Low-carb diet is kicking my ass :(

[Nikosan]

when doing a low carb diet it takes time for the body to adjust then energy levels will pick back up. Try doing a timed carb diet which seems to work very well.

Also, when doing a low/no carb diet your fat intake must be 40-50% or the diet is gonna fail because its gonna start burning the protein for your engery

[PointCove]

Niko is exactly right. You must eat high fat on the diet. It takes time to get into ketoacidosis which is the goal. You will feel lousy until it kicks in. You cannot add carbs in the morning or whenever. You can have a carb day or two each week, depening on what version of the diet you are on. Most serious body builders follow the CKD, Metabolic or Anabolic diets. You can find much info about all these on the internet. There has been much learned about this type diet in the past few years. If I had to recommend only one book, it would be the Metabolic Diet.

[PointCove]

Here is a good link to a site dedicated to the CKD diet.
http://www.c-k-d.com/forums/index.php

[aquiles]

I am in a low carb diet......but not to low...is like 50% protein -40%carbs...whole bread every solid meal(3 per day) 4 protein shakes between meals,20 grs glutamine peptides .When I go lower than 40% carbs....I feel my hands shaking....then I know whats happen....I need more carbs....probably you need some caffeine or ephedrine,ginseng....Just my two cents.

[redsquirrel]

Originally posted by the dude
You feel like crap cause your kidneys are gettin overworked with all that protein. Your kidneys are a filter, they filter protein when there is too much they become overworked and strained. Carbs give you energy, especially complex carbs, your doing long term damage to your kidneys by being on this diet. Your body only takes the amount of protein it needs the rest is flushed or turned to empty calories, or fat.

The only way he is doing long term damage is if he is not drinking enough water. High water consumption on these diets is necessary, and will hinder damage.

[redsquirrel]

GT- what about flax oil, or other health fats? If you send your body into ketosis for too long you will end up burning muscle. It happened to me while dieting for my show! You need to do 2 carb meals a week, AND eat at least 1tbsp of flax a day. Your body will use the fat for energy and burn IT, instead of muscle. The carbs will keep your body guessing and regulate seratonin. On Monday and Thursday, replace your last meal with this:

1 8oz sweet potato
3/4c. precooked oatmeal
1c. green veggie
2 tsp. real butter (for the sweet pot..YUM!)
1 medium banana

..don't forget the flax, either!! It's best to take it with your shakes because the fats help slow digestion and help your body absorb the protein rather than it going right through you.
Try this for a week or two, and see what happens.!

[king]

Redsquirrel, I'd have to disagree with adding fats to a PWO shake. He would be better off adding some dextrose to refill glycogen and "deliver" the protein to where it is needed. Don't ya think?

[meat12]

hey RS would you reccomend the flax seed in oil or capsule form? thanks

[redsquirrel]

Originally posted by meat12
hey RS would you reccomend the flax seed in oil or capsule form? thanks

I take the liquid form..Barlean's. Unless I'm taking it real close to contest, I ALWAYS throw a couple of squirts of Balsamic Vinaigrette, otherwise I can't stomach it. With the caplets, you have to take so many, the liquid is just easier.

[meat12]

ok cool thanks

[redsquirrel]

Originally posted by king
Redsquirrel, I'd have to disagree with adding fats to a PWO shake. He would be better off adding some dextrose to refill glycogen and "deliver" the protein to where it is needed. Don't ya think?

NOWHERE did I mention adding flax to a PWO shake. I assumed he is eating 2 MRP's a day, which is where the recommendation is to be utilized.

He shouldn't be eating a PWO shake with any dextrose or glycogen in it. Although it can help with recovery, PWO shakes with those nutrients are best used when bulking. It would be superflous anyway because it wouldn't give him the energy he is complaining about. Low carb and low sugar PWO if he is cutting.

[king]

Well, I suppose there are many variations of a low carb diet. The dextrose won't hurt a thing as long as he is counting up the calories in the days totals. It may not be an issue for some people, but for me, I'd like to retain as much muscle as possible while cutting=refilling glycogen post workout.

[redsquirrel]

Originally posted by king
Well, I suppose there are many variations of a low carb diet. The dextrose won't hurt a thing as long as he is counting up the calories in the days totals. It may not be an issue for some people, but for me, I'd like to retain as much muscle as possible while cutting=refilling glycogen post workout.

If you refill your body with glycogen in the PWO shake, you are TOTALLY defeating the purpose of low carb. You are making ketosis impossible!! It has to get through the dextose/glycogen, and then to the fat. Your body gets used to getting those carbs PWO, and starts depending on it for energy. The whole point of low carb is to deprive your body of GLYCOGEN so it goes to FAT STORES.

The dextrose is converted into sugar in the body. Again, he is complaining of no energy. The PWO shake does not rectify the problem. The PWO that you suggest is only maybe helping him with recovery. A PWO shake consisting of high protein and low carbs can also be just as much benefit.

Funny, I've been dieting for competitions for 4 months, and NEVER eaten a PWO shake, and lost minimal muscle. If his meals are spaced properly, he either eats right before or after he works out; making the PWO shake unnecessary.

[king]

You do know that dextrose refills muscle glycogen and not liver glycogen correct? I did a 16 week CKD and not once was Ketosis effected by having dextrose in my PWO shake. Maybe for about 1/2 hour but never more than one hour. I made sure by using Ketostix. As for what I was saying about losing muscle, if you are competitive then you know it's a 2 step forward(bulking) one step back(cutting) process as far as muscle gain is concerned. The ultimate goal is to find a way to eliminate that one step back. Every time you cut you will lose SOME muscle, how much is up to you.



P.S. I'm not trying to turn this into an argument, it's good debating, thats all! What may work for some will not work for others. My results were minimal on a traditional cutting diet (40-40-20) then someone referred me to CKD and I haven't looked back. If you are unfamiliar with it you should check it out, everything I've been saying is CKD principles.

[redsquirrel]

Originally posted by king
You do know that dextrose refills muscle glycogen and not liver glycogen correct?

The ultimate goal is to find a way to eliminate that one step back.


My results were minimal on a traditional cutting diet (40-40-20) .

It still has to be digested first in your liver.


There is absolutely NO WAY not lose muscle if you do a hard core cut. It's inevitable.

Cutting can be done by lowering carbs 40/20/40 and/or fats 40/20/20 or 40/20/40....not just fats.