Low-Carb Diet, But Want To Exercise

[smiling mantis]

I've been doing Atkins on-and-off for six or seven years, and sure it works great while I'm on it, but as you all seem to know, it's a hard diet to stay on for a long period of time.

Especially here in Thailand. And if you like beer. And Thai beer is so yummy... sigh.

I discovered by accident that I can do low-carb for two days, then carb up on the third, and repeat this pattern for some time and still lose significant weight. But this was in a place where the food wasn't so great. I want to eat thai food, regularly, and I don't mean som tam or anything overly healthy. So I've resolved to really get serious about exercise.

What I'd like to do is commit to a regimen of three two-hour sessions a week (I was actually doing this when I was here earlier but had to leave the country and got off track.) But I want to do these sessions in the morning, right after I wake up. Not only because I want to get it out of the way and enjoy the rest of the day without agonizing about what's ahead, but also because I've read you burn more fat that way. But that's only if you work out before breakfast.

So how/when do I eat the foods I'm going to need to power me through the workout? I get it that I want to eat stuff with a low glycemic index, but from what I've read that supplies you with energy for only a few hours. I guess the question is, if I eat a big meal for dinner the night before, do the carbs go to my waistline overnight, or do they hang out in some intermediate format that makes them more available for energy production the next day?

Because that's the way it seems with me based on the experience with the two-days on, one-day off approach to dieting. That it is easier to lose weight that's been gained recently. Does that make any sense?

What I'd like to graduate to is a system where I'm not even bothering with the diet... I'm just working out like crazy. I'm drinking beer, I'm eating noodles. I'm basically my old self of years ago, only now since I'm exercising, it all gets burned off right away. It seems that to really enjoy Thailand, for me, this is what is necessary.

Because let me tell you, what I'm doing now, stir-frying chicken breast with broccoli or zucchini, you know, it kind of gets old. And it's tough too walking by these street vendors with all the yummies on display. If I want to go out for dinner, I'm looking at something like sashimi, which I just enjoyed greatly today, but it cost me 850 baht before the hunger was sated. I can't afford that indefinitely.

I'm sorry if his has already been talked about... I've gone through the threads, but it's just such a highly contentious topic and though there is hard science to be found it's application isn't always clear, so no conclusions seem to be forthcoming. Look at the Wikipedia entries on the glycemic index or carbohydrate metabolism and it seems like you need to be a biochemist to make any sense of it all.

Thanks at least for reading.

[czGLoRy]

I think around 100 grams of carbs would be ideal for weight loss, and you would be able to exercise without feeling overly fatigued like you may jumping in and out of keto. Exercising fasted is one of the best ways to lose weight ..

Diet is around 80% of the weight loss process, eating garbage like noodles and exercising won't level itself off. eat some good foods like grass fed beef and some fruits/veggies, my only beef with atkins is it limits fruits/veggies far too much.

Read good calorie, bad calorie. Great book, explains this well and why we are all confused into thinking fat = bad, wheat = good, incorrectly of course.

Edited December 28, 2011 by czGLoRy

[aussiebebe]

You really have two separate goals; your idea of carbs before exercise is a proven way to increase athletic performance and your idea of working out right after waking is a long-established idea to encourage your body to use stored body-fat as energy with scientific evidence to support it. If you've tried this approach you'll attest to the fact that it can be quite painful. Around 20 minutes is as effective as an hour later on. Instead of three 1-hour workouts, simply continue working out first thing and try six 20-minute workouts with one day off per week, it's much easier to stick with. Your workouts should be high-intensity interval training (sprinting, jump rope, running stairs etc). Here's a sample two-week schedule:

Day 1: Upper-body workout

Day 2: 20 min Cardio

Day 3: Lower-body workout

Day 4: 20 min Cardio

Day 5:Upper-body workout

Day 6: 20 min Cardio

Day 7: Rest

Day 8: Lower-body workout

Day 9: 20 min Cardio

Day 10:Upper-body workout

Day 11: 20 min Cardio

Day 12:Lower-body workout

Day 13: 20 min Cardio

Day 14: Rest

You idea about cycling carbs was recently studied and I read the results but I can't remember where so can't give a link. Anyway, it was shown that dieters who did low-carb just two days per week lost more weight than those who followed a low-calorie diet, so from what I've read I think you're on the right lines!

Good luck.