Endurance sports

[darius]

Hey Theo, have you ever had any of the athletes under your guide using high fat approach (low carbs) while competing in endurance sports? If never done it, do you think such a diet stands a chance in endurance sports?

Darius

[Theo Papatheofanous]

Absolutely...neverheless,reserves are zapped fairly quickly depending on training schedule,therefore caloric spikes are in order to be sure.But,yes,quite a few athletes are on high fat diets but the majority will be much better served with a 'carb' oriented approach.It's all individual in the end and what serves the body more efficiently.

Best,
Theo

[darius]

Ironically, just got out of a conference call with Dr. Udo who talked our ears off about the benefits of high fat diet on athletes of any kind (power, endurance etc.). Of course lot of what he had to say was to market his products, but at the end there was a message to take home. His words reminded me a lot of Dr. Di's work.

On another note, and why I asked the original question, I am just about to attempt (t-2 hours) my first mountain bike race (first ever) on a high fat diet. It will be interesting to see how my performance will hold up. I did carb-up on the weekend (1/2 day, fairly high caloric spike) and had one carb-up meal about 5 hours before the race. Time for MET to start paying off :-)

[Theo Papatheofanous]

Darius,

Well you're following a high fat diet now,right? How is it serving you ? How is your performance and energy levels post carb up(s) or spikes ? This is where you need to listen to your response times with everything you do and evaluate your present state...only by accurately recording your response times to such protocols will you be able to 'load' properly for the event...cosmetics are one thing BUT sports performance is another animal alltogether.
As for benefits with high fat diets...it's true.But you know what ? Carb oriented diets have their benefits as well if it suits and serves the individual.Should never be looked at that way in my opinion;this is how most get caught up in details and lose focus on what is right for their own body...In any case,GOOD LUCK with the race and let us know how you perform on the big day!

Best,
Theo.

[darius]

Theo, the diet is serving its purpose as far as performance goes, and aesthetics improvements. Carb-up days add little energy, but I don’t really feel lethargic, even on Saturday, when I am carb depleted. My appetite is out the roof after carb-up days, meaning no matter how much I pack on, I am starving in the morning. Best of all, no bloating!!! On the performance side as far as sports go, it’s about timing, the races are every second Wednesday, so carb-up/spike day should be placed strategically based on that (let me know if I am OFF base).

Race went good considering it was my first event ever. It was 15k in just under an hour of ALL OUT effort. Incredible experience.

I agree on the carb based diet with you, they all work if implemented properly. I did low fat diet in the past with high carbs, and it did work, as you always say, doesn’t have to be black or white. For myself high fat works much better, so will continue on it for little while.

We are still waiting for your pics!!

Darius

[Theo Papatheofanous]

Darius,

Pics will come soon Darius...I don't just want to post pics,I'd like to give Scott something better that a post such as : 'Look here I am'...I'll be making out a post with my experience,mentoring,etc.
High fat for me works like a charm for both cosmetics and performance...nevertheless,the more I eat as such,the more I need to pay attention to recovery as well as spiking because if not,I seem to melt away no matter how high the calories.Once the furnace starts,it's a melting pot so to speak...but working on it with Scott and will just get better with time.
As for loading,it depends on you,not the race necessarily...for performance,you need to 'over-reach' on load to make sure you will always have enough fuel,especially at the end of the race where you will need it much more...that's the best advice I can give you my friend.

Best,
Theo

[darius]

Your advise and expertise is appreciated as always. I am looking forward to your post, reading other peoples experience is a great learning tool. Going through your posts I have noticed your spike days are HUGE, now I have a better understanding why this is. Your point on ‘end of the race’ performance is dead on. Great talk.

Darius

[Theo Papatheofanous]

Good stuff...Yes,that's the reason for my eating ability...once the furnace starts,it just works very efficiently and need to pay close attention to response time(s) - working on it though with Scott.As for your race,just make sure you keep us posted and GOOD LUCK brother.

Best,
Theo

[hockeyplayer]

for myself,Theo has me eating plenty of carbs of all sorts and my energy levels have been much improved;my game is just that much better now...Most can't beleive how much I eat and I have no cravings for anything other than my next meal.It's balanced and serves its optimal purpose.

[darius]

Hockeyplayer, I too tried your approach, and it worked just fine, but I find fat works much better for me. As time goes by I find my performance keeps improving. Initially I was skeptical about not having carbs 6.5 days out of the week so I was easy on myself (as you can tell by all the questions I've been asking). Now I gained much more confidence just to learn how well the 'Anabolic Diet' works.

Just to throw some numbers at you, since beginning of the AD I have lost 2-3 lbs, and dropped about 3 sizes in waist. As far as I am concerned, diet is serving its purpose.

Darius

[Theo Papatheofanous]

Excellent Darius...also hardness vs. smoothness is another excellent indicator when losing weight...at one point I was losing like 3-4 lbs / week BUT always stayed hard & tight,therefore was never worried about the scale weight...I actually look much bigger now at 200 than 250 lbs...LOL.

Theo