[jonny5]

Recently I have changed my diet and reduced significantly the number of carbs I am consuming. I was taking in just under 400g a day now im on av 200g a day. When at the gym last nite I noticed that my strength was way down and was struggling to make same weights/reps as the week before. Could this be due to lack of carbs and if so is it temporary while my body adjusts or is it that I just had a shitty session and should shrug it off?

[Terumo]

You aren't drastically cutting carbs to a point that it would *ordinarily* hinder glycogen levels. Had you said you were going from 150g of CHO to 75g, I would think that was your problem, no doubt. However, this all depends on several factors, and I think that you could make a few adjustments such that you could train at full-throttle on 200g.

First of all, when do you train? If you train in the morning, either on an empty stomach or after only one meal, you should change this. When restricting in any way, you will have more strength if you train after a minimum of two solid feedings.

Secondly, what is your lifestyle like? If you are a roofer, than 200g of CHO isn't going to go anywhere near as far as it would if you are a programmer. Take into account external sources of exertion with respect to training.

Thirdly, when are you getting the bulk of your carbs? I hope you say post-workout and an hour or two post-workout. These are optimum windows for carb substrate synthesis as your levels will be well below baseline. Not to mention, there is a plethora of benefits associated with consuming PWO carbs.

Finally, how much sleep are you getting? When restricting, sleep deprivation will hit you much harder than any other time. If you were squeeking by on 5 hours before and feeling okay, cutting back carbs, especially by 50%, will likely make you feel like shit.

Aside from that, allow your body to acclimate. It may take a while. If you have an entire week of terrible workouts, Bump your carbs back up, and taper them off in a less aggressive manner. A 20% reduction per week would be much more subtle.

~Terumo

[greedysob]

How many calories are you taking in now? If you've cut you're calories significantly you're going to have a decrease in strength and endurance, no matter where you cut them from. It's your bodies way of protecting itself from starvation.

If you're cutting carbs you need to make sure you make up for it with protein and fat. You need to get the calories from somewhere. And if you're cutting calories to lose weight you need to just accept that your performance is going to suffer.

[Clint07]

It could be the carbs or it could just be psychological/a bad training session. What does a normal day in your diet look like, it will be easier to figure out once we have that info.

[atreyused]

Originally Posted by greedysob

How many calories are you taking in now? If you've cut you're calories significantly you're going to have a decrease in strength and endurance, no matter where you cut them from. It's your bodies way of protecting itself from starvation.

If you're cutting carbs you need to make sure you make up for it with protein and fat. You need to get the calories from somewhere. And if you're cutting calories to lose weight you need to just accept that your performance is going to suffer.

Perfectly stated!!

Whenever you cut down your calories and carbs you have to abosulety fill that void with higher protein intake and essential fatty acids such as fish oil, flax seed oil, or eat more almonds or nuts and so forth but one thing for sure is that all aspects of your life will suffer. You will be more cranky and irritable, you will loose strength in the gym, your training sessions will feel like the most intense work you have ever done. But the final benefit is that you will have that good lean physique and then you can just work on adjusting your diet to maintain your achievements and you will see that your strength and endurance will get back once your body adjusts.