J
joshv
Guest
I know that it is normal to experience some level of muscle cramping
and or fatigue when transitioning to a low carb eating plan. I went
through this, and it was relatively short term, a minor annoyance. The
cramps disappeared, and I am able to undertake rather intense endurance
exercise (biking, running) with no cramps or fatigue/
I am now experiencing something like the opposite. If I 'fall off the
wagon' and start eating significant amounts of sugar and carbs for
several days (say, around the holidays), I start to cramp very badly,
especially in the legs, even under very light exertion (a trip *down* a
set of stairs can trigger it). Endurance exercise is damned near
impossible. I can't walk a mile without extreme pain.
Does anyone else experience this? The simple solution is to stop
eating the ****. And when I do, the cramps disappear very quickly.
But my question is, what the hell is causing this? It seems something
about low-carbing has changed the way my body works, because I never
had this problem with sugar and carbs previous to adopting a low carb
way of life.
I have one theory that perhaps because I do endurance exercise while on
low carb, my muscles have 'remodeled' to now be almost entirely
slow-twitch (slow twitch fibers don't need carbs, fast twitch do). The
proportion of slow-twitch has increased, replacing fast-twitch fibers.
When on low carb, the now minority fast-twitchers lay dormant, and
don't do much of anything, because they have no glycogen, their fuel of
choice. When I give them enough fuel, they spring back to life. But
now, there just aren't enough of them, and they have become inefficient
through disuse, thus they fatigue very quickly, and send out pain
signals telling my brain to stop whatever it is I am doing. So
basically my theory is that by training while on low carb, my muscles
have become so efficient at burning fat and ketones, they've lost the
ability to effectively utilize glycogen.
and or fatigue when transitioning to a low carb eating plan. I went
through this, and it was relatively short term, a minor annoyance. The
cramps disappeared, and I am able to undertake rather intense endurance
exercise (biking, running) with no cramps or fatigue/
I am now experiencing something like the opposite. If I 'fall off the
wagon' and start eating significant amounts of sugar and carbs for
several days (say, around the holidays), I start to cramp very badly,
especially in the legs, even under very light exertion (a trip *down* a
set of stairs can trigger it). Endurance exercise is damned near
impossible. I can't walk a mile without extreme pain.
Does anyone else experience this? The simple solution is to stop
eating the ****. And when I do, the cramps disappear very quickly.
But my question is, what the hell is causing this? It seems something
about low-carbing has changed the way my body works, because I never
had this problem with sugar and carbs previous to adopting a low carb
way of life.
I have one theory that perhaps because I do endurance exercise while on
low carb, my muscles have 'remodeled' to now be almost entirely
slow-twitch (slow twitch fibers don't need carbs, fast twitch do). The
proportion of slow-twitch has increased, replacing fast-twitch fibers.
When on low carb, the now minority fast-twitchers lay dormant, and
don't do much of anything, because they have no glycogen, their fuel of
choice. When I give them enough fuel, they spring back to life. But
now, there just aren't enough of them, and they have become inefficient
through disuse, thus they fatigue very quickly, and send out pain
signals telling my brain to stop whatever it is I am doing. So
basically my theory is that by training while on low carb, my muscles
have become so efficient at burning fat and ketones, they've lost the
ability to effectively utilize glycogen.