Prof Tim Noakes' U-turn on Carbohydrates

[EZRider]

 

 

It seems one can cut about 1.25 % of your climbing times per kg lost, provided your power output stays the same. So I should have gained about 2.5 min compared to my actual 4 min gain. Not too bad.

 

Nice improvement!

[Topwine]

Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Despite the increasing use of very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKD) in weight control and management of the metabolic syndrome there is a paucity of research about effects of VLCKD on sport performance. Ketogenic diets may be useful in sports that include weight class divisions and the aim of our study was to investigate the influence of VLCKD on explosive strength performance.

METHODS:

 

8 athletes, elite artistic gymnasts (age 20.9 ± 5.5 yrs) were recruited. We analyzed body composition and various performance aspects (hanging straight leg raise, ground push up, parallel bar dips, pull up, squat jump, countermovement jump, 30 sec continuous jumps) before and after 30 days of a modified ketogenic diet. The diet was based on green vegetables, olive oil, fish and meat plus dishes composed of high quality protein and virtually zero carbohydrates, but which mimicked their taste, with the addition of some herbal extracts. During the VLCKD the athletes performed the normal training program. After three months the same protocol, tests were performed before and after 30 days of the athletes' usual diet (a typically western diet, WD). A one-way Anova for repeated measurements was used.

RESULTS:

 

No significant differences were detected between VLCKD and WD in all strength tests. Significant differences were found in body weight and body composition: after VLCKD there was a decrease in body weight (from 69.6 ± 7.3 Kg to 68.0 ± 7.5 Kg) and fat mass (from 5.3 ± 1.3 Kg to 3.4 ± 0.8 Kg p < 0.001) with a non-significant increase in muscle mass.

CONCLUSIONS:

 

Despite concerns of coaches and doctors about the possible detrimental effects of low carbohydrate diets on athletic performance and the well known importance of carbohydrates there are no data about VLCKD and strength performance. The undeniable and sudden effect of VLCKD on fat loss may be useful for those athletes who compete in sports based on weight class. We have demonstrated that using VLCKD for a relatively short time period (i.e. 30 days) can decrease body weight and body fat without negative effects on strength performance in high level athletes.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22835211

[covie]

Ketogenic diet does not affect strength performance in elite artistic gymnasts.

 

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Despite the increasing use of very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKD) in weight control and management of the metabolic syndrome there is a paucity of research about effects of VLCKD on sport performance. Ketogenic diets may be useful in sports that include weight class divisions and the aim of our study was to investigate the influence of VLCKD on explosive strength performance.

METHODS:

 

8 athletes, elite artistic gymnasts (age 20.9 ± 5.5 yrs) were recruited. We analyzed body composition and various performance aspects (hanging straight leg raise, ground push up, parallel bar dips, pull up, squat jump, countermovement jump, 30 sec continuous jumps) before and after 30 days of a modified ketogenic diet. The diet was based on green vegetables, olive oil, fish and meat plus dishes composed of high quality protein and virtually zero carbohydrates, but which mimicked their taste, with the addition of some herbal extracts. During the VLCKD the athletes performed the normal training program. After three months the same protocol, tests were performed before and after 30 days of the athletes' usual diet (a typically western diet, WD). A one-way Anova for repeated measurements was used.

RESULTS:

 

No significant differences were detected between VLCKD and WD in all strength tests. Significant differences were found in body weight and body composition: after VLCKD there was a decrease in body weight (from 69.6 ± 7.3 Kg to 68.0 ± 7.5 Kg) and fat mass (from 5.3 ± 1.3 Kg to 3.4 ± 0.8 Kg p < 0.001) with a non-significant increase in muscle mass.

CONCLUSIONS:

 

Despite concerns of coaches and doctors about the possible detrimental effects of low carbohydrate diets on athletic performance and the well known importance of carbohydrates there are no data about VLCKD and strength performance. The undeniable and sudden effect of VLCKD on fat loss may be useful for those athletes who compete in sports based on weight class. We have demonstrated that using VLCKD for a relatively short time period (i.e. 30 days) can decrease body weight and body fat without negative effects on strength performance in high level athletes.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/22835211

 

read that as: you will loose a crapload of weight loose no power, and theres no evidence carbs make a diet superior. So go ahead, do it loose weight and be a better athlete.

[HappyMartin]

Man oh man. All these figures of speed increase on climbs per KG lost make me want to give this diet another go. Just 3 more kg I reckon I could run with the big dogs and stop posing with the puppies.

[Topwine]

Great read. Sugar kills . Gary Taubes latest:

 

http://neilhollandfitness.com/sugarkills.pdf

[Jaco-fiets]

Tomorrow will be 14 days on keto. From last night 6pm till tonight 6pm is my 24h "carb up". Had a nice hard ride this morning with a banana pre ride. Felt great! Maybe it was because of the semi replenished glycogen stores but who cares. Only about 1.3kg down in weight so far but visually i am definately more toned. Not expecting to loose much weight since i am at 10% bf (by the looks of it probably less now). From tonight 6pm i am back on keto till next friday evening.

