Train Your Gut

Al Truscott

@Gary Lewis posted this on the dashboard - I thought I'd give it a wider audience. https://www.wattieink.com/blogs/blog/thinking-low-carb-high-fat-this-season-qt2-head-coach-jesse-kropelnicki-weighs-in

It takes only 3 minutes or so to read...

Coach P has been preaching the use of Jesse K's QT2 principles for race fueling, and this blog entry emphasizes the need to train your gut to be ready to absorb the higher quantities of fluid and fuel we need for long-course racing, by consistently fueling during training with an eye on that.

It runs counter to the high fat/low carb nutrition for training espoused by some. Myself, I've been preaching in these forums since I joined about the need to literally train the GI system to be able to absorb larger amounts of fuel (read: carbs) during the course of a 5-6 hour bike ride followed by a 3.5-5 hour run. Restricting fuel during training shrivels the GI tract's ability to do that, leading to high risk of rejection (vomiting) during the race.

I'm putting this here and not the nutrition forum (a) to give it a wider audience (I never hang out in the nutrition threads) and (b) because its about *training* first and foremost.

All that said, these principles don't apply as much during the OS, as we are working fairly hard during short sessions, and can't expect to absorb a lot of fuel *during* those sessions. (Post-workout fueling during the OS is thus doubly important.) But once the workouts get longer than about 80-90 minutes, this thinking starts to become more and more important IMO.

Gary Lewis

Thank you Al.  I wasn't sure of the best place to put this.  Your WSM comments are always on point.

Satish Punna

I follow the higher fat/lower carb doctrine in life and training.  The way I reconcile this with Core diet race nutrition strategy (which works very well for me ) is that when I'm in race prep mode (8 weeks before a race) on long runs (60-120 minutes) and rides (3.5-5hr) I am all in with race nutrition and in fact I try to push the carbs as high as I can tolerate.  sometimes on the bike I am up to 400cal/hr, just to see if I can do it (or barf).  Of course this is with all liquid/race nutrition.  I'm not eating peanut butter sandwiches. An added benefit to adequately fueling these longer efforts is that recovery seems to be better afterwards too. Of course, after I have flooded my system with sugar for the long run/ride the rest of the day's carbs are more nutrient dense - sweet potato/brown rice etc.  

Paul Curtin

Thanks Gary and Al -- that's a great article.  2017 was my breakthrough year on the nutritional front, largely from following the principles Kropelnicki advocates.  Also had success from properly fueling the day before each key workout ... practiced my day-before Ironman meals many times on the Friday before a long Saturday workout

That starvation workout thing?  Definitely not for me; anything over 30 minutes requires some caloric intake (blocks, Gatorade, etc.)

Paul Hough

Jessie K presented a webinar to EN on this topic.  It's must viewing and in the EN Wiki @ 

http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Nutrition+Central

Sheila Leard

@Gary Lewis

I want to clear up the misunderstanding of how Jesse uses the term Metabolic Efficiency. It's is not starvation training and it's not low carb as described in the article. Training your body to be Metabolically Efficient simply means consuming the appropriate amount of macros, ie. fat and carbs for the type of training you are doing. Essentially it is perodization of carbs ... much like what @Satish Punna  is doing. On day to day eating there is a health benefit to monitoring carb intake. Far too many athletes have looming insulin resistance from eating too many daily carbs and don't know it. 

Note, there is a difference in periodization of carbohydrate and low carb intake. There is no definition of the term "low carb". Keeping it in context. If I am talking to a  person who is following a true Ketotgenic Diet their carb intake is 25 grams for the day!  A 175 pound athlete may say they are "low carb" and consuming 150 grams carb per day.  Rightly speaking that is a low carb approach for that athlete.  The rest of the calories are made up with fat and protein. Low carb for one is not the same as low carb for another.

Fat adapted. Again there is no definition of the term fat adapted. It is used loosely to mean that the athlete has brought down their carb intake and has trained their body to use fat for energy on a daily basis. Not a bad scenario. It can control hunger, blood sugar, mood. But - I have seen many athletes not able to lose weight with this approach because they over consume fat. Too many calories. 

@Al Truscott said;
Restricting fuel during training shrivels the GI tract's ability to do that, leading to high risk of rejection (vomiting) during the race.

