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...
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Former Member
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.
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.
