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| Great roads to ride on here in South-Central Ky |
In thinking about what to write about I thought I would touch on diet - or specifically why it is a good time to try being fat adapted, I did write on this, LCHF, some in Training Overview #24 and here Now when I say “diet” I use the word as it was originally used in that it refers to how we, or a group, eat and not as it is used today to refer to some eating plan or protocol. I bring up this subject realizing there are many that will greatly disagree with me and in the cycling community even more disagree with it but that is fine as I now it has worked for me. The subject I will touch on is working to be “fat adapted” or maybe a better term is working to have “metabolic flexibility”. I say “metabolic flexibility” as the goal is not simply to be able to use fat as fuel efficiently, that is part of it, but also to use carbs when needed and then be able to move back to fat, thus the flexibility.
One reason to bring this up now is that one of the usual arguments against working to be fat adapted is that people do not want to take the time (it does take time), effort and possible drop in performance while transitioning. That said, with pretty much no racing for the next few months, or more, for most people that argument becomes less of an issue. Now is a great opportunity to give it a try. As I talk about being fat adapted I am not going to get into all the nuances and things you can do but give you an overview, benefits and resources you can look into. The bottom line is that now is a good time to give it a try and if it does not work for you at least you will know from experience rather than an assumption and if it works you are at a good place to move forward to fine tune how you eat to enhance being fat adapted.
First, some may wonder why does one even need to be fat adapted when for years we all have relied on carbs. Actually that is a pretty easy answer and that is we have far more fat storage than we have carb storage – which is why when you rely on carbs you have to replenish so often - and while carbs may burn easier they are limited. If your body seeks to use carbs it will in general have a tough time moving to use fats when carbs are used up - again forcing the carb burner to continually seek to replenish the carbs by downing gels, chews and other carb sources. However, if you can move to being a fat burner and gain metabolic flexibility you can rely on an almost endless supply of energy in fat and then in times when carbs are needed do so and then move back to fats. This leads to needing far fewer calories to be ingested and that not only makes things easier it can also greatly help with what many endurance athletes suffer from – gastric distress.
Another reason to move to working to gain metabolic flexibility is that you can use the fuel source that best aligns with your effort. For running ultras fat adaption is great as for most running ultras largely entails steady state running with very few surges. Now there are those that race and may need a surge and at those times, or maybe if you have a particularly hard section of a race, you can ingest carbs as required and after that section, or effort, is completed go back to fat burning. This, as already stated, leads to far less caloric intake than when one relies solely on carbs. I know from experience that this is so having run for many years and starting running in a carb centric world. I want to interject that for cycling there may be some nuances that require more carbs than say an ultra runner but still metabolic flexibility is very helpful. In cycling if you do triathlons or ride fondos or centuries but do them at a constant steady pace you may not need as many carbs. However, if you race you will find that if you are metabolically flexible your carb intake will be higher but I would say much less than if all you rely on are carbs alone. In cycling races there are often surges and then back to constant steady pace so there may be a need to intake more carbs than you would on a steady ride but again much less than if are not metabolically flexible since when you go back to the steady state ride after a surge you can go back to fat burning. I will admit this change in pace can make figuring out the quantity and form of carbs to intake a little more difficult it can be done and now is the time to do it.
One last reason, am sure there are more for the sake of this post this is the last one, to work for this change is that a lower carb diet can be great to reduce inflammation and control weight as well as often dealing with ones health especially if there is any possibility of being pre-diabetic. When I speak here of Lower Carb I try make sure to use the word “Lower” on purpose as I am not speaking of Keto or a very low carb diet. Often many confuse LCHF (Lower Carb. High Fat) with Keto but while LCHF may include Keto it is not restricted to Keto. Speaking from experience we all have to find what level of carbs work best for each individual to supply the needed energy for how we train and race as well as maintaining our health. Also, in this is to realize not all carbs are created equally so we need to not only work to eat the right foods – which we should do even on a carb centric diet – but also figure out at what level of carbs we function the best. This level may change during the year with one’s training, racing and rest but will still be lower than before being fat adapted.
All of the above are simply things to think about and I can tell you from experience it works. In my training overviews I share my fueling for long rides and runs to simply show what can be done. I think I have my fueling figured out for running ultras but am still tweaking my fueling on rides. For longer steady rides I am pretty well set as they are not much different than running Ultras but for racing I am still figuring it out but am getting there. The other aspect I am working on is for longer rides of up to 200 miles as I know I am good for the first 100 and even if I finish a little depleted but strong I am good but when needing to go farther I have to make sure I do not get depleted. As with many things this is all a work in progress but one that is well worth it.
