No worries. I think it is counterintuitive if you think about what's happening physiologically on a low-carb diet and the fact that low-carb diets seem to work wonders with endurance athletes. I'm trying to keep up with it it because it is a fantastic line of research and I keep looking foward to people like Phinney to really sink their teeth into it.
With vitamins there is a concept known as bioavailability. Simply put, you can take all the vitamins you want but if the body isn't able to assimilate it, they don't do you any good.
I see glucose and glycogen in T2s in a similar fashion. If one has a great deal of glucose in the bloodstream but is insulin resistant the ports on cells can't open to let it in. Despite the oversupply the person is weak and tired yet the cells tell the body they are hungry and need more and more food because they are truly starving while being bathed in glucose.
A ketogenic diet typically improves the insulin resistance situation in T2s allowing their bodies to utilize existing glucose whether in the bloodstream from diet or produced by the liver.
I used to regularly briskly walk 10 to 14 miles a day and, when I was carb loading, I'd get tired, dizzy, and have to sit down at the halfway point. Then I'd consume a few carbs and be back to my normal and ready to resume. When I cut the carbs back instead I never got tired or dizzy in the first place and could easily do the entire trip in one shot without rest.
Of course brisk walking is not heavy cycling. Just pointing out carb consumption helps people who are not T2 diabetics. For T2 diabetics carb loading often just bogs down the system much as too much gas floods the carburetor of an automobile.
Others may need more details or have different experiences. For myself, less is more. That easy. Only problem with ketotic diets is making sure a restroom is close by. lol
This article from the ADA Journal suggests a ketotic diet is protective against hypoglycemia. Counterintuitive but matches the experience of many.
Protective Effects of Ketogenic Diets on Signs of Hypoglycemia
Recently, I have been reading about intermittent fasting. It seems to be the craze du jour these days. The benefits touted include increased energy, cognitive benefits and mental clarity, and a great way to "lean up". I strength train 2-3 days a week and do moderate cardio 2-3 days a week. I have found that IF really stablizes my BG so long as I am not strength training. As soon as I throw in strength training (near the end of my 16 hour fast period) my BG spikes to 300+ towards the end of an hour workout.
I can't figure out how to prevent it. I guess I just need to fine tune my insulin. I'm so frustrated and discouraged. Any suggestions from anyone would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I recently tried Intermittent Fasting, since I was reading so much about in Fitness mags and websites lately. If you are not familiar the basic premise is to not eat after a set time in the evening, say 7pm and then get up in the morning, skip breakfast (coffee or tea is ok), workout in your fasted state and then eat at 11am to break your fast. Then you eat normally from 11am to 7pm and the cycle continues. The benefits are burning stored body fat and it's a great way to lean up an already fit body.
I am a well-managed T1D and I can tell you that when I was IFing (intermittent fasting) I had THE best BG control ever. However, during my workouts I had to stop every 15-20mins and check my BG because your liver starts spitting out glucose to feed your muscles and you have no insulin to counteract it. So I would test, dose insulin and continue. But it was a pain in the ■■■, really and I wasn't seeing the leaning up that I was hoping for (apparently it's less effective for women - go figure). The artifical pancreas would resolve the liver glucose issues but we'll have to wait a while longer for it to hit the market.
It's an old post, but here is a refute of Phinney assertions:
http://anthonycolpo.com/why-low-carb-diets-are-terrible-for-athletes-part-2/
What do you think about?