low carb high fat fueling-a better way

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Pursuit Athletic Performance

www.pursuit-athletic-performance.com

“We cannot solve problems by using the same kind of

thinking that we used when we created them.”

- Albert Einstein

Low Carb-High Fat Fueling:

A Better Way?

Fueling: Is There a Better Way? • Beware: Confirmation Bias• Disclaimer: What do we know to be true? • What are we hoping to achieve? • If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it• Three “million dollar” questions

A Review• Where do we begin? • Multiple sources of fuel• Training intensity & carbs and fat as fuel: Inversely related?

What’s Next? • What can we conclude? • Potential benefits of a low carb, high fat approach • What to do?

Tips, Suggestions, & Resources

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Our Goals For This Evening:

• The tendency to favor information that confirms a preconception or hypothesis regardless of whether it is true or not

• Contributes to overconfidence in personal beliefs; maintains or strengthens beliefs in the face of contrary evidence

• Wishful thinking; illusionary correlations

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Beware of Confirmation Bias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

• There is no ONE size fits all for EVERY athlete; We are ALL an experiment of ONE

• The scientific community argues about all of this, all of the time; there is still much to learn

• For even the very leanest of us, body fat stores vastly exceed maximum stores of carbohydrates

• Finding our own unique “best” strategy will only happen with diligent, aware, open minded, persistent, educated, common-sense practice and experimentation

• As time goes on, we will learn more! Stay tuned!

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Disclaimer: What do we KNOW to be true?

• To be able to easily oxidize fat for fuel, reducing our reliance on sugar and eliminating our body fat

• To better spare muscle/liver glycogen, so we finish every race strong and recover quickly

• To improve our sensitivity to insulin, to live longer and be healthier every step of the way

• To be leaner, healthier, and younger looking!

To be BETTER AND FASTER!

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What Are We Hoping To Achieve?

• Poor endurance or difficulty finishing training sessions or races strong (bonking)?

• Fluctuating daily energy levels or poor recovery?

• GI distress that disturbs performance outcome during your hardest, longest races?

• Health issues, e.g. blood lipid profile or difficulty improving body composition

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Pursuit Athletic Performance

Do you suffer from any of these?

Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken: how do you know?

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Should you adopt a better, more refined strategy of nutrition periodization (cycling) that involves specifically

CARBOHYDRATE and FAT?

Should you adopt a lower carbohydrate, higher fat approach to daily eating?

Or as fueling for training & racing?

Three “million dollar” questions:

Is a high carbohydrate diet an obligate component of every athlete’s diet?

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Review: A Basic Philosophy

Where we begin:

1. Good health and longevity through balanced, smart, clean eating habits: good fats, quality protein, low sugar, zero processed (our De-tox)

2. Periodize* our eating and fueling through out the year, as we do our training

3. Aim for the 3 hour window: normalize insulin before training, and in between training sessions

4. 150-250 calories from CHO/Pro per hour (depending upon body size and other factors) during race-specific key training sessions and races

*Periodize: to cycle through eating and fueling cycles based upon our training focus

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Source: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/exercise-and-weight-loss-part-3-fat.html

• Glycogen (muscles and liver), stored fat, ketones (for the brain), protein (BCAs), lactate (for the heart)

Review: multiple sources of fuel

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Related to Intensity: Carbs vs. Fat

Source: http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/exercise-and-weight-loss-part-3-fat.html

• aka MEP - “metabolic efficiency point” (Seebohar)

• Goal is to push the “crossover” point ( ) to the right

• How you eat DOES impact your endurance, performance, and your ability to burn fat as a fuel.1

• A high carbohydrate diet locks a person into a dependence on carbs as the dominant fuel for exercise

• High carb intake seems to be worse for cardiovascular disease risk than is saturated fat intake, and is worse for your health status overall

• Daily eating has a profound impact on what your body prefers to burn in training and racing

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The Research and Our Experiences:

What Can We Safely Conclude?

1. Hawley, JA et al., Sports Med; 25(4) 1998

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1. Seebohar , Bob, MS, RD, Metabolic Efficiency Training: Teaching the Body to Burn More Fat

• Improving our sensitivity to insulin and controlling blood sugar has a profound impact on both our training AND health status • Lower insulin levels is connected in research with longevity

• Daily eating appears to directly impact your “Metabolic Efficiency, or Crossover Point.”1

• This is not a “training only,” or “nutrition only” issue. • Both need to be manipulated to achieve the desired outcome. • For example, training at a low intensity doesn’t in and of itself,

“teach” the body to burn fat as a fuel

• On this point: aerobic training SHOULD BE aerobic! • Avoid “gray zone” efforts. Train smart!

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1. Hawley, JA et al., Sports Med; 25(4) 1998

• This is NOT about starvation or training in a depleted state (glycogen depletion).

• There’s no evidence that MAF (maximum aerobic function, e.g. Maffetone method of restricting HR based upon age for ALL training) and these concepts, are or must be connected.

• Sodium levels may fluctuate and/or be different if one adopts this eating pattern.• Thus sodium may need to be supplemented depending on training

and environmental conditions

• Anecdotal evidence seems to support that you should take in LESS calories if those calories are coming from slow burn carbs (Ucan) or fat (MCT). Less is more.

