On Tue, 17 Jul 2001, Adrienne Smith wrote:

> I am 6 pounds from goal weight and believe that I have been hitting the
> wall far too soon during exercise because of my low-carb intake.

It's very possible, especially if we're talking about
high-intensity exercise.

> In
> addition to protein and fats, I only eat non-starchy veggies and 1.5
> servings of fruit per day.  Do you think nuts would work as well as starchy
> veggies to replenish my glycogen stores?

No.  Nuts are very low-carb, when you subtract the fiber and
consider the massive amounts of fat you need to consume to get an
appreciably amount of glucose.

> Or could I simply use extra huge
> portions of non-starchy veggies?

Unlikely.  The combined glycogen stores (liver and muscle) come
to about 1,500 kcal, which is 375 of glucose.  About 80% of that,
or 300g, is muscle glycogen.  That's a lot of cucumbers.
Granted, it's unlikely that you are *completely* depleted, but if
you're depleted enough to feel the difference, you'll need a
substantial glucose deposit to make it better, and I just don't
think you're going to get it from low-density veggies.

> If not, what starchy veggies would you
> recommend?  I am concerned about rebound weight gain if I suddenly gorge on
> potatoes.  Any thoughts or info would be greatly appreciated.

A sweet potato should do a good job, if you consider white
potatoes nonpaleo (a perennially disputed point).  There should
be no problem about weight gain, except perhaps a small amount of
water to form the glycogen.  When glycogen reserves are low,
incoming glucose is sent straight to them, not stored as fat.
Dried apricots are loaded with glucose, as well as fructose.  The
same is true of raisins and most other dried fruits.

Todd Moody
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