The exercise (ocean swim) isn't new. I've been doing it for years. And yes - it does help enormously (e.g to get the blood really flowing well) - as long as I

The exercise (ocean swim) isn't new. I've been doing it for years. And yes - it does help enormously (e.g to get the blood really flowing well) - as long as I get the start time, duration, intensity and intervals about right. I tend to swim only until just after the point that I reach peak performance. Also, (for me) it isn't just about carb cutting - it's about timing. If I eat a medium bowl of white rice at a breakfast, then I tend to feel worse afterwards and I put on (some) weight. If think that the blood gets thicker and stickier as blood sugar rises and so blood flow gets worse. If I eat the same medium bowl of white rice after my swim then I don't seem to put on weight, but it does help avoid a next day energy crash. I also paid it with 5g of Creatine Monohydrate (before the swim) and the combination seems to have reversed my middle-age loss of muscle. What doesn't work for me is vigorous early morning exercise fueled by caffeine. Again for me, that is the route to over -training and a long bout of fatigue. YMMV. Listen to your body.