tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54345242160453304882024-03-13T23:45:30.709-05:00Run FatterRun and Race Fatter, Farther and Fasterbrothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-55829166549837555042014-06-30T06:49:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:26:09.406-06:00Getting Started...So... Anyone who has talked to me for any length of time since October 2012 has likely had to hear me babble about eating Low-Carb/High-Fat... I'm going to try and talk about it less and write about it more so that my conversations can be less one-sided!<br />
<br />
My interest setting up this blog is not to profess to be an expert - I am FAR from it. Even though I have been eating this way for almost a year and a half, I am still learning about it and I'm fascinated with the science behind different ways of eating and how it can effect performance. <br />
<br />
I am always baffled by those who claim to have all of the answers - I sure don't. To this end I will post content and links that support and contradict. Of course I will concentrate on my experience with Low-Carb/High-Fat, but my hope and intention is that this can be a resource to explore further, not a one-sided endorsement of a narrow view. <br />
<br />
So... brace yourselves... lots of posts coming your way...<br />
<br />brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-77303568648175493122014-06-29T07:15:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:26:36.587-06:00Podcast on Fasting and Exercise...<a href="http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/02/combining-fasting-and-exercise/">http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2014/02/combining-fasting-and-exercise/</a><br />
<br />
This just got posted on Ben Greenfield Fitness today - I know what I will be listening to this morning...<br />
<br />brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-62879624597804606262014-06-28T21:34:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:26:54.686-06:00Low-Carb/High-fat eating. What is it and who is it for?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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There are a confusingly huge amount of labels out there that
describe different variations of a Low-Carb diet: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet">Paleo</a>, <a href="http://www.atkins.com/Home.aspx">Atkins</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet">Ketogenic</a>,
& <a href="http://zachbitterrunning.blogspot.com/2013/11/recovery-protocol.html">Optimized Fat Metabolism (OFM)</a> all describe a low-carb plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know enough about the specific nuances of any of them
to sort out which is which so I will just describe how I eat and you can call
it whatever you like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get the majority (75% or more) of my daily calories from
<a href="http://www.nobunplease.com/ketogenic-diet-food-list/">high-quality fat</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to eat
around 100-120g of protein a day, which accounts for roughly 15% of calories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The remaining 10% come from carbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Depending on how many calories I burn in a particular day,
the total grams of carbs typically ranges from 30-75.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please note that this is NOT a high protein plan – the main
calorie source is FAT.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been eating this way since October of 2012 and it
hasn’t been hard to stay the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Why do I do this?<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>- There are a few reasons...</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><b>1. It is an effective way to lose or maintain weight without much discipline.</b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
I weighed 140 pounds in June of 2012 and
had just finished the Kettle 100, at the time it was my 5<sup>th</sup> 100
miler since 2009 (I say this just to reflect that I wasn’t sedentary).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to tighten up my diet
and drop gluten and sugar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That SUCKED!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really
had to be disciplined and I CRAVED sugar!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I did manage to shed 3 pounds, but I really had to work at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In October of 2012 I went all in
on the Low-Carb/High-Fat plan (Thank you <a href="http://zachbitter.com/">Zach Bitter</a>!) and have been on it ever
since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The food is satisfying, I
don’t need to count calories, and I dropped down under 129 pounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently had my body-fat tested
using a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-energy_X-ray_absorptiometry">Dexa</a> scan at the <a href="http://ekin.education.uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a> and it showed 6.7% - Lean!</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></i></b><!--[endif]--></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;">It helps promote better recovery from running
– I feel better more quickly and I can handle more miles and more intensity.</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
There is a lot of <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carbs-against-cardio/">science</a> that indicates
that carb ingestion creates inflammation – not only in the heart, but all over
