I was a pretty successful low-carber (Atkins) for a couple of years, but hit a BAD plateau where nothing I did would help me lose (got down to 124, but creeped back up to 140 or so, managed to get down to 135, but got stuck again). So I started running, but found it difficult to find a carb level that would allow me the energy to train for long races (since Spring I have done everything from 5ks to a half marathon--13.1 miles).

I LOVE the Atkins diet and consider myself an Atkins success (I'm still 40#s lighter than my all-time high weight), but love running and need to find *something* that will allow me to control my cravings, lose weight, but still be fueled well for runs (my goal is a marathon in the next 2 years). I need to get my weight moving downward, again, as so much of my weight loss has been mental and when I did everything by the book for so many months (no more than 1500 calories, running 15-20 miles/week) and saw no losses it really killed my resolve and had me rationalizing a lot of bad eating choices with the reasoning "I'm not losing anything when I'm doing everything right, so why bother?"

Have any other distance runners found a specific LC plan that works well for them? Or are there ways to tweak Atkins to work? Once I got up above 50 net carbs it became tougher for me to plan my menus and I started to have issues with calories, too...I'm such an all-or-nothing gal, which is why Atkins worked so well for me--I crave that structure. I really need the accountability of logging my foods in Fitday, which I got away from for several months. I also have an appt. to have my thyroid checked, as I have many symptoms of hypythyroidism and another autoimmune disorder (endometriosis), so that could be a contributing factor to my weight loss struggles, as well.

k

For me if my carb level is too low it is difficult to run well. For training, carbs may not be so important. The tradeoff is a slower pace during daily runs. Without enough carb my training pace may be 12 to 14 minutes per mile. With enough carb, the pace goes up to 8-9 minutes per mile.

The slower pace is not serious. At that pace, I am burning probably 90% fat. Most runners schedule one or two speed workouts per week. Then one hill workout per week. All the other daily runs are mainly to satisfy the running jones. For the speed sessions, I eat a lot of carb that morning. After the workout I eat a lot of protein. For the daily runs, I don't eat much carbs. I'm still trying to find the least amount of carb to run well on.

Slow Burn, by Stu Mittleman is the bible of low carb running. It's been out long enough that used copies can be found I'm sure.

Ooh, I think I will look into that book--I am not familiar with it, but I would love to read something by a LC runner.

Well, I'm not sure how low I want to go with the carbs...my general easy, long run pace is around 11 minutes (my half marathon was at a 10:16 pace), so if I get much slower than that I might as well just walk. I have given some thought to carb-cycling a bit--staying low most days, but increasing in the day or two before each long run. I'm just not sure how much to increase to. I think I could easily do <50 net for my low days...maybe 100+ for my carb-ups?

k

I should add that I'm not doing much speedwork, yet. I had been doing some hills and fartleks for a while, but stopped when I had a chronic right hip flexor issue. I've also been advised to wait until I have been running for a solid year and have a good, steady base before I incorporate too much speed work (which is probably where the hip flexor problems came from--too much speed too soon).

k

OK i'm following this thread with interest, i'm a very NEW runner, been building up slowly last few weeks and i'm now running in the area of 7.5km an hour 3 x a week, so far all i've done is scramble a couple of eggs with coconut oil or butter before i go and i've been fine, am i going in the right direction?? i'm gradually building my speed up so i can cover more distance

sorry i don't have anything to add just more questions!

daisy xx

I'm no expert on running, but I would think that 1500 calories and running 15-20 miles per week is the reason why you didn't lose any weight. That's too few calories for that level of activity. Have you tried upping your calories for a couple of weeks? More fat, especially.

Sunny!

Yep, up, down, sideways, backwards...you name it. I did anywhere from 1200-2500 calories for months and didn't lose a pound regardless of how much or how little I was eating...but I did gain (not much in the way of muscle, either, otherwise my body should feel rock-hard and I shouldn't have gone up a pants size or two). The only time I seem not to gain is when I am hungry, which really stinks.

I never was a fast loser on Atkins (but I did lose, which kept me from throwing in the towel), but once I lost 40#s it became a constant struggle. I went from losing a pound or two every month following the book to being lucky to lose that in 6 months--now it's a struggle not to gain a pound or two every month, even with the running. It's no wonder I've had such a backslide in recent months--after so many months of being so careful with diet and exercise one kinda loses their resolve.

