What do you think of Low carb?

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.

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.