I decided to try something new this week and went low carb along with continuing my daily runs.  It's an experiment in both weight control and fat burning during extended runs.  I cut my carbs by about 60% and have been eating less than 100g net carbs per day.

On the positive side I have been eating as many or more calories as I was before (around 2500 per day) and lost nearly four pounds this week putting me less than two pounds from my goal of 165 lbs.  I also got all my exercise in each day with no problems and my energy levels have been pretty steady.  My blood pressure seems to have stabilized a little lower than before too which is an extra bonus.

On the negative side I've been feeling light headed and dizzy this morning.  I'm about past that but it took 750 calories of an orange, salad, salad dressing, olives, pork skins, and cheese to do it.  LOL. I'm finally feeling good enough for my exercise today.

I've heard there might be a two to three week adjustment period and before today thought I might have skated right through it.  But nooooo!

Are there any other runners or exercisers here who also do low carb?  If so, how long did it take to get to that place of endless & steady energy that is promised?


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

I've always been on the heavier side of things but very active. I tried a low carb diet a few years ago when I was training for a half Ironman and I found the same results as you have. But I found after 3 weeks I was just completely exhausted every morning trying to get out of bed, not to mention training.

After talking to a dietician they convinced me that adding back some complex carbs is really important when you're an active person. Brown rice and Sweet potatoes were my go to complex carbs. I would only eat them on days that I was working out and it really helped me.

The dietician said that low carb diets work great for more sedentary lifestyles, but active people tend to struggle with lethargy when on them. It makes sense. The few carbs may slow down your weight loss a little bit, but your body will be happier in the long run.

I hope this helped!

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  Hi Deborah,

  You are a lot more health oriented than I am but I do try to keep a loose eye on my carb intake as I am diabetic thanks to my second bout with cancer. I do need to get out and start walking again. Walking is about the best I can do because according to my last CT scan they decided to upgrade my bit of emphysema to "severe emphysema" and yes I am noticing I get winded easier now.

  What caught my eye in what you said was:

"My blood pressure seems to have stabilized a little lower" and "On the negative side I've been feeling light headed and dizzy this morning."
   
  They could easily be related. I have been getting a bit light headed lately when getting out of bed in the morning. Once I even had everything got black and had to lean over the bed to keep from falling down. I take my BP every morning and that morning it was 70/48. Since starting HRT with Spiro and E my BP has reduced significantly. Enough that I am getting these lightheaded mornings more often and think I need to discuss it with my doctor again. I am on a BP medication and Spiro is also a BP med. I'm thinking some adjustment may be in order.

   It may have nothing to do with your light headedness but it is worth a thought.

  Hugs,
   Jeanette

 

   As to diet. If the low carb diet doesn't work out for you, you might give the "Fast Metabolism" diet a try.  It is one of those "Healthy" diets but aside form my prejudices, it has worked very well for my daughter and her husband. They both have lost a good amount of weight, feel better, and gained energy with it.  Me?, I can't get past those weird shake concoctions.

  Hugs,
   Jeanette

Assuming I didn't make an error, my blood pressure this morning was pretty low from my norm.  I take it every morning and it's usually around 110/74.  This morning it was 97/67.  I'll keep an eye on that for a few days and see if there's a trend.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

97/67 should be fine. When I had mentioned to my doctor before that I had gotten lightheaded a couple time getting out of bed, he told me that as long I was was feeling okay otherwise it was likely nothing to worry about and to just be a bit more careful getting to my feet.

Hugs,
   Jeanette

Gonna chime in here as well.
I've been on a ketogenic diet (80% fat, 15% protein 5% or less than 20 net carbs/day) for about 1.5 years.  I can't run but I do lots of endurance walking (3-20 miles/day).

In terms of blood pressure and lightheadedness. Make sure you get a little extra water. As soon as you burn through those glycogen stores you're body has no need to keep excess water (used to bind glycogen). Because of this same issue in conbo with the low carb diet you may not be getting enough salt (I need to constantly supplement salt with my diet.) if my blood pressure is low, I'm lightheaded, or have a racing heart it's due to dehydration and/or electrolyte imbalance.

In terms of energy I would guess that you're depleting your glycogen stores and your body can't ramp of the production of ketone bodies, which are basically usable energy your liver produces by breaking down fat. This leaves you in a bit of a no mans land. You're out of the quick sugary energy but can't meet your body's energy needs through fat alone quickly enough. (This is also the reason marathon runners hit that brick wall where their muscles refuse to work).

You could try the electrolyte and hydration stuff first. If that's not helping you could consider going super low carb so your body always has access to fuel. (Keto diets are great for endurance athletes, not so much for HIIT and weight lifting)

You could also try some slow burning carbs while you're running, such as almonds or pecans.

