Are Low-Carb Diets A Good Idea For Male Athletes?

July 1, 2009— -- Question: Are low-carb diets a good idea for male athletes?

Answer: Low-carb diets are not a good idea for anybody who's athletic on a regular basis. So if you're athletic and you're any type of an athlete, whether it's recreational, weekend warrior or actually a serious college level or professional athlete, the main source of fuel for your body is carbohydrates. That's what your muscles are running off of.

So we don't want to go on a very low-carbohydrate diet. We're gonna have impaired performance, impaired recovery, you're gonna risk muscle pulls, you're gonna definitely be tired. You're probably going to be a little bit irritable. So you don't want to go on a very low-carbohydrate diet if you're very active.

Moderate carbohydrate? Fine; so you've still got carbohydrates, especially at breakfast, at lunch, at your snacks when you're up and going through the day. If you're looking at: When can I cut back my carbohydrates? For a lot of people it's at dinner. If you want to cut back on carbs, cut them back from dinner. You're about to go to bed you don't need that load of carbohydrates before dinner. But as far as following a low-carbohydrate diet all through the day, almost no serious athlete needs that.