables alone will not cut it if you're doing the rough stuff.

Making a cup of tea was a monumental effort. I'm replacing my glycogen stores today. And resting. Breakfast was whole wheat bread with an ounce of cheddar and teaspoon of mayo. Mid morning snack will be oatmeal and fruit with protein powder. But I'm still exhausted, not to mention sore.

If you're going to perform some serious exercise don't do this: Hitting The Wall.

Low carbers beware. Stay in a moderate exercise range, or properly fuel for exercise intensity when doing programs like Power 90X Doubles. More on this when I've recovered.

Related links:

Matching Carbohydrate Intake To Activity Levels

Avoid hitting the wall.

Low carb diets may stress body too much, studies find

Low carb diets may stress body too much, studies find

Thursday, December 6, 2007

MESA, Ariz. — For most of the past decade, there was much hubbub about the Atkins and Zone diets. Both focus on quick, effective ways to lose weight through high protein and low carbohydrate foods. Today, many still swear by them.

However, research on these diets has been limited if nonexistent, until now. Arizona State University scientists from the departments of Nutrition and Exercise and Wellness along with other colleagues have been studying the diets since 2005, and find many biomarkers being negatively impacted by the severely low carbohydrate intake.

The ASU researchers Carol Johnston and Pamela Swan, along with collaborators Sherrie Tjonn and Andrea White, both registered dieticians, and Barry Sears, of the Inflammation Research Foundation and creator of the Zone diet, have published three papers during the last two years, appearing in Osteoporosis International, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and most recently in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

The biggest difference in these types of diets is the amount of carbohydrate prescribed. The Atkins diet entails very low carbohydrate, less than 20 grams daily, whereas the Zone promotes a more moderate intake of carbohydrates, up to 180 grams daily.

“The downside of severely low carbohydrate intake is that dieters go in to what’s called ketosis or the inefficiency of the body to oxidize fat,” said Johnston, chair and professor in the Department of Nutrition, School of Applied Arts and Sciences.

The term used to describe diets that produce this biological effect is ketogenic; hence, Atkins is a ketogenic, low carbohydrate (KLC) diet and the Zone diet is considered a nonketogenic low carbohydrate (NLC) diet.

With these studies, their research uncovered that the ketogenic diet may increase bone loss because of an increase in acid in the body and not enough intake of alkalizing minerals like potassium to neutralize this effect. In addition, a higher percentage of calcium was found in the urine of those on the KLC diet, leading the researchers to believe that the bones are “leaching” calcium.

“The public should realize that these diets have differing effects on biomarkers,” said Johnston. “Diets that severely restrict carbohydrates, particularly potassium-rich fruits and vegetables, may have deleterious effects on bones.”
Read More.

Good Calories, Bad Calories Take One - Carbohydrate Threshold

I planned a review of Gary Taubes book ‘Good Calories, Bad Calories’. Seems it’s already been reviewed six ways to Sunday. I decided to make references to it instead of reviewing it when its subject matter has relevance to what I want to write about.

The premise of Mr.Taubes’ book is that carbohydrates are unhealthy in the amounts recommended by the medical establishment, the US government, and the USDA food pyramid (the USDA Dietary Guidelines For Americans 2005 Chapter 7 states carbohydrates are part of a healthful diet).

"The AMDR for carbohydrates is 45 to 65 percent of total calories" or 900 to 1300 calories from carbohydrates for a daily calorie intake of 2000 calories. "Consequently, it is important to choose carbohydrates wisely. Foods in the basic food groups that provide carbohydrates—fruits, vegetables, grains, and milk—are important sources of many nutrients." From USDA Dietary Guidelines For Americans 2005 Chapter 7.

This is a startling contrast to many low carbohydrate advocates recommended carbohydrate levels that run as low as 20 grams a day (80 calories) on induction diet phases and 50 to 100 grams a day on Atkins For Life maintenance (200 or 400 calories a day).

