Competitive Athletes

[jealibeanz]

Is it possible for a competitive athlete to be successful in competition while on the Atkin's diet, even at induction level carbs? I am a NCAA swimmer and am starting Atkin's in a few weeks. Induction will most likely not be during my competitive season, but I will be working out at the gym. However, will I be able to train intensively at other levels of Atkin's? Also, how will induction affect my gym workouts? Will I burn out or have energy? Thanks for any help!

[maribel83]

Hi Jealibeanz!
I doing Team in Training (cycling for the Tour de Tuscon) and starting Atkins today again. I did Atkins for awhile in the summer to kind of check it out, and not only did I have a ton of energy, I got on to one of my "addicted-to-exercise" kicks. I loved it! I didn't really do induction though...I think I was probably at 30g of carbs or so because I ate more vegetables. I also ate Atkins bars on my bike rides. Some have suggested not eating the bars during induction and avoiding sugar alcohols in general. I know for me, once I taste something sugary my cravings tend to come back. Now I'm all moved in at school and dying to get back on induction!
I don't know if this will help you at all...and I know swimming is pretty tough. My sister is a high school athlete and when she did Atkins she could drop 20 lbs. in a few weeks. I guess she has a low metabolic resistance to burning fat. However, we both agreed it was not healthy for her...too much weight too fast.
I don't know if this helps at all....obviously it's not an expert opinion - just my experience....
Good luck!! :D

Maribel83

[maribel83]

I forgot to add one more thing! If any, I feel the worst the first few days of Induction...but light-moderate exercise usually helps speed the detox process for me...then you can go all-out after a few days. :)

M

[Natrushka]

Jealli, you may find that you're not up to your normal level of intensity when you initially being your LC WOE - this is normal. How quickly you adapt is an individual thing. But once your body does get used to burning fat as fuel instead of carbs you'll know - you feel a lot more energetic. Full adaptation can take months, however.

Being very althetic you may find you need more carbs - Dr.A suggests between 60-90g for althetes in his book. I found when I began weight lifting and doing interval training that 20g was definitely not enough but 35g did just fine. After two years now I can handle <20g a day, with little problem. It was simply a matter of time.

If you find yourself 'bonking' (feeling tired, dizzy, nauseated) then you know you need more carbs - especially around those intense workouts. It will be pretty much trial and error.

HTH
Nat

[dug]

I do triathlons and have been on Atkins for 6 months or so now. I found that when doing any intense exersise such as sprinting on a bicycle that I was running out of energy rather quickly. If it was a constant pace then I felt as though I could go forever. Fat is a wonderful fuel for long steady work.

From what I understand when going at a high intensity the gylcegen from the muscles is used faster than it can be replaced and since Atkins lowers the amount of carbs that one consumes it also lowers the amount of glycogen in your muscles. This means you have less fuel available for high intensity.

I found that by going to about 40-50g carbs a day that I had alot more energy for the intense work.

What I have gleaned from this board is that most people up there carb intake before intense exersise, because most experiance lack of energy in intese work. Make sure you supplement with vitamins too as you will also find cramping an issue if you don't.

good luck