Why Athletes Perform Better on Low-Carb Diets: The Hidden Truth!

I sat down with Sami Inkinen and came away fired up. Sami is an athlete, entrepreneur, and the co‑founder and CEO of Virta Health. We talked about a lot: his wild 45‑day row from California to Hawaii, how he discovered he was prediabetic despite being fit, and the company he built to reverse type 2 diabetes using nutrition and remote care. I want to share the best parts of that conversation so you can learn what Sami has learned and how it might help you or someone you love.

Why I Wanted To Interview Sami

Sami has done things most people only read about. He and his wife rowed unsupported across the Pacific for 45 days. He also helped build Virta Health, a company that treats type 2 diabetes with food, not just pills. I wanted to dig into his story because it ties two things I care about: high performance and real, long‑term health.

The Pacific Row: What Happened and Why It Mattered

Sami and his wife, Meredith, hopped into a 20‑foot carbon fiber rowboat in 2014 and rowed from Monterey, California, toward Hawaii. The trip was about 2,700 nautical miles and took 45 days and three hours. No helicopters, no support boats. Just them, the ocean, and a lot of hard work.

Boat Life: Sleep, Food, and Water

• The boat had a small waterproof cabin to sleep in. They rowed about 16–18 hours each day.
• They usually rowed together for about 12 hours. Then one person slept while the other rowed for about 6 hours, and they switched.
• All food was packed and vacuum sealed. They focused on real, low‑sugar food. No Gatorade, no sugar drinks.
• Water came from a desalination unit, so they didn't have to carry thousands of pounds of water.

That setup forced them to prove a point: you can do massive physical work without chugging sugary sports drinks. Sami said their daily rowing burned about the same calories as running two marathons. And they did it without high‑sugar fuel.

Storms, Navigation, and The Mental Game

The first 10–14 days were brutal. Big waves, cold weather, and winds that pushed them south toward Mexico instead of west toward Hawaii. Sami admits those early days made him doubt the whole trip. He credits his wife's stubbornness for keeping them going.

One quote kept them going: "This too shall pass."

That idea, surrender and acceptance, came up a lot. Sami talked about how pain becomes easier to handle when you stop fighting it and accept the reality of the moment. He used the example of jumping into cold water: most people scream and panic; a few calmly accept the cold and get through it. That calm acceptance helped them survive the long row.

How a Fit Endurance Athlete Found Out He Was Prediabetic

Sami had always been an athlete. He raced triathlons, did Ironman races, and was lean. So when blood tests showed he was prediabetic, it hit him hard. He assumed eating low-fat and exercising would protect him. It didn't.

That discovery flipped a switch. Sami dove into the research and concluded that constant carbohydrate intake and blood sugar spikes were a common driver of metabolic disease. He believes many people, lean or not, can be insulin resistant and heading toward type 2 diabetes.

Why Sami Chose To Fight Diabetes With Nutrition

Instead of building another medication or gadget, Sami helped start a company that treats the root cause with food and behavior. The key points:

• Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are often reversible with sustained nutritional change.
• Drugs treat symptoms. Food treats the cause.
• Delivering this care at scale requires tech: telemedicine, remote monitoring, and daily coaching.

Sami is blunt: fix bad food with better food, not just with drugs.

What Virta Health Actually Does

Virta Health provides virtual care focused on reversing metabolic disease. Here's how their program works in simple steps:

1.  Sign up and complete a telemedicine visit with a Virta doctor.

2.  Receive a starter kit at your home to track biomarkers (blood glucose, ketones, weight, blood pressure).

3.  Get daily support and coaching through an app. Coaches and doctors adjust medications as needed.

4.  Use data (blood sugar and other markers) to personalize nutrition and make changes that work for each person.

Virta works with employers, health plans, and government groups. They often take financial risk in contracts: if they don't improve outcomes, the payer pays less or nothing. That makes their model attractive to big employers who pay healthcare costs.

Why Virta Focuses On Biomarker Tracking

Measurements matter. Sami explained that remote biomarker tracking lets their doctors safely reduce medications and see what actually works. It also helps coaches give very specific, real‑time advice. That level of monitoring is how they individualize care at scale.

