Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Hi everyone,

I've been eating a paleo diet (plus heavy cream) for about 6 days now. I am very much in the "low-carb flu" stage at the moment - my previous diet consisting of mainly vegetarian food with lots of grains.

I go rock climbing and mountain biking regularly (once or twice a week each), but I haven't for a few days now - I went climbing on Sunday (indoors, at a gym) for a couple of hours, and felt really weak, no muscle endurance whatsoever.

I'm probably eating on average 50 - 100g of carbs per day.

In addition to climbing and mountain biking I walk every day for about 30-45 mins.

In this early, transitional stage, is it a bad idea to exercise? Or is it a good idea to exercise, but do I need some extra carbs before and/or after? Or should I just exercise and try and eat a normal (ie for paleo - 50 - 100g) amount of carbs and force my body to get used to it?

Your help is much appreciated, thanks :)

edited Nov 25 2011 at 0:26

Beth-WeightMaven
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asked Nov 24 2011 at 17:44

Chappy
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	Why are you low-carbing it? It sounds like you're pretty active! – Beth-WeightMaven Nov 24 2011 at 23:38
	@Beth - well, I'm not really doing it intentionally, I'm just eating paleo foods and my carb intake tends to be in that range (probably nearer 100 than 50, TBH). I guess I also figured I'd spend a couple of weeks just trying to get my body used to the idea of burning fat for fuel, and then see how I felt re: carbs. Advice would be very welcome though, should I eat more carbs? – Chappy Nov 25 2011 at 10:50
	Whether or not you should eat more carbs is a loaded question here these days ;). Can you be really active and athletic doing LC/ketosis? Sure. And you might help get yourself over the transition period (the low carb flu stage) with some coconut oil. But I believe that carb intake should be proportional to your level of activity and that if you're rock climbing and mountain biking, you'll find it easier to do with sufficient carbs in your diet. Remember, fruit and tubers like sweet potatoes are paleo too! – Beth-WeightMaven Nov 25 2011 at 14:40
	Thanks, Beth. I've actually spent today trawling this site and others for information about the role of carbs in the Paleo diet and am now much more confused than I was before :). There seems to be no consensus? I guess I'll just have to experiment, once I've got over the transition to this new diet. – Chappy Nov 25 2011 at 16:28

Mike Gruber · Accepted Answer · 2011-11-24 18:10:20Z UTC

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I remember how wasted I was when I went through that. Your body is adapting to a new fuel source right now ... give it a break and take a week or two off the other work you usually give it.

answered Nov 24 2011 at 18:10

Mike Gruber
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Thanks, I actually went out mountain biking for a couple of hours before I saw your reply... I ate half a potato (about 150g potato or 25g carbs) an hour before, felt ridiculously energised and then when I got back felt reaaaally sick and cold. No more hard exercise until I feel normal again :) – Chappy Nov 25 2011 at 10:30

Miriam · Answer 2 · 2011-11-24 18:55:30Z UTC

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I would just go for an easy, slow walk a couple times a week until your body adjusts, just so you don't go stir-crazy from not exercising.

answered Nov 24 2011 at 18:55

Miriam
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You will always benefit from moving more in my opinion. Dont bother with anything you would consider "exercise", but walking and other low level activities should help expedite the process. – Andrew Nov 25 2011 at 15:11

Vivalapaleo · Answer 3 · 2011-11-25 03:52:37Z UTC

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I think its much better to wait till you are adapted - a couple of wks

answered Nov 25 2011 at 3:52

Vivalapaleo
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Carbs, exercise, timing on paleo diet

3 Answers