The result of practicing very low-carb diets is that you have very little glycogen stored in your muscles and liver. Consequently, your body could be more dehydrated since water is a major component of glycogen.
Suppose you’re a physique competitor, an athlete, or a very active individual. In that case, your body primarily relies on fat as a fuel source via a biochemical process known as beta-oxidation. This can allow for thousands of fat calories to be metabolized as fuel.
A low-carb diet can be a significant disadvantage for athletes in high-intensity sports. The process of converting fatty acids into a usable fuel source, known as beta-oxidation, is much slower than the body’s process of converting carbohydrates into energy.
This means an athlete’s power will rapidly deplete during intense physical activity and won’t be replenished quickly enough to support continuous or repeated high-intensity activity demands. This underscores the urgent need to address the impact of low-carb diets on athletic performance.
This will apply to anyone who participates in high-intensity weight training, sprinting, power sports, or any other sport or activity involving recurrent, explosive bursts of energy. Unfortunately, your body cannot negotiate this. It is basic physiology.
Your body’s #1 preferred fuel source for high-intensity exercise is glycogen because it is the most readily available fuel for your muscles to utilize. During high-intensity exercise, the energy demands are so immediate that your body doesn’t have time to take in the required amount of oxygen that is necessary to process fat as a fuel source.
That’s why when you deplete muscle glycogen, there is a proportional increase in muscle fatigue. There is also an increase in muscle catabolism that occurs because your body metabolizes its muscle protein to convert it into the glucose that your body desperately needs.
Advanced athletes have recognized the importance of carbohydrates for quite some time. This isn’t all that surprising considering the amount of evidence that distinctly shows carbohydrates’ profound impact on the hormone ratio that is most significant to an athlete: the cortisol-to-free testosterone ratio.
The higher the cortisol levels and lower the testosterone levels, the less muscle mass an athlete can sustain. The greater the testosterone levels and lower the cortisol levels, the easier it will be for an athlete to maintain and increase the amount of muscle mass in their body.
Maintaining as much muscle mass as possible is paramount to any serious athlete.
There is something to be said about eating suitable carbs at reasonable times to maximize the advantages of carb consumption while preventing negative repercussions, like getting fat. Here are a few guidelines you can follow:
Refrain from indulging in high-carb meals on rest days or days you won’t be highly active.
Keep your carbohydrate intake moderate on days of moderate activity or when training smaller muscle groups like arms, shoulders, or abs. Your goal these days should be to consume enough quality carbohydrates to provide energy for your workouts and get a good muscle pump.
Reserve your fastest-digesting carbohydrates for before and after workouts only. They digest the quickest and, therefore, will become glycogen the fastest, to be used as energy. Centering these carbohydrates around your workout makes them more likely to be used as energy and less likely to be stored as fat.
One great example of a fast-digesting carbohydrate is Karbolyn®. Derived from potato, rice, and corn, this sugar-free powder is rapidly absorbed like glucose. Still, it provides long-lasting energy similar to the benefits of complex carbohydrates without waiting hours for the energy to kick in.
