Transformation...from a carb burner to fat burner

This blog post is about my boyfriend, Dave and his quest to become a more efficient fat burner/ultra runner.   *NOTE:  I'm not an expert - this information is based on testing from BCSM, discussions with Dave's coach/BCSM personnel, and my personal research.

This answers the questions:

1. Will glycogen depleted endurance runs improve fat burning capability?
2. Will running at at lower HR help you run faster?
3. Can a diet change improve your fat burning capability

Background

After 6 months of running (from his hobbies of couch sitting/beer brewing), Dave started running longer and longer - our pal, Dana D. (owner of the Walnut Cafe) asked him this question "what's your number?"  Meaning "what are distance are you trying to reach?".   After that question - he thought about it and announced to me and Dana "50 miles".    So, since March he's been training for a 50 mile race on September 30, 2012 - the Bear Chase.  

How to go from carb burner to carb/fat burner

In June, he hired Craig Howe after he was feeling run down.  Craig had him go to Boulder Center for Sports medicine for a lactate threshold and FUEL test.   I blogged about it here.  Craig was very concerned about Dave's lack of fat burning ability and told him - if he wanted to complete a 50 miler - he'd have to up his fat burning capability.

The approach to turn him into a fat burner was 3 pronged:

• Slow down his endurance runs to zone 1 or zone 2 
• Run longer runs in a glycogen depleted state
• Change his (crappy[my opinion] diet - tho he begs to differ) diet to eat healthy fats, fruits, veggies and lean protein.  Ditch the processed carbs, simple carbs, grilled cheese sandwiches, Nature valley granola bars, burgers, fries, beer, etc)

Diet Specifics 

• followed the Metabolic Efficiency eating plan (book #1 noted under resource section below)
•  nutrition ratios:  Carbs 35%, Fat 35%, Protein 30%
• it was a tough adjustment for me to eat that much fat - it goes against everything that I ever knew about trying to be lean.  Fats we ate were "good fats" - a ton of avocado, nuts, olive oil, etc. 
• carbs were mostly from fruits/veggies - very limited "grains" - we would eat ~3 or 4 servings a week of quinoa and sprouted grain breads but that was about it
• in the 12 week period - I lost 9 lbs without trying.   I started at 114lbs (heavy for me - I'm 4'10") and now weigh 105lbs.
• Dave didn't lose any weight, but he gained muscle

Glycogen Depleted Long Run specifics

• eat a big breakfast with a lot of fat before a big run - usually cheese/zucchini/avocado omelet, 1 slice ezekiel bread w/almond butter, 1 serving of fruit, sweet potato latkes.  Nutrition breakdown for this breakfast: Carbs 31%, Fat 52%, Protein 17%
• long run typically consisted of a warmup for 15/20 minutes - the 7x1mile repeats in zone 3 - remainder of run in zone 2. 
•  no fueling for the first 1.5 hours in order for the fat burning mechanism to kick in - after 1.5 hours - then fuel with sports products (gu, chomps, Scratch, EFS liquid shot)at the rate of 300 calories per hour
• during this training cycle - Dave's big weeks were either Friday/Saturday double runs (17 - 20 miles) or Saturday long runs of 24, 27, 32 miles.

FUEL test results

Exactly 12 weeks later - Dave retested and he made dramatic improvements across the board. Remember he's training for a 50 mile race -so being super speedy isn't the goal - being efficient at a consistent pace and being able to fuel for an ultra is the goal.  

Here's a summary.  As you can see from this table - Dave made HUGE gains across the board.  He still has a way to go to become a more efficient fat burner - but he's on his way.  Also, by running his endurance runs at a lower HR and getting quality speed work in - his pace increased dramatically and he's not working as hard at faster paces.

Click on photos to see detail in larger format.

Photo #1 - Comparsion table - gains in tempo/endurance/fat burn
Photo #2 - Dave's before test (98% carbs/2% fat burn)
Photo #3 - Dave's after test (79% carbs/21% fat burn - 19% improvement)
Photo #4 - Data from BCSM website - the ultimate goal of an ultra runner - 22% carb/78%fat

comparison table

BEFORE - YELLOW BARS INDICATE FAT BURN/GREEN = CARB BURN

AFTER- YELLOW BARS INDICATE FAT BURN/GREEN = CARB BURN

THIS IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL - FROM BCSM WEBSITE - PROFILE OF ULTRA RUNNER

Resources

I've been reading 2 books.  

1. The eating plan we are following is based on this book - Nutrition Periodization for Athletes by Bob Seebohar 
2. The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance  by Stephen Phinney & Jeff Volek 
3. The personnel at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine are very knowledgeable - it's been very informative talking to Adam and Craig (Dave's coach)