I often check out a forum for bodyweight exercises because I do a lot of bodyweight exercises as part of my dry land training.
Anyway, many people on that board are all into this low carb stuff. I tried it out for 6 months but had the feeling that I don't have enough energy if I don't eat enough complex carbs like grains(pasta, rice, bread etc).
Is it just me or do other swimmers experience the same?
Just wondering...
Former Member
I often check out a forum for bodyweight exercises because I do a lot of bodyweight exercises as part of my dry land training.
Anyway, many people on that board are all into this low carb stuff. I tried it out for 6 months but had the feeling that I don't have enough energy if I don't eat enough complex carbs like grains(pasta, rice, bread etc).
Is it just me or do other swimmers experience the same?
Just wondering...
The head coaches of some of the best USAS teams in my area have asked their swimmers to NOT do low carb due to lack of energy. They have gone so far as to put their thoughts against low carb in writing in the monthly newsletters. As we speak I'm looking for that particular article. I personally would never do low carb as I don't want to be a cranky slug.
One season we no-carbed during taper (perhaps just before taper). When we went back to our regular diets the extra energy was profound. I just rember being so darn hungry. I couldn't say if it was worth it.
We did it during polo for one season only. I say once because tensions were so high that we had too many fights, and team mates were injuring each other. Never again.
A few years back I tried the low carb fad - South Beach style stuff - I ended up yo-yoing and ended up over 250, not good. Went back to basics. Balanced diet - good carbs, more grains and beans, low fat (but the good fat), healthy amounts of protien, lots of water - and a steady diet of chlorinated goodness.
I was also often dizzy during the day, and cranky.
It was an awful experience, one that I will never repeat again. I can't look at V8 juice the same way.
The problem is that your muscle glycogen is very very low b/c it isn't being replenished after workouts on a low-carb diet. It is interesting to hear about Superfly's more positive results; perhaps I didn't stick with it long enough for my body to get more efficient at metabolizing fat to replace muscle glycogen.
I know what you mean with feeling dizzy and cranky. I tried out low carb for 7 months, so I guess that is long enough to get used to it but even after 7 months I felt totally drained.
Btw, low carb promoters always blame carbs like grains for fat gain but the actual reason people gain fat is: A) they eat too much in general and B) they eat too much junk and processed food. Most overweight people should go on a low JUNK diet. In China the average person used to eat mainly rice and veggies(carbs). They were famous for being a lean society. Now in China more and more people can afford meat. They also eat much more junk food and obesity is starting to become a problem.
I would actually like to meet ONE obese person who got overweight from eating too much brown rice and fresh vegetables. I bet that person doesn't exist. Grains and complex carbs aren't the problem but if you eat processed grains transformed into a Twinkie or potatoes in form of potato chips that's a different story.
On a different note: the famous Dr. Atkins(who invented low carb) had a heart attack a couple of years before he died being severely overweight.
Here's one.
My weight increased from about 170 to 215 while eating a "so-called healthy" low-fat diet. I ate lots of brown rice, fruits, and other carbohydrates, just like the "experts" recommended. An exercise schedule including 3-5 swim workouts per week wasn't enough to keep me from gaining weight until I also made dramatic changes in my diet.
A sensible low-carb diet with lots of vegetables, fats, and meats helped me to get back down to around 180, and maintain the weight loss for over 3 years. My overall health improved dramatically including a decrease in blood triglycerides, and an increase in HDL (the good cholesterol).
My swimming performance improved while on low-carb, especially once I got my weight down below 190 lbs. In particular, I noticed that I no longer struggled through the first 5-10 minutes of warmup before I started feeling good. I think that my body was more effectively using fat as a fuel, and not relying on the glycogen for that first 10 minutes. I should note that I am much better at long distances. For sprinting, it may be important to have the muscles loaded with glycogen. But, for me, a high fat/low carb diet is the way to achieve maximum swimming performance.