 

Judging by the past 2 weeks it works great for me! Thanks for all the advise on this thread! Helped allot!

[Topwine]

Tomorrow will be 14 days on keto. From last night 6pm till tonight 6pm is my 24h "carb up".

 

I am bit confused about your "carb up" ? Where did you get that advice from and what is the rational ?

[Jaco-fiets]

I am bit confused about your "carb up" ? Where did you get that advice from and what is the rational ?

 

I am doing the CKD (cyclic keto diet) which suggests 24-36hr "carb-up" once a week. From my research on keto diet you get the classical, where you on keto the entire time, the CKD and the Targer keto diet (TKD), where you consume a small amount of carbs pre and post workout. This is my 1st carb up though

[Topwine]

I am doing the CKD (cyclic keto diet) which suggests 24-36hr "carb-up" once a week. From my research on keto diet you get the classical, where you on keto the entire time, the CKD and the Targer keto diet (TKD), where you consume a small amount of carbs pre and post workout. This is my 1st carb up though

 

You are either in a Keto-adapted state or not. Eating too much carbs mean you fall out of that state, and you have to start over. How much carbs do you eat then?. On what "research" or books are you basing this decision of yours on ?

[Jaco-fiets]

Those were the options i found when i researched on the internet. The theory (if i understand correctly) is that when you consume just enough carbs during the carb up period (assuming you are totally depleted), your body actually still uses fat for energy and these carbs gets used to only fill your glycogen stores which can be used to fuel high intensity workouts. I chose this form of keto because i also do weight training during the week and i thought it would suit me best. The guy who writes about it is called Lyle Macdonald. This is my 1st carb up and if i see progress stalls i will cut out the carb up day.

 

During this period they suggest you consume 10g of carbs per kg lean body mass. I am consuming a bit less than that though.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Jaco-fiets

[Topwine]

On doing HI weight training in keto adapted state :

 

The notion that you can’t do high-intensity exercise without carbohydrates is simply and categorically false. Everything about this myth is false – the necessity of so-called “carb loading,” the necessity of carbs for glycogen production, the necessity of glucose to feed your brain, the necessity of carbs to “spike” insulin to drive amino acids into muscles. All of this mythology is just that. Every study I have seen that draws these conclusions is replete with methodological errors and without exception does not carry out an apples-to-apples comparison. In time, I hope to address all of these points in greater detail for folks who are interested in combining low carb eating with intense athletic performance. But for now I thought I’d demonstrate that you can flip 450 pound tires or do jumping pull-ups without eating carbohydrates.

 

http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/my-pet-peeve

[BigGuy]

You are either in a Keto-adapted state or not. Eating too much carbs mean you fall out of that state, and you have to start over. How much carbs do you eat then?. On what "research" or books are you basing this decision of yours on ?

Hi Topwine, this approach was popular in the late 80s or early 90s with the USA bodybuilding community. If I recall correctly it was not as such for fat loss but more geared towards bulking up muscle without getting too fat. IIRC the person who started this was Mauro DiPasquale. He is still around and at least have some practical and theoretical knowledge to back up his claims. There were variations and refinements of this concept by people such as Dan Duchaine and Lyle McDonald. Problem with most of the experiments of that era was the steroid abuse so it was hard to tell whether results were due to the diet or something else rather. Dan was quite a controversial figure and would have fitted right in with the pro peloton.

[Jaco-fiets]

Well i must be in some form of fat adaptation because i am 100% fine during the day and don't have any cravings. I eat my 6 meals per day with only trace carbs.

 

I can always skip the carb up for couple of weeks and see how that goes

[Topwine]

Very nice FAQ on keto adaption and also check out the forum :

 

http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/keto

[Topwine]

Well worth your time to read this :

 

http://www.rajeun.net/glucose.html#

 

I cannot overemphasize how important I think it is to keep your glucose levels low. It is the single most essential requirement of the most important anti-aging therapy: Good Nutrition. Keeping your glucose levels between normal fasting glucose levels is, in fact, the single most important anti-aging therapy you can do. It is even more important than taking growth hormone, because if you keep your glucose levels under control, it will delay the early loss of neurons and cognitive functions, and it will prevent or delay the onset of diabetes. Diabetes is the underlying cause of about 80% of all other bad diseases, including heart, cancer, kidney (kidney is at the bottom of circulatory diseases, which complicates many others, such as nervous system, brain, perhaps macular degeneration, etc.) increase of fat and loss of muscle strength.

[Jaco-fiets]

@ Topwine: In that link they talk about CKD which i mention in a earlier post. What is your view on that?

 

I have to add here that in the 1st 2 weeks of keto my strength in the gym really got a knock. In this week there was a drastic change. I am stronger in most exercises than pre keto. Strength on the bike is also good considering my current level of cycling fitness. I am planning a 3hr mtb ride tomorrow and sunday.

 

So far i am more than impressed

Edited November 2, 2012 by Jaco-fiets