 |
| Fog Over Lake Coeur d'Alene |
For this week’s thoughts I want to talk about diet, my diet specifically. Truth is I hate the word diet as it has been co-opted from its original meaning of “how one eats” to be more equated with some eating, or not eating, plan or program. I want to use the word, “diet,” in it’s original sense and talk about my change over from a more carb-centric way of easting to a Lower Carb-Higher Fat (LCHF) diet. In doing this I also want to share some misconceptions and misinformation on being LCHF.
To being with when I talk about LCHF and my thought’s on it I am speaking from the perspective of one that is not insulin resistant or has any other medical condition like TY2 diabetes or being Pre-diabetic that necessitates a change in how I eat. The reason I preface things this way is that if you have one of the conditions I mentioned I would be more firm in saying LCHF is the way you should go as I am convinced that it can deal with, and even reverse, things like TY2 diabetes and other medical conditions. When it comes to sports, athletics and performance there may be some room for modifications and direction even though I am also personally convinced an LCHF diet of some form is ideal for endurance sports. I also believe as you get older ones physiology is better dealt with by eating a more LCHF diet.
First let me deal with some misconceptions I often seen put out either as a consequence of what is put forth or is just stated incorrectly. I often hear people speak of Keto and LCHF synonymously but in truth while for some LCHF may indeed be Keto – Keto is not necessary LCHF. Keto is generally 50 grams of carbs a day or less while LCHF had a range that may be as low as Keto but often is higher, for me it is in the 100-150 range on average. Also, for those that hold to a LCHF diet that number may change based on training and what sort of cycle of training I may be in. Thus, if I am in a period of training where a majority of my training is at MAF, see previous post, my carb intake will be lower as my training is such that I use mostly fat for my training. However, when I filter in harder training days I may up my carb intake some to replenish what may have been used on harder training session. Also, when racing the type of race I will be running or riding may also influence my carb intake up to a race and after. From this I hope you see that the idea of a LCHF way of eating has a fairly large range and is not so easily put in a box as many that put forth a more carb-centric diet tend to portray it as.
This leads me to my next thought and that is many times I hear people speak about eating carbs in such a way as to give the idea that those who are LCHF have no stores of carbs to use. But this cannot be further from the truth. Since the body can only store a certain amount of carbs if training, as mine is, uses mostly fat for energy then the use of those stores is minimal and take less to replenish. Thus, on a LCHF diet where you are fat adapted the need to consume large amounts of carbs is not required and while you may need a larger than normal intake, based on races or training, it is still much lower than most put forth. This is one reason I also do most of my morning workouts fasted as it further trains my body to burn fat for energy and thus also for me the flexibility to use carbs as required but keep them in reserve. After a longer fasted ride or run I may need to eat a few more carbs during the day to top up the quantity again is less than my very carb-centric eating days. I realize running fasted in the morning can be controversial but so far all the evidence I have read that is put forth to deny the benefits of fasted running or riding is put forth by those that see no benefit to being fat adapted and using a LCHF approach to begin with so their presuppositions are such as to lead to their conclusions in see running fasted as being detrimental.
Another aspect that is also often not dealt with much is the idea of training low and racing high. This speaks to training with less carbs and when racing using carbs strategically as required by ones event. When I say race high it might be better put as race “higher” as those who train and race LCHF still use less carbs, in general, than most athletes who are on a HCLF diet. This lower than normal use of carbs in racing works great to also lower gut issues by taking in less carbs. The ability to train-low and race-high, check out this resource from SFuels, depends on fine tuning your fat adaption so you have what is referred to as metabolic flexibility. By flexibility this refers to the ability to train and race at a level that relies mostly on fat but when a hard effort is required you can switchover to carbs and if need be take in some carbs to aid this harder effort then as you settle back into a fat burning zone so goes your ability to burn fat kicks back in. What this also does is reserve the limited carbs you can store while relying on the almost unlimited fat stores.
