Riding on Low (zero) carb diet

Guys, im venturing into brave new territory. I’ve been carb free for a few days now and completed 20 tentative miles on the road last night.

I must admit to having no feeling of urgency or zip last night, sprints seemed like a silly idea to my body.
I did however manage to spin out quite nicely after taking time to warm up.

However, ive 90 miles of on & off road based cycling coming this weekend, and the prospect of no jelly babies, no ‘energy’ bars, no orange squash, no cake etc is quite unnerving.
Boiled eggs & carb free chocolate anyone?

Can I get round these rides (and future training) wihout a crash & burn energy drop? or will my ample stores of body fat suffice for fuel?

I shall be sticking to this evil ‘diet’ until my wedding in July – please don’t slate this decision, im purely looking for Atkins based exercise advice.

Surely you’ll die on no carbohydrates? Atkins is low-carb, rather than no-carb?

Can I get round these rides (and future training) wihout a crash & burn energy drop? or will my ample stores of body fat suffice for fuel?

No, the body does not run well on fat. Look forward to 4 months riding with no energy at all and probably doing more harm than good as you’re never going to replenish your glycogen stores!

Don’t take you heart rate above L2 (fat burning zone).

You will be slow, and bored.

On the plus side you’ll look gaunt and ill in all your wedding photos!

congrats on the wedding dude! i’m making a concerted effort to shift some flubber before sept, lower carb.. no not carb for me.

cut out the road riding and reduce those miles..nobody likes riding on the road anyway 😀

good on you. and roll on July

ive not done Atkins. I imagine you will be wanting to exercise at a lower rate tho. Stay hydrated is good, and personally i would be going for a strong coffee pre-commute to kick your metabolism as much as possible.

beware ketosis from the diet, invest in mouthwash, mints, chewing gum… you will have a lot of people to speak to between now and July

+1 on the mints, you’ll have breath like death.

Why Atkins diet ? and will you continue to live like this for the rest of your life ?.

🙂

Congrats SJ78.
You mention carb free diet to get the weight off – does it have to be a carb free diet ?

I find doubling the distance and halving the pace to be a better rule of thumb for weight loss. Ideally mix in with 30 mins of running too (running far better at burning calories, but don’t do it if you’re not a runner).

Keep us updated on the death-breath !

I did and Atkins based diet a few weeks ago for two weeks. I can honestly say it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Mixed in with it was pre breakfast and post dinner rides and an extra 3hr ride at the weekend. I spent most of the two weeks feeling like shit and I had no energy, although I did lose loads of weight.

The rides I did were very hard and I found even after the short rides I has blurred vision and generally felt like I was going to pass out. After about 10 days I finally started to fell better and stronger as it seemed my body had become accustomed to using fat stores for energy.

Knowing what I know now there would be no way I’d attempt 90 miles but that’s just me although It’s probably different for everyone.

Good luck.

probably not solo… he’s making an effort for a specific event, much like people who train for a race then put on some weight again afterwards.

everyone’s so quick to criticise the choices of other’s on this forum.

everyone’s so quick to criticise the choices of other’s on this forum.
🙄

damn skippy it was 😛 not in any kinda serious way though 😀

i’m still scared to admit i have the odd sandwich, biscuit and chocolate bar incase you come round my house and beat me to death with a hard-bound copy of the iSolo diet 😆

Phil.
damn skippy it was not in any kinda serious way though

i’m still scared to admit i have the odd sandwich, biscuit and chocolate bar incase you come round my house and beat me to death with a hard-bound copy of the iSolo diet

Phil.

I ask two Qs out of geniune curiousity.

Perhaps I don’t know anyone on the Atkins diet, perhaps I’m curious whether people can / do exist on such a diet, indefinately.

You’re such an ass.

I’m dropping 1kg a week at the moment with a bit more exercise, no chocolate or puddings and (wait for it) smaller portions. Museli for breakfast, try not to go crazy on carbs at night but still have a couple of potatoes or a small portion of rice.

Zero carbs isnt a good idea and you dont need to do it to lose a lot of weight.

As it happens, ive being doint the exetended ‘exercise’ thing for 18 months or so and managed to shift 5 stone as a result..although slipped at xmas and put around 20lb back on in only 3 or 4 months..

So, in an added effort to help MrsSJ by sticking to a matching diet, and having read lots of very interesting articles on the nature of carbs etc (not going into it now – but in a nutshell we all appear to be slaves to sugar – which my well not be neccessary) – im dead keen even on an experimental level to see how the low/zero carb diet works for real.

If I die on my arse training in the forthcoming weeks then ill review the situation. If I manage to get by, hopefully with some useful advice, then great.