the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stands to reason that
any inflammation beyond the damage of running miles just adds to the load your
body is already dealing with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b><i>Runners that are fat-adapted need to take in
little or no calories when running below lactate threshold (65% of Max VO2)</i></b>
– </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
A runner that is fat-adapted utilizes body
fat for energy instead of relying heavily on muscle glycogen when using aerobic
metabolism (More about this <a href="http://eatingacademy.com/nutrition/ketosis-advantaged-or-misunderstood-state-part-ii">here</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>THIS IS ONLY WHEN
RUNNING AEROBICALLY!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you run
hard (think just about every race where you are breathing hard) your body will
start burning carbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
harder you run, the more carbs you burn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a 100 miler, however, the pace is slow enough that
if you are careful, you are likely metabolizing energy aerobically most of the
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The implication here is that
the amount of calories needed to ingest to complete the race for a fat-adapted
runner is less, since their body will rely more on stored body fat instead of burning
through limited muscle glycogen stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Any plan that allows me to eat less gels and goos gets a thumbs up for
me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Based on just these three reasons, I would say that a lot of
runners could benefit from exploring a Low-Carb/High-Fat eating plan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter what race is your specialty,
everyone will be faster when body-fat is minimized and can work-out harder and
longer with reduced recovery time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The benefit of eating less during a race is probably only going to apply
to ultra-marathoners though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
longer the race and the slower the pace, the more this benefit comes into play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Limitations for elite athletes
that train and race at high-intensity will temper the benefits for racing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This all being said, Low-Carb/High-Fat is not the
only plan you can have success with – Obviously there are TONS of athletes
thriving on traditional diets that are High-Carb/Low-Fat and it is not my goal to discredit or
discourage anyone from eating this way either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Read a lot, ask questions, and find what works for you.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-39554320388039932282014-06-27T13:50:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:27:18.720-06:00Unchain my heart...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Anyone
who undertakes a Low-Carb/High-Fat eating plan will likely get a lot of
questions related to their pending early demise due to heart-attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a valid question if you
undertake the plan half-heartedly and eat lots more fat and continue to eat a
high amount of carbs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If, however,
you follow the plan and stay within the food lists of healthy non-processed
food, your heart-health will definitely improve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">In
September of 2012, I had my cholesterol tested and it was 229 – A little high
for a total number, but my Triglycerides and HDL were good (as was the ratio of
HDL to Triglycerides) so my doctor was not concerned – this is how it broke
down:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
HDL: 66<br />
Triglycerides: 91<br />
LDL: 145<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
number most people (and doctors) focus on is the total cholesterol level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a misleading number in that a
very high HDL (“good” cholesterol) number will make your overall number higher,
even though a higher HDL is supposedly a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;">Ideally
your Triglycerides are under 100 and the ratio of Triglycerides to HDL is
around 1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, ratios give the
most accurate picture as it ignores the total numbers and focuses on the
relationships between the numbers (A great calculator and how to interpret the
ratios can be found<a href="http://www.hughcalc.org/chol2013.php"> here</a> )<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p>Here is what my number from above look like when translated to the ratios: </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPGnWUGX2Zw/UwO1ZRzmkUI/AAAAAAAACSE/fGEG8LVHqXg/s1600/chol.before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPGnWUGX2Zw/UwO1ZRzmkUI/AAAAAAAACSE/fGEG8LVHqXg/s1600/chol.before.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">(click on the chart to see it larger)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Most
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://dietheartnews.com/2013/06/triglycerides-not-cholesterol-is-the-bona-fide-risk-factor-for-coronary-heart-disease/">studies</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"> are now zeroing in on triglycerides as the most direct predictor of heart disease.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-cholesterol/in-depth/triglycerides/art-20048186">Triglycerides</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"> are produced when you ingest more calories than you can use immediately - This
