Burning Fat (PHAT) for the Long Run

As I melt two tablespoons of coconut oil and one tablespoon of butter in my coffee and add a dose of heavy cream I'm thinking how much my diet has changed over the last two months since the Mountain Lakes 100.

This high-fat coffee concoction -- called "bulletproof" coffee by some -- have ingredients once considered sacrilege among us calorie and fat conscious runners. "Oh my gosh," people say to me now, "Your cholesterol is going to be off the charts." Maybe. We'll see.

As someone who spent most of my life watching my cholesterol levels because of a hereditary predisposition to high cholesterol, that's a valid concern. When I was 19, even though I was running 70 miles a week, lifting weights, and eating well, my total cholesterol was above 250. I started taking Questran, then lipitor, then some other statin drugs, then finally Crestor and while removing every speck of so-called bad fats from my diet, I didn't see my cholesterol numbers change very significantly at all. After half a lifetime taking different medications for hyperlipidemia, you'd think my new fat diet would be suicide. (An artery may clog up before I finish this blog post)

Now I tell people about the mornings when I cook my eggs up in a lake (2TBS) of real butter or eat 4-6 strips of bacon along with those buttery eggs for breakfast. What was never part of my diet routine just three months ago, is beginning to be my fuel for life and soon, for some heavier workouts.

So far, I've been easily willing to restrict my carbs down to a very low level -- less than 50g per day most days. The process of becoming fat-adapted requires it. You have to keep your fat intake up and your carbohydrate intake down. I've also eliminated sugar from most starches like pasta, rice, bread, and the like from my diet as well. Because my calories have stayed the same, my weight has stayed roughly the same as well.

Replacing those refined and processed foods with fat has taken some adjustment, but replacing some high-carb selections with high-fat selections isn't much of a sacrifice. Many of the things I can eat now -- like bacon or salami -- were not on my list of things to eat for most of my life.

I'm 45 now and having watched my cholesterol closely for 26 years hasn't been much fun. So, in some respects this Fat Adapted Diet has been a PHAT Adapted Diet -- Pretty Hot And Tempting (PHAT) foods to eat! I eat full-fat cheeses, fattier cuts of steak, and veggies with sour cream, hummus, or guacamole dip for lunch, and bacon -- gotta love bacon.

And at dinner, one person's fat scraps are this guy's strategic fat calories. And if I feel like having a bite of a baked potato, I slather on some butter and put a spoonful of sour cream on it -- down it goes -- covering my carbs in fat. I won't take a scoop of rice or a plate of pasta, but I'll take the skin from a piece of chicken of from a family member's plate? "You're not eating that? That's the best part." It's been a joy to free myself from cutting off every ounce of fat on the edge of a steak. And you know what? Fat tastes good!

I began this little diet adventure just after finishing Mountain Lakes 100. I figured it was my off-season and it's a good time to try out a different way of fueling. I wanted to give myself time to adapt to burning fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates and really give the Optimized Fat Metabolism (OFM) a chance.

I began by reading everything I could find about high fat, low carbohydrate diets -- Zach Bitter's blog, the VESPA website, and two books by Jeff S. Volek and Stephen D. Phinney. Volek and Phinney's books, "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living," and "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance."

Further into the diet, I continue to take cues from Zach Bitter's blog about OFM and further about how he times his carbohydrates with his workouts/racing. Also, the VESPA site and Peter Defty, the VESPA founder, have offered help for people looking to use the principles of OFM.

So, I've grown a little more heavy-handed with my use of olive oil over my veggies, or with some cheese chunks, and continue to eat lots of salads with green veggies, like kale, broccoli, but topped with some extra doses of homemade dressing.

When I need a snack, I rely mainly on nuts, cheese, or a tea with some coconut oil. But the great part is that I haven't been hungry and my energy levels have been more consistent. The fats are more satiating than my past diet habits (which were generally whole foods/whole grains/heavy veggies/lighter meats/less oils).

On the few running workouts I've done during my off-season, I've noticed that I don't get hungry. I don't start the workouts with a Clif Bar or other snack and I don't complete a workout feeling those hunger pains. And while I've been in the weight room more than any other time this year and haven't noticed any lack of energy during or after gym workouts. The other thing I've noticed is a more stable water balance, easier time sleeping through the night, and no 2-3 p.m. energy crisis where I need to get a coffee or have a snack.

But I'm not done experimenting yet. It's only been two months and my running workouts are just starting to ramp up again. I've been looking forward to getting in some longer runs where I can see how far my body can go on fewer carbs.

At the very least I can clue my body in to what it's like to burn fat for an extended period of time so it's not so foreign when I'm forced to make that change on the run during next year's mountain ultra events.

Next, I'll be incorporating more running while maintaining low carbohydrates and soon I'll get a cholesterol work-up to see how my blood is doing. I hope this is helpful if you're considering a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, or just want to hear about my trial and error. Things are looking PHAT.