Just like being in Death Valley without any water, you don’t want to hang out in what I call the “metabolic dead zone.”

What the heck is that you ask?  And no, that is not the PubMed official name.

The metabolic dead zone is the place where your protein is relatively high (0.7 – 1 gm per pound bodyweight), yet your carbs are really really low. . . Like less than 50 grams per day which is about how much you get from fibrous vegetable and ogling a donut at the bakery.

Eat one bagel and poof –your carb allotment is gone.

The Reason

At that amount of silly low carbs, you feel and perform like dog poo.   The solution according to the GooRoos on the intewebz is to bump up your protein higher (since carbs are evil of course – haha).

Why?  Your body converts some of the protein into a fuel source – which sounds great, but it is a super slow process.  It is not fast enough to keep up with fueling intense exercise.

It is like racing a Yugo vs. an Audi S8.  Sure, both will most likely make it to the finish line, but the Audi will be there in enough time to drink half a dozen Guinness.

Carbs are the best fuel for high intensity exercise.

Fats are great for low to moderate intensity exercise.

You want to use BOTH (via metabolic flexibly).

Summary:

Stay out of the metabolic dead zone where your protein is high yet your carbs are absurdly low.

Either decide to do a ketogenic diet (moderate protein, super high fat, and super low carbs) with moderate exercise or add in some darn carbs.

And stop ogling the donut.

Just eat it.