What do you think of Low carb?

The glycemic index of a carb may determine whether it contributes to weight gain. There was a study of obese people done at Children's Hospital Boston in which a group of overweight people were tested for their insulin reaction to glucose. (Unfortunately, I've lost the link to it.) Some had an immediate and massive flood of insulin, some barely any spike in insulin at all, presumably most were in the middle somewhere. When these people were put on different types of weight loss diets, the ones who had very little insulin reaction could lose weight easily on any kind of diet, but the insulin "flooders" could only lose on a low-glycemic index diet. This could explain why some people gain more weight with carbohydrates than others. It may also explain those annoying people who can eat like draft horses, never exercise, and not gain weight.

Hi all! I´ve been running low carb high fat for the last six months. Results so far: Positive stuff: -Fat loss and increased muscle mass (measured by caliper once every month 14%->9% body fat) -Improved endurance (after 3-4 horrible weeks when I felt I had lactic acid in my body all the time when my body was switching from carb burning machine to fat burning machine) -Need less sleep - up to 1 hour per day -No need for sugar and candy anymore Negative stuff: -More expensive food account -Bad breath -Socially difficult (always have to explain why i dont want to eat carbs...sick and tired of this) Conclusions: Very positive effects on training and competition. I broke the WR in 50 *** in March. I dont think it was directly connected to this kind of food, but being lighter and stronger certainly helped. I think the key is to eat lots of good fat...lika Omega 3. If I dont eat that i feel hungry and fatigued. I eat up to 50-60 grams/day. I also eat small meals every third hour...that way I never get really hungry. I train and compete in short distance only. 50 and 100 *** mainly. For that this kind of eating is very good I think. If you train longer distances maybe you need a little bit more carbs, even though the theory says that you will increase your endurance in long distance lika marathon with this kind of eating. Just think of the meat eating animals...like the big cats. They dont eat many carbs, but are still very explosive and muscular :) my 2 cents cheers /Per

Just think of the meat eating animals...like the big cats. They dont eat many carbs, but are still very explosive and muscular :) Yeah, but they also sleep 23 hours of the day:D Chimpanzees are our closest relatives who eat mainly plant food and almost no meat but are extremely muscular and powerful. They are about 7 times stronger than humans. Gorillas aren't exactly wimps either. Their only protein source is plant protein and a bunch of insects.

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: Undoubtedly I ate too much food during that period because on low-fat I was always starving. Now that I eat low-carb, I am rarely hungry between meals. But, there's more to it than just the caloric intake. The Harvard Study you refer to was rather severely flawed in that their lowest carbohydrate diet still contained 35% of calories from carbs. On a 1200 calorie diet, that's over 100 grams of carbs. That intake is well above what is recommended for weight loss by most low-carb plans, and more than I'm able to consume and still maintain my weight. Since the researchers neglected to include a true low-carb treatment group it's impossible to conclude much from that study. Overall, the results of dietary comparisons are a mixed bag, although low-carb looks pretty good in numerous recent studies. The lack of severely overweight olympic swimmers in the 70's (or today for that matter) is probably just that any athlete is unlikely to reach an elite level of competition if they are on a diet that doesn't work for them. I don't think I claimed to gain "enormous weight immediately" with moderate portions of carbs, but it doesn't take much for the pounds to start creeping back. If I had continued down the low-fat path, I'd probably be over 300 lbs now, and unable to swim competitively. I'm satisfied that I've found a dietary regime that keeps me healthy and helps me to accomplish my (modest) swimming goals. I don't claim that a low carb diet will work for everyone, but please keep an open mind. Blanket recommendations that "athletes shouldn't eat low-carb" are a disservice to many individuals who could benefit their health and swimming performance by eating a lower carb diet. Oh- and the "Dr Atkins was obese and died of a heart attack" just isn't true.

There's been a lot of discussion on another board I read about the Paleo Diet. The basic premise is to eat what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate rather than lots of farmed foods such as grains and dairy. This effectively limits carbs. Although I do think there are some good things about it, to me it seems very faddy and based on some pretty questionable assumptions. But, if you're interested in trying a low carb diet it's probably worth researching a little.

I had the same problem with low carb. I have an hour commute home from work and I could hardly manage to drive home. I find I have plenty of energy, and I feel great just eating a well balanced diet. I eat lean protein,salads,and lot of fruit.

I also heard that one of the main proponents of the Paleo diet (I saw him on TV cooking up 2 lbs of bacon for his breakfast) died of a heart attack. Unless the bacon was from a wild boar it doesn't seem like he was adhering to the diet very well!

what do I think of low carb? Now... What do I think about low performance level which is likely to happen due to low level of muscle glycogen?

I am sorry - but why would anybody train without getting the proper energy to refuel ??? Carbs are basically your energy source - what are you trying to accomplish by limiting that source ?

The whole reason I like swimming is its enough exercise such that I can eat whatever the heck I want and get away with it. The only reason I'd go on a low car diet is if my dr could give me good (factual, backed up with lab tests) reasons why I should. Other than that, pass the bagels. And speaking of the Paleo diet - that's wonderful, eat the same thing our hunter/gatherer ancestors did. But know that life expectancy was much much shorter then as compared to now. They didn't experience any negative effects of their diets because something ate them before they got old enough to feel any negative effects of their diets. I also heard that one of the main proponents of the Paleo diet (I saw him on TV cooking up 2 lbs of bacon for his breakfast) died of a heart attack. I may be wrong on that last.