• It may allow you to need less total calories DURING training and racing, decreasing reliance upon blood sugar or stored glycogen

• It may allow you to access (oxidize) body fat stores more easily, extending endurance

• Improved insulin sensitivity AND body composition • Lower risk of cardiovascular disease

• Low carb adaptation accelerates the body’s use of saturated fats for fuel allowing a higher intake without risk

• Get in tune with your true hunger signals and gain better control of emotional eating patterns

• Training the body to oxidize fat at HIGHER intensities delays the accumulation of lactate, thereby raising lactate threshold / functional threshold (your fitness rises!)

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Potential Benefits of a Lower Carb,

Higher Fat Approach

• Don’t over react and make huge changes; is what you are doing now working, or not? Consider all of your options• Remember: the pendulum will always swing to the extremes • Fueling: experiment diligently, making small changes one at

one time • Do not eat or fuel prior to morning training sessions • Learn to ride on water only

• Begin by not fueling for any session lasting up to 90minutes • Progress up to 3 hours • Beyond 3 hours, fueling is an option• Always CARRY fuel with you, in case you need it for any

reason (bonking!)• Make your routine choices “clean” and whole food based

when possible

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Suggestions: What To Do?

• Start to think of meal planning differently; prioritize your food selection

1. First: a healthy portion of veggies and fruits.2. Next: a good source of omega 3 rich fats.3. Next: a good source of protein.4. Last, depending on needs: add quality sources of grains or

healthy starches depending upon training and fueling needs (periodization and carb restoration?)

• Get the simple sugar food and fueling choices out of sight, and thus out of mind. Break the bonds to sugar!

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Suggestions: What To Do?

• Do NOT restrict total calories or think you need to “starve” yourself to become a good “fat burner” or to develop endurance

• Respect the 3 hr window when at all possible • Consider experimenting with a MCT fat during training and

see how you feel

• Consider experimenting with a slow release starch such as UCAN and see how you feel

• Resist the temptation to “drink” the magic bullet / shortcut cool-aid: There is NO secret “recipe” to burning fat or developing endurance! It takes time and smart consistent work © PURSUIT ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE© PURSUIT ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE

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Suggestions: What To Do?

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• Experiment, practice, refine, experiment some more, listen to your body, refine, practice, repeat. • You will reap what you sow; we’re all an experiment of 1!

• Follow smart daily eating strategies 80-90% of the time. • You’re human, act like it! Don’t expect perfection

• Consider these two different training/fueling strategies: 1. Fat “adaptation” followed by carbohydrate “restoration”

over a 7 to 10 day period of time before an event or key training day

2. Carbohydrate “unloading”1: reducing carbohydrate intake by a certain amount (500 grams per day reduced down to 100 or fewer grams per day, as an example) each day, progressively over a 5 to 7 day period of time

1. Seebohar , Bob, MS, RD, Metabolic Efficiency Training: Teaching the Body to Burn More Fat

Daily Eating Suggestions for Fat and Protein

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Sunflower Seeds Pecans Hazelnuts

Olives Olive oil Sesame seeds

Coconut Coconut butter / oil Butter

Avacado Cheeses Whole fat yogurt

Walnuts Peanuts Creams

Whole fat cottage cheese Nut butters Pumpkin seeds

Macadamia nuts Almonds Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT)

Meats (grass fed) Brazil nuts Mayonnaise

Bacon (highest quality) Tofu Eggs

Beans Peas Edamame

Flaxseed Flaxseed oil ?

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Blackberries Strawberries Cranberries

Blueberries Apples Celery

Raspberries Turnips Squash

Tomatoes Zucchini Brussel Sprouts

Peppers Cucumbers Kale

Collard Greens Okra Broccoli

Alfalfa sprouts Leeks, Jicama Beans

Spinach Onions Asparagus

Mushrooms Cabbage Bok choy

Cauliflower Water chestnuts Rutabagas

Artichokes Black Cherries ?

Daily Eating Suggestions for Veggies and Fruits

Two articles: from Torbjorn Sindballe: How To Tap Into Fat For Fuel, and the Sport Science guys, Ross Tucker and John Dugas

triathlon.competitor.com/2012/06/nutrition/inside-triathlon-magazine-fat-burning-machine_31034

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/exercise-and-weight-loss.html

Any book or article written by Bob Seebohar, RD, on the topic of Metabolic Efficiency Training

Two books from Volek/Phinney on low carb training and living: The Art and Science of Low Carb Performance and Low Carb Living

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Science-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716

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Resources:

Online Triathlon Training Team • Novice to Elite, Sprint to Ironman

We get our athletes STRONG, STABLE, MOBILE, BALANCED, AND FAST!

VIBRANT COMMUNITY• Online Forum where we connect with athletes every day• Massive Online Training Resources—audios, videos, ebooks,

etc. • Plans delivered through Training Peaks• Camp, Clinics, Events Around the Country—and growing!

Training Truth, Not Fad. Unleash Your Ultimate Potential!

Online Triathlon Training Team • Novice to Elite, Sprint to Ironman

We get our athletes STRONG, STABLE, MOBILE, BALANCED, AND FAST!

VIBRANT COMMUNITY• Online Forum where we connect with athletes every day• Massive Online Training Resources—audios, videos, ebooks,

etc. • Plans delivered through Training Peaks• Camp, Clinics, Events Around the Country—and growing!

Training Truth, Not Fad. Unleash Your Ultimate Potential!

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