Questions about Fat-Adaptation

[praxisproject]

A lot of people sleep better with starch in their last meal before bed (this is helpful for people with both high and low blood sugar too, for different reasons), people are more different at breakfast (the better my blood sugar gets, the more I can eat starches and fruits without impact - grains just send me backwards).

 

Just as a note for Reintroductions, I have a massive difference between grain carb load and vegetable carb load and it really changes my levels of fat adaptation. I used to do Atkins years ago and could fat adapt on it but it was hard. Without grains, even with high amounts of vegetable carbs, no problem (this was a really big change for my brain to adjust to, I had always equated carbs with feeling tired or breaking my adaption).

 

Endurance is really noticeable, no bonking, no "hitting the wall" when the body-sugar runs out.

 

Make sure you're getting enough protein and fat, eating your workout meals and getting enough magnesium, sodium (salt) and potassium as you need these for muscle support & recovery too.

[emilyelowe]

I've been sticking with the two hard boiled eggs pre-workout in the morning and it was OK (not great) before lifting, but when doing more cardio-based activities, it's a bit of a struggle. My stomach feels not right - the closest thing I can use to describe the feeling is nauseated but even that isn't quite right. I kind of just feel empty and uneasy. 

 

Somewhere I read that your body doesn't require food before a workout (trust me, I have plenty of fat stores) - the only reason to do it is to kind of wake your body up (and for me, it settles my stomach). Am I feeling uneasy because my body isn't doing a good job of using my fat stores yet? I just wondered if anyone else had this experience when first transitioning to a small pre-workout meal/when pursuing fat adaptation. I just want to make sure I'm not over-starving/stressing my body, and therefore creating more negative results than positive ones. 

 

Appreciate your thoughts! 

[LucieB]

Personally I have trouble digesting a hard boiled egg before a workout, which for me isn't lifting but rather an aerobic activity. HB eggs make me burpy and gassy. I do much better on poached eggs or other soft-cooked. If not eggs, what about trying a few bites of chicken breast? 

 

I've also found that eating starches with dinner helps my morning workouts. You could try eating a little more starch at dinner? For me, it's a fist-sized white potato. Also make sure you eat good starches for recovery too, I've found that a deficit on one day can accumulate into problems in the next. 

 

It's hard to say about your body 'not doing a good job of using your fat stores yet'. This does take 2-4 weeks of adaption, from what I read, and you'll need to experiment with foods, timing, amounts, etc. I can only share what's worked for me. And I hope it helps!

[Mrs.Mathias]

Learn from me - don't overdo it with sugar during the reintroduction phase, or post W30 eating. Because you can lose your hard earned fat adaption, and that's what happened to me. So now, 8 days into my 2nd W30, my legs are burning and I'm dreading my run tomorrow. And there is NO WAY I'd give in and eat carbs or sugar, because I KNOW that at some point, my body will adapt again.  And I never want to have to go through this again, so I will be far more judicious in my sweets consumption.

That is all.