Al's point is right on. This is where periodization of carbs comes in. @Dave Tallo has also mentioned this approach. If you consistently restrict  carb intake you are not allowing the body to produce enzymes and even gut hormones to digest and absorb carbs. Even though Ironman racing isn't suppose to be burning matches with high intensity there comes a point when muscle depletion can become a limiter and carbs are needed. This is the tricky part. How much do you need per hour on the bike and the run without gut shutting down, absorption stopping. You have to figure this out in training when workout hours increase. A 175 pound person will not need what a 125 pound person needs.

In the OS when training volume is low there isn't a need to be pushing extra carbs on yourself. Go into each training session adequately fueled, stay hydrated and after the session eat or drink  protein and some carbs to replenish and  refuel. If you are trying to follow a lower carb approach but need to train your gut consume carbs around key workouts and long sessions.

The body prefers carbs to make that precious ATP, energy! https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26553495

I believe the low carb mania has gained momentum because diabetes and obesity is everywhere. Many athletes are living on too many carbs in their daily diet. Body type is another factor. We all know people who can get away with more carbs in their diet and have great insulin levels and % body fat. 

In the article Jesse mentions drinking quite a bit of GE. This brings up another topic on osmolality and absorption. Allen Lim, PhD at Skratch labs and all the folks at First Endurance, Infinite, OSMO, NBS, New NUUN,  talk about the osmolality of fluids and absorption. Many guts shut down because of dehydration. 

The take away is that when training volume is low manage carb intake with protein,(including plant based proteins),  fiber and adequate fats. When training volume increases use this approach but add more carbs around training. This is how you become Metabolically Efficient. Not low carb and not starving.  

In the Ulra-Distance World there might be a place for LCHF. Intensity is usually around 65% V02 and they usually eat solid food. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26553488

Shaughn Simmons

Great stuff!  Nothing to add, but thank you!

Paul Curtin

Great comments @Sheila Leard, I love the wisdom you share with your fellow EN peeps ... Thank you!

tim cronk

@Al Truscott and @Shaughn Simmons I'd like to add to "Train your Gut" and "Your Body"

@Sheila Leard  another awesome post, thank you .... I liked the way Jesse described metabolic efficiency, cut and paste below.

"Developing metabolic efficiency is nothing more than training the body to use aerobic energy systems at the highest paces/wattages possible. This is the least costly way to fuel the body during exercise. There is a great deal of debate around how best to develop this aerobic efficiency. I, as most, would argue that training at intensities right around aerobic threshold (AeT) is the most effective way to improve the body’s aerobic efficiency. But, a recent push makes the argument that dietary changes can impact these adaptations. "

Francis Picard

Interesting topic here.

My approach on nutrition is on 3 sides:
1) All sessions done between the last race of the season and beginning of the OS is only water. Instead I focus on keeping a good post and pre nutrition as its one of the most important aspect of the required nutrition. All run are on "starvation mode", with a 8OZ water bottle.

2) During the OS, I switch to infinit but still no gels or other stuff, still focusing on the pre and post meals.

3) After the OS I get back on training my gut for the long distance and get full of gels, blocks, bars and hyper concentrate infinit bottles.

I dont know if thats the best, but never had any issue during a race, is my nutrition optimal ? I cant tell because it never went off track that had me to rethink about it. Having a big focus on pre and post meals help me to be at my best for the key workouts.

Tom Glynn

Great posts @Al Truscott and @Sheila Leard!  I would add that I hired Jessie's dietician group, "Core Diet" this summer to better educate myself after a few rather disastrous nutrition plans at Kona 2016 and Texas 2017.  IM FL 2017 was my best performance in 12+years of racing and 17 or 18 IMs.  As noted above, one of the key mantras was practice, practice, practice.  Every long run I fueled like I was running an IM. On multiple long rides, I knocked back 10+ bottles of fluids along with the prescribed fuel. On one of our last conference calls before IMFL, I casually mentioned that I usually switched to Coke somewhere around halfway through the run and then just sort of gutted it out to the end.  I was told in no uncertain terms to stick with the plan until the bitter end, which I did.

I would also add, doing a sweat test properly was eye-opening and should be a must do for everyone. I used to drink about a bottle an hour on the bike and a bit less on the run.  Test results showed I should be drinking 2 bottles per hour on the bike (more if hot).  After getting over a little skepticism, I got on board with the plan and never looked back.

I plan to mimic the IMFL nutrition advice at IM TX this spring.

tim cronk

I'm reading this book. Very good BTW.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GQRFZS2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Imagine this ... He talks about training your gut.