happens ALL the time when you are eating carbs.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">Your body responds to the rush of easy calories by engaging
an insulin response and storing the energy in fat cells to be used later.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">There is a very direct relationship
between how many carbs you ingest and how high your triglyceride levels will
be.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">I had my
cholesterol retested after 3 months on the low-carb/high-fat plan (started in
October 2012) – Total Cholesterol down to 217</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">
HDL: 77</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">
Triglycerides: 47</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">
LDL: 130</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHPeCSAd-k/UwO1pInc2II/AAAAAAAACSQ/AV0ywCXiQ5c/s1600/afterchol.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="143" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9qHPeCSAd-k/UwO1pInc2II/AAAAAAAACSQ/AV0ywCXiQ5c/s1600/afterchol.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">(click on the chart to see it larger)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px;">My doctor was really pleased with the triglyceride numbers – this very low
number sets up a very good ratio with HDL.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">
I am surprised my LDL didn’t drop more (Although it had only been 3 months) – I
need to go get it tested again as it has now been more than a year. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt;">Will get that done soon and update
this post with the current state of my coronary affairs!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-80206591421849302482014-06-25T06:31:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:27:41.098-06:00You eat WHAT?!You eat <i>WHAT</i>?! - This is a question I get a lot when someone asks about this low-carb/high-fat eating plan. It's a fair question since many of the high-fat foods are things you <i>add </i>to a meal instead of being the main-course. There are some good Low-Carb/High-fat grocery <a href="http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf">lists</a> for
dietary plans out there, but weaving the lists into meals can be a challenge at
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
I typically cook
breakfast at my house and it is a meal that is pretty easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have eggs every day and our family
easily goes through a half-dozen a day at a minimum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lunch and dinner are a bit trickier, but fortunately,
my wife is pretty creative – For example, she will substitute spaghetti-squash
or fried cabbage for pasta or get meat that has more fat like a shoulder
roast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(We purchased an entire
<a href="http://www.wisconsingrassfedorganic.com/grass-fed-lamb.html">organic lamb</a> this year and it was great to have such good quality meat!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Making sure you are getting additional good-quality fats in
any meal can be a simple as including sour cream or cooking in butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My typical meals look like this:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go-To Breakfast: - 3-4 Eggs & Coffee with heavy cream –
(Sometimes I add cheese to my eggs or have either bacon, sausage)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go-To Lunch:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steam
in the bag spinach or cauliflower/broccoli mix, cheese, chicken, and heavy
cream (or leftovers from last night’s dnner!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go-To Dinner:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cabbage fried in bacon lard, with ground-lamb or ground beef, sour cream, and a salad with
greens, olive oil and balsamic-vinegar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another dinner we like is baked chicken thighs with olives and
cauliflower. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake the olives right
in the pan with the chicken – and the cauliflower can be mashed up with the
chicken drippings – WAY tastier than potatoes!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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There are low-carb/high-fat recipes for nearly every typical meal you could eat, so you don't have to feel like you are giving up all of your favorites. A great example is <a href="http://www.thehealthyeverythingtarian.com/gluten-free-almond-flour-pancakes/">almond-flour pancakes</a> (I also substitute heavy cream for milk in that recipe). Making a version that is higher in good-quality fat usually makes it better and tastier! </div>
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<!--EndFragment-->brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-32349368955933977972014-06-18T13:25:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:28:07.172-06:00Optimized Fat Metabolism<a href="http://www.enduranceplanet.com/">Endurance Planet</a> posted a recent podcast with <a href="http://zachbitterrunning.blogspot.com/">Zach Bitter</a> regarding Optimized Fat Metabolism ... Good Stuff!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.enduranceplanet.com/zach-bitter-on-nutrition-benefits-of-optimized-fat-metabolism-for-endurance-athletes-incorporating-speedwork-in-ultra-training-his-2014-goals-and-more/">http://www.enduranceplanet.com/zach-bitter-on-nutrition-benefits-of-optimized-fat-metabolism-for-endurance-athletes-incorporating-speedwork-in-ultra-training-his-2014-goals-and-more/</a><br />
