A couple of more experienced runners have been talking to me about something that was in vogue in the 70s and 80s. No, not jogging, but carb depletion before carb loading before a marathon. You can read more about carb loading strategies here.
I know that the latest research shows that there is nearly negligible advantage to depletion before loading. However, I think are a couple of advantages that haven't been mentioned in the studies. One is weight loss and another is adaptation to using fat as fuel. Besides, I'm experimenting a bit with this race. I plan to go out a bit harder than I have in the past and I'm doing a deplete before the load. I'm willing to take some risks with this race since I have a BQ under my belt.
One thing is sure, I simply could not maintain a low carb diet for any length of time. It's only been 4 days, and I'm dreaming about milk and cereal! Oh how I'd love to have a big Chinese stir fry with rice. Mmmmm fresh bread! Ugh. Don't get me wrong, I like meat and cheese and veggies, but I also like milk, cereal, bread and fruit! I can't wait for the loading days, which start Tuesday!
I'll report back on the results after the race. Here are some notes about carb depletion just a few days in.
- I love milk and cereal. I like eggs and fish and chicken, but not as much as I thought.
- A low carb diet will take off pounds, but it's mostly water at first.
- There is NO energy for hard workouts on a low carb diet.
- You will be irritable and a little light headed on a low carb diet.
Enough for now. I may ramble a couple more times before the race.
1 comment:
First of all... after meeting you, I don't see where you think you have even ONE pound to lose.
Nevertheless, I'm interested to see how your experiment goes.
Post a Comment