Sheila Leard

@tim cronk   Nice summary by Alex Hutchinson: https://www.outsideonline.com/2279576/new-science-training-your-gut

I've highlighted the tips and some of my own.

• Hypertonic solutions reduce gastric emptying rates, so it is advised to use lower carbohydrate concentration beverages with low osmolality. Consider consuming adequate water alongside any solids being consumed, including semi-solid forms such as gels.
• There is emerging evidence for the use of an acute low-FODMAP diet (which will include the reduction in dietary fibre) in the days leading up to competition and/or periods of intensified training. Osmolality of your drink should be < 280.   EFS-Pro, NBS, OSMO, Skratch, Tailwind.  ... to name a few.

• Train your gut to cope with food and fluid intake during exercise (solid and liquid forms) using a structured gut-training protocol.

• There is emerging evidence for the use of an acute low-FODMAP diet (which will include the reduction in dietary fiber) in the days leading up to competition and/or periods of intensified training.
•  Fructose is the culprit for many athletes. FODMAP lists are very individual. Some athletes can't breakdown these carbs when training and racing.

Larry Peters

Ha! It would be very tough for me to give up those foods! Many of them seem to be foods I would consider to be important for optimal health. And I thought the fermentation of some of these molecules by microbes in our gut was a healthy thing, because they produce anti-inflammatory short-chain fatty acids as a byproduct?

But I could see how that fermentation process could be problematic if it gives off gas leading up to a big workout or training session.

I definitely need to limit my fiber intake leading up to long training sessions & races. I have definitely done a better job with some races/training session than others and I have definitely noticed a difference. 

I'm happy to have this "food for thought." Thanks everyone!

Sheila Leard

@Larry Peters

  I would never advise giving up the majority of those foods on a daily basis. However, on race week or before long runs the fiber can be too much on the gut. One way around the fiber issue but still get the phyto-nutrients is to blend fruits and veggies into smoothies. Personally, I can't have salad the night before a long run. I will pay :-0

Larry Peters

That sounds reasonable & like a good strategy @Sheila Leard . Thanks!

Coach Patrick

 I think the hardest part about this equation for people is reconciling optimal health with optimal speed. If you told me after the race you were OK going Two hours slower because you threw up in your pants and your optimal health is maximized I would be fine with it. However, after the race, most people tell me how they want to be faster.

Tell me the trouble he comes when people try to use optimal health lifestyle nutrition for optimal performance situations. Everyone is the final balance but certain foods, I believe, Are only for certain situations.

Sheila Leard

@Coach Patrick Its always good to hear your thoughts.

When I can get an athlete to figure out their day to day gut issues  it makes it easier to create a fueling plan. A dysfunctional gut at the start line is a race limiter to optimal speed. 

 How we fuel during training and racing is not viewed as a healthy daily diet. Learning how to put the appropriate type and amount of carbohydrates before - during - after is the ticket.  

When it was revealed that The Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico, fueled on Chia seeds it became the rage. Fueling with natural food got athletes thinking about optimal health. Ultra distance runners have the ability to fuel with sources of food that are not engineered. This goes along the line of optimal health. However, keeping it context, a long course Triathlete will be challenged with this approach. It can be done but its not for optimal speed. 

Carbohydrates, in particular simple carbs,  have become an evil nutrient. We need to remember that during exercise insulin response is blunted. So taking sugar when exercising isn't going to destroy our optimal health, with the exception of Type 1 Diabetics. 

Each workout and person deserves an individual approach. There is no doubt we can have both optimal health and speed with a multi-sport lifestyle.

Larry Peters

Great perspectives & input @Coach Patrick and @Sheila Leard . Thanks!

I like the way your framed it @Coach Patrick : This may not be the best diet in general, but it is what/how I have to eat at strategic times to race well. 

Al Truscott

I've just about finished the new book Endure, by Alex Hutchinson. (I highly recommend it as an up-to-date review of what we know about managing human perormance in all sorts of endurance activities; I'll post a review soon.) In the chapter Fuel, he notes:

"...fat-adapted athletes became less efficient, requiring more oxygen to sustain their race pace. This, it turns out, is a consequence of the cascade of metabolic reactions required to transform either fat or carbohydrate into ATP, the final form of fuel used for muscle contractions: the fat reactions require more oxygen molecules. If you’re out for a leisurely stroll, that’s no big deal, but if you’re running (or walking) a race at a pace that leaves you out of breath, anything that forces you to consume more oxygen is a liability..."

