Just read an interesting article about carbs and endurance running. The point was that carbs are necessary. The really interesting part was about the Kenyans. During a 10 year period they won an astounding 40% of all major international mid and long disatnce events. Their carb composition is over 75%.

Here's hoping they continue to be too poor to afford bikes. (Sarcasm with a hint of truth.)

TF

and they are skinnier than anyone i have ever seen on a low carb diet!

gears
pmiska

Low carb fad diets are a really, really bad idea. Atkins died and his autopsy revealed advanced heart disease related problems stemming from a high fat diet (Athrosclerosis).

The "theory" behind a low carb diet is to get your body to go into ketosis so that it metabolizes fat because there's no carbohydrate (glycogen) to use as fuel. This is maybe OK if you're a couch lizard and don't ever plan to contract your muscles.

But a better "diet" (diet is what you eat, not a regimen to lose weight) is a balanced diet consisting of whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods. Whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods tend to provide a feeling of fullness and make it easier to sustain appropriate caloric intake.

Next good strategy is to get fit. Being fit increases metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories. Being fit increases muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories. Being fit provides strength and endurance, which results in being able to burn more calories for a longer period of activity.

Covert Bailey, M.D. in "Fit Not Fat" spells out the relationship between fitness and weight control -- with more logic and authority than any "diet guru" on the planet.

Eat well and exercise for fitness . . . simple approach, but most Americans can't seem to manage it.

Low carb fad diets are a really, really bad idea. Atkins died and his autopsy revealed advanced heart disease related problems stemming from a high fat diet (Athrosclerosis).

The "theory" behind a low carb diet is to get your body to go into ketosis so that it metabolizes fat because there's no carbohydrate (glycogen) to use as fuel. This is maybe OK if you're a couch lizard and don't ever plan to contract your muscles.

But a better "diet" (diet is what you eat, not a regimen to lose weight) is a balanced diet consisting of whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods. Whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods tend to provide a feeling of fullness and make it easier to sustain appropriate caloric intake.

Next good strategy is to get fit. Being fit increases metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories. Being fit increases muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories. Being fit provides strength and endurance, which results in being able to burn more calories for a longer period of activity.

Covert Bailey, M.D. in "Fit Not Fat" spells out the relationship between fitness and weight control -- with more logic and authority than any "diet guru" on the planet.

Eat well and exercise for fitness . . . simple approach, but most Americans can't seem to manage it.

Well prepared response. Enjoyed reading it, rather was thinking alot those same lines.

Low carb fad diets are a really, really bad idea. Atkins died and his autopsy revealed advanced heart disease related problems stemming from a high fat diet (Athrosclerosis).

The "theory" behind a low carb diet is to get your body to go into ketosis so that it metabolizes fat because there's no carbohydrate (glycogen) to use as fuel. This is maybe OK if you're a couch lizard and don't ever plan to contract your muscles.

But a better "diet" (diet is what you eat, not a regimen to lose weight) is a balanced diet consisting of whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods. Whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods tend to provide a feeling of fullness and make it easier to sustain appropriate caloric intake.

Next good strategy is to get fit. Being fit increases metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories. Being fit increases muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories. Being fit provides strength and endurance, which results in being able to burn more calories for a longer period of activity.

Covert Bailey, M.D. in "Fit Not Fat" spells out the relationship between fitness and weight control -- with more logic and authority than any "diet guru" on the planet.

Eat well and exercise for fitness . . . simple approach, but most Americans can't seem to manage it.

I second that. That was an excellent commentary and superbly written. Way to convey!!

Low carb fad diets are a really, really bad idea. Atkins died and his autopsy revealed advanced heart disease related problems stemming from a high fat diet (Athrosclerosis).

The "theory" behind a low carb diet is to get your body to go into ketosis so that it metabolizes fat because there's no carbohydrate (glycogen) to use as fuel. This is maybe OK if you're a couch lizard and don't ever plan to contract your muscles.

But a better "diet" (diet is what you eat, not a regimen to lose weight) is a balanced diet consisting of whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods. Whole, unprocessed, unrefined foods tend to provide a feeling of fullness and make it easier to sustain appropriate caloric intake.

Next good strategy is to get fit. Being fit increases metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories. Being fit increases muscle mass, which in turn burns more calories. Being fit provides strength and endurance, which results in being able to burn more calories for a longer period of activity.

Covert Bailey, M.D. in "Fit Not Fat" spells out the relationship between fitness and weight control -- with more logic and authority than any "diet guru" on the planet.

Eat well and exercise for fitness . . . simple approach, but most Americans can't seem to manage it.

The old Atkins diet has been bastardized by a lot of people. Most people say, "I'm on the Atkins diet" and then proceed to knock back some bacon, eggs, sausage and some cheese. If you actually read the book by Dr. Atkins, it proposes that you eat a fairly balanced diet, and you can get carbs in there later on down the road. It doesn't promote a high fat diet, it promotes good sources of protein, lots of veggies and fruits. With that being said, I don't follow that stuff. I, and we, as endurance athletes need the carbs to fuel our workouts and training sessions and racing. As you mentioned above, eat well and exercise. It's really not rocket science.

sigh... i feel my sarcasm was lost in the printed word... i'm not a supporter of the (f)atkin's diet, just trying to be funny!

gears

pmiska (carb addict)

Firstly, not only is the Atkins fad a bad idea but the public has apparently caught on. Many producers jumped on the band wagon to cash in on the anticipated craze. However, an article is today's paper states that many stores are now dumping their surplus stock at Food Banks. Many some good will come of it after all.
Don't fret about the potential of Kenyans on bikes. If you remember, a few years back a superb Kenyan or Ethiopian runner , just not fast enought to make the top list, decided to try his luck at Olympic cross country skiing. The theory being that the training and endurance would carry over and he could crush the competition. After training on skis, he was a dismal failure in competition. The lesson learned is that this type of cross training can only carry one so far. With all the cash being realed in in cycle competition at the world level, you can rest assurred that someone has already checked out the posibility.