Low carb diet and exercise

[Camuhkazi]

Hello!
I've been following a 20-25g net carbs a day diet and it's been very, very successful. I lost 15lbs in the first 3 weeks, and I've been keeping the weight off very easily. I actually enjoy the diet options I have as I'm still eating almost everything I once ate normally, but sticking to my carb intake limitations.

However, I do want to get toned.

Any advice on types of exercise I should do to tone up, or anything I should know about low carb dieting and exercising?

Thank you all! 😄

[SunsetRunner]

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@Camuhkazi wrote:

Hello!
I've been following a 20-25g net carbs a day diet and it's been very, very successful. I lost 15lbs in the first 3 weeks, and I've been keeping the weight off very easily. I actually enjoy the diet options I have as I'm still eating almost everything I once ate normally, but sticking to my carb intake limitations.

However, I do want to get toned.

Any advice on types of exercise I should do to tone up, or anything I should know about low carb dieting and exercising?

Thank you all! 😄

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Try hill climbing on treadmill.  Set incline to 15 and speed to 4mph starting off then increase to 4.5-4.7mph.  Do that for 1 hour 5 days a week.   

[Camuhkazi]

I don't have a treadmill but do have an elliptical. Would that work on an elliptical as well?

Thanks!

[SunsetRunner]

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@Camuhkazi wrote:

I don't have a treadmill but do have an elliptical. Would that work on an elliptical as well?

Thanks!

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Elliptical is good, too.  If your elliptical is sturdy go forward and backward without using hands.   The best Elliptical for using no hands is the Precor Elliptical.  Most commercial gyms have them.   

[Dominique]

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@Camuhkazi wrote:

I do want to get toned.

Any advice on types of exercise I should do to tone up

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"getting toned", "toning up" really means: 1) having (or gaining) some muscle, 2) lowering subcutaneous fat so that they become (more) visible. If your current body fat level prevents this from happening, you must lower it further (= be in a caloric deficit). You can achieve a deficit via your diet, via exercise, or both. Any exercise will cause you to burn more calories, some more than others. Building muscle typically requires resistance training.

[emili]

@Camuhkazi- exactly what Dominique said. if you use cardio to lose the fat- you need to strength train to tone/build the muscle - doing just cardio will actually break down your muscle. so keep going with a caloric deficit, burn a bit more through cardio and find a good routine for strength training.

[Dominique]

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@Camuhkazi wrote:

anything I should know about low carb dieting and exercising?

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Carbs are the body’s preferred fuel for exercising, so if you’re on a low-carb diet, you’ll have to find out whether you can get enough energy from fat and protein. I personally think low-carb diets are best suited for sedentary people who want to lose weight: it’s a handy way to cut calories and they don’t need much carbs anyway (since they’re not very active). Becoming very active changes the equation IMO. I know advocates of low-carbing say their bodies become super-efficient fat-burning machines. If you can perform well during exercise with fat as fuel, that’s just fine.