Hi...I have just started induction and am still in my first few days. I am a pretty intensive runner, i usually run 5-6 miles a day or workout on the elliptical/bike for 45 min at a high resistance level. I can't seem to keep my carb count below 25-30 though, it just isn't happening for me. I eat too many veggies I guess, and i eat pumpkin as well. I can't seem to stay away from something OTHER than meat cheese and eggs, though I eat plenty of those as well :-) As its only been a few days there's no way to tell if its working or not yet. Is it okay for an athlete to eat a higher level of carbs during induction or will this dramatically decrease my success? I eat about 2000-2200 cals a day, 20-30 carbs, I am 22yrs old, 5'4'' and of muscular build predictions please : will i have success with induction at that carb/calorie level? I am just trying to lose 10 lbs to increase running speed and appearance.

Hi there,

You don't really have to do induction. Induction is mainly for people who have to break addictions to carbs, it helps them "detox" and get them out of their system. You can probably do well just by reducing your carbs and keeping what carbs you do eat to unproccessed whole grains, veggies and maybe some fruit. A lot of people who work out heavily find they need more carbs and do well. You probably won't have one of those impressive 6lb in one week losses though as you are already in pretty good condition, but it probably won't hurt you to try Atkins.

EVen though I'm in "good shape" i do eat a lot of refined carbs normally, and I am pretty sure I'm addicted since i want them really badly right now :-( I would like to break that addiction b/c it hinders my weight loss-- if i eat sugar and bread like i want to, i end up eating like 3000 cals a day because i like them so much, and I can't lose weight, i just stay the same, and low cal is next to impossible for me since i have a big stomache, and i can't keep it full if i'm eating like a rabbit. SO, yes, i do have a carb-addiction actually. can i break that addiction and lose significant weight if I'm eating that many carbs (25-30grams)?

Hi -
I am a low carb runner, too....just started the low carb thing last week to help shed about 15 pounds. I did my long runn today - was supposed to do 14 miles, but could only do 7. Am still feeling nauseous - have been reading that the ketones do that to you with heavy exercise. It seems that induction won't work for me as my workouts are intense so I am planning to add whole grains to my diet, too.
Good Luck

Many hard-core athletes find that when they start low-carbing, that they have to re-learn how to exercise. Many have to start over, like a completely new runner, and learn how to run on stored fat, rather than on carbohydrate/glycogen.

The body creates ketones whether you are low-carbing or not. When you consume carbohydrates, ketones must accompany these to be burned, that's why they don't show up in your urine when you consume higher levels of carbohydrates.

Jeff

This past fall, I trained for and ran the Baltimore marathon. I wasn't low carbing at the time and used things like Powergel and Gu to supplement during training runs and the race itself. Obviously, I can't use those if I am LC---what do I do? Also, do I need to keep my carbs at the lowest range (20-25g/day)? Help.

Further...in one of the above posts it mentioned having to learn how to run in such a way that fat is being burned....how do i learn to do this? Does it involve working at a lower HR??

Your body spends most of it's time in fat-burning mode. It's only when you get winded (become anaerobic) that your body switches from fat-burning to glycogen-burning mode.

Glycogen is the stored form of glucose.

The only exception to this general rule is when someone consumes carbohydrates and creates an insulin response. The carbohydrates turn instantly into glucose. Since the body can only store a limited amount of glucose (as glycogen), the body switches into the glucose-burning mode. Insulin stores what little glucose it can as glycogen and starts converting the rest of the glucose into fat.

One benefit of a Low-Carb way-of-eating, is that this mode of insulin-induced-glucose-burning and fat-creation is stopped; and the body stays in fat-burning mode. This is shown by the presence of ketone bodies in the urine.

Fat-burning requires oxygen. This means that when we get winded (become anaerobic) the body switchs to the emergency-back-up fuel. Since glycogen can burn without oxygen, it is an ideal emergency fuel. We can only carry a small amount, however.

To run a marathon without reverting to glycogen/glucose/carbohyrates, requires that we build up our aerobic capacity and raise our aerobic threshold. At first, this will seem more difficult than just running on carbs. But after a while, the benefit of a higher aerobic capacity and a higher aerobic threshold should become obvious.

If two runners are in identical physical condition, and if only one of the runner uses carbs during a race; the carb runner should run faster (because the carbs provide assistance in the form of a faster burning fuel source).

However, if each runner finishes the race at the same time, the non-carb runner will have become a stronger runner (they ran the race without the assistance of the carbohydrates).

If they run another marathon together, and neither one consumes carbohydrates, the non-carb runner should be faster.

