I've been hanging around here for a while now in different threads and lists. I started out on SB and lost 30lbs. In those first two "induction" weeks I felt horrible doing exercise, I was spinning, runnung, weight training and doing lactate threshold training and essentialy didn't have much lactate to burn. It felt great though when I looked at the scale and actually had lost 9lbs the first 2 weeks. I then started adding back in carbs slowly going into the other 2 phases and the last phase where you can add back in sugar and other crap. Well I don't have to tell you that since I was working out and eating that way again my weight stalled, I didn't gain and I didn't lose. A couple of job changes later and I fell hard off the wagon. The insulin resistence and reactive hypoglycemia came back along with a vengence and I had gained all the weight back, what is funny though is a lot of it must have been muscle cause I can still fit the clothes I was wearing when I lost the 30lbs. Weird, I started at 264, got down to 234 and now back to 262 with only 1 dress size change up and then 1 dress size back down.

So now I'm on Atkins. I had never wanted to do Atkins. I have to admit I listened to all the crap other people said about how dangerous it is. Well Atkins is the prescription for reactive hypoglycemia. My symptoms have dissappeared and I can stay awake through the day. I've lost 8lbs in the first two weeks with no exercise. I purposely have stayed away from the gym because I wanted to get used to eating this way again. I want to get adjusted to the food before I put more pressure on myself to workout like I was( I trained for a duathlon and then a marathon during the time mentioned above). I don't mind exercise, in fact I love it but I'm afraid of having to add in carbs again. I plan to stay on a version of Induction for as long as I can. I do not want my reactive hypoglycemia to return because I will be on the direct road to diabetes. With all that being said I have a couple of questions, and yes I know everyone is different but humor me if you will.

1.) Does anyone workout vigorously (45-60 mins) while on induction or in any other phase?
2.) Have you found that you don't need to add carbs back in for workouts? If you did have to add some carbs back in for exercise what did you add in?
3.) Have you noticed a difference since adding carbs back in? Are you workouts better? Were you still able to lose weight after adding them back in?

It would be fair to say that after the 2 week induction on SB, I was able to still lose weight. The only things I added back in initially were sweet potatoes and berries. But lo and behold after that the carb creep set in again and I was back on brown rice, wheat bread, whole wheat pasta and BAM the weight loss stalled. I was very careful at first and the weight loss was 2lbs a week for 3 months but I added those other carbs back in cause I thought they would help on long runs and long bike rides and it seems like they did but only if I wanted to stay at that same weight. My goal is to lose weight but no feel horrible doing it. I'm on week 3 of induction now and I'm going to start working out slowly next week. I need some tips on how to add or not add carbs back in. Thanks for reading!!

Ruthie

Hi Ruthie,
I dont work out very much, or very intensly. But according to the books I'v read on LC diets you shouldn't have to add any carbs for exersize, once your body swiches to burning fat it should provide all the fuel you need. If you eat something high in carbs before working out you'll be switching back to carb burning. When you are burning carbs your supply is limmited by what you've eaten and whats stored in your muscles, when you swich to fat burning you have a steady supply of energy without the ups and downs. (Johny bowden talks about this in Living the lowcarb life). If your starting out slowly and don't have any problems with your workouts as they get more intense than why worry about adding more carbs.

Good luck, I hope someone is more helpfull than me.

I stay at 25 or less grams of carbs per day and workout at least 6 days per week usually. I do 40 minutes on my elliptical and will walk on my lunch hour 1 - 1.6 miles. On the weekends I can walk even more and do. I add in weights too when I have the time. I don't ever feel like I need carbs for my workouts. In fact, when I keep my carbs low I have more energy than ever!

Hope this helps.

I'm currently on Induction-level carbs and I take an hour-long cardio kickboxing class on Tuesdays/Thursdays and find that my energy levels in that class are the same or BETTER than they were last year when I was eating a high-carb, low-fat diet taking the same class with the same instructor. So I personally don't feel that Induction-level carbs effect it.

This week, I too her Cardio Kickboxing class and her Step and Sculpt class back-to-back (2 hours of mostly non-stop, high intensity cardio) and survived I even woke up without feeling like a bus hit me this morning. I'm doubling up again tomorrow night!

I also am getting into lifting, but I'm new to it--though I don't feel weak or anything at my current carb level.

Hey Ruthie,
Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I mountain bike the ski trails at Killington (about 1.5 hr ride several times a week) and things are a *little* different for me with eating this way, but I do feel like they are getting better as my body settles into this way of eating. I can tell you for absolute certainty that when I did the first two weeks of induction, I hadn't bought a multivitamin for the first week and I felt like **it. I was barely able to muster up the energy to go for a walk. Then, I got my GNC multivitamins and feel 100% better. Atkins talks about losing electolytes during the big initial weight loss which will cause you to bonk. I am pretty sure this is why I felt so lethargic because my diet is clean. Also, with you being so active like you are, I would suspect that your eating needs to be a clean as possible to maximize what you get from everything that goes in your mouth.

As far as carb loading before a major workout. I have read in several places that discuss regimes for body builders where they cylce carbs in (ketogenic cycling diet). So that they get there enery for their workout and are still able to maximize fat loss through the use of the low carb diet. I understand the concept and I am sure that it works quite well for them, but.....

...you talked about reactive hypoglycemia which is why I chose to eat this way. I know that I am obese because I have no control over carbs or food when I ate the way I did previously (I suspect that the bodybuilders using the carb cycling have better control of their eating). I personally would not dream of adding in any carbs to try to squeeze out an extra gain out of a workout. Here is my reasoning. I am very athletic, obese, but nontheless, athletic. If I were to try to add carbs back in for the purpose of gaining a better burn from a run or workout, I am, for one, not doing Atkins like prescribed (which so many people have been successful at) and two, I would be opening the door for potential cravings to come back and for me to possibly fall off plan. I think of it this way...when I am 150 lbs, I will be able to run, bike, hike, paddle, and climb like the wind.

I am at the end of my third week on Atkins. I have zero cravings, the weight is melting off of me with not one ounce of struggle, and I feel amazing. Atkins states in his book that the amount of weight you lose is *almost* directly proportional to the amount of carbs you eat up to a point. I am certainly not any kind of expert but I would suggest sticking to plan as prescribed and not trying to worry about getting extra gains out of your workouts at this point. You will see more gains in your running by getting the weight off.

PS. I know this is long winded, but I wanted to say that I was an Atkins nay-sayer, but I can't tell you how great I feel and how much I LOVE THIS PLAN. Did I mention how fantastic I feel?

I am on week #2 of induction and i have been trying 90 minutes of intense exercise at least 4 days per week. I do Bikram Yoga which is the most insane intense exercise i've done since I was running 3 hours a day back in college. Nothing compares to it for me.

I have do admit, since I've taken out carbs my muscles have LESS endurance. I can tell I am losing fat, I am in ketosis, and I feel good doing bikram yoga, but in certain positions that I could hold for a full 60 seconds I now fatigue at 30-45 seconds....but thats no reason not to work out. I still do it, and I'm sure the more my body gets used to this way of eating, losing fat and gaining a lil muscle I will have my muscle endurance back in no time!

So yeah, I suggest exercising during induction, but that's just ME and my personal preference