Low Carb and vigorous sustained excersise?

[Flake]

Originally Posted by creseis

I'm just going back and reading some of this to see what happened to y'all low carb athletes to gain some perspective! I downhill ski at a resort I volunteer at. My first week in induction I worked at the resort 2 days in a row and usually I'm exhausted by lunch time and I have to warm up. These were serioulsy cold days, too, and I was on the mountain the whole time. Before I started work, I got 1.5 hours skiing in (including lift lines, etc.), at lunch time I ditched my tired friends and went skiing some more, feeling like a kid again. I stopped outside of the mid lodge to grab some meat for lunch, went right back to skiing, then worked another hour, then skied the rest of the day. Definitely a difference, even in induction I had no desire to lounge!

LOL, I think you're gonna find on deep days this is the best thing ever!!! Seriously, dress plenty warm and carry a hydration pack with lots of smart food and you're good for the day. I slip a small thermos of grren tea and lemon in my pack also, its nice when i get chilly and a couple slugs in the chair warms me up.

Now if the snow would just return to Tahoe....

[creseis]

haha we don't get deep days in the northeast!! It's supposed to be in the 50s next week, and raining!!! SADFACE.

[Flake]

Originally Posted by creseis

haha we don't get deep days in the northeast!! It's supposed to be in the 50s next week, and raining!!! SADFACE.

2 Years ago I spent the winter back east, in Maine. Having spent the previous winters in Colorado I was expecting to be miserable but I think I lucked out as it snowed consistently all winter. It can be good, especially one state to your east and a little north (VT). I spent a few years up there and it was fun.

On a bright note 50's and rain will only melt any remaining snow on your mtb trails no? I know I'm returning to southern nh in 6 weeks to get to work early (buying a place in colorado in the fall, need $$$) and am praying that the trails are snow free, while maybe squeaking a couple days skiing. Maybe we'll get an epic spring storm!

[creseis]

I know.. I just bought new skis I was in VT yesterday, Prospect mountain, which was fun and the snow was nice for xc.

The trails were pretty icy today, it would have been better if I had my studded tires. When it melts, it's going to be disgusting for a few days!

I lived in Breckenridge as a ski bum after I finished college for 4 years, but I went bust and had to come back to the northeast to go back to school... my job here is ending soon and I'm getting wander lust. I'm really really hoping to be able to get to CO for the Leadville 100 and the Breck Epic, but it will depend on my employment situation.

[creseis]

I know.. I just bought new skis I was in VT yesterday, Prospect mountain, which was fun and the snow was nice for xc.

The trails were pretty icy today, it would have been better if I had my studded tires. When it melts, it's going to be disgusting for a few days!

I lived in Breckenridge as a ski bum after I finished college for 4 years, but I went bust and had to come back to the northeast to go back to school... my job here is ending soon and I'm getting wander lust. I'm really really hoping to be able to get to CO for the Leadville 100 and the Breck Epic, but it will depend on my employment situation.

[Flake]

Originally Posted by creseis

I know.. I just bought new skis I was in VT yesterday, Prospect mountain, which was fun and the snow was nice for xc.

The trails were pretty icy today, it would have been better if I had my studded tires. When it melts, it's going to be disgusting for a few days!

I lived in Breckenridge as a ski bum after I finished college for 4 years, but I went bust and had to come back to the northeast to go back to school... my job here is ending soon and I'm getting wander lust. I'm really really hoping to be able to get to CO for the Leadville 100 and the Breck Epic, but it will depend on my employment situation.

I did the whole front range/summit county thing for a few years. Beautiful country for sure, tons of stuff to do, good employment opportunities.

In the end though I'm gonna park my ass in GJ and ride fruita/moab/durango and just make the 4 hour drive to SLC when I want to ski.

Those races are killer elevation!!! You're gonna need some days to acclimate!! Some day I'll get faster on my bike and do some races...Hell i just quit smoking a year ago!

[Flake]

I did a really hilly route today and decided to try it with no carbs at all, just pure fat/protein. It was terrible, I sucked bad on the extended climbs and felt pukey the whole time except for the sweet 4 mile downhill towards the end.

I need to get ahold of some of this superstarch because I just can't operate how i want to operate without some carbs, like half an apple along with my nuts/cheese. I've been on plan for well over a month without blowing it so i feel pretty well adapted.

For the record, when i do eat half an apple/some craisins mixed with my almonds ect...during long excersise periods my pee still registers a nice dark purple after im done. Maybe that's just how it is and isn't the end of the world. I mean starting next week im going to slightly bump up my carbs to 40 ish anyhow.

[creseis]

I think that eating a bit of sugar during a sustained workout won't cause your blood sugar to rise--I think it's being used immediately and not even turned into glycogen. The advantage of superstarch is that you don't have to worry about how much you need vs. how much you're eating because it won't change your blood sugar. On LC, your liver is trying to make enough sugar from fat for your muscles to use. When you up the endurance, your liver might not keep up with the glucose supply, so if you eat the difference, it shouldn't really affect your overall ketosis, so long as you don't eat like an entire pizza, right?

