Marathon Training - Burning Fat as Fuel

[HEIBAOSHEN]

I snack often and find it a pain to have to arrange exercise around it. If I set this to 90 minutes out from the last time I ate fruit, (until I exercise) would that be sufficiant?

[Focus4Fitness]

Thanks Tim!

[taymo1978]

hey hey! Have you thought about intellectus 424 diet (search on google)? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my sister lost tons of weight with it.

[SAMS96max]

This may be a dumb question: When you say 2-3 hours of run, do you mean continuously running; or taking short breaks, sprints, various speeds, walking, etc combined?

Thank you.

[mikecazzx]

So for a 1 hour biking workout, should I do the same thing? Water only in the morning before the workout?

[hunterdeanhps]

This is very very smart advice! I've trialed it and can now run for over 2hrs without Carbs & what you notice ACTUALLY contrary to some negative comments is that your body gets significantly faster on these runs almost as close as when burning Glycogen! Tim - Great smarts! & your body adapts within a couple of weeks so it needs FAR LESS oxygen to burn the fat than before you start it...

[hunterdeanhps]

PLEASE NOTE - Tim's not saying when you race to do this! When you race you want everything you can get, eg carbs, water etc... BUT by doing it naturally your body will actually need much less AND go for much longer... Keep up the great posts Tim!!!! :-) :-) :-)

[PaigeWener]

I had no idea you lived in VT! I've found it hard to connect with other raw foodists here...

[TheSt0rm]

so how long before exercise do you consume fats? I noticed since fats take a long time to digest my blood is busy digesting the fats whereas it actually shd be in the muscles I need to do exercise.

So again, how long before exercise do you eat fats?

[123gwf]

I couldn't run for 2 hours no matter what i eat or don't eat prior to the run. I did 3 miles the other day and I wanted to cry.

[MichaelLohr1]

If you are doing ultra marathon training maybe this is ok. But you miss HUGE point in your theory. It takes a huge amount of Oxygen to burn fat vs Carbs. So in essence you have sacrificed all efficency to avoid bonking. Running is all about efficency. If you have the proper balance between between your speed, strength and endurance, coupled with proper Vo2 uptake you never need to be worried about bonking.

[dtmelite]

Here's how runners can teach their bodies to go longer distances without bonking! Teach your body to burn fat first...carbohydrate later. Watch this video. 

[wojoku1]

Glycogen is limited, yes. Fat is relatively unlimited, yes. You have left out, however, the third energy option, protein. Here they are in order of increasing energy production: fat, glycogen, protein. When your body increases the rate of energy consumption, it can also switch the source from which it obtains energy. If you push your body too hard, it will break down its own muscle.

I only mention this due to my own experience. Tim, how are you avoiding break down of your muscle?

[mrkurt13]

@wojoku1

Everyone thinks the muscle thing breaking down is terrible. If you do things like this long enough, especially if you combine this with heavy weight training like squats, power cleans, etc, your body finds its natural equilibrium which is usually less bulk than most people think, especially athletes. I lost muscle mass but didnt lose hardly any strength. My strength to weight ratio went waaaay up, as did my endurance since I wasnt carrying around extra baggage.

[wojoku1]

@mrkurt13 I didn't mean that losing pure mass is detrimental, just that losing TOO MUCH can be unproductive. I've certainly been through times when I increased strength without mass.

I'm just very curious (as a scientist) how protein metabolism fits into the balance. Is it simply a constant that doesn't change in either (fat or glycogen) case, or is there some way to limit protein metabolism in favor of fat?

[mrkurt13]

@wojoku1

Scaling up training like this increases the bodies ability to burn fat and so it doesnt dip into the protein as much. Increasing the fat content of the diet and doing long runs with only fatty snacks like nuts also pushes the body to develop fat burning ability. When you begin this kind of thing you will get a pretty big ammonia smell from the protein break down. It will decrease to almost nothing over a year or two unless you go a really long time with out any calories.

[mrkurt13]

@wojoku1

But diet and exercise is sort of like fighting. There isnt a single way to get to the same point. You can get ideas from people but you really just have to pay attention and experiment with your body to see what works for you.

[mrkurt13]

@wojoku1

most people who work out a lot end up carrying around too much mass since we think that more muscle is better in all cases. Its usually a liability for most sports.

[tribulu]

Tim's right on this,at least for me. I train for a half marathon every year on protien and lots of greens, and I lose fat and feel great. At my age(49) carbohydrates make me feel sluggish

[cc0ldt]

this was very interesting.....and makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for sharing!!! Cheers for guacamole loading!!!!!! (unless it has sugars in it from the lemon)

[mrkurt13]

Lactic acid is not what causes the body to shut down. Its a really common myth totally unsupported by anything.  Its probably a combination of oxidative stress and Ion transporter leakage.

[wojoku1]

@mrkurt13 Completely agreed. Lactate is simply your ETC (electron transport chain) being unable to keep up with Glycolysis.

[ophelianymph]

I think im in love

[runningman97]

Why do you want to 'teach' your body to use a second rate fuel source. Fat burning is always less efficient than using carbs, that's why your body is reluctant to do it. You may avoid bonking by eating just fat but you're also limiting your performance. What I think is better is replacing your glycogen stores before they run out.

