m-w.com says ---

Main Entry: cal·o·rie
Function: noun
2 a : a unit equivalent to the large calorie expressing heat-producing or energy-producing value in food when oxidized in the body b : an amount of food having an energy-producing value of one large calorie

--------------------------
Calorie = energy
carbohydrate = quick form of energy

Low carb diets are not for people who do any type of physical activity. Low-carb diets are a "couch potato" diet; a fad diet. I am a distance runner and it makes me mad whenever I see an advertisement for low-carb with someone exercising. I dropped my 3.1 mile time from 20:11 to 16:06 in 3 years on a high carb diet. Then I ran 70 mile weeks on a high carb diet. Then I dropped my 3.1 mile time farther to 15:44. Carbohydrates are for athletes. Low carb diets are for the uneducated and the ignorant who are looking for yet another quick solution to their perceived weight problem.

Here's a free fact: Eat too much fat, it turns to fat. Eat too much carbs, it turns to fat. Eat too much protien, it turns to fat. Eat less calories than you burn, and you will lose weight. Change your eating for a month to lose weight, and it will come back when your eating changes back. Change your whole lifestyle, and the weight will stay off forever.

Really? Oh my gosh! Here I was thinking I was doing daily strength training and that I'm still fit to pass my military fitness test. Gee, I guess I was wrong, it was all a dream, and I'm just an ignorant couch potato!



Wow, what nerve. Actually, there are many, many highly-educated, intelligent people on this forum successfully low-carbing. Low carb appeals to people who are willing to question people like you, who simply spout the same nutritional baloney that spread with only extremely weak evidence to support it.



Exactly, which is precisely what we do. We cut out sugar and starch, and add it back in only to our individual tolerances.

You should really read and understand the concepts behind low carb dieting before you spout so-called 'facts'. We welcome debate on the subject here, but debate facts, not the "bacon and butter binge" myths that go around out there.

Oh dear, somebody should've told that to England's national rugby team before they headed off to the World Cup (Australia) in 2003!! More Proteins for England's Rugby Team: Less Carbohydrate is the Order of the Day.


Doreen

Good morning Guest,

When I was young and ignorant, I too thought just like you. Now that I am older and wiser, I have seen the error of my nutritional ways.

While carbs are a source of energy, so is fat. If you eat large amounts of carbs, then your body will use them for energy. Unfortunately, the body's stores of carbs are limited and must be constantly refreshed.

When carbs are limited, fat becomes the replacement fuel. Ketones are generated that provide lots of energy. The body's stores of fat are huge, even in thin people. There is no need to replenish the fat when it is being used for energy.

I am a cyclist and for years used to consume massive amounts of carbs to keep going on longer rides. Energy bars and bananas and energy drinks were almost staples in my diet. Now I eat few carbs and rely on just a handful of nuts to keep me going on the longer rides. I have noticed no performance degradation and if fact can now climb at higher speeds. The average heart rate that I can sustain is also much higher now.

One factor that you did not mention is the blood chemistry problems caused by high carb diets. High carbs result in high insulin levels. This can cause insulin resistance and a host of other problems, including high triglyceride levels and low HDL and eventually high blood sugar levels.

One advantage of a low-carb lifestyle is that the foods eaten are more satiating. Low-carbing results in consuming fewer calories as you feel full and are hungry less often. I eat when I am hungry and have been at a healthy weight for years. On high carbs, I was always hungry and kept gaining weight, despite lots of exercise.

I have changed my lifestyle to a healthy one and the weight loss and other health benefits have been tremendous. I used to take four prescription medicines when I was high-carbing; now I take none.

Congratulations on reducing your 5K times. I am sure that training had a lot to do with it, no matter what your diet was. If did not train and ate high-carbs, your times would not have improved.

Yawn, don't you just love such statements by people, particularly that low-carb is for the uneducated? Perhaps the guest should read the various books by Lutz on low-carb, and note his studies on pressure drop in stratospheric flight, as well as those on resuscitating mammals from a body temperature approaching 0 degrees C...

Low carb not for athletes? Go punt, guest, you're the one showing your lack of knowledge...

The ONLY time that exercise is not advocated for people following low carb diets is during the first 2 weeks of transitioning from high simple (=empty) carb diets to a lower level incorporating complex carbs instead.

IF one reads more than inaccurate newspaper accounts of what constitutes a 'low carb diet', one finds that the amount of carbs increases each week until weight loss stops. And the variety of carbs-containing foods increases. But all remain on the low side of the GI.