So back to where I started, take this time we are in and give being metabolically flexible a try - if it is not for you at least you will know after trying. The change can take time to work to its fullest so use what is probably a long break in racing to see what works for you. Below are some good resources on the subject:
- SFuels Quick Start Guide
- Zach Bitter on What is Low Carb?
- Zach Bitter's Periodized Low Carb YouTube Play list
- Jeff Browning on The Road to Fat Adpation
- My friend Tim Barnes website M360 Clinical Fitness and his book M360 Clinical Fitness
- What is OFM
- Success with OFM
- Metabolic Efficiency Training (MET) by Bob Seebohar
- Metabolic Efficiency – Becoming a “Better-Butter-Burner” by Sunny Blende, Sports Nutritionist
- Bob Seebohar and Dina Griffin: Metabolic Efficiency (Not Just ‘Low Carb’) for Optimal Sports
- Performance, What the Research Really Says, and More
- Tim Noakes and the Case for Low Carb
- Dr. Peter Brukner and LCHF
- The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Volek and Phinney
Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:
Plan early in the week was to ride about 200 miles this week with a mix of Zwift rides early in the week and a long ride outside Saturday Saturday The Zwift part worked out as planned with the Saturday ride outside with the guys being short of the planned 100 but was a hardish 60 miles with 4300 feet of climbing. When it came to running ran twice and about 5.2 miles for each at an easy pace as that was what worked the best for my foot.
The rides this week were an easy low HR ride on Tuesday and then for Monday and Thursday rode the Tour of Watopia Rides, well they call them rides but they are fast as if they were races. As usual I did some miles first to warmup then did both rides and a good pace. For the first ride finished in the first third or so and the second one in the first quarter. For Saturdays ride got together with a few other guys to ride a good 60 miler. I had done this ride once before and it is a good ride as it has plenty of hills of all kinds from short rises as well as up to a 2 mile climb. Add to the terrain a stiff headwind coming back and it made for a hard ride that we still did at a good pace.
As I stated above I got in 2 runs this week of about 5.2 miles each. Ran them easy and had soreness in my ankle but not too bad. Need to work at getting is all better but for the moment it seems to be heading in the correct direction. On Sunday’s run I for sure felt Saturday ride but just ran an easy perceived effort (PE) run as forgot to put on my HRM but like to do these runs by feel as they work to get me to better really on know how I feel. For at least the next month the goal is to keep the runs as they were this week – at or about 5 miles and easy. This seems to be the distance where I. an get in a run with minimal discomfort.
Monday: Ride – 3.4 Miles Warmup & 31.18 Miles TofW W/Cool Down - (Ttl – 34.58)
Tuesday: Ride – 35.21 Miles
Wednesday: Run – 5.21 Miles
Thursday: Ride – 6.84 Miles Warmup & 28.31 Miles for TofW W/Cool Down - (Ttl- 35.15)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Ride – 60.18 Miles
Sunday: Run – 5.24 Miles
Totals:
- Running Miles – 10. 4 Miles.
- Riding Miles – 165.1 Miles.
- Total Miles – 175.5 Miles
- Total Time – 9:31 Hours
Saturday’s Ride Fueling
Pre-Ride Fueling:
- Coffee with Coconut Oil and Butter, Collagen, Heavy Cream, Chocolate Primal Fuel (1 Scoop) & 1 Scoop SFuels-Life
- Vespa
- ½ Cup of Oatmeal and Raisins
- 1 Altred (Beetroot Extract)
- Also use the AMPHuman PR Lotion
- Total: 810.9 Cals & 48.6 gr Carbs
Ride Fueling;
- 1 24oz bottle with 2 scoops of SFuels Train and 1 24oz bottle of SFuels Race+
- 1 Altred at 1.5 hours
- 2 S!Caps at 2 hours
- 1 NutButter
- Totals: 410 Calories - Carbs- 21 g
The Week Ahead:
For the coming week will ride Monday and Tuesday indoors and look for about 35 miles each. I may do a couple of the makeup Tour of Watopia rides but sort of depends how I feel. The plan right now if for an afternoon gravel ride Thursday and hope the weather and work play along as will be good to get outside on some dirt as has been a while since I have ridden any gravel. Then for the weekend I want a long ride in, from 60 – 100 miles, but where that will take place depends on the weather as right now, a week out, it is showing rain but that can change.