<br />
<br />brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-16730549945208416942014-06-14T22:18:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:28:28.904-06:00The impact of fueling for a race when Fat-Adapted...<br />
I am fully geeking out on numbers as I start thinking about a fueling plan for the <a href="http://www.madcity100k.com/home.php">Mad City 100k</a> coming up on April 12th. This is some seriously obsessive number crunching, so proceed with caution if you aren’t a fan…<br />
<br />
Armed with some of my preliminary results from the UConn FASTER study and a little extra research, I have a plan in place for how many calories I think I will need. I thought I would share my thought process, as it illustrates a distinct advantage for competitors who are fat adapted.<br />
<br />
The 100k distance on the road is still a speedy race and the more you push yourself past the lactate threshold, the more stress it puts on your system and the more challenging fueling becomes. Part of the advantage of being fat-adapted is that I should (theoretically) be able to do the race and ingest fewer carbs and rely more heavily on stored body fat. This is important in that needing to take in less calories will also leave more blood volume available for muscles instead of diverting some blood volume for digestion - keeping my stomach from rebelling.<br />
<br />
During the FASTER study at UConn they were able to test the amount by grams per minute of fat and carbs that each participant was burning at various VO2 max levels. 65% of max VO2 is the level associated with lactate threshold – the tipping point level at which metabolism starts to become more anaerobic and lactate begins to build in the muscles. This would be a pace that is comfortable; conversation pace. Elite marathoners (I am not one!) race near 85% of max VO2. I doubt I will be running that close to my ceiling during the 100k, but I will assume 85% just to be safe.<br />
<br />
To start the FASTER study, they did a VO2 max test to find the max of each participant and used the data to establish what 65% of max VO2 would be for each individual. In this way they could ensure that each participant would be operating at similar efforts even though the actual pace might vary. <br />
<br />
It is a fact that the level of carbs metabolized gets greater the more anaerobic the effort is and this was reinforced during the treadmill test at the FASTER study. This disparity was far less pronounced with fat adapted athletes who had trained their bodies to rely on primarily metabolizing fat at lower exercise intensities. Conversely, an athlete who eats a traditional high-carb diet begins even low-level efforts by burning mostly carbs in the form of muscle glycogen.<br />
<br />
My results were typical of the other high-fat/low carb trained participants. For example, at 65% of max VO2 on the treadmill, I was running 7:50 mile pace and at this level I was burning 1.24 grams of fat per minute and zero grams of carbs. As the intensity rose and VO2 levels got to 75%, I was burning 1.07grams/minute of fat and .95grams/minute of carbs. (Keep in mind that a gram of fat yields 9 calories and a gram of carb is 4 calories, so even at this level fat is supplying me with 70% of my metabolized energy needs). At 85%, I was burning 1.04g/fat per minute and 1.49g of carbs per minute. This amounts to 1.04 x 9cal (9.36 calories from fat per minute) and 1.49 x 4cal (5.96 calories of carbs per minute). At this level, 61% of my calories were coming from fat metabolism.<br />
<br />
If we can assume 98 calories are burned per mile,<br />
(<a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculator">http://www.runnersworld.com/tools/calories-burned-calculator</a>)<br />
I will need 98 x 62 = 6,076 calories during the Mad City 100k race.<br />
<br />
61% of the 6,076 calories (3,706 calories) should come from stored body fat. This leaves 2,370 calories that will depend on carbs. These carbs can come from glycogen stored in muscles and from carbs ingested during the race. A typical male would be able to store 1,800-2000 calories in skeletal muscle in the form of glycogen. I will assume that as a smaller, 130lb. male, I can store approximately 1300 calories. <br />
<br />
If my body has around 1300 calories of muscle glycogen on board, then I technically only need to ingest: 2,370 – 1,300 = 1,070 calories of carbs during the race. <br />
<br />
Since I normally run in a fasted state, I would like to wait until after 20k to start taking in calories just to let my body and stomach settle a bit. If I take in 150 calories between each 10k loop starting after loop 2, I would get 8 x 150 = 1200 calories. This should average out to taking in about 200 calories per hour. <br />
<br />
Lets think about the case of a High-Carb trained athlete and how the numbers being reversed would effect fueling: <br />
<br />
Again: 98calories x 62miles = 6,076 calories needed.<br />
<br />
If 61% now came from carbs (instead of fat), 3,706 calories of carbs would be needed during the race. With 1300 calories of stored muscle glycogen, that leaves 2406 calories of carbs to ingest during the race. <br />
<br />
If I took these carbs between each loop (9 times instead of the 8 times above) that would be 276 calories of carbs per loop or 356 calories need to ingest per hour.<br />
<br />
This is nearly 4 gels an hour, the edge of what most people’s stomach can handle, especially when trying to run hard during a road 100k. No way could my stomach take that. If the stomach does rebel, and one can’t take in enough calories, you would be forced to rely on metabolizing fat only. For an athlete who doesn’t train in fasted state and doesn’t primarily rely on metabolizing fat, their pace must slow to a lower VO2 max threshold – likely below 65%. This means a big slow down late in the race as ingestion of carbs fails to keep up with need. This is what I am hoping to avoid.<br />
