Can you train to get your body “fat adapted” and still consume carbs, maybe at a lower number? Like can I get my body burning fat and still eat grains/ipa’s and the good foods just in moderation?
You do not have to adopt an extreme dietary regimen to get fat adapted. Our two articles will show you how Steve and I and many of the folks we work with have done it.
Scott
What I’ve read (e.g. Mark Twight’s book) suggests protein intake should be about 1.4g per kg of bodyweight per day.
The article “Train to Burn Fat” suggests getting 50-60% of your calories from fat and splitting the rest between carbs and protein. If I’m to get 20-25% of my calorific intake from protein, and protein has 4 calories per gram, that implies consuming significantly more protein than 1.4g/kg/day (almost double).
Is the answer to get more calories from fat, carbs or both?
Via “Extreme Alpinism”: “the body knows precisely how much protein it needs for any activity level, and any excess is converted into carbohydrates or fats or excreted”.
Given that, I think I should stick to getting c. 1.4g/kg/day of protein and make up the rest of the calories required to keep my weight stable from fats or carbs.
I wanted to add some questions to this thread. I always seem to have stomach issues during races (i.e. puking) and it has severely effected my performance. I am hoping that becoming more fat adapted will allow me to take in less calories during races and hopefully not get sick? After becoming more fat adapted, do you see less of a need for caloric intake during races?
Also, do you have any meal recommendations or websites to go to for more recipes? I have used some of the meals listed in Training for the New Alpinism but need more options.
As stated above: You don’t need to go to a zero carb fully ketogenic diet to see big gains in fat adaptation if you use the strategies we talk about in our fat adaptation articles here on UA. Fasted workouts, Lots of long runs below AeT and a dietary shift to fewer carbs. Of course full Keto will shift you over faster but many folks either don’t want to do that or won’t be able to stick with a draconian dietary regimen. It can be tough socially to be the guy with the ‘diet’.
If you become more fat adapted then yes you will require fewer carbs during the race so may be able to avoid the common stomach issues that often come from over dosing on carbs when your digestive track is at a greatly reduced functional level during these races. We like to use the adage: Train on ft but Race on Carbs (just not as many of them)
There a a bunch of good cook books for high low carb diets. Google will help you.