[Dee-L]

I have been on Atkins (2002) for 8 months and working out vigorously every day with one rest day/month. Haven't had any problems with energy. If anything, I can't relax. Oh, by vigorously, I mean 4-6 hours/day.

[westside]

Originally Posted by creseis

I think that eating a bit of sugar during a sustained workout won't cause your blood sugar to rise--I think it's being used immediately and not even turned into glycogen. On LC, your liver is trying to make enough sugar from fat for your muscles to use. When you up the endurance, your liver might not keep up with the glucose supply, so if you eat the difference, it shouldn't really affect your overall ketosis, so long as you don't eat like an entire pizza, right?

During exercise the insulin response is nil to not there so your blood sugar does not rise. You need blood sugar to rise to start an insulin response and you need insulin to store glygogen in the muscles. As long as there is exericse going on, the brain circulates available CHO in the form of blood glucose. The brain is going to make sure that blood glucose, muscle glycogen and fat is available for energy until exercise stops. If you run out of muscle glygoen during exercise, like in an event that goes on for more that 3-4 hours, the brain is still going to keep glucose in the bloodstream and not be concerned about replacing muscle glycogen.

During sustained exercise, most people (thier stomach more accurately) can only handle a maximum of can only handle a maximum of 60-70 grams of CHO per hour until stomach issues occur. That equates to 240 to 280 calories per hour from CHO. In most sustained exercise one might use 400-700 calories per hour depending.

[westside]

I believe fructose has to go through the liver to be made available as blood glucose and other forms of CHO like gels (maltodextrin) and sports drinks go through the stomach and more or less directly into the bloodstream.

If you read the back of a gel pack like GU, the instruction say to take 15 or 20 minutes before exercise. The reason for that statement is that it takes about that long for the body to set off an insulin response. An insulin repsonse will turn off fat burning, the body will rely soley on CHO which will lead to high levels of blood lactate and that is the last thing you want when you start exercise.

[creseis]

Thanks for explaining that, Bill!

What happens if you eat a pack of gu an hour into your endurance workout in the middle of a 3-4 hour session (ride), but not before the ride? Does it stay in your blood as CHO? How is it incorporated into a cell for energy if there is no insulin?

[creseis]

Originally Posted by Dee-L

I have been on Atkins (2002) for 8 months and working out vigorously every day with one rest day/month. Haven't had any problems with energy. If anything, I can't relax. Oh, by vigorously, I mean 4-6 hours/day.

I have a scheduled rest day once a week and I cannot sit still on that day, I was at a board meeting in the evening and after sitting all day at work I was like flying all over the room and having these amazing ideas, but I apologized in advance for being a lunatic that day, it was crazy! Crazy how much energy this ketosis thing gives ya!

[westside]

Originally Posted by creseis

Thanks for explaining that, Bill!

What happens if you eat a pack of gu an hour into your endurance workout in the middle of a 3-4 hour session (ride), but not before the ride? Does it stay in your blood as CHO? How is it incorporated into a cell for energy if there is no insulin?

I believe GU is maltodextrin and goes into your stomach,to the intestinal tract and from there is absorb into the bloodstream as glucose and available for energy. Maltodextrin in high glycemic. It is absorbed very quickly which is usually good for exercise. The brain leaves it in the bloodsteam for fuel until exercise stops. I can't explain clearly how blood glucose goes into the cycle for energy production but I'm 99.9% sure that insulin is not part of the energy production cycle. There is something called the Krebs cycle and that might explain it.

The brain holds off an insulin response while exercise is going on, as it wants all fuels avaiable. The brain doesn't know that your out for a jog. It has to assume your being chased by something higher up the food chain and the brain doesn't know how long this chase is going to last. Or maybe your chasing food.....nahhh, 40 lbs overweight...hasn't chased food since the age of 11...must be the one chased.

When this keeps going on for day after day for a while, the brain gets in a quandry and has to do something about it. The problem is that body as it is, is less than ideal for sustained exercise, so the brain turns on 'training genes, if it can find them. These are the genes that build a larger and more diverse blood capillary system, more and larger mitochondria for aerobic energy production from fat, the left ventricle of the heart gets larger and pumps more blood on each beat into the now larger blood capillary system ... .

[creseis]

well in order to get into a cell to be used by mitochondria to produce energy, glucose needs to pass through the cell membrane, and the only way this is possible is by attaching to insulin, which can attach to specific protein receptors on the membrane and exchange the glucose. I don't know of any other mechanism that glucose can get inside a cell membrane.

[westside]

Originally Posted by creseis

well in order to get into a cell to be used by mitochondria to produce energy, glucose needs to pass through the cell membrane, and the only way this is possible is by attaching to insulin, which can attach to specific protein receptors on the membrane and exchange the glucose. I don't know of any other mechanism that glucose can get inside a cell membrane.

You right on insulin attaching to glucose.