I ran a 5K 2 weeks ago and I am on Atkins. I haven't done a run like this since I was in my mid-thirties. My weight did go up but I had an easier time running with the extra weight then I did before. I am not a fast runner but I did keep a steady pace. I didn't count anything but I ate what I needed. I am sure that I ate more calories while running. I ate before my run and after, if I felt the need to do so. I deliberately kept my diet low carb so that I could see if I really needed all those carbohydrates that the books say that I need. The night before I protein-loaded with a steak and shrimp dinner. I added plenty of fresh vegetables. For breakfast I had bacon and eggs and lots of water. It took me forever to run the course but that was no surprise...I am not an athlete.I actually, broke my own record. I ran this course in 55 minutes but a few days previously it took me an hour. I am planning to run again next year and I plan to break my record...perhaps 50 minutes next time.


Every one thinks that if you can't run at a fast pace then it really isn't running. This isn't true. I actually out-ran people who would walked and ran. When I completed the run my muscles felt like melted rubber. They would not have felt so tired if I had walked instead. It is more important to keep a steady pace especially if you are new to running/low carb. I run the way I teach music. As a flute teacher, I tell my students to never practice a piece of music too fast. To avoid practicing mistakes, take the piece slowly and plan to play it perfectly from the start. As your fingers understand the passages of a composition, then pick up the tempo. Students hate practicing this way, they want to jump into the music and play around and with mistakes. This just doubles or triples practice time. I think that if I run slowly, I can keep up the pace ( tempo ) without injury. I can build strength gradually and hopefully it will be more beneficial in the long run. Practice does not make perfect...perfect practice, makes perfect.

Black, those are good points, though I can tell you from experience that the carbs a body needs for a 5k are very different from those needed for longer runs (plus I hate 5ks, since it takes me 2 miles just to feel warmed-up...I'm much more of a slow, steady, longer race runner). I didn't find myself bonking until I got to the 7 mile mark or so on a long run and never ran into issues with low-carbing until I got into higher mileage runs (and my weight was still stalled). It's not really about speed, but distance. Granted, people who run faster will bonk faster, but they will have gone roughly the same distance as someone who runs slower and bonks later.

I seem to find myself running out of steam at shorter distances than most people, but I think this is a result of hypoglycemia. I tend to eat something with fast carbs (jelly beans or Clif Shot Bloks) at about the one hour mark, that way it has time to get into my system before I have depleted my muscles' glycogen stores.

And, as nice as it is to run slow, my midweek workout times are limited by my son's kindergarten schedule, so I usually only can squeeze an hour or so of running in--if I run too slow I can't get as many miles in and won't be prepared for my longest races. I can still get my long weekend run in just fine, but I still need to have some mid-length runs in for endurance. Plus most marathons have a time limit and my ultimate goal is to complete at least one in my lifetime.

Adding regular walking breaks to a long run is a good idea. I found by planning a 5-minute walk every 20 minutes I ran 20 miles in the same amount of time as I had a few weeks earlier when I hadn't walked a step. Plus I felt less depleted at the end of the run.

It's been several years since I read Mittleman's book. It does not specifically talk about low carb. It talks about controlling the heart rate by using a heart rate monitor. If your heart rate is too high, you are burning blood sugar. The slower you run, the higher the percentage of calories burned from fat.

Mittleman says by keeping the heart rate controlled, your cardio system improves and over time you naturally run a faster pace while still staying in the fat-burning zone.

I've thought about buying a HRM, though several people I know who do have become almost obsessed. Mostly I just run at a pace comfortable enough to be able to carry on a conversation and not gasp for breath (I'm also asthmatic, so that helps slow me down, too--if I have to struggle to breathe, then I know I'm overdoing it).

I know there's at least one running expert who also recommends the run/walk method for long distances. Lately I have had to run and walk out of necessity (shin splints, rock hard calves and numb feet...I think I occasionally run into chronic compartment syndrome and it seems to come on mostly when I am short on sleep, which I have been lately). My pace is really not much slower when I do this.

I do my best running when I keep my carbs at about 35 or 40. But I think everyone has their own level. Judy H

Hi, Judy,

How many miles can you run on that # of carbs? I can go for around an hour on that, but that's usually only around 5.5-6 miles for me. After that I feel like I can barely take a step and my pillow starts to sound REAL good...

k

I can usually run for an hour then I drink a shake and that usually gets my motor running again. I guess you just have to experiment and see what works for you. Judy H

I'm running 8km (5 miles) an hour now and still not doing anything to change my diet at all, people at the gym keep telling me i'm going to have to carb up soon but surely i don't if i'm feeling fine, i just have a boiled egg if i feel i want something to eat afterwards, maybe a lowcarb shake would be better???

daisy xx