Low Carb Diet (Read 2786 times)

One of the women here on RA did Primal Blueprint and totally transformed herself.  I'll give her a heads-up on this thread in case she wants to chime in, herself.

Two years ago I did Maffetones '2-week-test' in which you don't eat ANY carbs or sugar (including fruit) for two entire weeks.  It's not a weight-loss thing, though you probably will lose weight.  It's to determine if you are eating too many carbs.  Supposedly most of us have way too much carbohydrate in our diets and it makes us sluggish blah blah blah.  

 I did end up losing about 5 lbs in the two weeks but I felt like I had more energy and my running was as good as before.  I gradually added in carbs but I don't eat nearly the amount  I used to eat before this 2 week thing.  My weight has remained in the low 150's (I used to range into the 170's and even 180's) and I'm still setting absolute PR's at 50 years old, though they're definitely coming farther and farther apart now.  I do attribute some part of my improved running to finding the right diet balance.  

That would be great if she did--like I say, I have a lot of interest in this but not too much faith in a lot of the folks I see in some of the other forums, especially given the fact that many of them call running "chronic cardio" and view it pretty negatively.  Their view is that proper exercise consists of "lifting heavy things" and "sprinting".  It seems like that works for a lot of them, but I have absolutely no desire to go that route.  I would love to hear from someone who is a runner and has had success w/Primal.

 

Thanks

 

The folks on the other forms that call all running "chronic cardio" pretty much hate running.  Chronic cardio would be too many effots above 80% Max Heart Rate causing muscle to be consumed as fuel and increasing fat storage.  Sprinting is supposed to help the expression of testosterone.  Other than the sprint efforts and short heavy lifting sessions,  PB promotes exercise at less than 75% of Max Heart Rate.  Running at that effort included. 

 

This morning I ran 10 miles at an 8:48 pace and an average heart rate of 135.  My Max Heart Rate is 180.  Granted, it was low 50F's this morning but there is no way I run that pace at that low of an average heart rate for that distance earlier this year.  In March I ran a 1/2 Marathon at an 8:16 average pace and my Heart Rate Average was 167.  I'm on track to log 3,000 miles again this year.  It's changing what I'm eating along with the running that's getting me there.

That would be great if she did--like I say, I have a lot of interest in this but not too much faith in a lot of the folks I see in some of the other forums, especially given the fact that many of them call running "chronic cardio" and view it pretty negatively.  Their view is that proper exercise consists of "lifting heavy things" and "sprinting".  It seems like that works for a lot of them, but I have absolutely no desire to go that route.  I would love to hear from someone who is a runner and has had success w/Primal.

 

Thanks!

 Hey There, that Girl is ME.

Be careful not to spend too much time over on MDA, they are kinda cult like over there, and they don't understand running as a sport. Chronic Cardio by their definition is working at a medium/hard effort for longer distances more than once a week. Does not fit the Marathoner's mold at all. While I agree that too much of any good thing ain't good, It all depends on what your individual goals are. I am not a distance runner anymore, could not handle it, In fact, don't even keep a running log anymore, as I don't really " Train" for stuff anymore. that said, I still run 5k races, 8k races and really LOVE to run now, compared to when I first began 3 years ago, I did not. Injuries took over, and I just could not find a groove. I began a solid weight training/strength/conditioning program, cut the miles, and cleaned up my eating ( beginning with Body For Life) and lost the 20lbs of fat that I could not lose running, and eventually began looking at more holistic approaches to eating and wellness in general. That led me to the Primal/paleo movement and I have been for the last 2 years. I am not crazy cult like, I don't eat raw fleshy animals  but I do enjoy quality meats, coconut oil, real good bacon and lots of veggies. I also recently began adding things like Quinoa, Sweet Potatoes, and a few beans in here and there, as there are a few races I want to run this fall, and I simply just bonk too easy without some starchies. That has made a BIG difference in the gym in regards to my weight training as well, and even seems to be helping me lean out. The Added Muscle had transformed my running HUGE. The Hills I literally cried on 3 years ago I cannot WAIT to run now. With Stronger legs from all the muscle I added, the hills are no problem, and I also find that I recover much faster. I do one run a week that is about 5 miles or so, sometimes more, sometimes less, and 2 speed workouts a week of hard sprinting. I ran my fastest 5k last year. My fat blubbery running body got me a 30:00 5k, my lean running body got me that 5k in 27:24. Still not fast by most of these amazing runners here, but at 45 I will certainly take it. More importantly, I love running now, as i said before. Lastly, I would just say that you have to find a happy place that works for you and YOUR goals. For me, it's the NO Gluten of any kind. that is what seems to really cause a host of problems for me, from bloating, acne, lethargy. I find that I can eat some of the more non primal things like legumes and tubers with nothing but good results. Best of Luck to you! Let me know if you have any questions, just PM me.

OK, for what it is worth I tried Primal Blueprint for about 5-6 months.  (and I have quite a bit of moderate carb experience a la SouthBeach or a diabetes type diet so its not like i was coming from a high carb runners diet)  I felt ok for the first several months, lost a little weight, but also lost a lot of my interest in most things that interested me .  Around 3-4 months in I developed severe GI problems  and it has taken months to bring them down to a manageable level and I still dont feel they are resolved.  While there are certain things about the diet that I think have merit (I actually dont eat grain that often any more and when I do it tends to be rice--along with the critique on some of the common "healthy" oils), I'm firmly convinced the diet has damaged my digestive tract.

Whatever you do avoid the MDA forum like the plague.  Not feeling good on the diet?  You arent through carb flu yet. 4 months?  Try eliminating carbs altogether along with eggs, dairy, nightshades, nuts, etc. Pretty much brains and coconut oil are safe.  Starting to have some really severe symptoms that never ever occurred before in your life?  Mere coincidence, you are lucky you started the diet when you did because you were REALLY sick before and just didnt know it.   Oh, and wait, you are still running?  Well, you have to quit that, it's probably the source of all your problems.

You don't have to go all out. There's something to be said for reducing simple sugars, starches and refined grains.

Low carb diet follower