And yet Taubes uncovered evidence that the low carbohydrate recommendations may be lower than necessary for good health. On page 159 of ‘Good Calories, Bad Calories’ Mr. Taubes actually states that one study showed even carbohydrate sensitive people could tolerate three times what Atkins recommended as a low end figure for maintenance.

When a researcher studying 286 atherosclerosis patients in which 90 percent had carbohydrate induced lipemia and an elevated sensitivity to carbohydrates “put his patients on a sugar-free diet with only five to six hundred calories of starches a day, both their trigyceride levels and their cholesterol lowered.”

Using this one index of what constitutes health or a healthy diet (for controlling lipemia, an indicator of heart disease risk) 500 to 600 calories of carbohydrates a day won’t harm you. That equates to a range of 125 to 150 grams of carbohydrates a day.

So what does this mean to healthy normal weight people pursuing fitness through aerobics and resistance training? Eat your damn oatmeal.

Seriously, if you’ve been exposed to the low carbohydrate message on the web lately you’ll realize we’re under pressure to become carbohydrate phobic in the same way we were pressured to be fat phobic by medicine, government, and big food for years. Both ends of the spectrum are unbalanced. Even going by Gary Taubes information listed above most of us, and particularly exercisers and athletes, can tolerate a lot more carbohydrates than the so-called low carbohydrate advocates preach.

There is evidence that exercise changes how carbohydrates eaten beforehand are used and how carbs eaten after weight training when muscle glycogen is depleted are used.

There is a big difference between sedentary or moderately active people eating a moderate to high carbohydrate diet of refined and unrefined carbohydrates, or overweight and obese people eating refined and processed carb indiscriminately, and serious exercisers and athletes who carefully carb load with unprocessed and unrefined carbohydrates like oatmeal and fruit for energy and performance. Taubes even admitted activity affected carbohydrate use as well as lowering cholesterol (page 14). Unfortunately I can’t find his reference on exercise and carbohydrate use.

But I found this:

”In the classic carbohydrate loading study of Begstrom et al. (1967), the ingestion of a high carbohydrate diet, following a period of relative carbohydrate deprivation, resulted in a marked increase (supercompensation) in muscle glycogen (to as high as 200 mmol * [kg.sup.-1] wet mass) and enhanced subsequent endurance exercise performance.” More.

And this:

“If you don't know by now that carbohydrates are important for exercise, you might want to take up a new hobby. Yes, the low-carb diets are currently all the rage, but those of you who have tried them can surely attest to the fact that your energy levels are much higher when eating some hearty, whole grains on a regular basis. Carbs are particularly of importance in endurance activities, such as cycling, running, or in this case, mountain biking.” More.

And this:
“To the average person who is not exercising, the principles of nutrient timing are not very important. Sure, glucose tolerance/insulin sensitivity is altered during the course of a day but these changes probably are not critical to determining one's dietary needs.

For these individuals (athletes), what and how much they eat is the most important thing. While nutrient timing isn't critical to the average person, its importance must not be underestimated in the athlete (including team sport athletes, endurance athletes, and weight trainers).” More.

I guess the bottom line in deciding how controlled you want to be about carbohydrate consumption is a matter of lifestyle, activity levels, and goals. If you’re sedentary or your only physical activity is a 30 to 45 minute session of moderate aerobic activity 3-4 days a week keeping your carbs under 100 grams a day (400 calories) is a viable option. Consuming under 75 grams (150 calories) is appropriate if you’re sedentary, overweight, or diabetic. But those carbohydrates should be those of maximal nutritional value including fruits, vegetables, a whole grains.
Not refined foods like potato chips, snack foods, desserts (including so-called low carb treats), candy, white bread, refined grains, etc).

But fit people who exercise intensely, be it mountain biking, bodybuilding, surfing, skating, or long distance running, need carbohydrates for energy and performance. Not to mention their burn rates won’t be the same as a couch potato. The beauty of exercise, serious bodybuilding aimed at gaining muscle mass in particular, is your energy needs are greater and you can eat more.

