About exercise on a low-carb diet

M

mizlaur123

Cathlete
Hey Everyone,
I have been on south beach for about 3 weeks and eating low-carb. I have recently read online that if you workout TOO much on a low-carb diet your body starts to burn muscle instead of fat. Has anyone else heard of this? any suggestions as to the amount of cardio and weights i should be doing on this low-carb diet? duration? Is circuit training a good or bad idea? any thoughts would be helpful. thanks!
 
I think that if you are on any diet and your calories go below your caloric needs for that day you will burn fat and muscle unless you have adequate protein in your diet. I would suppose if you work out too much and create a calorie deficiet the same is true. I think that your goals(increase definition, endurance, aerobic capasity gains, etc.) should help you decide what type of exercise you do. Don't worry, there are so many knowledgable people here that will help you out! For me, if I get too restrictive on my carbs my work outs (weights and cardio) suffer.
 
I am looking to shed fat so my muscles look more sculpted. I had read before that circuit training was a good way to lose fat but gain muscle because you keep your heart rate up. Is that correct?
 
Well, I think circuit work outs are good because in theory you never have any rest periods between activities so your heart rate stays up and you burn more calories. Cathe has some circuit work out rotations you can check out. As far as gaining muscle, unless you are lifting a great deal of weight you probably won't see huge muscle gains, BUT a lot of people find circuit training fun because it moves so fast and you do so much. I am sure you will notice gains in strength and aerobic endurance as well as in the mirror results too. I am doing Cathe's circuit city rotation and I love it, one of my favorite rotations of hers. Good luck!
 
I can't make any recommendations for you, but I can tell you it is true that your ability to exercise can be severely compromised by a low carb diet.

My son was trying to lose a little weight during the summer on a low carb diet. Everything was going great until football practice started. He came to me one day and said he was going to quit. He said he couldn't do it anymore; it was just too hard. My son lives and breathes football!

Fortunately, I recognized the problem and helped him put more carbs back in his diet. Voila! He'll be playing college football beginning this fall.

Shari
 
Mikkia,
Do you happen to know the month and year of the circuit city rotation? I looked at her rotations and can't find it. Thanks!
Lauren
 
Hi,

When I did p90X the winter of 07 I cut my carbs considerable for about 3 months. I did up my protein and I shed quite a bit of fat and my workouts were not compromised. I mostly think it worked because it was a shock to my body and it forced me to burn fat. It was a fine line and I had to eat way more protein than I usually do.

I have since done some reading and carbs are a necessary nutrient for building muscle. I've gradually added more back in, but try to stay away from the simple ones.

Maybe you could try rotating low and higher carb days. There is some research out there that suggest this is a good way to provide the right fuel, yet not provide carbs that can be turned into fat. Informally I do try to do this; especially if I'm going to run the next day.

Tracy
 
PS. Now that I think back on it, I did not feel that well the first month, but my workouts weren't compromised.

Tracy
 
Tracy,
Thanks for the advice. I just kinda feel more sore then usual and its harder to get through the workout which i guess has to do with the lack of the energy i used to get from carbs. My body just prob needs to get used to this type of diet still. how were your results with P90X? I was thinking about giving it a try but never wanted to spend the money since i have a TON of Cathe's workouts. I just really want to lower my body fat as much as possible without losing any of my muscle that i have worked so hard on building.
Lauren
 
Lauren,

I've always had relatively low BF and I've eaten a low fat diet for years. When I cut the carbs and did P90X, I really took my BF down. I've gotten great results from P90X, and did it again this winter (just the weights part, I don't like the lower body stuff). I think that part of my results is because I have religiously used Cathe's weight workouts, so I was well prepared. I think you can get the same results with her weight routines, you just have to use them strategically and sometimes lift to failure 8/10 reps instead of the 12+ she uses. I'm loving 4ds right now and think that it is ingenious. It's like every move is planned.

What works for me is what Cathe says and that's to shock your system. That can be with diet and/or exercise. If you've been doing something for a while and it's not working then it is time to change. I know there are lots of opinions out there, but IMO I don't think it hurts to manipulate nutrients in your diet for a while in order to wake up your system.

Also, following her rotations have given me great results too. When left to my own designs, I realized I don't push quite as hard. Plus, she really knows how to combine workouts to give maximum results.

I'd look seriously at your diet and make sure you are getting enough calories and protein. It was really hard for me and I had to prepare foods ahead, but it was worth it. I really just cut the pasta, bread, rice, and potatoes. I still rarely eat any of those except WW bread.

Overall, it took a lot of hard work to get my BF down to where it is. That is a constant reminder for me when I go to pick up junk:)which I rarely eat.

Tracy
 
I've been doing low carb for almost 5 years. I had a significant drop in energy the first 2 weeks or so, & then my body adjusted & I felt just as energetic as I did pre-low carb.

I've heard the same thing re. burning muscle but that hasn't been my personal experience. Actually I broke a plateau several months ago & have increased my weights not once but twice in the past 4 months.

Also, this depends on your goals. For me, keeping weight off is more important than keeping muscle on. So it's never been an issue.

Diet & exercise routines are very personal. You have to play w/both to see what is most effective & what you can live with. I've found low carb very effective & it has not affected my lifting routine. It could be different for you & others. My advice: do what you enjoy most & adjust according to results. :)
 
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