As far as running I will be running as I did this week with about 10 miles total in 2 days. Will probably run Wednesday and then depending on how I feel will run Friday or Sunday. The goal for running this month is simply to keep the legs moving so they are ready to run in May/June when I start working more towards Boston and some summer and fall races.
Last Week's Overview #40
- Tim Noakes and the Case for Low Carb
- Dr. Peter Brukner and LCHF
- The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance by Volek and Phinney
Overview of Weeks Runs and Rides:
Plan early in the week was to ride about 200 miles this week with a mix of Zwift rides early in the week and a long ride outside Saturday Saturday The Zwift part worked out as planned with the Saturday ride outside with the guys being short of the planned 100 but was a hardish 60 miles with 4300 feet of climbing. When it came to running ran twice and about 5.2 miles for each at an easy pace as that was what worked the best for my foot.
The rides this week were an easy low HR ride on Tuesday and then for Monday and Thursday rode the Tour of Watopia Rides, well they call them rides but they are fast as if they were races. As usual I did some miles first to warmup then did both rides and a good pace. For the first ride finished in the first third or so and the second one in the first quarter. For Saturdays ride got together with a few other guys to ride a good 60 miler. I had done this ride once before and it is a good ride as it has plenty of hills of all kinds from short rises as well as up to a 2 mile climb. Add to the terrain a stiff headwind coming back and it made for a hard ride that we still did at a good pace.
As I stated above I got in 2 runs this week of about 5.2 miles each. Ran them easy and had soreness in my ankle but not too bad. Need to work at getting is all better but for the moment it seems to be heading in the correct direction. On Sunday’s run I for sure felt Saturday ride but just ran an easy perceived effort (PE) run as forgot to put on my HRM but like to do these runs by feel as they work to get me to better really on know how I feel. For at least the next month the goal is to keep the runs as they were this week – at or about 5 miles and easy. This seems to be the distance where I. an get in a run with minimal discomfort.
Monday: Ride – 3.4 Miles Warmup & 31.18 Miles TofW W/Cool Down - (Ttl – 34.58)
Tuesday: Ride – 35.21 Miles
Wednesday: Run – 5.21 Miles
Thursday: Ride – 6.84 Miles Warmup & 28.31 Miles for TofW W/Cool Down - (Ttl- 35.15)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Ride – 60.18 Miles
Sunday: Run – 5.24 Miles
Totals:
- Running Miles – 10. 4 Miles.
- Riding Miles – 165.1 Miles.
- Total Miles – 175.5 Miles
- Total Time – 9:31 Hours
Saturday’s Ride Fueling
Pre-Ride Fueling:
- Coffee with Coconut Oil and Butter, Collagen, Heavy Cream, Chocolate Primal Fuel (1 Scoop) & 1 Scoop SFuels-Life
- Vespa
- ½ Cup of Oatmeal and Raisins
- 1 Altred (Beetroot Extract)
- Also use the AMPHuman PR Lotion
- Total: 810.9 Cals & 48.6 gr Carbs
Ride Fueling;
- 1 24oz bottle with 2 scoops of SFuels Train and 1 24oz bottle of SFuels Race+
- 1 Altred at 1.5 hours
- 2 S!Caps at 2 hours
- 1 NutButter
- Totals: 410 Calories - Carbs- 21 g
The Week Ahead:
For the coming week will ride Monday and Tuesday indoors and look for about 35 miles each. I may do a couple of the makeup Tour of Watopia rides but sort of depends how I feel. The plan right now if for an afternoon gravel ride Thursday and hope the weather and work play along as will be good to get outside on some dirt as has been a while since I have ridden any gravel. Then for the weekend I want a long ride in, from 60 – 100 miles, but where that will take place depends on the weather as right now, a week out, it is showing rain but that can change.
As far as running I will be running as I did this week with about 10 miles total in 2 days. Will probably run Wednesday and then depending on how I feel will run Friday or Sunday. The goal for running this month is simply to keep the legs moving so they are ready to run in May/June when I start working more towards Boston and some summer and fall races.
Last Week's Overview #40