In a healthy, fit, non-diabetic person a one cup serving of potatoes at 138 calories, 32 carb grams and 3 fat grams served with a sirloin steak and salad isn’t going to mean a hill of beans health wise after an intense weight training or aerobics workout that burned 500 calories and depleted your muscle glycogen stores. It in fact is valuable to replace those glycogen stores for muscle repair, growth and adequate fuel reserves for the next workout.

Let’s put carbohydrates in perspective. Although our food supply is glutted with unhealthy refined and processed carbohydrates in serving sizes fit for giants there’s still plenty of healthy options that support a healthy lifestyle if eaten in appropriate serving sizes.

Portion control and calories still count for weight loss. There’s no way around this, not even the erroneous belief that lowering carbs totally negates the need to consider your calorie intake.

And this is not a black or white issue. Carbohydrate consumption is a rainbow spectrum. We have sedentary obese individuals suffering from an overload of refined carbohydrates and calories and the diseases associated with that lifestyle. We have fairly sedentary overweight individuals eating an average standard American diet flirting with illness or suffering milder cases of illness associated with excess. We have moderately active healthy people who exercise regularly and watch their calories and carbohydrates. And we have fit people, most striving to be fitter, who engage in intense or prolonged exercise and have a larger energy demand.

You cannot recommend the same diet or carbohydrate intake range for all of these groups.

One of the most persuasive arguments Gary Taubes made in his book was that it was a misguided and dangerous idea to recommend one set dietary policy – namely low fat - for the general public. Later studies bear out that low fat is of limited benefit to a healthy population and may actually be a harmful approach for many.

This is also why recommending a low carbohydrate diet to the general public is not a good idea either. It’s time to be precise when it comes to telling people what they should eat. Our diets should be specific to our personal needs. And a sweeping diet recommendation for a whole nation is illogical, possibly harmful, and negligent at best.

My carbohydrate threshold will not be the same as yours. Even if our lifestyles are similar our bodies and metabolism may not be. Some people are carbohydrate sensitive, some are not. The idea that a low carbohydrate lifestyle is healthy or appropriate for everyone at all phases of life is preposterous.

True or false?

1Carbohydrates provide the body with fuel for physical activity and organ function.

2Carbohydrates come from all types of foods, including bread, dairy, grains, fibers, starches and sugars.

3During digestion, the body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar).

4The glycemic index measures how quickly food is converted into blood sugar.

5Diets that include a lot of high-glycemic-index foods (foods broken down quickly) have been linked to an increased risk for diabetes and heart disease.

6The more fat a food contains, the faster its carbohydrates are converted to sugar.

7Finely ground grains have no more impact on the glycemic index than more coarsely ground grain.

8For optimal health, select carbohydrates that include whole grains such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice or whole oats.

SOURCE: Harvard School of Public Health

ANSWERS: 1. True; 2. True; 3. True; 4. True; 5. True; 6. False; 7. False; 8. True.

The Biggest Weight Loss Myth in History

We all knew it was true, at least those of us who have been successful at weight loss and finally keeping it off.

Calories count.

Whether it's low carb or low fat eating too much ultimately backfires. And now Anthony Colpo, author of the Great Cholesterol Con, says so too.

Maybe a few low carb advocates will follow suit and own up to the necessity of limiting calories just as Dr. Atkins stated in his "Atkins For Life". This would certainly be a valuable realization and tool for those still struggling to reach their goal weights.

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The Biggest Weight Loss Myth in History

Total Health Breakthroughs is a free, weekly natural health eNewsletter that offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul and is your complete source non-nonsense, natural health information.

Total Health Breakthroughs
October 30, 2007

By Anthony Colpo

I'm about to reveal the biggest and most counterproductive weight loss myth ever told. Pay close attention. What you are about to read could literally mean the difference between successfully losing weight and getting fatter than ever.

