Low Carb Versus Mod/Higher Carb

[Blutarski]

There are many "experts" that I respect and that have a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding nutrition. As a endo with around 20% BF, common sense and many of these aforementioned people would say that cutting carbs and adding healthy fats etc to the diet will yield the best results as far as recomp and fat loss. Some people would recommend very low carb diets, others dropping carbs to 125 or less and most PWO, etc. But the vast majority seem to agree that the fatter the person the better they will do on a version of a LC Diet. For me this is not the case. I feel bad on the LC diet (not surprising) but I also seem to hold weight/fat more with this approach than I do with a lower fat approach (similar calories). One thing that does seem to work for me is not combining Carbs and significant fat together in the same meal. The point of this ramble is to see if any others have had this experience and if they might care to comment on why this approach might work for some people and not others. BTW, I am Type II diabetic with pretty stable elevated blood glucose levels (fasting usually around 120, PP 2hr around 145-210 depending on food). Obviously, a LC approach makes sense to me for controling insulin, but portion control seems to matter more than carb level in food for me. Thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Rodja]

If your glucose levels are constantly high, then that is the reason that you have higher BF%. What types of carbs do you generally eat and how much fiber do you genereally consume everyday? Also, have you looked into a glucose-sensitizing compound such as GXR or plain ALA.

 

[Blutarski]

Hey Rodja, when are you and Chuck Liddell getting into the ring? I definately understand the correlation between higher fat levels and blood glucose. I have found that for each 10 lbs I lose I seem to have about 10-12 decrease in glucose levels. I have tried GXR, about every form of RALA, had better luck with ALA actually. Fiber makes a huge difference as would be expected. Things like beans, even baked beans with higher sugar content hardly raise my blood sugar at all. I can be sometimes difficult to build muscle as workout nutrition is more of a challenge. But at this point I need to work on getting the fat off first. I've been following the thread about Yellow Gold, seems like it might have some potential to help a person such as myself.

 

[Nitrox]

There are many "experts" that I respect and that have a tremendous amount of knowledge regarding nutrition. As a endo with around 20% BF, common sense and many of these aforementioned people would say that cutting carbs and adding healthy fats etc to the diet will yield the best results as far as recomp and fat loss. Some people would recommend very low carb diets, others dropping carbs to 125 or less and most PWO, etc. But the vast majority seem to agree that the fatter the person the better they will do on a version of a LC Diet. For me this is not the case. I feel bad on the LC diet (not surprising) but I also seem to hold weight/fat more with this approach than I do with a lower fat approach (similar calories). One thing that does seem to work for me is not combining Carbs and significant fat together in the same meal. The point of this ramble is to see if any others have had this experience and if they might care to comment on why this approach might work for some people and not others. BTW, I am Type II diabetic with pretty stable elevated blood glucose levels (fasting usually around 120, PP 2hr around 145-210 depending on food). Obviously, a LC approach makes sense to me for controling insulin, but portion control seems to matter more than carb level in food for me. Thoughts would be appreciated.

Portion control (eg calories) and carb control are both factors in blood glucose (BG) control. The weighting of each depends on the particular combination and of course the individual. 100g of carbs might be too much on a 3500 kcal diet but that same amount could be quite manageable on 2500 kcal. Maintaining good BG levels is always going to be a challenge for a non-insulin using diabetic when on a bulking diet (hypocaloric). Consequently so is building muscle since your body's reduced insulin function limits how anabolic it can be.

I'm ecto and have not found much difference in FAT loss with low carb vs moderate carb; just lost more muscle and water with LC. Personally I think that unless you heavily skew one macronutrient ratio, energy intake is the deciding factor in how successful your fat loss will be.

As far as carb timing goes, for low-moderate cardio sessions, I would consume most of your carbs immediately before your workout. For weight training and high intensity cardio I would suggest half before and half after. PWO carb timing theory involves raising insulin to minimize catabolism - obvioulsy diabetic s are limited in this dept.

FWIW I never found 'blood glucose' supplements to be cost effective.

Are you counting calories and macronutrients? What amounts are you eating and what have your fat loss results been like?

For carb choices I recommend fruits and legumes first and foremost (careful with the grapes, no raisins). They are low GI, high in fiber, and the fruit can help out with sugar cravings. Limit starches to whole food varieties and probably best to eat those around periods of highest activity.