And, after noting that mountain climbers are operating at "65-75 of aerobic maximum", quotes one as saying, "You train to burn fat, but you race on carbs."

The science behind @Coach Patrick noting the need to be cognizant of the difference between Optimal Health and Optimal Speed...a distinction which applies to many aspects of the lifestyle of a triathlete who wants to maximize performance.

Sheila Leard

I recently listened to an interview with Alex Hutchinson. He has some very good insights. His Twitter handle 'SweatScience' is one of my favorites. His book arrives today! 

Not only is fat inefficient at making ATP, women do themselves a disservice by not increasing carbs at various hormonal cycles. Stacey Sims has studied this extensively. Women need carbs .... and so do men.

The confusion with many athletes wanting to be fat adapted is that they are attempting to lose weight by reducing carbs during training.  You don't lose weight during exercise, you lose it between workouts. This is when optimal health is made.

tim cronk

I found the below comments from this article very interesting... Goes along with what @Al Truscott  said... I never cared for Chris Carmichael and CTS but find myself agreeing with what he writes... He he goes on to mention Jason Koop who works for CTS and disagree's with some of their "theories".... I think the article maybe mislabeled with Ketosis it does cover alot recent discussion and recommend reading the full article.. 

https://trainright.com/should-endurance-athletes-go-keto-ketosis-ketogenic-diets-for-endurance-athletes/?utm_source=CTS+Newsletter&utm_campaign=9b3db2ed5e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_08_24-kale-kimchi-jeff-mahin&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9d08d48022-9b3db2ed5e-145390307&mc_cid=9b3db2ed5e&mc_eid=b853525210

If you do everything right, you may be able to achieve similar performance levels during steady state endurance exercise following a high-carb (50-65%CHO) diet or a high-fat, low-carb (HFLC) diet (70-80% Fat, <5% CHO). This means you may be able to sustain a submaximal pace equally well using either strategy. The HFLC strategy has been shown to increase the utilization of fat for energy, especially in long-term (20 months) fat-adapted athletes (Volek, 2015). However, the oxygen cost of locomotion increases while exercising on a HFLC strategy (Burke, 2016). It takes approximately 20% more oxygen to liberate energy from fat compared to carbohydrate, which means relying primarily on fat reduces economy. This isn’t necessarily a problem, since you have a large supply of energy to burn, but these findings don’t indicate an IMPROVEMENT in endurance performance. Athletes don’t go faster on HFLC, which is why we see elite athletes utilize HFLC at specific times of the year and then complete high-intensity training and competitions with high carbohydrate availability (more on that later).

Al Truscott

(Trying out the direct response via email feature…)

Tim - In his Fuel Chapter, Hutchinson spends a lot of his time on ultra running - not only 50-100 miles, but also 24-72+ hour events. For these, issues such as palatability and portability of fuel become as or more important than "optimal speed", and thus HFLC has really taken off among those competitors - such as you seem to have morphed into this year. Given the “slow” paces, raising the ratio of Fat to CHO metabolism in the muscles seems to pay dividends in performance, defined as who can finish in the least amount of time.

tim cronk

@Al - Sounds interesting... Will await your review of the book but gonna
put it on my list... Reading Fire and Fury now (not kidding) but a Doc
Holiday book is next LOL... OK little off topic but testing out the direct
response as well...

Back on Point. The Vermont 100 "training partner" is The Run Formula who I
have never heard of, went to the website and listened to a few webinars on
Ultra Training/Fueling etc and they were put on by none other than "The
Core Diet" and "Qt2".... Anyway fueling for the 100 they go thru the usual
sweat test etc, not unlike IM , advice.... Coming up with hourly target
calories, oz of fluids, sodium and Carbs,Protein, Fat breakdowns... She
then puts it into 5hr blocks and recommends sticking with sports
performance engineered fuels (gels, blocks, sports drinks, bars, waffles
etc) as long as you can or at least half way before switching to real
food... Her sample break down for her race was.
5hr block
2435 calories
120 oz fluid
4000 mg sodium
500 grams carbs (100 per hr)
30 grams pro (6 per hr)
35 grams fat (7 per hr)
This is far from the HFLC fat adapted Ultra running plan... One I agree
with as well as Jason Koop mentioned in my other comments within this
thread... To me its common sense, I know I will be eating protein and fat
cause I will be hungry ....

Tom Glynn

I'm halfway through the book - very interesting stuff!  @Al Truscott time for your book review and we can all pile on!