The myth in question is perpetrated by diet "experts" of all stripes. It is a cause of untold frustration and misery among dieters. It distracts people from doing what they really need in order to lose weight, and instead causes them to focus on the irrelevant.

So what is this myth?

It is the widely held belief that calories do not count or are of only minor importance when it comes to weight loss. Make no mistake: If you wish to lose weight, calories are everything! To successfully lose weight, you must burn more calories in a given time period than you take in, no matter what diet you are following.

Despite this, diet authors commonly advise us to forget about counting calories! No wonder most people fail dismally in their weight loss efforts! Read More Here.


The Great Cholesterol Con website

Carbohydrate Cycling Revisited & How The Body Loses Body Fat

Claudia Wilbourn IFBB Hall of Famer and Women's Bodybuilding Pioneer




















Matching Carbohydrate Intake To Activity Levels

Recently Katie P from Thin Enough To Go To The Gym asked:

Carol
I agree with not viewing carbs as evil. Like you, I don't do very well on 20-30g carbs because of how much I exercise.

Could you please remind me how you cycle your carbs and whether you match low/medium/high carb days to particular workouts.

I am doing my first BFL challenge after following a low carb eating plan for almost a year and I am finding controlling the carbs challenging.

My answer is that I do tend to cycle carbohydrates to match my workout load. A no exercise day is usually low carbohydrate (10 to 50 grams) as I’m not going to need carbs to fuel a workout. Mid-level workouts like playing soccer with my son, swimming, aerobic dance or any aerobic exercise of about one hour requires a medium carb intake (40-75 grams). On days I blast it and do Power 90X combined with an additional aerobics session (a program called Power 90X Doubles I did all summer) I particularly pay attention to eating adequate carbs (75-150 grams) to fuel a grueling workout schedule.

For an example of my workload check out this one hour Power 90X workout that’s typical of my program and includes 24 exercises in all: Power 90X Chest Shoulders Triceps Workout

At least a few low carb advocates and dieters will argue you do not need carbohydrates at all to fuel your workouts and that your body will use fat for fuel through a process called gluconeogenesis. But these people are not engaging in the levels of activity we’re talking about. They usually report workouts of low to moderate aerobics of less than one hour or low impact resistance training (or none at all). Relying on this mechanism to fuel intense workouts – especially one’s like Power 90X, Body For Life, endurance running, intense weight training, or long duration aerobics, is unnecessary. It forces the body to work harder to produce its fuel and lessens energy levels which lowers performance. The less intense your workouts, the less rewarding your results.

You can read more on my carbohydrate cycling experiences here.

I lost scale weight (from 124 down to 114) and body fat (7 percent lost) doing 3 months of Power 90X Doubles combined with carb cycling. Not to mention quite a few inches off my waist, hips, and thighs (my measurements are listed on my sidebar). It works for me.

And I enjoyed portion controlled servings of high carb foods like pizza, beer, whole wheat bread, sour dough bread, tortillas, apples, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, and other healthy but taboo foods to low carb dieters. The key is portion control and timing when carbs are eaten.

Most importantly, I added muscle mass of about 4 pounds which equates to roughly 200 calories burned daily just from having that added muscle. I'll wager those low carbers who don't do resistance training added no muscle to their bodies and might have lost some muscle mass.

I'll put together a few of my menus with my workout schedule soon to demonstrate better how I cycle carbs and post them.

By the way, I did Body For Life in 2000 after the birth of my son and lost fat while building muscle. I still have my Body For Life t-shirt. You’ll find it quite doable and effective I think.

Thanks for dropping by, Katie!
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How The Body Loses Body Fat

This brings up an excellent point many low carbohydrate advocates and dieters overlook. Active amateur and professional athletes including those who weight train or pursue bodybuilding have different energy needs than sedentary and moderately active people.

