Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Today, I decided to run an experiment; after finishing a 10 mile jog, I came home to a 2100 calorie breakfast of various meats (steak, bone-in ham, chicken breast). There were virtually no carbohydrates in this meal, and despite its caloric girth, I've been freakin' starving all day, and only for dense, sugary carb sources.

Given this, can I assume that I've failed to meet my body's glucose needs in the context of my activity level, and that if I hope to achieve satiety after these epic bouts of exercise that I should eat carbs immediately following the workout? Or is there some other puzzle piece I'm missing?

flag	asked Dec 28 2011 at 19:10 Matthius 3,098●2●17

henny · Answer 1 · 2011-12-28 19:34:17Z UTC

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You may need the carbs from a sweet potato after exercise- that was one big protein feed!

answered Dec 28 2011 at 19:34

henny

No kidding; over 300g in one sitting. – Matthius Dec 28 2011 at 19:44

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I once heard that the body can't process more than 20g of protein at one time... Any thoughts on if this is accurate? – Jesse Dec 28 2011 at 21:34

@Jesse this is a myth. Started from studies that used 20g of protein to see absorption rates and someone somewhere thought that it was a limit and spread it. Robb Wolf addressed this in one of his many podcasts. – raydawg Dec 28 2011 at 21:39

Thanks for the info, raydawg. I'll have to look for that podcast. – Jesse Dec 29 2011 at 16:35

meret · Answer 2 · 2011-12-28 19:51:50Z UTC

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i've been having this same issue, and for this reason am looking into the perfect health diet. i think the additional glucose in the diet should be useful, especially in light of a really active lifestyle.

answered Dec 28 2011 at 19:51

meret
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Sunshine · Answer 3 · 2011-12-28 19:48:01Z UTC

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ya know, this is such a coincidence - I had a similar experience. I had a MAJORLY intense strength training workout yesterday, and my after workout meal basically consisted of green veggies and protein. Even after eating about 2K of Calories, I still felt like a bottomless pit!! In addition to what I ate, I just kept on eating until I was full but even when I KNEW I was full, I had a CRAVING for for something. I fixed myself a bowl of white rice, and the cravings vanished...

answered Dec 28 2011 at 19:48

Sunshine
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	I think I will try a mixture of protein and starchy carbs for my next after workout meal. – Sunshine Dec 28 2011 at 19:49
	Yeah, tomorrow my post-workout will be isocaloric (~2000 calories), but I'm having ground beef and sweet potato instead. I'll report back. Would love to hear your experience as well. – Matthius Dec 28 2011 at 19:57
	ditto - today will be another self experiment day - i'll keep yah posted! – Sunshine Dec 29 2011 at 16:45

raydawg · Answer 4 · 2011-12-28 21:44:49Z UTC

Yeah, no surprise, you drained your glycogen reserves both in your muscles and your liver most likely and now need a carb refeed. You can get some via neoglucogenesis, but the process is expensive, so that's why you crave carbs.

A sweet potato or a banana will do the trick.

This is why chronic cardio is not helpful in weight loss in the conventional wisdom sense. You'd get all ravenous for carbs and you'll wind up eating a lot more calories than you've just burned, and wonder why you're putting in hours a day on the treadmill or running and yet still are gaining fat.

Worse, since you're only using fewer muscles, your body will catabolize the rest to convert to glucose. You'll also burn through your stem cells and damage your heart.

Stick to resistance training and occasional sprints instead.

jet · Answer 5 · 2011-12-28 19:42:25Z UTC

my nutrition therapist told me that moderate protein consumption has been found to be ideal because excess protein transforms into glucose - so blood sugar can become destabilized.

maybe try the experiment with less protein and more fat next time.

conciliator · Answer 6 · 2011-12-28 19:58:24Z UTC

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Depends on the amount of protein, but I'd say you might be going hypoglycemic. Also depends on the intensity of the run/how used to running 10 miles you are.

answered Dec 28 2011 at 19:58

conciliator
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I frequently do that distance, but to be honest I often feel like shit afterwards because of an unruly gut and maddening cravings. And yeah, hypoglycemia has been a problem in the past, especially when I was under-eating while in ketosis back in 2010. Shit got bad when my dad (a diabetic) let me use his glucometer and I was consistently hovering around 46 mg/dL – Matthius Dec 28 2011 at 20:20

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why do you do that distance if you feel like shit afterwards? 10 miles should take 1.5 hours, right? that's not an absurd amount if you've built up to it slowly. In my experience (endurance athlete once upon a time) I lose appetite control after workouts that were hard, when I was used to a 1.5 hour run I could do it fairly easily. – conciliator Dec 29 2011 at 1:34

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