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Prof Tim Noakes' U-turn on Carbohydrates


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I am a fit rider.i train enough and don,t overdo it.My problem recently has been severe muscle cramping after 1h40min on the bike.No special diet and i use FIT supplements.I have always been prone to cramping even as a teenager .I am tall and have noticed on races that tall riders usually are the ones suffering the most.Any advice out there?

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I am a fit rider.i train enough and don,t overdo it.My problem recently has been severe muscle cramping after 1h40min on the bike.No special diet and i use FIT supplements.I have always been prone to cramping even as a teenager .I am tall and have noticed on races that tall riders usually are the ones suffering the most.Any advice out there?

 

Try some magnesium supplement. It works for me. I only ever get calf cramps kicking off the wall in the pool. Never been able to explain it. I can cycle and run for hours never a problem put me in a pool and theres an issue.

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I have changed my eating habits based on Dr Tim Noakes high protein, low carb eating plan. I lost 16 kg's in 3 months. During a recent 50 km mtb race I was passing guys half my age going up hills, before it was me being passed.

 

Have a look around you at your next race and see how many overweight people there are........ Too many people think that because you are an athlete you have to eat massive amounts of carbs!

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I have changed my eating habits based on Dr Tim Noakes high protein, low carb eating plan. I lost 16 kg's in 3 months. During a recent 50 km mtb race I was passing guys half my age going up hills, before it was me being passed.

 

Have a look around you at your next race and see how many overweight people there are........ Too many people think that because you are an athlete you have to eat massive amounts of carbs!

 

Maybe, but I think most people who are overweight are simply overeating.

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I have changed my eating habits based on Dr Tim Noakes high protein, low carb eating plan. I lost 16 kg's in 3 months. During a recent 50 km mtb race I was passing guys half my age going up hills, before it was me being passed.

 

Have a look around you at your next race and see how many overweight people there are........ Too many people think that because you are an athlete you have to eat massive amounts of carbs!

 

Yes, and the best part is that Tim Noakes himself is to blame. :-) I love it because in my opinion he is true scientist, in search of the truth.

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Scientest's.... :wacko:

 

Saw an article in the International Herald Tribune this morning discussing heart disease and people that die from it, apparently.... fat people are less likely to die from heart disease than thin people....one theory is that amongest people who already have heart disease, fat people have more reserves to fight the disease than skinny people...

 

Saw another similar article on Prof Noakes recently, he could have a point....

 

The theory that blood cholesterol and a high-fat diet are the causes of heart disease will be one of the greatest errors in the history of medicine, Prof Tim Noakes said on Monday in a letter published in the Cape Times.

 

 

http://www.health24.com/medical/Condition_centres/777-792-812-1741,76701.asp

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Okay here is the rub,

 

If you want to lose weight, burnt more than you eat. It is imposible to gain weight this way. (Astotle noted, a fat man eats before he exercises and a health man eats after he has exercises. Tea is a natural hunger appetite supressant, that is why the English drink tea with light snacks. Red wine is an anti oxidant, which helps explain why the French are healthy on their diet)

 

Second, the jury is still out on the most effective source of energy for high performance athletes. On study found that FAT has more accessible energy per gram than carbohydrates. (see lore of running published before Noakes started questioning carbs openly) Another study by PVM found that protein is necessary for the body to be able to convert carbohydrates into energy. From this it is obvious it is easy to pack carbohydrates into the body, but not so easy for the body to start and sustain its conversion into energy. Maybe for elite athletes that need readily accesible energy to rather load on protien and fat with some carbohydrates, than just carbohydates.

 

Thirdly, what is good for high erformance athletes is not necesarily good advice to the weakend (sic) warrior who is exercising primarily to lose weight and secondary to improve his dismal performance.

 

Finally there is nothing wrong with a 3 hour exercise session followed by steak, potato and a glass of red wine, so long as it is a small steak chip and glass of wine (rule one eat less than you burnt).

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Finally there is nothing wrong with a 3 hour exercise session followed by steak, potato and a glass of red wine, so long as it is a small steak chip and glass of wine (rule one eat less than you burnt).

 

The good thing about that is the surprizingly low amount of calories / Kj that a piece of schteak has!

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Eat what you like, losing or gaining weight is maths, nothing more or less, as others have said here. How you eat will determine how easy it is for you to control the process and whether or not you're getting a balanced input of nutrition, not how much weight you lose. Foods that spike your blood sugar will cause cravings. Not so difficult after all.

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Being carb sensitive i decided to give this approach a go. I manipulated my macro nutrients so most of my calories come from fat and protein and i just have enough carbs to fuel my workout. In the last 8 weeks i gained 4% bodyfat. This proves to me that there is no set formula. Each and every person reacts differently. For me even though i am carb sensitive i also cannot handle a high fat intake. High protein with a moderate to low amount of carbs and fat seems to be the best for me

 

My point: it is a bit ambitious to say that a high protein and fat diet with low carbs is the optimal diet for everybody

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