Energy level when first going Primal page

[Cycle]

I'm a cyclist and I'm wondering when you first made the switch to a lower carb primal lifestyle

how were your energy levels effected?

a fired of mine tried the paleo diet and is now more primal and my gf wants to give the primal diet a go so I'm switching with her for support


I just have several races coming up and I do not want to feel like I'm dragging as my body gets used to using fat for energy more often than carbs.

[jhc]

I signed up specifically so I could answer this question.

The short answer is that I would wait until after your race to try it. Based on my personal experience and research, many people experience a "low-carb" or "Atkins" flu when transitioning to a low-carb diet. Even having been semi-primal over the course of about two years, I had a rough week during my recent transition; probably the result of never having been carb-free long enough to trigger it.

I want to try and share my personal experience in making the transition:

A little background: I have been half-assed primal for probably around two years now; meaning that while I subscribed to the ideas and actively cut back on carb and sugar intake, I never really got it down with any consistency. At some point I got mad enough with myself over my spastic low-carb/hardgain/starvation/carb binge diet to commit to pursuing a primal diet.

To give you an idea of my activity level, I work a desk job, but do some bodyweight training most days. In addition I cycle about 10 minutes to work (sprint over hilly terrain, not a leisurely ride) when weather permits, and I also do two hours of karate two nights a week. I am 6'0 and weigh 150 lbs.

Tuesday May 10: Birthday. Meal out w/ family, massive carb binge (3 pcs birthday cake). :P
Wed: Start of primal eating.
Thu: Feeling good. Bike commute. Karate.
Fri: Feeling good. Bike commute.
Sat: Feeling good.
Sun: Feeling good. High-intensity intervals.
Mon: Bike commute. Noticed legs feeling weak about halfway through the day. Struggled home on the bike. I felt slightly better after a bit and struggled my way through karate.
Tue: Bike commute. Got up feeling good. Ran out of gas halfway up the stairs to the office. By this I mean I actually had to take breaks between flights of stairs. By mid-afternoon standing up from my chair was a battle. Brutal ride home.
Wed: Drove to work. Felt as though I had no energy in my legs, no noticeable improvement from previous day.
Thu: Drove to work. After lunch (salad) I got up and suddenly found there was a marked improvement in my energy levels, further gradual improvement over the course of the afternoon. Went to karate but really struggled the last half hour.
Fri: Drove to work. Moderately tired.
Sat: Residual tiredness.
Sun: Normal energy levels.

So to recap that was severe low-carb flu for three days, symptoms persisting for a further three days. That being said, the duration and timing of low-carb flu apparently varies on a case-by-case basis; some people are quoting two weeks to a month, so maybe I got off light!

One of the things I found most interesting about the whole experience is that the weakness was more or less limited to my legs. I was struggling to get out of chairs, but at the same time, during the whole ordeal I never had any issues with upper body movements (pushups, crunches, etc). Obviously I did some reading to see if anyone else experienced anything similar, and while people mentioned weak legs nobody really commented on the state of their upper body in comparison. Weird.

I also found that I ate like crazy during my low days, almost to the point of being sick. I think I ate a one-pound bag of almonds in three days, which is almost 3000 calories worth of almonds alone. The entire time I felt really guilty about how much I was eating, but I think in many ways it saved me as I was largely too full to risk falling back on carbs.

[Edje Noh]

I would defintely make the transition when you don't have any important events scheduled.
I did half-assed primal from december to april, with a lot of binges in between and not fully ditching cereals and potatoes. I started full primal 6 weeks ago and I had a really bad case of low-carb flu. I think this was also because I was a lot more stressed out than I even knew I was (the high carb diet kept me going thru all of it). I had pretty bad inflammation and also had to deal with an ab injury from overtraining (due to being 'real dedicated' with fitness/strength training). Add that to withdrawing from sugar/grain addiction and it's a pretty nice recipe for an energy crash. I gradually got my energy levels back and now my body fuels quite well on fats. I'm not there all the way, but I think I'm at like 80% and I will be good in the next two weeks I think.
So, in sum, I think it really depends on the person (what kind of factors are involved) how long low carb flu will last. Some might not even experience anything from it, others might last two months. I think coming from a very high carb diet (450g a day) and being stressed out (in need for a recovery pitstop) where the biggest factors adding to the depth and length of my transition. But, the good news is, that the body will eventually start functioning how it is meant to function once more.

@jhc
Same thing for me, weak legs for the first 2-3 weeks and I also had challenges when doing bike rides (perfect energy for the first 30 minutes, then struggling badly on the way home).

[Cycle]

thank you

I thought I might get an energy lull

I'm going to start off doing a semi-primal and cutting back my carbs slowly.... guess i need to find my current baseline first and roll back 50-75 carbs a week

I will probably still take in my carbs post workout and I'll continue to drink my cyotmax and similar supplements during rides

I'm pretty active and train over 10 hours a week on my bike

[secretlobster]

I agree it would be wise not to make a change until after this important event

For me, the ONLY difference I noticed immediately after going primal was slightly increased stamina. Makes sense that my source of fuel (protein) is longer-burning than it was before (sugar, grain).

[Dharma_Punk]

Definitly wait till after the races. I'm a bike commuter and weekend warrior mountain bike racer. I only had the carb flu for a week or so, but let me tell you, it made my commute to work absolutely brutal, I couldn't even imagine racing while doing it.

[E.Allen]

Wait until after the race or transition gradually. I did a gradual transition and had no drop in energy. Just make sure you get plenty of fat. For some of my friends, when they went low carb, they experienced a carb flu and hadn't quite realized that they had to dramatically increase fat intake. My english teacher, who does a lot of boxing, didn't have any energy problems when he switched to low carb and I think its primarily because he ate more fat than my friends did.

[Edje Noh]

I don't know about transitioning gradually, you might still suffer from low-carb flu when decreasing your daily carbs. For me, it didn't work at all.
But then again, I think I cut back on carbs from 450 to 350 then to 200-350ish and then finally to around 150.
If you choose the gradual route, I recommend you don't go more than 75 grams less at a time. Either that or make a full shift when your schedule allows it. I'd choose the second as shifting to fat fueling isn't really a necessity for the body if you only cut back a little bit on the carbs.

[dizzynva]

I'm a Marathoner, (50 year old female, 5'6) but currently in base mode of 25 miles per week. I've been eating primal for months. I only have about 5 lbs that I'd like to loose. I am also corn free and gluten free (sugar free for over a year) I've always leaned towards this way of eating - it just felt wrong with what we are told to do when running so much. I've been eating 55-75 carbs/day since my last race (lowered from 80-150) and have a nagging headache which I'm assuming is carb-flu? I'm also having trouble dropping the last 5 lbs. I stay betweeen 137-140 no matter what I do. The only "dessert" food I have is 1/3 cup of greek Fage 2x a day mixed with raspberries. Any suggestions on how to get the last few pounds gone or just my poochy belly would be nice.

[belinda]

If you want to keep some carbs in your diet, ditch the breads, cereals, and pastas and switch to white potatoes, white rice and sweet potatoes.