The big question these days in the keto, low carb, fat adapted endurance and fat adapted athlete forums…
“How do you become a fat adapted athlete?“
…will hopefully be the most popular question as during Ironman Hawaii week this year. Especially as I host and speak at my “FAT ADAPTED ATHLETE” Meet up and Seminar at Ironman Hawaii expo on the Wednesday 4pm to 6pm at the old Bubba Gumps restaurant -with Bike Works and Garmin in their pop-up shop for race week.
What you eat is essential for becoming a fat adapted athlete but if you are training at higher levels you may be able tolerate more carbohydrates depending on you training cycle. The challenge may be you are listening to other people having huge health and fat loss success by following a ketogenic diet with very low carbohydrates but they are often not training the high volume that you are doing each week.
How do you flip the switch to become a FAT ADAPTED ATHLETE?
How do you “flip the switch” to get into nutritional ketosis and start burning fat for your main fuel? There is a reset and adaptation phase to get through …which I will be running a 30-day fat adaptated online group training program this fall and winter (off season) for athletes to change their macronutrient ratios to burn fat and break the addiction to carbohydrates as well as the need to eat carbs during workouts. Your goal should be to become metabolic efficient and metabolically flexible…
What does FAT ADAPTED even mean?
Fat Adaptation, according to Peter Defty, is about you and the experience. Rather than chasing the numbers as keto fans, keto fat adapted athletes are burning fat as they become more fat adapted and burning fat at higher exercise intensities with training. Beta oxidation is the process of breaking down and metabolizing fat for fuel.
What is the different of ketosis vs. fat burning?
We will need another podcast with Peter Defty to get his opinion.
Athletes can burn a lot of ketones but when we test we show sub clinical ketone levels because we are using them for ENERGY as we exercise fasted or a very low carb fuel plan. We burn fat via beta oxidation and use that fuel for energy. Most of the keto success stories showing high ketones and fat loss success stories but if you are training high volume per week for Ironman or another endurance event – you are burning fat for fuel the more fat adapted you are in time. Our carbohydrate tolerance is different for each athlete. So instead of comparing yourself to other keto super stars- experiment with your carb timing and carb tolerance for your N = 1 experiment. Maybe you could evaluate your energy and workout performance as well as how you don’t feel hungry for hours. I do believe in measuring your ketones and blood sugar to get started.
Are you doing fasted workouts? Do you need to eat before your long bike ride or long weekend run? You want to burn you fat stores in your body- so you may find yourself not requiring additional fuel on long training rides and runs…but it takes time to become fat adapted so be patient!
Here are some other definitions that can help you understand the process of becoming a FAT ADAPTED ATHLETE:
1) Metabolic Flexibility: The term used to describe the body’s ability to switch between fuel sources based on energy needs. Someone who is metabolically flexible can use fat as the primary (and almost exclusive) fuel when they are resting, sleeping and moving around at a fairly slow pace. As they start to move around at a quicker pace – like fast running – they will be able to take advantage of extra fuel supplied by carbohydrate, and when they are going nearly flat out they will rely almost exclusively on carbs for fuel.
2) Metabolic efficiency: Indicates the ability for oxygen to flow readily into the mitochondria of our cells to produce energy. It has been linked with energy, ageing and athlete performance.
3) Fat adapted: When someone is fat-adapted they have developed the enzyme pathways and physiological changes to burn fat at rest and during exercise without compromising performance and wellbeing.
-Kirsty Woods / Accredited Exercise Physiologist via kirsty.woods@metabolichealthsolutions.org
You should be using fat for fuel as an endurance athlete. As Peter Defty says, and what I say to clients starting a fitness program, you need to build your foundation first! You have to start with a 30-60 day reset program as the one I offer online to “flip the switch” and become an efficient fat metabolizer. It has to be sustainable and not feel that you are dieting… you will feel full, satisfied and break the sugar cravings but the benefit of being an endurance athlete- you are able to tolerate a little more carbohydrates OCCASIONALLY without breaking your ability to burning fat and ketones. There is a secret method how to time your carbohydrates and still be a fat adapted athlete. Learn how to become a fat fueled athlete this year if you want to burn fat, optimize your health at a cellular level and improve your performance this year with my online coaching programs for groups and individuals.
How many carbs should you eat to improve fat loss, performance and longevity?
As I say everyday about how many carbs you can tolerate to get into nutritional ketosis… “it depends”. We are all unique individuals with different lifestyles, stressors and genetics. There is not one size fits all for everyone BUT you can get started with the fat adaptation process by eating real nutrient dense foods that balance your blood sugar. Order a KETO MOJO to start measuring your blood sugar levels and ketones to see how your body reacts with food. Balance your macronutrients to maintain your blood sugar levels around 70-90 during the day. As you become fat adapted and “make the switch” to fat burning for your main fuel source then you should see some ketones showing up on your keto mojo test.
Are you burning fat or carbs? Are you balancing your blood sugar by eating right for your metabolic type? Are you in nutritional ketosis? How is your stress level? Are you doing IF, TRE and OMAD during the week? If you want to know how many carbs you can tolerate per day then measure you blood sugar and ketones as each person is unique! As an endurance athlete, you may be able to tolerate more carbs than someone else but if you have chronic stress and creating “METABOLIC CHAOS” in your body (excess external and internal hidden stressors) then you can still become insulin resistant while following a LCHF keto food plan. Get starting on your fat adapted athlete journey by using Keto Mojo then stay tuned for my fat adapted athlete webinar and online group coaching program starting this fall season (off season!).
If you want to improve your performance and longevity then sign up for my webinar this October 21st or 30th coming soon so follow me on social media (Low Carb Athlete) to learn about how to get started and sign up to become a fat adapted athlete this off season.
Learn more about chronic fatigue, HPA Axis dysfunction and Mitochondrial Dysfunction on my upcoming podcast – The WHOLE Athlete.
The WHOLESTIC Method Coach,
Debbie