BTW, 20g of carbs per day is the current plan, building to 40g or so over the next few weeks.

And i’d rather look gaunt and pale at my wedding than a chunky monkey, but thanks for the support 🙂

the iDave diet is zero carb isnt it? you know loadsa people on that

the iDave diet is zero carb isnt it? you know loadsa people on that

Yeah, for those with zero brain cells.

Carry on Phil.

SJ78.
Keep us posted on how you get along.
BTW, congrats on your impending marriage.
A relief to meet a normal person who doesn’t need to scheme up some weird getting not married party…

A relief to meet a normal person who doesn’t need to scheme up some weird getting not married party…

I’m on the anabolic diet which is slightly different to Atkins in that one day a week I have a carb up so that it replenishes my glycogen stores in my muscles. This normaly coinsides with my Sunday ride so I have plenty of energy. Come Monday I’m back on high protien, high fat and low carb. Afaik the lack of energy you are feeling is because you’ve only just started on the low carb route, your body hasn’t shifted over to using fat as its primary sauce of energy yet. It can somtimes take several weeks for it to become fat adapted. Then your energy levals should return. Have a look here:
http://stronglifts.com/anabolic-diet-101-the-definite-anabolic-diet-guide/
I’m certainly not saying this type of diet is for everyone but I’ve been on it for coming up 4 years and I’m not dead yet 😀

That sounds no fun at all.

Still can’t work out what is wrong with the eat/drink what you like, in sensible portion sizes & do a decent amount of exercise lifestyle.

Afaik the lack of energy you are feeling is because you’ve only just started on the low carb route, your body hasn’t shifted over to using fat as its primary sauce of energy yet

I would add that for what I’ve read, your body will use fat for energy when you undertake low to moderate intensity activity.

If you engage in high intensity activity, then if I’ve got this right, your body may start a process of gluconeogenesis ?.
Which may not be what you’re after.

bjj.andy.w

thanks for that Andy, hows that diet worked for you in terms of weight loss and sustaining?

Hob Nob
That sounds no fun at all.
Still can’t work out what is wrong with the eat/drink what you like, in sensible portion sizes & do a decent amount of exercise lifestyle.

It isn’t fun Hob Nob. It is an interesting experiment though.
As above, ive been living the dream you mentioned with good success. Unfortunately, im running out of time to meet my goals. And with a busy job and youg family, time is genuinely hard come by when it comes to lengthy quality exercise.
Also, (at the risk of opening a huge can of trolls) I made the point that there is a lot of evidence to suggest that carbs are more or less alien to our bodies in terms of evolution, with occasional seasonal bursts of fruit & nuts to essentially enable us to fatten up for the winter. Basically carbs=fat, and carbs=insulin fluctuating all over the place.

Im just keen to see how this experiment pans out for me.

You’ve dropped 5 stone (well done) but then put on the best part of 2 stone over the winter. Maybe a less dramatic regime might rendor more consistent results and be a bit more pleasant? I stuff my face before every ride, go out and enjoy a good long blast then try not to overdo the rewards after. Dont you want to to enjoy riding your bike too?

Of course I want to enjoy, I’m yet to discover if I’m not able to enjoy, this weekend will be a good test bed.

In fact, im heading off road tonight so may have a better idea this evening. It won’t be on the single speed though…

bjj.andy.w

thanks for that Andy, hows that diet worked for you in terms of weight loss and sustaining?

It works very well for me because I don’t have to deny myself anything. If I want a choccy bar, cake or whatever I can have it during my Sunday carb-up. During the week I never get any sugar cravings due to my blood sugar levals being consistent. Like I said before its not for everyone due to the strict nature of the foods you can eat mon- sat but it works for me. As for weight loss I came off the diet at Christmas due to being at my sisters over the holiday period so it was a bit unfair to expect her to cook separate meals just for me so due to a injury (no biking)and being “fattend up” by her I put on over a stone 😳 went back to my normal diet and within a month I’d lost it all.

I can understand it (sort of) if its a time constrained process/experiment.

However you (self confessed) view it as an evil process, chopping out things you like etc, it’s not a long term solution. Much as there are fans of all ‘fad’ diets, general sensible eating surely is the way to go?

I couldn’t/wouldn’t do the STW favourite, because it excludes a lot of things I like to eat. I like to enjoy food, and eat pretty much anything I like – just sensible portions. If you can’t eat the things you like, you may as well view food as simply a fuel and eat the most basic, needy requirement.