How to Fuel Performance on Low‑Carb

One big question: Can you compete and perform at a high level without a high‑carb diet? Sami says yes. His personal strategy:

• Outside of workouts, he eats very low carb: salads and whole food, no rice, pasta, or bread.
• During hard long workouts or races, he takes a small amount of fast carbs—maybe a couple hundred calories per hour—so performance doesn't drop.
• He relies on three things when training: perceived effort, heart rate, and power output (for cycling).

Sami also stressed that how you feel is often the best guide. Data is great, but the brain is the best recovery sensor. If you feel terrible, you probably need rest even if the numbers look okay.

On Exercise, Muscle, and Timing

Sami is clear that exercise matters. But in very sick patients with type 2 diabetes, the first priority is metabolic stability. Trying to force heavy exercise too early can be counterproductive. Once a person gets blood sugar under control and energy returns, adding resistance work and cardio is excellent for keeping muscle and improving long‑term health.

Sami's Take On GLP‑1 Drugs (Ozempic, Wegovy, etc.)

We talked about the recent popularity of GLP‑1 drugs. Sami's view is balanced:

• GLP‑1s are better than older weight‑loss drugs and can help many people.
• They are not a replacement for good nutrition. You can't simply medicate your way out of bad food choices.
• For a real public health solution, combine evidence‑based nutrition programs with drugs when needed. Drugs can be part of the toolkit, but they are not the whole toolbox.

Big System Problems: Why The Status Quo Keeps People Sick

Sami pulled no punches, explaining why metabolic disease is so common. Two big forces keep the problem alive:

• Food companies profit from highly processed, sugary foods that make people sick.
• Parts of the healthcare system profit from treating late‑stage complications with expensive drugs and procedures.

The result is a vicious cycle: unhealthy food on one side, symptom‑treating care on the other. Sami argues the system needs new incentives, programs that help people get better and reward payers for true health outcomes.

Personal Stories That Hit Hard

Sami shared stories that stuck with me. Some patients get tattooed after they reverse their diabetes. That might sound wild, but it shows how life‑changing this work is for people who felt doomed by their diagnosis.

He also told me about other races he's done: Leadville 100, Race Across America (in a 4‑person team), and many long cycling events. He still trains and races, and he does it on low carbs most of the time.

Lessons From The Ocean That Apply To Life

Two simple mantras from Sami stood out:

"This too shall pass."

Tough moments are temporary, and you can get through them.

"Surrender to the moment."

Accepting discomfort removes resistance and saves energy for what matters.

These ideas helped him deal with loneliness, cold, and fear on long ocean days, and they can help in any hard stretch of life or training.

FAQ

Q: Who can join Virta Health?

A: Virta treats adults with type 2 diabetes and people with obesity or prediabetes. Employers, health plans, and individuals can access the program.

Q: Does Virta use medication?

A: Yes. Virta's doctors will prescribe or deprescribe medications as needed. Their focus is to reduce or stop diabetes drugs when it is safe to do so, using nutrition first.

Q: Can athletes perform on a low‑carb diet?

A: Yes. Sami and many others perform at high levels on low‑carb diets. Some athletes use small amounts of carbs during long or intense workouts to maintain top performance.

Q: Are GLP‑1 drugs bad?

A: They are not bad by default. GLP‑1s are a useful tool for weight loss and sometimes diabetes care. But they are not a cure for poor diet. Best results come from combining nutrition, behavior change, and smart medical care.

Q: How does Virta make money if they help people reverse diabetes?

A: Virta is paid by employers and health plans who save money when employees get healthier. Often Virta takes downside risk: if outcomes don't improve, their clients pay less. That aligns incentives.

Final Thoughts

Talking with Sami reminded me that real health work is messy and slow. It's not about quick fixes. It's about putting systems in place, data, coaching, medicine when needed, and hard personal work, to change the path of disease. Sami's story, from rowing across the Pacific to building Virta, shows how grit, curiosity, and science can come together to make a huge difference.

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