Non-carbing (or low-carbing) runners must train in their aerobic capacity training zones and gradually push their aerobic thresholds higher. This is a slower process but eventually produces better results, over the long run.

Jeff

How do I get a higher aerobic capacity and/or higher aerobic threshold? (you answered my first post so beautifully, i figured I would ask another question!!) Thanks so much for your help. A LOT of people at my gym have been giving me a hard time about low carbing and long distance training, and no one seems to be able to answer my questions about how to LC and do long distance.

Oh--I thought about another question.... what about electrolyte replacement? Power gel and gatorade and that have electrolytes too--do I need electrolyte replacement and if I do, where do I get it in a LC form?

The most important supplements for low carbers are: calcium, potassium & magnesium. All three are natural electrolytes and low carb.

As far as building your aerobic capacity and raising your aerobic threshold, the best way is by doing High Intensity Interval Training, or Fartleks. Exercise at your current manageable (aerobic) speed and distance, and add frequent intervals that are faster and/or longer distances. Slowly you will build up your aerobic capacity and aerobic threshold. Here's an article on Fartleks:

http://www.coolrunning.com.au/expert/1997c002.shtml

Jeff

P.S. "Aerobic-Threshold" and "Anaerobic-Threshold" refer to the same thing. It is the point at which the body moves from Aerobic to Anaerobic.

How much calcium, potassium and magnesium should I take? Do I need to take more before an LSD? If I am not going to supplement w/ gels? What can I use for calories on my longest runs? (anything over 12 miles or so?)

I take 1200 mg of Calcium, 600 mg of Magnesium, and 99 mg of Potassium; daily.

Regarding LSD: just say no to drugs!

Kidding! I don't change what I take. I take the same supplements daily whether it's a short/long/off run day or not.

Regarding calories: There are enough calories in anyone's stored fat, to run 10 marathons. The key is training your body to run on stored fat, rather than on glucose/glycogen.

Jeff

I really appreciate all of your help. I am training for the RW half mary in Allentown PA on Apr. 24th. Right now my LSD is only 6 miles (which seems really short after training for a full mary last summer, lol.) I took my mileage way down and decided to re-build b/c I was experiencing cumulative fatigue and a trainer friend of mine suggested I "start over' in a sense to give the legs some much needed rest (I never really took any time of after the mary in Oct. and I think that is what did me in).

I am hoping that as I build my mileage base up slowly over the next 3 and a half months, that I will teach my bod how to burn fat so I don't end up bonking half way thru the race. I am more concerned about how I will manage w/ my full mary training this summer--hopefully by then I will be all straightened out and won't have any probs low carbing while marathon training (I am gonna do Baltimore again in Oct and maybe the Harrisburg full in Nov. ).

I did notice last summer when i was training that I would start to get very tired at around 7-8 miles if I didn't have a gel or something (gatorade, etc.)-- the gels really gave me a boost--I was getting about 100-120g carbs a day (not inc. gels)--not nearly as low as I am now (30-40g/day)---can I expect to NOT have that kind of fatigue now that I am LC?

Super Tate:

We can stay in touch. I'm currently running around 25 miles a week, at most, with my longest run being around 10 miles. Right now I am focusing more on biking and swimming. The bike season starts in March and lasts 3 months. I am on a team and have some events like a 24-hour endurance race and a 200 mile+ ride to get ready for. I swim more in the winter because I am not at the mercy of the weather, when I swim. I don't like to run or bike in the rain, that much.

When you say "half mary" and "full mary" I assume you mean half-marathon and full marathon. I'll be running around a half-a-dozen half-marathons this summer and fall; and a full marathon in December. I'd be happy to be your online running buddy! We should be able to finish all our events without feeling excess fatigue. When you train with carbs, you become dependent on carbs. When you train low-carb, you break the dependency.

Jeff

You seem so knowledgeable about all of this. I really want to stay LC, but I don't want to have to give up my distance training to do it. And yes, I meant marathons when using the term "mary"--I think I have spent a little too much time on RunnersWorld boards, lol.

Thanks again for your help---I will definitely be calling on your expertise in the future!!

LoCarbJ

I am still just running about 10 miles a week. I'm taking it slow to avoid injury. This week my runs have been bad. I ran 3 miles, a distance I have run several times, but I don't feal good at all. And when I finish my pace is slow. I looked back at my diet and a couple of days before that run I was extrememly low carb. One day my vegetable (a broccoli salad) was a disaster so I had no vegtable. Any way carb count for the 2 days before this bad run were about 15 gr and 12 gr. Is that to low? I had some tomatoes and a large serving of squash last night to see if that helps. Also I don't take much calcium/magnesium right now. Another thing to consider is that my water intake may have been low lately also.