No energy on Primal diet :( page 3

[Derpamix]

I bike ride all the time, I try to ride my bike 10+ miles every day. Before a bike ride I'll take a b complex vitamin. I also have some orange juice to drink before, after, and during the ride. The orange juice will usually have some baking soda in it, though not always. Orange juice has a good concentration of magnesium which helps with exercise related stress. Coffee with sugar and milk are good for before too as coffee has high amounts of magnesium. It really helps to make sure you're fueling yourself during exercise.


Definitely up your carbs though, you're not getting enough. Optimizing co2 levels, thyroid health, etc will all be contributing factors in stamina. If you find yourself breathless a lot, as I used to, breathing in a brown bag helps immensely.

[otzi]

Don't try and bully me.

Maybe my reply didn't come out as I intended...When I said I hate posts like this, it's because I really hate seeing people struggle, and I can't do a darn thing about it. Lack of energy sucks. Hopefully you got some good advice you can use here.

If you look at 'Primal' as the near complete avoidance of vegetable oils, refined sugar, and processed grains--does that change your thinking at all? You don't have to be low carb or anything to be primal, just focus on real foods and see what combination makes you feel good and helps you meet your goals.

I can't see any situation where someone who only gives up oil, sugar, and flour would end up with less energy, unless it also resulted in a huge calorie/carb deficit.

Good luck--I mean it!

[zoebird]

I had carb flu symptoms when I went primal, and I was doing just under 100g carbs per day, vs whatever I was doing before. So, I did have low energy once I got to the third or fourth week (first two weeks were fine).

I had dizziness around then too -- from too little protein. So I decreased fat, increased protein, and kept carbs about the same (around 100 g). And that seemed to help with the dizziness.

I'm stille ating this way now -- around 100 g/carb/day -- and I don't have low energy issues. But, I would see no problem with going up to 125 or even higher if you wanted/needed to. Just do it without grains and you'll be fine. I mean, a banana can seriously blow your numbers (i mean, it's high carb), so just that might go a long way.

[sbhikes]

I have a lot more energy now that I have more strength. You might try working on strength instead of bike riding for a while. It might also be that changing your diet is stressful to your body so you have to ride it out, although you said in the past that you never quite adapted to a grain-free diet. Perhaps liberal rice and quinoa will help you.

[lucy1984]

Maybe my reply didn't come out as I intended...When I said I hate posts like this, it's because I really hate seeing people struggle, and I can't do a darn thing about it. Lack of energy sucks. Hopefully you got some good advice you can use here.

If you look at 'Primal' as the near complete avoidance of vegetable oils, refined sugar, and processed grains--does that change your thinking at all? You don't have to be low carb or anything to be primal, just focus on real foods and see what combination makes you feel good and helps you meet your goals.

I can't see any situation where someone who only gives up oil, sugar, and flour would end up with less energy, unless it also resulted in a huge calorie/carb deficit.

Good luck--I mean it!

I am so sorry. When you wrote that you 'hated' posts like mine because you could 'feel the sincerity oozing' out of me, I thought you were being sarcastic - and so in that context the rest of the post sounded really nasty and I thought you were mocking my ongoing (2 years+) genuine struggle with my thyroid and weight. I completely mis-interpreted the tone of your entire post, so once again, really sorry, and thankyou for the advice.

Looking at everyone's responses, it seems I am rather low carb without realising it. I guess because when I compare it to previous attempts at atkin's or VLC primal or whenever I have tried cutting out carbs to lose weight, then it seems like, and feels like, a tonne of carbs. But everyone's responses have made me realise than in the wider context of things I am low on the carb side of things and will definitely try some of the suggestions.

I appreciate all the input, if I had the all answers I wouldn't be asking

[magicmerl]

More salt?

[otzi]

I am so sorry. When you wrote that you 'hated' posts like mine because you could 'feel the sincerity oozing' out of me, I thought you were being sarcastic

No prob. Every once in a while you see something that someone writes and you can really sense their frustration. I could really sense yours. Everybody comes from such diverse backgrounds, it's easy to give advice, but hard to get it right!

[Owly]

I think adding carbs might help, and you might want to actually track your food for a few days to be sure you're actually eating enough. Estimating calorie intake can be tricky and you might be eating less than you think. Paleo/primal diets tend to be fairly satiating, and sometimes people undereat without realizing it.

When you do add more carbs, give it a few days at the elevated level before you decide if it's working or not--you may need a few days to really see a response.

Like you, I never really felt like I got past the carb flu thing. I don't think VLC is great for everyone (although some people have seen great results from it for weight/health). I eat white and sweet potatoes and white rice as well as fruit and starchy veg, and I feel much better for it. The 100-150g level is a much happier place for me.

[zizou]

I noticed the same with bike riding. Although i believe i am fat adapted right now, judging by the fact i can go without food from about 11pm to 3pm the next day, have a weight workout and then break my fast and feel generally pretty energetic, but for some reason cardio type exercise seems to drain me. Bike riding my legs feel rather weak.

I think i could do with a bit more easier to digest carbs in and around more chronic type of exercise. Mind you my weightlifting is only 30-40mins long with 1set 8-12 reps for about 6 exercises so when i decide to do more vigorous workouts, i will need to up the carbs.

[Neckhammer]

I gotta wonder how much intensity your riding your bike at. I mean I go for an hour jog and have noticeably more energy throughout the day after the jog (i'm LC). But, my one hour jog is at a HR of about 135-145 bpm....so not above about 75% or so of my max. Thats well within range for me to burn predominately fat for fuel as I've trained to be that way. May be worth looking at anyhow. Riding in that zone may indeed help with your energy partitioning.