[mrkurt13]

@runningman97

You are wrong. It is more efficient, just not as fast for more people who never do it. If you train it, your body compensates by making more mitochondria. Also, burning fat produces far less oxidative stress on the cells. You can only store about 2 hours of glycogen. You can store much more fat.

[durianriders]

I got the same shoes but you wouldnt see me running in snow in em. You wouldnt see me running in snow full stop! This dude is crazy!

[Rawgasmic]

@durianriders seriously, Harley? Tim's footwear was all you thought noteworthy about this vid? Care to share your thoughts on how you feel Tim's approach will go? Mike :)

[betdan7777777]

Love that video

[betdan7777777]

Love that vidoe

[bluehawaii1671]

@trkrichardson 味噌（みそ）を使った温かい料理、冬には鍋を食べます。 Miso contains plenty of amino acid. Kinda perfect source of protein.

[trkrichardson]

what kind of fat are you using as fuel tim? would love to know. i can be quite hypoglycemic and without sugar from fruit i get headaches and cranky and just don't function. if i were to adopt a style of eating based on fat how would i go about making such a change? also fat goes rancid easy right kinda hard to get good sources of fat isn't it? how much fruit do you still eat? i kinda like the third fat third sugar from fruit and third greens david wolfe approach is this a good approach?

[Averil07111]

Tim.... I was kinda nervous watching you...Mostly for your feet..hahah..but I know you made it because you posted this vid right... Ok guess what I am doing.. I am going to try my very first race. OMG I am scared cos I have NEVER been in a race before. So I have no clue what I'm doing and I am very overweight...so you know I have to work hard. The race is next year August so I have enough time I think to do this...If you have any tips for me on how to start training..I will love you forever...

[Benjmhart]

cool tip man,

[HermannTheGreat]

Does this method increase your body's ability to burn fat more readily during daily activity outside of training?

[Fushpud]

Great video! Thanks for posting it,it's always awesome to watch a new RR video!

[videobenji]

great vid. so WHAT type of fat do you eat to get the fat on your body for burning??

[poyamaleki89]

omg, I have been thinking of this for a couple of days now! Thank you man!!!!

[TheWanderlust1]

I'm not even a runner but love your vids Tim cos your positive vibes and energy are off the chart and addictive to follow. Keep up the good work.

[eMediaNow]

Great video...In line with the Robb Wolf book Paleo Solution

[amirprog]

its to wathc a new vid, interesting info, thx. keep it up!

[summershine22]

very interesting!

[midcenmod]

Thank you so much for a new vid! I've been waaaaaiiiiiting! Love the snow. Good info...as always.

[MarcusNorberg]

Why not start out with full glycogen supplies, rather than going instantly on the fat? Sure, it might work for burning fat, but I don't agree with it for athletic performance. I mean, you hit the wall when you've used up your glycogen, thus I don't understand how you can postpone it by not loading up on carbs?

Also, lactic acid is a result of ANAEROBIC glycolysis, it's not always formed

But as you are much more succesful as an athlete than me, I'm sure your experience weighs heavier than mine.

[723465]

i dont agree with the whole fat as energy thing, but i'm interested to see what's going to come out of your experiment.

i'm also glad to see you back!

[LogicNYC]

Solid advice man. I needed this information because i'm trying to get ripped.

[goanyways]

HAHA this video is nutttsssssssssss I love it!

[johnlvs2run]

TOO FRICKING LOUD!!!! SHUT UP!!!

[eatmoreraw]

Good to see you back! Don't kill yourself cos we want more videos!

[bluehawaii1671]

我々がタートルマラソンを走っているときに雪の中を走っている人­がいたんですね～

[trkrichardson]

@bluehawaii1671 冬に何を食べますか。

[laraskye]

You are a nut but a fun nut,  : )

[AtPeacePiece]

Do you have links that we could use to site this theory/method? In other words can you back this up on paper?

[wordey123]

@AtPeacePiece well its kinda general knowledge that youd learn in highschool or university... you dont need a medical study to say your body burns fat when gylcogen is burnt out.

[AtPeacePiece]

@wordey123 Sure, but I'm just wondering if you can train your body to burn fat when it has a ready source of carbohydrate energy already in the system. Thats what he was saying right?

[wordey123]

@AtPeacePiece Well, i think its more so about gettin your body used to burning fat so in a long race when he runs out of glycogen, his body will be well adapted and better prepared to burning fat.

[rzarzarzarza84]

Awesome advice!!

Thank you so much for shairng this!

[VDENORM]

nice seeing you are still there :)

[norxcontacts]

Does this force your body into ketosis?

[goanyways]

@norxcontacts yEs it does.

[HappinessIsNow]

I have tried this before and just am not successful. I tried this for more than a month. I don't get beyond 20 minutes. But I'll try adding carbs while running. Very interesting. Thanks for the tip! And you are AWESOME for running in the snow like that. I moved to CA just to get away from that stuff. (-8

[yammynid]

somebodys having a god time :) great info dude

[greenmarcosu]

Is forcing your body to utilize fat metabolism dangerous at all? Does it stress your system? Does it produce any bad byproducts in your body?

[indifferenceTV]

each time i watch your videos i learn something new. thankyou.

[Crich775]

Great video as always!

[indifferenceTV]

very interesting