<br />
The further implication is that for a race of less intensity, say a 100 miler, a fat-adapted athlete ought to be able to rely almost entirely on stored fat for fuel as long as they stay under lactate threshold - 65% of max VO2 (In theory anyway!!). On April 12th I will see what happens when theories and reality collide! Hope it goes well…<br />
<br />
(I’m sure I have messed up some of these numbers, so feel free to point out any mistakes!)<br />
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brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-48768909549753382072014-06-11T21:01:00.000-05:002016-01-02T20:28:48.612-06:00Fueling with Fat: Follow-up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So after all the number crunching and theorizing, I’d have
to say that my fueling plan at the Mad City 100k actually worked just as I had
hoped -</div>
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Before the race I pre-mixed single scoops of
Orange-Vanilla <a href="http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.PP.html">Perpetuem</a> into small plastic bottles and added about a ¼ cup of
water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of these
“servings” provided 137 calories each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I started drinking one between each 10k loop after completing the first two
loops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Water was my only hydration
and the only additional calories came from a Dixie-cup of coke at 75k.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I also took one s-cap at the 50k mark.</span></div>
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This amounted to: 137 calories x 8 servings = 1,096 calories, plus
another 150 calories for the coke, for a total of 1,246 calories over a 62 mile
race.</div>
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No bonking – just a typical slow down as the miles on
asphalt added up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think it
gave me any specific advantage besides not having the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>disadvantage</b></i> of having any stomach troubles at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Below is the race plan I had for the race and the actual splits:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDzv1uUbzGY/U03i5iNeXyI/AAAAAAAACVA/Zxb7wXUbp3w/s1600/MadCity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="205" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDzv1uUbzGY/U03i5iNeXyI/AAAAAAAACVA/Zxb7wXUbp3w/s1600/MadCity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race Plan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KdXGUO7EAdM/U03jEr8CUFI/AAAAAAAACVM/p7kqnzjn7Ag/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-04-15+at+8.53.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KdXGUO7EAdM/U03jEr8CUFI/AAAAAAAACVM/p7kqnzjn7Ag/s1600/Screen+shot+2014-04-15+at+8.53.58+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Race Splits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I will likely use the same strategy at the Ice Age 50 mile
since the distance, time and intensity will be similar.</div>
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The real interesting experiment will be the Kettle 100.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here I feel like I can really back off
the calories because the pace is so much slower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Based on the fat oxidation rates I showed during the FASTER
study, I am burning little to no carbs at 65% of max VO2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will eat if I feel
hungry, but I won’t preemptively eat as I normally do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has caused stomach problems for me
in the past, especially with how hot the temperatures are in the first half of
the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Again – we will see what happens when theories and reality
collide… So far so good! </div>
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<br />brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5434524216045330488.post-49556133911130163092014-05-26T16:06:00.000-05:002014-05-26T16:06:40.849-05:00Ice Age 50 fueling by the numbers & Kettle 100 mile experiment on deck…
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I’m not sure I was completely recovered from the effort of a
road-100k only 4 weeks before and I knew most of my training had been road and
track, leaving me a little wary of how “trail-ready” my legs would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the positive, however,
<a href="http://runfatter.blogspot.com/2014/04/fueling-with-fat-follow-up.html">my race-fueling plan</a> at <a href="http://www.runrace.net/findarace.php?id=14109WI&tab=a5&runumbr=18#sPrt">Mad City 100k </a>had gone well - This gave me confidence
as I went into the <a href="http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_race.php?race_id=38342&submit_action=Refresh+Leaders&num=15&split=TIME#racetop">Ice Age 50 mile</a> that I could at least control <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">one</b> variable of the many that have to
go right to make any ultra event a personal success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I used the same strategy as Mad City, although I waited a
bit longer to start introducing calories this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t carry water or take calories until I hit Hwy 20 at
around 17 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There I had a