A goal is all very well and good for a short term fix, but a long term sustainable plan surely is the key to success. I don’t want to have to go without something as simple as milk in my coffee in the morning,

And no, i’m no fortunate enough to be one of those people who has a monsterous metabolism, I used to be. But now I have to work hard. This month alone i’ll do over 20,000 calories on exercise. The added benefit is, I enjoy it, I get fitter & people don’t look at me funny because I smell funny due to only eating beans and sprouts.

Time, sadly is always the issue. Busy work & family life just means you need to want it that bit more. Get up early and ride to work, do something in lunchtimes, get out at night. There is always time, you just have to want to do it enough.

[/quote]Surely [/b]you’ll die on no carbohydrates? Atkins is low-carb, rather than no-carb?

Care to give some evidence on that?

No, the body does not run well on fat. Look forward to 4 months riding with no energy at all and probably doing more harm than good as you’re never going to replenish your glycogen stores!

The body does run well on fat???? Are you kidding me???? Fat is our primary energy source.

Can people please get this idea into their head, the body runs on ENERGY not fat, not carbs, not protein.
The body can create energy from any of the above, the ability to do this is based on many different factors, which can be altered with diet and exercise.
There is no need for any carbs in the diet, there are no ‘essential carbs’ However as athletes carbs at the correct time i.e. straight after the workout will aid recovery and muscle repair.

Maybe some of you who think you understand how the human body works should do some reading.
And NO this is not atkins, atkins focused too much on the protein, he was misguided as he did not understand the hormonal reasons as to why low carb was better. If you go low carb you have to go high fat to replace the energy.

Oh and fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar/carbs and insulin do.

Naff, my quotes didn’t work so well!

Well said Hob Nob.

What type of fats should you eat in a high fat diet?

The body does run well on fat???? Are you kidding me????

I’ll assume you missed the operative word out of that sentence in your haste to stab the question mark as much as possible 🙄

Naff, my quotes didn’t work so well!

Weird, the forum’s easier than the human body, which you clearly know everything about!

Over simplified I’ll admit, but you can’t expect to ride at your normal levels and intensity on fat stores alone straight off, whilst it will become more efficient over time you’re not going to perform at the same level as someone who is eating carbs. Prove to me otherwise? Do you think professional riders do it for a giggle?

Tom.

I think I’m undrestanding your point, although you did seem to almost trip yourself here:
Fat is our primary energy source.

Can people please get this idea into their head, the body runs on ENERGY not fat

Not that anyone is bothered, but I’d go with, obviously the body is run on energy.
This energy needs to be stored.
One form of energy storage is body fat.

Oh and fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar/carbs and insulin do.

Shirley to much of any food type makes you fat with the added bonus of heart disease with a high fat diet.

Prove to me otherwise? Do you think professional riders do it for a giggle?

I suspect we’re not talking about racing here just normal folks that ride bikes

I would suggest you take carbs on-board from time zero when riding that way it will be used to fuel as you need during the ride and also would preferably get some in as part of any recovery drink you have at the end of a tougher ride.

However depending on how hard your rides are you should find yourself getting used to operating without carbs on your rides as we are designed to predominantly burn fat when exercising (aside from VERY high intensity)but initially your body wont be used to it and so you should gradually build this up hence me suggesting you have typical riding food during a ride, it is still important however to have it after a ride to replenish any glycogen used to aid recovery.

Totally no carb is not a good idea, low carb can work well for weight loss however I would look to eat one meal a day with some low GI carbs such as sweet potato as carbohydrates are still important for a number of functions in the body.

Oh and fat doesn’t make you fat, sugar/carbs and insulin do.

halleeeloooyah!

Amen brother.

Can I not? well I do, maybe not straight off, but the transition doesn’t take as long as people think.

In your post you didn’t say that at first the body does not run well on fat, you said it doesn’t run well on fat, full stop.

And yes you can run as well on fat as you can on carbs, easily. And how do you know what the pros do. I know of a number of pros who use this.

Solo – Member
Tom.

I think I’m undrestanding your point, although you did seem to almost trip yourself here:
Fat is our primary energy source.

Can people please get this idea into their head, the body runs on ENERGY not fat

Not that anyone is bothered, but I’d go with, obviously the body is run on energy.
This energy needs to be stored.
One form of energy storage is body fat.

POSTED 1 MINUTE AGO #

So you’re saying that energy is our primary energy source?

You’re not wrong, I suppose.

the added bonus of heart disease with a high fat diet.

another falacy.
there’s very little, if any evidence to suggest this.

High sugar diets and poor control of insulin levels leads to diabetes and heart conditions.
The sugary west has the highest proportion in the world.

Those living on fat alone have proven to remain fit and healthy.