The whole idea of low carb eating is to heal a disordered insulin-resistant (because of the high intake of simple carbs) metabolism so that it slowly becomes more normal. It's likely that a person like that may never be able to handle the simple carb diet that you advocate. But most people here now eat many more vegetables than they ever did before.

Yes: change your lifestyle & way of eating. Believe the 'current low fat wisdom and count ONLY calories? Not likely.

Now why would that make you mad? Maybe because they're disproving the notion that you can't excercise and follow a low carb lifestyle or that those who choose a low carb lifestyle sit on the couch all day eating sticks of butter and a pound of bacon at a sitting? People often get uncomfortable when dogma is challenged with fact, but angry?
Perhaps Dr. Atkins was out of his mind when he wrote the chapter in his book titled: "Excercise; it's not optional" ( http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/9/13-688408.html ), but here are some studies that showed improved physical performance on a high fat diet vs. a high carb one (on top of Doreen's reference to the 2003 English ruby cup winning team):

http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/1/11-902958.html
http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/1/11-534846.html
http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/1/11-637597.html

Dear Guest,

Hmm, you may want to lay off the refined carbs, as your irrational anger is showing, and it is well know around here how much the carbs can affect your moods.

Wow, we can't exercise???? I better stop running for an hour and lifting weights, I guess I really wasn't leg pressing 700lbs the other day, must have been a figment of my imagination...

Here are a few free facts...

eat refined carbs, watch you blood sugar go crazy, watch your insulin spike, watch your glood glucose plummet, deal with irrational hunger driving you to eat more even though you don't need to. Took me up to 330+lbs without understanding it, and eliminating that crap solved the issue immediately 2 years ago, and I've never looked back.

Ignorant? Hmm, well, I'm actually schooled in manners, so I won't bother replying to you in the same tone you felt necessary to use, but I assure you you will find doctors, lawyers, scientist and all manner of very intelligent folk here who didn't walk into this blindly.

I know, I know, I shouldn't even bother feeding the troll, but heck....

Dear Guest,

I invite you to google the following two names, read what you find, paying particular attention to their diets and their achievements in the words of Iron Man Triathlon and Ultra Long Distance running respectively, and then come back and try to support your arguments:

Stuart Trager
Stuart Mittleman

Mike, thanks for the well written reply. I did write that post pretty badly. I just get so angry with people talking about their weight so much, and then I see a lot of comercials about low-carb like it's the answer to the world's problems. I will be more open to the ideas of less carbs.

Thanks

Why, on earth? There's lots of things people do I disagree with, but I don't actively go seek out the people I disagree with to disagree with them. I'd assume that there isn't a whole lot I"m going to say to change their minds, especially going to an enclave where they hang out and give each other advise and support.

People never fail to surprise me.

" People never fail to surprise me."

It's their carb addiction.

Hi Guest:
It's really funny, you are picking on LC diet and being on Militant Body Opus by Dan Duchaine?

Well, AFAIK it's a ketogenic diet with a periodic carb re-feeding .
It consist of very low carb phases probably even less than 20g a day, followed by 36 hours of carbs up.
http://www.qfac.com/books/bodyopus.html I hope you have success on it.
BTW, it's absolutely impossible to gorge on fat, without carbs it will make you As for too much protein, I agree it does get converted into ...glucose, and then into fat if not used for energy. But it's much easy to maintain a lower calorie regimen on a low carb diet. For the distance runners, it's probably harder to burn fat for a quick energy, carbs are easier to burn but some folks manage this very well. I guess some are more efficient in burning fat for fuel than others.

I am glad to see that there are so many athletes on this board. I am new here, but working out and feeling fine. I guess trolls are the norm? Why oh why...?

Hmm. So for about the first 100,000 years of human history, we sat around like lumps because no one had yet invented wheat, and figured out the technology required to mill, soak, ferment, and bake the stuff.

Before that, we sat around doing nothing? Sort of like walking 30 miles a day? Chasing down wild game, carrying hundreds of pounds of catch back to the camp?

Those people would have considered runners crackpots and wierdos. Why run around in circles doing nothing in particular, except timing yourself?

With mouths to feed and game to hunt, why waste time and energy running in circles. Better to train yourself to do something useful.

Oh, and a free-living aborigine could probably run you into the ground, and catch a kangaroo for supper while he was at it. All without eating oatmeal and granola and wholegrain bread.