Exercise and fatique on Schwarzbein

[Perk]

Hi everyone. I'm new to Schwarzbein (only on my 5th day). My doctor recommended the plan last week, and, after years of gaining weight with a low-fat vegetarian diet, I decided it's worth a try. The only problem so far is that I'm feeling very fatigued, especially when I'm exercising. I've been going with the recommendations for carb intake in the lower end of the "Active" category. I walk about 5-6 miles a day, and 2 weeks ago I started adding a bit of running into my walking because I have been so frustrated that I get lots of exercise and still don't lose weight and I thought, maybe I'm just not exercising intensely enough!

I've lost 5 pounds just from the running (I'm waiting to see what a week on SP does). I'm wondering if maybe I need more carbs, or if I should have a little something to eat in the morning before I run.

I also seem to want to go to bed earlier at night.

I'm not familiar with the other low-carb plans, but I have visited the Atkins web site and it just seemed a bit extreme to me. The SP diet makes a lot more sense; it's a lot like "Potatoes Not Prozac," which I tried a couple of years ago for too short of a time to make a difference, unfortunately. But in comparison to Atkins, I wouldn't call SP a "low-carb" plan, but maybe a "controlled carb" plan. Anyone agree?

[lisaf]

Hi there -

Schwartzbein really doesn't give a lot of advice about exercise, but you can glean information from other plans. Some (I believe Protein Power?) suggest NOT exercising for the first two weeks because your body is switching over from carb burning to fat burning and you can experience a certain amount of fatigue. I think that once you feel the surge of energy that comes from your body making the "switch" you can reintroduce exercise.

I'm afraid my book is out on loan - are you eating the 30g meals, 15g snacks? If you were to stop exercising until your body adjusts, you would have to reduce to the Inactive level for a few weeks.

All I can tell you is that its perfectly normal to experience changes in levels of tiredness etc. and that it does pass!

Another potential solution is to increase your intake of potassium.

As to your point about what to call Schwarzbein...I'd still call it low-carb, because it is significantly lower in carbs than what the average person eats. I actually describe it as a "balanced" approach to nutrition that doesn't emphasize any particular food group over another.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Lisa

[Karen]

You can't go wrong either with a good multi-vitamin and a calcium/magnesium supplement.

Protein Power is a great supplemental book to any LC plan.

Karen