Ruth-
I suspect it’s just running too skinny with cals…just the body wanting a little more fuel. Tinker with that and let me know how you feel.

And a banana for quicker glycogen replenishment…doesn’t the fructose need to go to the liver and be converted to glucose before it can replenish glycogen stores? And doesn’t fructose preferentially replenish glycogen stores in the liver anyway? I suspect Brian is drinking more Accelerade than we see here, otherwise the tank would be on E and clearly it is not. Not that there is anything wrong with that if it works as well as it obviously does…I’m just blown away by the apparent lack of overall carbs in this diet.

It has me re-thinking things (I also just finished reading Exercise: Ineffective for Weight Loss)…like I don’t need nearly as many carbs as the Zone calls for. Reminds me of Lyle McDonald’s stuff from back in the day. For now I’ll just continue my empricistic Zone, paleo, IF, on weekdays and standard Zone on weekends approach (reducing carbs even further preWO).

Oh, and related to my previous post about how there is so much seemingly compatible, but ultimately conflicting info out there…how’s this for 3 degrees of separation? – I followed your blogroll to MODs. He had one to the Leangains site, and a link on the Leangains IF site led me to Lyle McDonald’s blog. Fascinating how I used to follow that body building BS, and now that I have found CF, I somehow got right back to Lyle’s page. Well, you enjoy the IF, Leangains is all about IF, and the Leangains guy and Lyle are collaborating on some book er something. All part of the same academic circle in a weird way (three recommended links separate you), but Lyle seems to think that Good Calories, Bad Calories are the ravings of a lunatic, the avoiding insulin thing is garbage and that it is the specific calorie restriction prescription of the Zone that makes it work not some magic protein/carb ratio. That last part about the Zone sounds familiar. Ah, maybe I just read too damn much, sometimes I feel like I’m just floating around on a sea of ideas…throw me one of those round thingies that save people from their own stupidity when they go into water that is too deep.

Craig-
Check this out:
http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/1/1/2
It is interesting where performance can go on a ketogenic or near ketogenic diet.

Lyle is right that the Zone ratios are nothing special…they are simply a starting place that gets most people within spitting distance of where they operate well. He is completely out-to-lunch if he thinks insulin is not the main driver of all this stuff…

Phenomenal work on the FTM 3-part blog! An inside look into elite athlete’s nutrition is always riveting for the average weekend warrior like myself.

I do have a question relating to PWO carb intake: I know your not a fan of liquid PWO shakes due to insulin spiking, but if one is pressed for time and/or traveling, is there a Paleo-friendly, low-GI approach? I have used waxy maize starch and ground oats in the past with relatively no issues, but I’d like to stick to strict Paleo, and don’t always have the luxury of yams on hand.

Mike-
Hmm…My main issue with the grain based items is lectins and the problems that arise with gut irritation and potential insulin signaling. That considered perhaps a tapioca pudding or tapioca in the shake? It is essentially starch, easily portable and free of grain based lectins. Just to clarify: My main issue with the shakes is that they seem to hit the system SO fast that we get a pretty nasty insulin spill-over effect, whereas applesauce, yams and the like tend not to do this. If necessary give them a go, just keep in mind there may be potential downsides.