Low-Carb and CrossFit: Delauer, TDC, and Mike G

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ByCrossFit HealthSeptember 4, 2022
Found in:220905,Health

In this interview, Thomas DeLauer, Dave Castro, and Mike Giardina discuss performance on a low-carbohydrate diet and Thomas and Dave’s 35-mile ruck. The first part of the video digs into the appropriateness of a low-carbohydrate diet while trying to perform well in CrossFit. Dave Castro shares some of his own experiences training on a low-carb diet, explaining how his performance didn’t change much but he felt much better overall. Thomas DeLauer provides some strategies for using carbohydrates effectively to improve performance while on a low-carbohydrate diet, but he also explains that most people entering the CrossFit gym could benefit from strict adherence to a low-carb approach to improve their metabolic flexibility.

The second half of the interview digs deep into Thomas and Dave’s 35-mile ruck while fasted and wearing a 35-lb pack. The two of them go back and forth as they discuss the dietary protocol prior to starting the ruck, the plan to avoid cramping, the science behind different “schools” of fasting, ketone production and its impact on performance, and some of the mental and physiological responses to doing an enduring event without taking in any calories. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at Thomas and Dave as they trudge through the 35 miles, click here.

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Katina Thornton
September 6th, 2022 at 12:55 am
Commented on: Delauer TDC Mike G

Thomas Delauer answered a question that I have had for several years. When I began wearing a continuous glucose monitor, one of the first things that I noticed was that my glucose spiked during intense workouts (which are the majority of the CrossFit mainsite workouts). It would climb higher than with any food that I ate and then return to baseline within 30 minutes. My concern was whether that in turn caused my insulin to spike. I wondered about the feasibility of a continuous insulin monitor to help answer this. Delauer has cleared up this mystery and the answer is no. The mechanism is exercise-stimulated glucose transport as opposed to insulin-stimulated glucose transport. As if that weren't enough, there is an increase in postexercise insulin sensitivity up to 48 h after exercise. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4727532/

My next question is: Since exercise increases the glucose area under the curve, does it also affect hga1c?

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