Here is my take on this. What I am saying here is based on some reading I did over the years, and mostly based on my experience in working out while on LC.
Here is the theory: Carbs is the energy muscle use. The body stores a reserve of carbohydrates in the form of Glucogen. Glucogen is stored in the liver and muscles and is water soluble. When the body needs a quick boost of energy (i.e. in a intense workout) it secretes Glucogen into the blood and it gets converted to energy by the muscles. When we rest the body does the reverse by taking sugar and store it as Glucogen in the muscles. When we are on LC diet and we have no available sugar in the blood, the liver breaks down fat and converts it to Glucogen. this Glucogen goes into storage in the liver and muscles. The process of converting fat to sugar is slow and the energy flow from the liver is more like a drip then a flow.
The amount of Glucogen stored in our body varies from person to person based on the physiology, shape age etc. When I am in top shape I know I am good for 3 or so hours of intense bike riding, and if I try to go further I either bonk (i.e. hit a wall) or have to eat carbs.
here are some effects of the cycle of using and storing glucogen. When we use the glucogen storage the body flushes the water that the glucogen was stored in, and we lose weight. That is why when we start LC for the first time, we lose sometime 5 lbs in the first 2 days.. it is water.. On LC it takes a long time to replenish the Glucogen reserve while the liver is metabolizing fat only to make glucogen. and that's how we lose fat. Also, when the liver metabolizes a lot of fat (i.e. no carbs in the diet) it produces katones as a by product of the process, hence ketosis.
Body builders know that if the rest a couple of days and and the body has the opportunity replenish glucogen in the muscles, their muscles pop up a bit and seem more defined..
This is MY theory,
which I kind of developed over the years, and it helps me understand how to eat, when to eat and what is happening with my body.. So far it worked.
Glucogen is also known as
Glycogen ..