Bowulf – Atkins Diet Video Blog

A blog by a marathon runner and Atkineer who credits the Atkins Diet for his 211 pounds lost.

Atkins Diet: Myth of Carbloading

or Can you be a marathoner while doing low carb? I am convinced that you certainly can be. My current estimate or goal for my half marathon in two weeks is to be sub two hours. I know other marathoners (both half and full) doing Atkins, and I am attempting to prove myself to be another one. The scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals were actually quite interesting and as far as I can tell NOT disputed by any other researchers.

Here are links to the documents:

Real life anecdotes are nice, but having science and published reports to back you up legitimizes what I have saying all along. Once you get acclimated to burning fat you no longer live under the same dread of bonking or running out of glycogen during your exercise. To summarize Charles Poliquin report on what Steven Phinney discovered about ketogenic diets and athletic performance:

    • Here’s the bottom line, according to Phinney (and interpreted by me). Number one: If you’re looking at how an athlete performs in the first few days after going on a low carb routine, forget it. They’ll suck. There’s a period of adoption of at least one and maybe two weeks before performance gets back up to previous levels. (Many of the studies dissing low carb diets just didn’t go long enough to see that happen).
    • Number two: Phinney optimized mineral intake. In a lot of the “low carb” diets studied, folks just didn’t take in enough potassium (and sodium.) Phinney made sure that they did. It makes a huge difference in the cardiovascular reserve and in the preservation of lean body mass.
    • Finally, number three, all “low carb” diets are not created equal. Phinney found that the protein dose was critical. Effective preservation of lean body mass and physical performance happened when protein was in the range of 1.2 to 1.7 grams per kilogram of body weight (pay attention- it’s 1.2- 1.7 kilograms of body weight, not per pound!) The best results came when there was plenty of dietary fat. The headache and fatigue sometimes felt by people who take on a “low carb high protein diet” frequently happens when people are eating way too much protein and not enough fat.

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  1. the correct link for the 3rd article listed here is:

    http://rjr10036.typepad.com/askdrvernon/exercise/index.html

    i am very interested in this topic as i run about 25-30 mi/wk currently, and cannot eat more than about 150g/day of carbs as it causes me to have acid reflux (aggravates my hiatal hernia). i have been using “nutrient timing” to take in extra carbs during/after exercise, thinking that i needed to do this to maintain performance – but have also noticed that i weigh about 10 lbs more than i’d like to — thanks to this page i am going to try to really focus on staying ketogenic, and note the results on performance, and hopefully, on losing that last bit of spare tire on my waist! thanks again for the video and links. – Gary

    Comment by Gary D | April 6, 2008

  2. Sorry about the bad link, the third link should have pointed here:
    http://rjr10036.typepad.com/askdrvernon/2006/09/marathon_preper.html

    It’s good that you are figuring out what works for you. Targeted eating after exercising certainly helps some with the recovery, but in my case I just haven’t needed to — not even during the full marathon or 20 mile training runs last year where most people claimed I absolutely needed it. I am glad the videos helped you.

    Comment by Kent A | April 6, 2008

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