Your mileage may vary. I don't think that there is any single dietary strategy that works well for all people. In my case, I am very sensitive to carbohydrates. I have to keep the carbs down in order to continue to maintain a healthy weight and swim well.
Others are fortunate enough to be able to eat a high carbohydrate diet without gaining weight. But, there's a lot more to weight loss than just eating less and exercising more. The video makes a lot of good points.
The head coaches of some of the best USAS teams in my area have asked their swimmers to NOT do low carb due to lack of energy. They have gone so far as to put their thoughts against low carb in writing in the monthly newsletters. As we speak I'm looking for that particular article. I personally would never do low carb as I don't want to be a cranky slug.
It feels good to read this because I was accused of being the only one who claims he had no energy.
I really felt like an empty battery. I did a lot of mountain biking during that period. I always cycled up a steep hill that takes about 45 minutes to reach the top. It is always tough because cycling uphill for a long period always stays tough(carbs or no carbs) but while I tried out low carb it felt like I was cycling up Mt. Everest.
Once I cheated and ate a piece of sugary cake and went cycling after that. I felt like Superman.
The word drained comes to mind if I want to describe how I felt on low carb. As soon as I added whole wheat pasta, bread and brown rice to my meals my energy immediately was back to normal.
I was surprised that many on the other forum said they didn't feel the lack of energy but maybe it depends on the sport you do. I would say for swimming low carb is a definite no-no.
I would really like to read that article about the head coaches against low carb.
(btw, RIP Michael Jackson. I just found out while posting this)
Here's one.
My weight increased from about 170 to 215 while eating a "so-called healthy" low-fat diet. I ate lots of brown rice, fruits, and other carbohydrates, just like the "experts" recommended. An exercise schedule including 3-5 swim workouts per week wasn't enough to keep me from gaining weight until I also made dramatic changes in my diet.
Maybe you just ate TOO MUCH food.
There is a Harvard Study that says it is not important WHAT you eat but HOW MUCH you eat: www.news.harvard.edu/.../11-calorie.html
If it's true that some people are "sensitive" to carbs and immediately gain enormous weight even though they eat moderate portions how come there weren't any overweight Olympic swimmers in the Seventies when athletes knew nothing about low carb and were all put on a high carb diet?:confused:
It feels good to read this because I was accused of being the only one who claims he had no energy.
I really felt like an empty battery. I did a lot of mountain biking during that period. I always cycled up a steep hill that takes about 45 minutes to reach the top. It is always tough because cycling uphill for a long period always stays tough(carbs or no carbs) but while I tried out low carb it felt like I was cycling up Mt. Everest.
Once I cheated and ate a piece of sugary cake and went cycling after that. I felt like Superman.
The word drained comes to mind if I want to describe how I felt on low carb. As soon as I added whole wheat pasta, bread and brown rice to my meals my energy immediately was back to normal.
I was surprised that many on the other forum said they didn't feel the lack of energy but maybe it depends on the sport you do. I would say for swimming low carb is a definite no-no.
My experience matches yours. When I was on low-carb, the first hard hill would knock me flat and my legs were toast for the rest of the ride. Swim practices felt like I was completely broken down, even though I knew I wasn't. I was also often dizzy during the day, and cranky.
It was an awful experience, one that I will never repeat again. I can't look at V8 juice the same way.
The problem is that your muscle glycogen is very very low b/c it isn't being replenished after workouts on a low-carb diet. It is interesting to hear about Superfly's more positive results; perhaps I didn't stick with it long enough for my body to get more efficient at metabolizing fat to replace muscle glycogen. But since I've had success with alternative diets I haven't been motivated to try.
As an aside, the concept that fat intake is good while carbs are bad makes me think I'm trapped in the Woody Allen movie "Sleeper."
Generally I think balance/moderation is good in these things: protein, carbs, fat. I will distrust any diet that says one of these should be virtually eliminated.
