I have been on Atkins several months quite happily and have been walking 3-4 miles several times a week, level, on the beach. Various times of day. Recently I discovered nice walking route of 5 miles, including a substantial hill, right near my house, and started doing it first thing in the morning, every morning. A great walk (I maintain about 70-75% heart rate, no problem, no cardiac issue) and I was loving it for a week or so. Then I started fagging on the hill and really plodding in the last mile or so, and also not recovering very fast when I got home. Not fun. It has been like that for ten days now and I am beginning to wonder can you exercise on Atkins. I would say I stay at around 30/grams/day, take take a modest (not horse pill) vitamin and mineral supplement. Yesterday I felt like drech when I got home and bacically ate carbs all day to try to recover. Shall I:

Not walk every day?
Take magnesium/calcium/potassium?
Go to a higher daily carb intake?

Thanks for suggestions

Gary

It might be worth considering if things have changed: perhaps your caloric intake or fat intake has dropped recently. Or you're now walking faster than you were previously.

Personally I think it wrong to repeat the same routine day in, day out. Even if it is walking. I'd think it would be beneficial to do a few hard/easy days, such as two days of your 5-milers, with several of your shorter, level walks sandwiched in between. Gives the body a chance to recover. Then build up from there, continuing hard/easy cycles through the week. And, I'd throw in a day off or two when necessary...

My $.02 on the exercise part of it...

5 miles on rolling terrain is much harder than 3 mile on the beach. My recommendation: either alternating easier/harder days (for example 2-3 miles beach on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, alternates with 5 miles hill on Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Monday OFF) or 5 miles every other day - if you are over 40 it is better, because you have more recovery time.

Calcium, magnesium, potassium could help a lot. You might up your carbs, but do it very slowly.
Yes, you can exercise on Atkins:-)))

did you eat before the walk or after? Try eating a little something before you walk....I found out I was hitting my "wall" so to speak way sooner if I didn't eat something before I started my walk in the morning.

Thanks, that rings true about lightening up on the walking schedule. I am 55 years old. I guess maybe I will try hard, easy,hard,easy, hard,easy, day off.

Yes I am eating in the morning first, plenty, eggs and chorizo (viva Mexico!), then walk about an hour later.

Thanks everybody

Gary

Gary,
three more things: hydration, hydration, hydration. Living under similar warm climate as you, I know how easy to get dehydrated very fast even without visible sweating - the fluid part of the sweat evaporating so fast.
It can be a cause of fatigue too.

three more things: hydration, hydration, hydration. Living in South CA, I know how fast somebody can be dehydrated even without noticing it. Dehydration is the #1 reason for my fatigue during longer walk/run. Because of the dry, hot climate very often I can not even see my sweat, the fluid part of it evaporating so fast.