It took about a month before of low carb before I felt "normal". I  now intermittent fast every day for about 19 hours. I end up eating when it's convenient, and have limitless energy. Today for instance I got up and headed to the renaissance festival- not a lot of good options for food there that fit my diet, so I just skipped eating. Was on my feet for about 7 hours and walked a good 5 miles. I'm writing this as I'm getting ready for bed, and I still haven't eaten. Doing fine. Will probably eat tomorrow afternoon. (Putting my body into a state of autophagy- body repair and recycle mode, for other reasons).

Good luck, and if you have any questions I can help with let me know!


~Brooke~

I'm going to second the increase in water.  Glycogen is bonded to water and you significantly drop your glycogen stores on keto.  As such a bit more water and salt should help with light headedness and blood pressure.  The "keto flu" isn't too bad and typically passes quickly if you stay active and adjust your water intake levels.  When I went keto last time I was peeing all the time.  Worse than being on Spiro.  So if you are on Spiro as well I assume the problem is exacerbated.  About to do keto again myself in a few weeks and was ruminating on this recently.

Yeah, you have to pass the initial "low carb 'flu" period of 3 days to a week before your body adjusts and then you should start to feel more clear-headed. Or at least I do. I don't get a food coma or sleepiness after eating and my brain doesn't crave sleep as much.

The main reason I started doing the diet in December was for lowering blood pressure as mine spiked for some reason before getting my first T 'script and they told me to lower it. Low carb diet and slow weight loss will definitely help in that regard.

Btw, once you're adjusted to the diet you can eat small amounts of carb as pep like some bread if you're going to be active and it should not throw you off. The problem with carbs in general is the more you eat them, the more you crave them, and the human body wasn't apparently designed to have access to unlimited carbs.

Update:  I felt better yesterday and a lot better today.  I'm also cutting my carbs a little more.  I was around 85 net last week.  Yesterday was 65 and today is on track for 52.  A bunch of my Vitamins are the gummy type which is 12g carbs alone :-(.

Water is not an issue.  I drink a minimum of 160 oz a day and lately moderately more.  Even with the spiro I don't pee that much but I do sweat a lot when running, up to 2 liters or more an hour depending on the weather.

I've also been watching my heart rate closely running to be sure to target the intended aerobic metabolic system.  Saturday's run was a death march but yesterday and today have felt really good.  Hopefully, this is all coming together now.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

I'm also going to chime in on the low carb flu effect.  For me it lasts about a week where I'm feeling a bit slow and after that I'm on top of the world as far as energy goes. 

If you're exercising then the 12g of carbs from your gummies isn't going to be a big deal, same with the occasional piece of fruit.

One other interesting effect I've found is that if I find myself sitting on a weight loss plateau, I can have a cheat meal or two in one day and that seems to get the weight loss ball rolling again.  I used this diet to dump 40 pounds years ago (and inflated myself again since...), but I'm currently down 25 pounds from the first of the year.  Granted at least 10 pounds of that was fluids, but it certainly works.  It also makes working out easier in the cardio department for me.

My weight is actually ok right now.  I'm within one pound of my goal.  What I am primarily interested in is shrinking my waist more.  There's not a lot of fat on the outside but it still seems "thick".  I'm hoping that maybe some visceral fat is there to be lost.  I also am very interested in enhancing aerobic fat metabolism for running.  Finally, I have a tremendously huge appetite and a great weakness for candy bars.  I need to get that under control.  As long as I'm exercising I can kind of get away with eating like crap.  But if I stop for any reason my appetite remains and I gain weight quickly.  Last summer for several months I was averaging a gain of 2 lbs a week.  Fortunately I caught that before it became a huge problem.  Still, it did take since New Years to undo that damage.  So if this low carb thing helps control hunger it will do me a lot of good.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

Ah candy bars, my other other other greatest weakness!    The cravings for such things will get worse before they get better, but you'll find your appetite is easier to control after a couple of weeks.  Every now and again I find myself having days where I'm really hungry but most days I'm just fine with smaller portions.  Pork rinds are a great way to crush cravings, if you like them of course.  Making wide cuts of bell pepper and using them like chips with salsa or low carb cheese dip is another good one for me.

As for the visceral fat hypothesis, that's definitely a possibility.

The changes in aerobic endurance I experience when on a low carb diet are remarkable.  When doing a long bike ride or fast hike I don't hit the wall.  Long distance runners I know report similar experiences.

This low carb thing is still working pretty well.  I've been eating around 2400 cal a day and lost 3 lbs since I started two weeks ago.  That includes three days of weakness where I ate around 3000 cal (too much but still the low carb stuff).  Lots of pork rinds and cheese and dark (85% cacao) chocolate.  Except for yesterday, where my net carbs were 91 g the rest of the week they were below 65 g.  That's along with around 30 miles of running and an equal amount of walking.  My body has adjusted to the nutrient balance and I've been feeling pretty good with reduced, but not eliminated, hunger.