I do need to add here that the process of becoming fat adapted does not happen overnight, It can take time to become metabolically flexible so that you can train at a higher level using more fat for fuel. I think it is this time to transition that is different for everyone that gets in the way for many to move over to being fat adapted. Many of the studies I see refer to people transition to LCHF over the course of 3 – 6 weeks and maybe as high as 3 months when even 6 months for some may not be enough. I think this is also a large part of the reason many elite athletes have not taken this course as in the time it takes to get fat adapted one may have a drop in performance and when you make a living in your sport based on performance this is hard to sustain or justify. Then there is the fact that many athletes, especially in endurance sports, have sponsors from sports fueling companies that rely greatly on carbs and to turn from that while ones performance may drop is also hard to justify.
For me I really try to stay at about 100-150 grans of carbs a day and do morning workouts, when I can do them, fasted all to work on my fat adaptation. While I mention how many carbs I eat I do not really count them too often any more as I just sort of have an idea where I need to be. I also know the carbs to avoid, for me pasta is a no-no as it does a number on me internally but things like potatoes do not appear to trouble me. As far as total calories I never count them but have found over the years as I watch my carbs the total intake is less of an issue and in doing it tis way I rarely seem y weight vary too much. I also admit, often due to travel, that I do not eat as I should but U do not stress about it and work to get back on track as soon as I can.
Lastly, while I have not done any testing to see what my fat burning efficiency is I can tell based on a number of longer rides and runs that I am relying largely on fat for fuel. For example if you look at my fuel intake in my R2R2R report at the Grand Canyon you will see that for a 50 mile 16+ hour run I took in very little fuel but never bonked. Sure I did not run fast and if I had I may have taken in a few more carbs but then again that is the joy of being fat adapted. By the way I have seen this same fueling scenario work on my longer rides as well.
That was simply a smattering of thoughts on how I fuel and eat and hope it gives you some “food” for thought – pun intended. While everyone is different, hence why my carb intake is higher than many on a LCHF diet, the principles are there and if you are in an endurance sport it is definitely something that you need to look into. In doing so the goal is not simply "lower carb intake" as that is a means to the end but metabolic flexibility and being able to best utilize fats and carbs to get your best performance as well as leading a healthy lifestyle. As an aside when you read how "elite" athletes train and eat make sure you realize they are "elite" and by that fact lead different lifestyles and train differently than most of us do and often can get by on a diet that may be less than optimal. For the general public who simply wants to be their best but also be healthy make sure to do your due diligence to investigate both sides understand everyones biases and presuppositions - we all have them - Enjoy the journey to find out how your body works best.
Relive 'Nice Road Run W/ a Little Trail Section'
Weekly Running Overview:
This week went pretty much as planned in that I got 30 miles in over 4 days of running. It was a pretty cool, OK cold, week here in Coeur d’Alene ID where I am for another week. At least for this week it was nice i that while it was cold it was not wet so made running more pleasurable. The runs this week for the most part were easy but each had a section I ran a little harder just to work on moving faster.
My right ankle is still sore but does seem to be getting better slowly. I do find that 9-10miles is my limit as the closer I get to that distance more often it is sore. I do find that when my ankle gets sore if I focus on form more it does begin to feel better – which tells me that that is what I need to work on – form and the strength to keep that form
Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:
- Monday: Run – 9.5 Miles
- Tuesday: Run – 5.7 Miles
- Wednesday: Rest Day
- Thursday: Run - 9.8 Miles
- Friday: Run - 5.75 Miles
- Saturday: Rest Day
- Sunday: Rest Day
Totals:
- Running Miles – 30.7 Miles
- Riding Miles – 0 Miles
- Total Time – 4:17 Hours
Weekly Diet Notes;
Nothing in particular but then again the main part of today’s post was about how I eat.
Conclusions and the Week Ahead:
The plan for the coming week is to pretty much a duplicate of this week’s running in looking to get about 30 miles in 4 days. I will be in Coeur d’Alene ID one more week then I will back to So. Cal and be able to get in some good rides – hopefully.
As always if you have questions let me know in the comments below.
Last Week's Overview #23
No comments:
Post a Comment