[breezeonby]

My sister will be competing in another body building championship first week in May. PROTEIN is the most important thing to her diet and she told me yesterday that athlete's don't need carbs, I asked her where did she get her energy from and she told me from the carbs in fruits? Most diabetics don't eat much fruit, so where do you get your energy
from if you are low carbing?

Right now I am trying to get my energy up to make some chocolate chip cookies made with almond flour and Sun Crystals. :dance:

 

[beefy]

My sister will be competing in another body building championship first week in May. PROTEIN is the most important thing to her diet and she told me yesterday that athlete's don't need carbs, I asked her where did she get her energy from and she told me from the carbs in fruits? Most diabetics don't eat much fruit, so where do you get your energy
from if you are low carbing?

Right now I am trying to get my energy up to make some chocolate chip cookies made with almond flour and Sun Crystals. :dance:

When I was bodybuilding (I stopped about 9 years ago) I tried to get at least 40% of my calories from protein, 30-35% from carbs and 25-30% from fat. (And this was in he heyday of the 'low-fat craze' ... but even as an athlete you NEED decent levels of dietary fat... Especially in men, dietary fat, specifically monounsaturated and saturated fat will RAISE testosterone levels. Polyunsaturated fats do not.)

(After I stopped bodybuilding and until I was diagnosed I found myself eating roughly 60% carb, 15% protein and 25% fat... but the diet varied a lot...)

Currently (as a nearly 250lb TypeII with about 40 pounds of fat to lose) I'm eating between 2400 and 3000 calories daily, depending on what I'm doing in the day for physical output. The macro-nutrient breakdown the past few days is between 15-20% carbs, 40-45% protein and 35-40% fat.

As far as energy, it was a little difficult at first adopting a lower-carb diet... But the body adapts and energy levels return - I'm convinced that gluconeogenesis is the answer.

Sure, carbohydrate is the macro-nutrient that most quickly converts to blood glucose, but your body can also convert protein and fat as well.

Critics of low-carb diets often claim you need carbs because it's the only food your brain can use for fuel, which is baloney (<-- scientific terminology). In addition to glucose your brain can also use lactate and ketones (as well as other substances) for energy. One European study showed that during very intense exercise your brain actually switches from using glucose to using lactate for energy.

Oh, and I also find caffeine helps, LOL.

 

[jwags]

I've never had problem with energy levels on low carb unless I was sick. When you do a ketogenic diet, your body uses fat for energy. For the past 6 months I have been consumin lots of coconut oil. It is burned like a carb and helps raise your metabolism, so it is good for losing weight. It is funny your sister says athletes don't need carbs and then goes on to says she eats fruit. In my book fruit comes under the Carb Column. Before I was dx'd I consumed a vegetarian diet with very little fat but lots of whole grains, fruits, brown rice, quinoa, etc. I was always tired and had difficulty walking 2 miles. I routinely walk 4 miles now since low carb with no problem. It has also allowed me to shed all my belly fat and I am now at my high school weight. Before diabetes all the sit ups, pilates, aerobics, kick boxing, zumba didn't achieve that.