Burning Fat vs. Carbs

Great thread from Mark that we had to share. Whatever training your doing, fat burning should be a part of it. And the nice thing is that fat burning is a slower pace than most people think. Doesn’t mean it’s an easy workout, however.

 

Karl Miller

Assistant Dean for Development

512-471-8178

512-483-1211 (cell)

From: Mark Miller (BOSD) [mailto:Miller.Mark@microsoft.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 2:15 PM
To: Karl Miller
Subject: FW: Burning Fat vs. Carbs

 

Sorry had to add this last one to the list.

 

From: Jennifer Huffman-Swift (Mactus Group)
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 2:12 PM
To: Shawn Burke; Clifton May; Small Business Reports Team
Subject: RE: Burning Fat vs. Carbs

 

I did the same metabolic testing and found that I have trained myself to burn fat longer, into a higher HR zone, than is “typical”.  I did this on the bike, not the run, but I imagine my run holds the same results as well because I train purely for endurance running and do very limited speedwork.  I’ve seen this translate into longer distance run training for me as I rarely bonk, even when I’m not great on my nutrition.  No low energy or bonks during IM CdA for me this year even though I took in 50+ calories less than planned on the bike and the run. Just didn’t feel like I needed it and I was right.

 

My plans are to continue with the low HR training as I’m aiming for ultrarunning focus and need to be highly efficient at burning the greatest source of fuel in my body. Unfortunately I have enough fat to run across the country without burning any carbs J

 

The Maffetone Method is on my reading list this winter as he talks about the benefits of low intensity training and burning fat for fuel.

 

Jennifer Huffman-Swift

OEM Server Marketing

Mactus Group

Cell: 425-503-7167

 

From: Shawn Burke
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 11:49 AM
To: Clifton May; Small Business Reports Team
Subject: RE: Burning Fat vs. Carbs

 

The idea is to get your body to prefer fat such that you don't run out of carbs to begin with.  If you could generate all the energy you need from fat, you're be able to continue more-or-less indefinitely (think walking, for example).

 

The amount of fat you burn does change with intensity, as does your carb usage.  But there is a limit.  The key is the ratio between the two.  The higher you can push that ratio in favor of fat for a given intensity, the longer you'll be able to sustain.  Over time this usage should improve, and if you look at data from pro athletes, you'll see that they can oxidize massive amounts of fat at relatively high outputs.  In a nutshell, this is what makes them faster.

 

After I had some met testing last year, i did a blog post on this.

 

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From: Clifton May
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 11:18 AM
To: Small Business Reports Team
Subject: Burning Fat vs. Carbs

I recently read that Jonathan Vaughters told Tom Danielson to “teach” his body to burn fat better in order to have something left in the tank at the end of long (6-hour) races.  Apparently, he ran out of gas near the end of the Tour of Lombardy.

 

It’s my understanding that when you exercise your body burns both fat and carbs but that as intensity increases, so does the rate at which carbs are burned.  If I remember correctly, fat burning remains fairly constant regardless of intensity.

 

So, my question is what Mr. Vaughters meant by teaching your body to burn fat.  The implication is that properly taught, your body can still function effectively by burning fat even when carbs are depleted.

 

Any thoughts and/or resources are appreciate.

 

Thanks,

clifton