a problem (to the weightlifters)
 

Nearly 2 months into Atkins, my strength has been deminishing steadily since the first week.

Before, I had maxed (bench press) about 225 lbs, easily doing reps of 185 lbs. Now I have trouble even benching 165. According to trainers/weightlifters, lowcarbing diminishes energy/strength to the point of hindering lifting. I had expected this to pass eventually, but two months in, things don't look good. Since lifting involves exerting a lot of strength and much effort, I'm beginning to think I need to add way more carbs than I'm ingesting.

I'd like to know how others have reacted.

It depends how many carbs you currently take in, but I definitely think a lot of people over in the exercise forum have added in more carbs for weight training. How many are you eating? I think 30-40g is the bare minimum when you're doing a vigorous lifting regimen.

Here's a good thread for info on increasing your carbs: LC and BFL- Tips and Hints



Hope that helps a bit and your lifting starts to strengthen with some tweaks to your diet. :)

You might also need to adjust your protein intake. Too little protein will cause muscle loss, which translates into less strength in the gym.

and calories, you need calories!

How do you find out how much protien different foods have?

Thanks,
RLK

I am a lifter as well. I have found out that my strength deminished by very little. I can still list and press the same weights, I just need more time to recover.

And as time went by (3 months on Atkins now), my endurance is also getting close to where it was before the diet. I also started upping my leg weights, and I think I am ready to go up on my upper body too.

I've found that my strength is unchanged but I cannot do the same number of reps that I could pre-LC. That's all right with me for now as long as the bodyfat keeps going away!

Emily