Right now I'm within 1/2 lb of my weight goal of 165 lbs and my bodyfat is 16.5% according to my calipers.  That leaves me looking a little skinny up top and on the bottom but it keeps my stomach trimmed.  Anyway, while it's smaller than I could look otherwise if I regained weight it really doesn't look much, if any, different than a lot of CIS female runners I see.

I saw my HRT Dr. on Thursday and she was pleased with it all and especially pleased that my blood pressure in her office was normal for a change.  She also said she could see a noticeable difference in my upper torso mass since the last visit.  Yaaaay

Here is a pic of my body shape from Thursday after my Dr appointment.  It's not a glamour shot so don't judge my ugly head, LOL. I'm pretty happy with it all right now as that's all me with nothing underneath except my belt holding things in.  That's with two years HRT.  Hopefully things will continue in this direction.



Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

Hi Deborah,

  I think you're being harder on yourself than need be. I see a female shape in that picture and it isn't bad. You work hard for it and it is showing. Cheers for effort, Deb !!
  I am destined to carry a spare tire around with me forever because I am too lazy to work at getting rid of it and I like my foods. Just keeping near 200 is doing good.

  Hugs,
   Jeanette

Yes. It is extremely difficult to control appetite. I have run regularly during the past 14 years. Since 2011 when I started using RunKeeper in my new smartphone, I have run about 10,000 km, burning 600,000 calories.



My weight has oscillated between 65-70 kg (145-154 lbs). No significant gain or loss. I am a kind of big eater and drinker. My blood pressure has increased, too, as I smoke and become getting old. My systolic blood pressure exceeded 140. To wear bikini, I run more in summer, making my weight 65 kg. But I tend to eat more after running. That is just the physiology of my body.

barbie~~

I did a 90 min hilly run today, my first long run since starting this diet.  Now, it was kind of slow, LOL, pointing out the fact that I really need this work on my aerobic system.  But I did run the whole time and didn't really feel too terribly tired at all.  When I got home I wasn't even all that hungry but I did make myself a good "Primal" style soup.  I cooked up about 1/4 cup of dried lentils, added a bouillon cube for flavor, a tbsp of olive oil, a healthy dose of hot sauce, some other spices, a half cup of okra, and about 135 grams of chopped pork roast.  It was about 400 cal, it tasted really good, and there was no sugar rush or sugar crash afterwards.  Now, if the runs will just speed up some at my set heart rate I'll have to seriously consider eating like this forever.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

Quote from: Deborah on March 11, 2017, 04:01:41 PM
I did a 90 min hilly run today, my first long run since starting this diet.  Now, it was kind of slow, LOL, pointing out the fact that I really need this work on my aerobic system.  But I did run the whole time and didn't really feel too terribly tired at all.  When I got home I wasn't even all that hungry but I did make myself a good "Primal" style soup.

Yes. Immediately after running, you will not feel hunger so much, because your body has already increased the concentration of glucose in blood for your running activity. But at night or next day, you may feel hunger.

As you are on a diet, your body does not have enough glucose for running fast. That is the same for me. I can not run fast, but sustain slow running for several hours, anyway. When I ate enough and did not run during the past several days, I tend to have enough stamina to run fast.

barbie~~

Agreed on the stamina and speed. Low carb is great for endurance exercise, but again not great for HIIT. I do personally noticed that after a few months I was able to get into some higher intensity stuff. I know from a ketogenic stand point it takes about 8-12 weeks of being in ketosis for your cells to start making enzymes specifically for ketones/being able to fully utilize fat as your primary fuel source.

Deborah, I definitely get the feeling good on low carb and wanting to stay there for life. I am right there with you. I will say that my appetite slowly became more background noise than an overwhelming signal. Low carb seems to recalculate my hunger and satiation signals. Finally started recognizing what being hungry felt like, rather than a want or craving for food. Led to less grazing and more focus on whatever activity I was doing- rather than wondering about my next snack or meal every couple of hours. Much easier just to get absorbed in whatever you're doing.


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I finally went out and bought some ketostix yesterday and I am at a pretty good level of ketosis.  My average net carb intake last week was 61g which is a little higher than recommended but maybe my running is burning off the extra carbs.  I am still hungry though. :-(.    However, it's a manageable hunger unlike the kind I used to get from sugar crashes.

The good thing about this is that I'm able to eat a lot more than I was previously and am much less prone now to having massive cheat days.

Here is my weight record since I started to get things back under control diet wise in January.  The light line is daily weight and the darker is the trend.  As soon as that trend line reaches 165 I'm going to try and establish a daily maintenance intake that keeps me steady.  I think that will be right around 2600 cal at my current activity levels.  If I can manage that I'll be off this lifetime rollercoaster of gain and loss.



Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote