Prof Tim Noakes' U-turn on Carbohydrates

[arendoog]

How difficult can this be .your body needs both protein and carbohydrates all the time .If you burn more ,consume more of the same .Just done the CPT .My first one ,and when chatting to riders that have done plenty stage races ,it's always the same .Eat normal food .Nobody uses the same formula in their water bottle anyway .Lots of the fast riders still carboload on rice and bread ext.For weight loss ,you have to consume less carbohydrates .To preserve your muscle consume protein ,during and after hard exercise .

[Jaco-fiets]

How difficult can this be .your body needs both protein and carbohydrates all the time .If you burn more ,consume more of the same .Just done the CPT .My first one ,and when chatting to riders that have done plenty stage races ,it's always the same .Eat normal food .Nobody uses the same formula in their water bottle anyway .Lots of the fast riders still carboload on rice and bread ext.For weight loss ,you have to consume less carbohydrates .To preserve your muscle consume protein ,during and after hard exercise .

 

You are correct! There are many ways to do things and this approach is just one of them. Being extremely carb sensitive i do feel that this might be the best type of diet for me. I will stick this out until end december and then make a call. If i change it will be to the TKD. Here you consume carbs just pre and post workout. This might be better for high intensity efforts. I do like it so far i must say.

 

During the time i use to ride 12 to 18hrs a week i ate carbs according to the amount the sports books suggested. I still followed a "sensable" diet (no excessive sweets and stuff) but my bf was always around 17% which is massive for a person that does the amount of training i did.

 

I cut back on carbs and dropped my training and all of a sudden my bf dropped to 10% and lower. Now i am trying this and i am positive this will even have a better effect. Lets see

[andydude]

“@Jeukendrup: Carbohydrate intake day before and just before marathon predictor of marathon performance. http://t.co/Z4vci9Oi”

[andydude]

Ok, I have one important question/comment. I've seen a lot of people claiming how great the diet is and how they're losing weight, but did they compare the total amount of energy they ate before with high carb and after with low carb? Like any diet, you start with eating better and restricting yourself so of course you'll lose weight. I would say most cases thus far is because of being on a diet and not specifically on the low carb diet. I'm just trying to understand, so not trying to poke holes. For example, somebody said they only ate almonds before a 2.5hr ride so of course you are going to lose weight! Energy in and energy out. It was a bit worrisome that you almost blacked out, though!

 

Last thing, please remember that the prof said that it's only a diet for carb resistant people which only affects about 50% of all people.

[Jaco-fiets]

Ok, I have one important question/comment. I've seen a lot of people claiming how great the diet is and how they're losing weight, but did they compare the total amount of energy they ate before with high carb and after with low carb? Like any diet, you start with eating better and restricting yourself so of course you'll lose weight. I would say most cases thus far is because of being on a diet and not specifically on the low carb diet. I'm just trying to understand, so not trying to poke holes. For example, somebody said they only ate almonds before a 2.5hr ride so of course you are going to lose weight! Energy in and energy out. It was a bit worrisome that you almost blacked out, though!

 

Last thing, please remember that the prof said that it's only a diet for carb resistant people which only affects about 50% of all people.

 

Your arguement is valid for most following any kind of diet. For me, my calorie content is exactly the same as it was before: 2200cal/day. The only thing that changed is my macro nutrient breakdown

 

I almost blacked out because my body have not made the transition totally to only use fat for energy. At this stage it is still converting allot of my protein to carbs to use for energy. It does take some time to adjust. At least this is my understanding so far

Edited October 21, 2012 by Jaco-fiets

[Topwine]

Today is my 7th day on keto. Don't know if body in ketosis yet but i dont get anymore cravings during the day. Still train 5 days a week and although endurence and strength is lower its better than expected. I am sure my body still needs to make that shift.

 

Went for a 2.5hr mtb ride this morning with lots of climbing. Had a couple of almonds before the ride and 1 bottle of water on the ride. Avg haertrate of 146 bpm. I wont lie! It was no walk in the park and i was feeling like blacking out a couple of times but i am still here. I will not race anytime soon and my fitness on the bike is not good, i must add. Slowly getting back into it.

 

The best part is when i got back home i had a big greasy plate of bacon, eggs, cheddar and mayo and it felt like heaven. Weird to eat food like this and not feel guilty.

 

I really hope my endurence get better soon but it probably will take another week or 2 for my body to fully adjust. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience so far!

 

Enjoy the day with the families guys!

 

Nice sounding breakfast/luch whatever. Just be carefull with the mayo, some types can have too much sugar and carbs in. Read and study label carefully. Unknowingly you can take in too much carbs in the day like this, which will delay your keto-adaption.

 

you can buy urine keto sticks to test for ketones in your urine.

[Jaco-fiets]

Thanks topwine! I am careful with that. Only used 20g of mayo which gave me 3g of carbs. Dischem was out of stix so will check in again

[Topwine]

 

Last thing, please remember that the prof said that it's only a diet for carb resistant people which only affects about 50% of all people.

 

Where do you get this 50 % from ?

Anyway, keep on questioning, as long as you are open to new ideas and reasoning.

