When did you notice...

katiejoycecross

... when you switched from sugar to fat burning?

Not like a monstrous moment of 'BOOM! I'm burning fat now!' but are there specific things to look for or notice, or does it just kind of happen on it's own with no changes?

My question centers around this- I ran my 9th or 10th half marathon 2 weeks ago and PR'd on it (shaved 30 minutes off my time- Oh yeah!). I started Paleo about 3-4 days later. I was taking a running break and doing solely crossfit/cycling workouts while switching to Paleo and doing awesome. Within 4 days I saw an improvement in my muscular performance. Awesome.

However, I decided to go for a run today and really struggled on some uphills. I tried out intervals with running/walking and was fine walking, but running definitely took it out of me. I was curious if this is my body just learning to switch over from sugar? Any experience with this? Does it improve? Can I still do distance running or will I have to kind of work into that?

I did notice that when I got back from the run I was craving more proteinfat containing ingredients, where before it's always been carbs. Thumbs up?

MikeFlyMike

For me it was about 3 weeks. On long cardio workouts, I will still downing a protein/carb bar after the first hour to keep from crashing. After I started noticing that certain meals were just not necessary (my hunger and cravings disappeared), I backed off the additional performance bars and did just fine.
I started doing a couple hours of heavy living along with some HIIT completely fasted with very little glucose in my system.
I'm not a runner so can't give you any specific advice. - other than you should troll the MDA forum for athletes. Being a former triathlon he does make some reference to performance athletes needing slightly different nutritional profiles.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/forum10.html

and yes - I post workout grab some BCAA's along with a protein hit and some macadamia nuts.

Mikaylarae27

For me it was about 3 weeks. On long cardio workouts, I will still downing a protein/carb bar after the first hour to keep from crashing. After I started noticing that certain meals were just not necessary (my hunger and cravings disappeared), I backed off the additional performance bars and did just fine.
I started doing a couple hours of heavy living along with some HIIT completely fasted with very little glucose in my system.
I'm not a runner so can't give you any specific advice. - other than you should troll the MDA forum for athletes. Being a former triathlon he does make some reference to performance athletes needing slightly different nutritional profiles.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/forum10.html

and yes - I post workout grab some BCAA's along with a protein hit and some macadamia nuts.

Can I ask about how many carbs you wereeating and if you ever slipped up during the three weeks?

MikeFlyMike

My carbs average 40-70g. I workout 2 hours straight 3 days a week.

Have I ever slipped up like, blew my "diet"? yes, mostly on "date night".
I have had an apple crisp (apples, sugar and oats) twice since 1/1.

On said date nights, my carbs hit 130-140. (and I felt bad the next day - but that might have been the red wine:)

katiejoycecross

Thanks for your response, that helped to see how it is for someone else. I'll check out the forum. Crossfit WOD's with lifting and muscle work are definitely easier for me now than endurance, but I'll see what modifications there are out there.

Good luck on the journey, friend!