What's the connection between carbs and heart rate?

[SteelWeaver]

In my limited experience, the leaner I get, and the lower the carbs, the lower my heart rate, and the harder to get it up. What's this about?

 

[circusgirl]

Doesn't lower heart rate = good aerobic fitness? Maybe it's the extra cardio you do coming up to competition time making you fitter . I'm assuming blood pressure etc is normal. I know folks with eating disorders get low heart rates for different reasons, but I'm assuming that you are not about to have a heart attack or anything.

 

[MS]

Things that increase resting heart rate:

Obesity
Insulin Resistance
High fat high inulsogenic diet
Poor cardiovascular fitness
Overtraining
Illness

By almost all of the above measures, I would expect you heart rate to fall while on a low fat/moderate carb fatloss diet that includes a lot of cardio!!!!! If it didn't, I would say you were doing something wrong. You are also getting more efficient at exercising. This is why cardio is not a long term solution to calorie balance. People that run regular marathons have become soooo efficient that they hardly burn any calories! This is also why you find you need to continually increase your daily exercise to maintain fatloss. Your body is just to darned good at adapting on many levels.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Mmm, OK, that all makes sense - I just thought there was a particular connection to carbs, because it's always much easier to get it up and keep it up in the few days after refeeds, then it gradually drops again, and it gets lower every week. Also, I notice sometimes on refeed days my heart seems to be going a mile a minute ... is that insulin resistance talking? You'd think sensitivity would be up?

 

[MS]

"it's always much
easier to get it up and keep it up in the few days after refeeds, then it gradually drops again"................................Sounds phallic to me!

OK, I got ya. Yes, in younger folks a high carb meal can increase heart rate, as can a large meal. Certainly a large, high carb meal would be a nice double whammy to your heart rate! Not to mention the metabolic boost that you would hope to get from a refeed. For some reason (insulin resistane/reduced sympathetic outflow??) this doesn't seem to apply to old folks.

 

[SuperWoman]

Carbs make your body retain more water than protein or fat does. If you eat lots of carbs you'll notice some water gain as well. The extra retention of fluid will make your heart beat faster because now the heart has to work extra to compensate for the extra fluid. When you eat less carbs your heart rate is lower because your not retaining any water.

 

[SteelWeaver]

"it's always much
easier to get it up and keep it up in the few days after refeeds, then it gradually drops again"................................Sounds phallic to me!

LOL! Reeeaally? Well then, perhaps you'd like me to mention the PUMPS I get after refeeds, too ...







Oh, and good point Superwoman - I hadn't thought of that.

 

[MS]

It's actually hyperinsulemia that causes the fluid retention seen with high carb meals, rather than the carbs themselves, and again I find myself wondering why you seem to have such a hard time with refeeds. Between that and your tendency to gain/retain fat more around your middle, I suspect all is not perfect with your glucose disposal mechanisms. You shouldn't be hyperinsulemic for more than a few hours after a carb refeed, so you may need to reduce the size, duration or frequency of your refeeds, and also drop the GI of the carbs you're eating. Prolonged hyperinsulemic symptoms (such as fluid retention and increased heart rate) shouldn't occur unless your body is not ready for a refeed, or you overdo it. Use this info to 'dial in' your refeeds based on how your body responds. Basically the carbs should be going into your muscles and liver, and insulin should return to normal rapidly. If this is not happening, the refeeds are not optimal for some reason. Are you using ALA during your refeeds??

 

[SteelWeaver]

OK, I'm not sure I understand EXACTLY what all that means, but this is what I CAN tell you: I SUSPECT I occasionally go overboard on the refeeds - usually the week around my period. The other times seem to be OK, and I have been manipulating the GI lately to be higher at first, then drop it near the end. I'm also trying to control the carb choices in terms of sugar types better - I think I go for too much milk and yoghurt.

I extended the length to a whole day last week because I've found it much easier to NOT go overboard when I know there's another meal coming, if you understand what I mean. For some reason it's just easier to stay in control that way. Maybe it's too long too early, but lately by Friday night I'd kill for a sweet potato or bowl of rice, so I'm guessing at least the frequency is OK.

Heart rate is usually fairly easy to maintain at 73-77% on Mondays, then it drops a bit every day till it's about 68-69% by Friday. This is pretty much pedal to the metal, staying in a slight glute burn zone Most water retention is gone by Wednesday, and I start looking pretty dry by Friday.

Using lots of ALA on refeeds, plus some chromium picolinate. Do I need that?

Oh, btw - losing a steady 1kg per week

 

[SteelWeaver]

I've been thinking about this refeed thing. I realised last night why I have a problem sometimes, and why I'm more comfortable with a longer, less intense refeed. Because shorter and more intense *seems* much more like a binge, which is a purge trigger. That freaks me out mentally and emotionally, because a) I feel like stuff from a half a lifetime ago should stay just there - half a lifetime ago, and b) it doesn't, so I have to deal those feelings, and I'm much better at barging past them than actually dealing with them ...

But it's all another step in journey of growth. Good to know and learn.