[Topwine]

Ok, I have one important question/comment. I've seen a lot of people claiming how great the diet is and how they're losing weight, but did they compare the total amount of energy they ate before with high carb and after with low carb? Like any diet, you start with eating better and restricting yourself so of course you'll lose weight. I would say most cases thus far is because of being on a diet and not specifically on the low carb diet. I'm just trying to understand, so not trying to poke holes. For example, somebody said they only ate almonds before a 2.5hr ride so of course you are going to lose weight! Energy in and energy out. It was a bit worrisome that you almost blacked out, though!

 

Last thing, please remember that the prof said that it's only a diet for carb resistant people which only affects about 50% of all people.

 

Andy, I am a small framed guy. I weighed 66/67 kg in matric. That was 22 years ago. I am now 40. 5 years ago I sold my small business which forced me in a sedentary lifestyle which took me to 80 kg. I started cycling about 3 years ago and within 12/18 months I was back to 72kg. For the last 2 years I couldn't get it lower, no matter how much I trained. I quickly became weak after too much training, probably because of muscle breakdown, etc, I don't really know. The theory is that your body metabolism slows down with more training volume and you compensate by eating more, mostly in the form of empty carbohydrates, which mostly gets stored as fat. (Read the whole science about that and the fat switch etc)

 

The bottom line, since I started on this diet about 2 months ago, I have lost 3.5 kg, from 72kg to 68.5 kg. I aim to get back to my matric weight with very little body fat . I am cycling faster than ever, on heavier training wheels. I am less out of breath on my normal training climbs and my avg heart rate is way down. Now you can say that is because I have lost weight, and you migth be partly right, but it is also in the maths. Burning fat for energy, and your body being adapted and optimised for burning fat as energy source, is more oxygen efficient than burning glucose for fuel. That explains my less out of breathness.

 

I also play regular tennis with my kids, and I can go easily a day without food if needs be. So if this diet / lifestyle helps me achieve these benefits, whats wrong with that?

 

And I have not even started on all the other health benefits of low-Carb living, like better eyesight, curing impotency (not that I had problems !), less inflamation, lower and better quality cholesterol, lower risk of heart disease, etc, etc The list is long.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Topwine

[andydude]

 

 

Where do you get this 50 % from ?

Anyway, keep on questioning, as long as you are open to new ideas and reasoning.

 

I recall the prof saying the 50%, but I might be wrong. I'll do some research on the number. But he definitely said it's not for everyone.

 

Just asking questions, and I do have an open mind. I'm actually doing a lot of research and reading about it as I might be interested in following it. I just don't jump into something because it's new, but because I've researched it and it makes sense for my simple brain!

 

Still to buy and read the prof's book. Guess that's actually the place to start!

[Topwine]

I recall the prof saying the 50%, but I might be wrong. I'll do some research on the number. But he definitely said it's not for everyone.

 

Just asking questions, and I do have an open mind. I'm actually doing a lot of research and reading about it as I might be interested in following it. I just don't jump into something because it's new, but because I've researched it and it makes sense for my simple brain!

 

Still to buy and read the prof's book. Guess that's actually the place to start!

 

Good to hear. I actually have not read Prof Noakes book, but a lot of others' in the world who is way more ahead than prof Noakes on this.

[andydude]

 

 

Good to hear. I actually have not read Prof Noakes book, but a lot of others' in the world who is way more ahead than prof Noakes on this.

 

Can you share who's book(s) to read?

[Topwine]

Can you share who's book(s) to read?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Living/dp/0983490708/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350822912&sr=1-1&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living

 

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350822912&sr=1-2&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living

 

http://www.amazon.com/New-Atkins-You-Ultimate-Shedding/dp/1439190275/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350822912&sr=1-4&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living

 

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat-About/dp/0307474259/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350822912&sr=1-5&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living

 

http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-Bad-Controversial-Science/dp/1400033462/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350822912&sr=1-10&keywords=the+art+and+science+of+low+carbohydrate+living

 

http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/ExpertInterviewTranscripts/DrRichardJohnsonAboutTheFatSwitch.pdf

[Richard 1973]

Well, I was going to comment, but everything has been said. I quite like this forum.

 

I rode the westcoast express today. Posted my fastest ave speed for a flat ride since 2006 34.7 km/h.

No breakfast, no food on ride, and 1 bottle of water. Every week seems to be getting better.

 

Weight is also down to lowest in 6 years waist measurement too.

[andydude]

To the guys not eating before a race - is that what the diet prescribes? How long a race would you have to eat something for breakfast?

[Richard 1973]

To the guys not eating before a race - is that what the diet prescribes? How long a race would you have to eat something for breakfast?

There is no real prescription, simply personal preference. Because the races start so early and I don't normally eat breakfast till late I just prefer not to eat before a ride. The idea behind it is that your fuel tank once fat adapted is enough to fuel virtually any amount of exercise without eating. So I can delay eating food until after the exercise without impacting on my performance (At least that is my experience so far).

 

I have happily finished a 6 hour training ride with no food. I have also happily finished rides with almonds and biltong. Once your body converts fat to carbohydrate efficiently there are no symptoms of low blood sugar levels. energy is constant brain function normal good.