The physiological mechanism behind low carbohydrate weight loss theory is ketosis. Ketosis is one way the body uses body fat. The mechanism “is a stage in metabolism occurring when the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies which can be used by the body for energy.” Read more here.

But ketosis is not the only way to lose body fat. If it were moderate and high carbohydrate diets like Weight Watchers, Nutri-system, and The Dr. Oz Diet would not work at all. And we all know these diets work if you stick to them. My brother once lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers and kept it off while he stuck to their principles. He only gained it back when he returned to eating processed and junk foods, stopped exercising and ignored portion control.

The human body will lose body fat in several situations besides low carbohydrate induced ketosis:

Increased Energy Demands Including Exercise

Calorie Deficit

Increases In Metabolism Including Adding Muscle Mass

Illness and Wasting Diseases

Increased Energy Demands Including Exercise - It’s quite possible to lose body fat through increasing your energy demands alone. You will still have to be aware of your diet and eat within your daily energy needs (example: daily caloric requirement of 2000, daily calories consumed between 1800-2200).

The obvious method to increase the energy demands on your body is exercise. This can be through a combination of increased daily activity (taking the stairs instead of the elevator), aerobic exercise (treadmill, jogging, dance), and resistance training. As long as you burn more calories than your body requires you will lose body fat.

Calorie Deficit – This can be achieved through cutting calories alone or by limiting a macro-nutrient - carbohydrates, fat, or protein - as long as you do not increase consumption of other macro-nutrients (limiting protein is not recommended for healthy active individuals). Combined with exercise a caloric deficit is doubly effective.

One of the pitfalls of low carbohydrate diets when not combined with portion and calorie control or at least awareness of portion size is you can out strip your diet by eating too much. Dr. Atkins warned of this in his “Atkins For Life” book.

I read a LOT of blogs and I can remember reading one entry by a low carb dieter who went out to dinner after a brief fast and ate two slabs of prime rib with vegetables. One 12 ounce restaurant portion of prime rib is 1187 calories, 105 grams of fat, 56 grams of protein, 0 carbs. Two restaurant size portions of prime rib with vegetables will run you over 2400 calories, 100 grams of protein, and 60 grams of fat. Unless you’re Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman there is no way you need that much calories, protein, or fat in one sitting. And these pros know better than to eat that many calories, protein and fat at one meal. That meal would have been enough for two or three Jay Cutler sized meals!

Later in the entry this blogger wondered why his one day fast combined with the low carb meal (mega-feast) didn’t result in weight loss. Simply put, this dieter outstripped his daily caloric requirement by indulging in gluttonous amounts of low carbohydrate food at one meal. It's a low carbohydrate diet fallacy that calories don't count. Check out Dr. Atkins "Atkins For Life" pages 73-75 if you don't believe me.

Beware that cutting calories too drastically (under 1200 for women and under 1800 for men) for long periods of time lowers your metabolism and slows body fat loss. It will also result in loss of muscle mass and other vital tissues. The pitfalls of extreme low calorie dieting are discussed here.

Increases In Metabolism – Metabolism – specifically how many calories we burn in a day - is influenced by factors you cannot control including age, sex, genetics, and by factors you can influence, particularly how much muscle mass you have and how many calories you burn through activity. Adding muscle to your body is an efficient metabolism booster with a plethora of other benefits.


A pound of muscle is more compact than a pound of fat and more metabolically active. A pound of body fat burns roughly 3 calories a day while a pound of muscle burns roughly 50 calories a day. Muscle is firm and attractive while body fat is soft and in too great a quantity unappealing. Muscle increases your strength, endurance and metabolism.

People who are sedentary or ignore resistance training naturally loose muscle mass (about 3 percent a decade between 30 and 80 years of age). This is the chief reason people experience a slowed metabolism as they age. With loss of muscle mass comes a lowered calorie demand. If you eat them same amount of calories as you did before losing muscle you will gain body fat.

Illness and Wasting Diseases – not a desirable method, folks. I just mention it because it’s a common phenomenon.