Dr. Jason Fung wrote an interesting book with Jimmy Moore that reinforces what I already believed or rather my own innate intelligence told me based on my life experiences. Dr. Fung’s book called “The Complete Guide to FASTING” with Jimmy Moore makes total sense to me. Fasting before exercise is something I have been doing for many years.
Do we need to “carbo load” before an endurance workout when I should be burning fat for fuel? Why should I eat a Cliff Bar or another type of energy bar with 50 grams of carbs and then an energy drink every hour on my bike ride or during an Ironman Triathlon when I have stored energy in my body – FAT!?
This is a question I asked myself long time ago when I started training for endurance events as Ironman and long-distance cycling as well as marathons. In fact, I wrote about my most memorable experience of experimenting NOT eating before a long bike ride after I taught a spin class on a Saturday back in 2000 or earlier when training for “STP” (Seattle to Portland 200 mile bike ride). You can read my story in “LIFE IS NOT A RACE” Book available on Amazon.
We have lots of stored fat in our body and limited supplies of stored glycogen available for fuel…short term fuel for quick energy. We are taught to eat every hour to keep fueled up as well as “carbo load” before a long workout or race plus eat withing 30 minutes of exercise or training session. Is this correct? It depends.
Everyone is different so we can’t train or coach people as “one size fits all” approach that is done all too often. Different results for different people. We talk about MAF Training in my “The WHOLESTIC Method Manual” in the exercise chapter plus throughout my personal story in LIFE IS NOT A RACE. MAF = Maximum Aerobic Function created by Dr. Phil Maffetone. Learn more on my podcast, book or manual as for right now my point is we can train our bodies to burn fat or carbs/glycogen depending on HOW we train- at what intensities.
Dr. Jason Fung talks about in his book on Fasting that our body can be trained to switch from burning sugar/carbs/glycogen to burning stored body fat for energy. If we follow a low-carb, moderate protein and high (healthy) fat diet then we can improve our metabolic efficiency or our ability to burn fat for our main fuel source/energy.
IF we train in a fasted state, we can train our muscles to use our stored body fat for energy instead of our limited supply of stored glycogen. Example…do you want to rely on storage of 40,000 calories for energy demands or 2,000 calories? Hmmm… not too difficult to decide. We could have a lot more steady energy if we utilize fat for our main energy source but instead we have been taught to consume a high carbohydrate diet that only raises our blood sugars, overfills our carb storage tank (liver and muscle glycogen) and the rest of the excess goes into fat storage- while putting us on the blood sugar roller coaster for a long ride until we get off and stop the insanity!
What can you do differently? Think outside of the box. As Dr. Jason Fung said in his book about fasting, “muscles adapt to use whatever energy source is available”. when we deplete our glycogen stores via fasting, then our muscles learn how to become more efficient and smarter at utilizing the fat stores we carry in our body for its main fuel source. Dr. Fung explains how we can increase the number of specialized fat burning proteins and enhance the breakdown of fat for energy. When you train in a fasted state, the muscle fibers show increased available fat- signs that muscles are burning FAT not SUGAR for its source of energy/fuel. Bonus- studies demonstrated fasted workout sessions, when fat adapted, did not decrease athletic performance which included strength, anaerobic capacity as well as aerobic endurance.
Now the trick is adjusting or transitioning from being a sugar burning athlete to becoming a fat burning machine athlete. There is a period of time that you may feel sluggish and see a decrease in your performance (ignore the Garmin for a few weeks!). For about two weeks you may feel this “transition” period as you become a fat adapted athlete. Your muscles are adapting to burning FAT for your fuel…switching from the kindling wood to the big fat duraflame slow burning logs! Suddenly you will feel comfortable, energetic and happy during a fasted workout as you feel a steady flow of energy without the highs and lows of sugar burning (“hitting the wall”).
As I mentioned, we have plenty more fuel available stored in our body as fat as compared to glycogen (carbohydrates). Since we are not able to utilize fat for fuel from our fat storage tank, we are able to workout in a fasted state. I personally enjoy starting my day with a bike or run workout with only drinking my coffee with collagen, MCT oil and grass-fed butter! If I eat a meal then go for a bike or run workout then I just have stomach problems and difficulty digesting my food! My goal is to lower my blood sugar levels as I have become insulin resistant as a result of years of adrenal exhaustion (no one ever tested my blood sugar levels or digestion points as we do in Nutritional Therapy functional evaluation!). Fasting helps lower insulin levels according to Dr. Fung’s research in his clinic with Type Two Diabetics as fasting stimulates the burning of fat for energy. Read more of his research findings in his book “The Complete Book on Fasting”. Very interesting…or at least to me as I have been adding fasting over the years into my own workouts plus into my coaching programs (The WHOLESTIC Method 5-Day Detox Jumpstart Challenge).
Dr. Fung mentioned the benefits of exercising in a fasted state include:
- increased adrenaline will allow you to train harder
- build muscle faster and speed up recovery time with increased growth hormone
- increased fatty acid oxidation will allow you to burn more fat
Exercising in a fasted state allows me to not worry about consuming gels and bars on a long run or bike ride. If I am riding over 2 1/2 hours then I will add sea salt into my water and take mix salted unroasted nuts (mac nuts are my favorite) and/or a bar as Primal Kitchen Collagen Bars. 
Find out what works for you and do some experimenting on your off season or early season! Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions on how to become fat adapted and a fat burning machine! I offer coaching calls or monthly coaching programs. Everyone is different and there is not one size fits all! Start with balancing your blood sugar by eating clean, whole nutrient dense foods that fill you up and then you will realize you don’t need to eat as much as you are full, satisfied and have no cravings.
Burn Fat. Optimize Health. Improve Performance.
The WHOLESTIC Method Athlete,
Debbie Potts
