low carb life and cycling

[mcompton]

ok, been doing a lot of reading, and I believe that I need to change my LIFE, not just diet. years ago I lost some weight for my weeding through the Atkins plan...and it has really been the only successful diet plan I ever did. leading me to believe that I need to be on this type of life...forever.

my concern is this. I love to ride my bike. 14-20 miles at a time, 3-4 times a week. I have not lost a lot of weight this way, but I enjoy it, and I think with a low carb plan, I will loose the weight.

my concern is this. I have always thought that you need carbs to do long lasting aerobic type activities. Will I still be able to bike etc?

I will do a better intro at another time, but it is 1 am, and I am sleepy.
Thanks.

[mylle]

you just keep on trucking...
you dont NEED carbs for activity but it is considered an easy fuel for your body. the body can run just as healthy on protein and fat which you actually NEED . it is no problem being active and lowcarbing at the same time. if you were to be a proffesional athlete and training vigorously for 8 hours a day you might have some difficulties getting enough fuel without eating carbs. that is why we often see the profesionels loading up on pasta.
the fact that you love to bike is very good and will be a big help in loosing your weight. just keep it up
good luck
mylle

[mike_d]

I ride 3x a week, not as far though and lift weights. I read studies that show LC riders have more endurance. It takes awhile to adjust to running on fat-- liver gives me a boost and contains some glycogen. Some people here have a few complex carbs before their workouts. Look in the cycle training thread.

[katwoman]

I'm riding almost daily--only skipping bad weather days. You'll be fine riding without the excess carbs.

[MandaSue]

Of course you can! Instead of burning up carbs you ingested via bread, rice, snickers bars...you'll be burning your own fat in your body! You'll lose weight much faster after you body starts running on it's own stored up carbs.

[mcompton]

Hey, you are in Lincoln, I am in Omaha...hi.

Well I will find out. I posted the same question on a Cycling forum, and boy I got replies from all over the place. Fact is that I have read Atkins and Protien Power, and I think that I dont have a lot to loose by trying, so Monday I am doing an induction phase of Atkins. I will keep riding. I already keep a journal of my bike rides, so I should be able to see if my performance suffers tremendously...although honestly I am not into racing and such...so who knows.

I will be around for a while it looks like.

[lexy-lou]

I like to go biking as well and have continued to do so over the last two months that I have been LC-ing without any difficulty. I did notice that the day after I cheated (with a piece of birthday cake) that (not surprisingly) I had a lot more vigorous, energetic ride. Going up hills seemed like a breeze. When in ketosis, I have more of a steady, lower energy level without bursts of energy. The upside is that I don't have an energy crash at any point during the ride. I guess I have contented myself that this trade-off is fine. I don't mind riding more slowly and steadily. The exercise is great and I enjoy it with or without carbs.