Carbs and Fat

[ny biker]

Well it certainly sounds like you're working hard enough to stay strong (or get stronger).

I've been thinking that perhaps I need to lower carbs a bit and raise fat a bit - but she said that this doesn't matter in the long term. This isn't intuitive to me and am curious to hear if anyone has experimented with this and what their results were. Of course every "body" is different.

Two more thoughts --

- why do you think it would help to lower carbs and increase fat? To get more calories when you need them?

- if her advice doesn't seem to make sense, can you ask her to explain her thinking in more detail? Perhaps you could call or send an email, rather than having to make (and pay for) another appointment?

[Catrin]

Well it certainly sounds like you're working hard enough to stay strong (or get stronger).



Two more thoughts --

- why do you think it would help to lower carbs and increase fat? To get more calories when you need them?

- if her advice doesn't seem to make sense, can you ask her to explain her thinking in more detail? Perhaps you could call or send an email, rather than having to make (and pay for) another appointment?

I do wonder if switching it up between the two would provide me more immediate fuel - I have the idea that fat becomes available more quickly than carbs - but I could be incorrect. I will email her and see what she thinks. I've been keeping a eye on my blood glucose and it is stable so the current mix isn't affecting my insulin resistance that I can tell (the next A1C will tell).

Of course, I haven't been quite hitting her calorie goals for me, so that is my first task. Thank you for helping me think this through!

[OakLeaf]

Just curious why more protein isn't on the table (ha ha)? That would be my first inexpert guess.

[Catrin]

Just curious why more protein isn't on the table (ha ha)? That would be my first inexpert guess.

Because I am already getting between 90-130 grams a day... She wanted me to pull it back to 90 and that is also proving to be a challenge but have an easier time getting to this mark. I do understand that too much protein is hard on our kidneys...

This is, however, one of the reasons I finally got the $8 food scale. I eat quite a few chicken breasts in one week and they all differ so much in size. I want to make that I know what 4 ounces of chicken actually looks like

[Owlie]

First, how's your protein intake?
biochemistry nerd:
Carbs (especially simple ones) are rapidly burned off; there are a lot more steps needed to convert fat into usable fuel. There's a reason all those gels and things are essentially sugar and flavoring. If you don't have enough when you need them, you start converting amino acids (from muscle) to glucose--muscle and many other tissues can use fat and its breakdown products for fuel, but your brain and red blood cells are pretty much dependent on glucose.

/biochem nerd

[Catrin]

First, how's your protein intake?
biochemistry nerd:
Carbs (especially simple ones) are rapidly burned off; there are a lot more steps needed to convert fat into usable fuel. There's a reason all those gels and things are essentially sugar and flavoring. If you don't have enough when you need them, you start converting amino acids (from muscle) to glucose--muscle and many other tissues can use fat and its breakdown products for fuel, but your brain and red blood cells are pretty much dependent on glucose.

/biochem nerd

I get 90-130 grams a day between chicken breasts, eggs, non-fat dairy, and nuts (for the most part). I do try to spread this out through the day so I am not getting all of it all at once. Now, lunch does tend to be my smallest meal, but I do have a snack with protein (either a bar or something like nuts and raisins) before working out to help my blood sugar levels. It may be that I am eating too close to the workout and it isn't really available until too late...I hadn't thought of that before.

My dinners have become larger since trying to hit those calorie targets, it might be better to have a much larger lunch and have dinner be the small meal of the day as long as it has a reasonable amount of protein...

This may well be more related to timing...

[OakLeaf]

90 to 130 is a big range. 90 wouldn't be enough for me on the training schedule you're keeping. My understanding is it's only hard on your kidneys if you're not using the amino acids to build or repair muscle. But I'll defer to those with more knowledge of the subject.

[Catrin]

90 to 130 is a big range. 90 wouldn't be enough for me on the training schedule you're keeping. My understanding is it's only hard on your kidneys if you're not using the amino acids to build or repair muscle. But I'll defer to those with more knowledge of the subject.

Personally I prefer the 130, the dietician wanted me to pull it back to 90 (some formula related to my weight). I've not been really successful with that so it is more like 110-130. Considering the kind of workouts we've had in class, it may well be that I needed 130 on those days.

The class is over for now, there will be a similar class starting in June that I will likely take - hopefully with the same instructor - he has quite the no-nonsense approach that I like. It ensures I get off the bike at least two days of the week and at $15 it is certainly affordable for a member. They have a couple of high intensity free classes that I will check out between now and then.

Our trainer is helping me change my usual workout to incorporate elements of the metabolic training into my usual fitness library so, for at least the next month, my training will be a combination of the old routine and elements of the new - with increasing riding if it ever should stop raining and warm up.

Added: I've been doing some reading, and there appears to be several studied opinions out there about the best amount of protein if you are working to build muscle. It also appears to be a myth that high protein consumption has any effect on the kidneys other than to make them work harder to remove the excess nitrogen - so not harmless but neither does it cause kidney damage. I may stick to her suggested 90 grams on non-metabolic training days and bump it up to one gram per pound of body weight on days I do metabolic training. That might be a good middle ground...

[Raindrop]

Sometimes, it helps to look at your protein sources too. Quality protein is not always animal sourced and the quality of protein and fiber you can get from vegetables and quality grains can be very, very positive for your workouts and your body.

Carbs are not evil as long as they are from non-processed foods. So, increasing quality carbohydrates will also benefit your workouts and help insure that your workouts don't result in losing muscle.