single scoop of <a href="http://www.hammernutrition.com/products/perpetuem.pp.html">Orange Vanilla Perpetuem</a> (164 calories) dissolved in around 4
oz of water and picked up a hand-held bottle with just water in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I repeated this at <a href="http://www.iceagetrail50.com/site/?page_id=60">Rice Lake, in-bound at Easterly Rd., and Hwy 20</a> again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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This proved to be too many calories in a short time and I
got a little bloat feeling after taking in 164 x 4 = 656 calories in the space
of 9 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At Mad City I took 164
calories every 10k, but in this short span at Ice Age, I took that same “dose”
4 times in 72 minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
continued with just water from that point and didn’t take any more calories
until I hit the aid-station at mile 37.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here I didn’t feel any bonk or a specific need for calories, but I tried
some Mountain Dew to see if the caffeine might give me a spark with just 13 to
go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took Mountain Dew again on
the way back at mile 43, but it didn’t seem to give me any real boost, so I
just drank water the rest of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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My finish time was 14 minutes faster than last year and I
did it way more comfortably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Except for that short span where I felt a little bloated, my stomach
felt great the whole way and my energy and demeanor were positive from start to
finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up moving up
through the field during the day, not because I was really catching anyone, but
because there was some carnage out front and increased temps late in the race
seemed to take a toll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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With just taking around 825 calories over the course of the
race, my stomach didn’t require much blood volume to process nutrition and it
left my body able to concentrate on keeping blood-flow to my legs and keeping
hydrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I have the Kettle 100 coming up in two weeks (just 4 weeks
between races again) and I am hopeful that this fueling/hydration plan will
continue to work for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the
slower pace of a 100 mile, my plan is to drink only water and not take in
calories until I am physically hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the past, forcing calories early has resulted in a wonky stomach and
made hydration a bit of challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is always warm running across the prairies twice in the first 50 miles
and dealing with that potential heat makes hydration my priority over calorie
intake.</div>
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Based on my FASTER study data, I should not be utilizing any
muscle glycogen stores as long as I keep my pace slower than lactate threshold
levels, which for me should be around 8:30 pace on the trails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really have no business running
faster than that at any point in a 100 anyway, so that shouldn’t be an
issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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With 100 miles and an expected 100-calorie expenditure a
mile, I should need to burn through 10,000 calories of body fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately, I should have
in excess of 30,000 calories on board – based on this calculation:</div>
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I weigh 130lbs and have 6.7% body fat according to the
FASTER study Dexa scan –</div>
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130 x .067 = 8.71lbs of body fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At 454 g per pound, that amounts to 8.71 x 454g =
3954g of fat on board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Calories from a gram of fat have been measured at between 8-9calories
per gram, so even at 8, there should be 3954g x 8cal = 31,632 calories stored
as body fat.</div>
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Keep in mind, however, each person’s body has a threshold at
which it will maintain a minimum body fat percentage and will cannibalize
muscle before it will dip below that established floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea what my personal “floor”
level is, so I just have to hope that dipping into roughly a 1/3 of my total
body fat stores doesn’t force me to flirt with this threshold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I am NOT committed to denying myself calories during the
race – I just want to avoid taking in calories before my body asks for
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too often I have ignored the
signals that my calorie intake has been excessive for my system to handle under a load and it has caused a myriad of
other problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is WAY easier
to take in extra calories later than to fix a sour stomach during a race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hopefully these theories continue to hold-up and I can have confidence that this is one variable that I
am managing well.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->brothergrubhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06456676968507300891noreply@blogger.com3