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Ask the experts
By Pete Williams, Metro
13 April 2004
Pete Williams, strength and conditioning expert and founder of the exclusive Health Dept, London. (Tel: 020 7486 3386. www.healthdept.co.uk)...

Performance levels are poor when exercising and following the Atkins diet - why?

Lifting weights or training aerobically at moderate to high intensity levels, our primary source of energy is from carbohydrates. The Atkins diet minimises carbohydrate levels, limiting supplies of our necessary body fuel and reducing the body's ability to generate power output. Hence, performance levels appear poor. When carbohydrate levels are low, your body looks for alternative energy sources. Fats are not readily available as a fuel at higher intensities, so the body turns to protein. Using this for energy can result in loss of muscle tissue and reduced metabolic rate. This means you can actually end up putting fat on.

Atkins and hard training are a worrying combination for your health. You are introducing two methods of dramatically increasing the body's acidity levels. This has quite an effect on bone loss, as the body has to release calcium to neutralise the acidity. This is one of the quickest ways to osteoporosis. My advice is to drop the diet.