The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance

Welcome to part 4 of a multi-part presentation covering 115 key insights about the Primal Endurance approach, divided into six categories: Aerobic Training, Periodization, Primal Eating, Strength and Sprint Training, Complementary Movement And Lifestyle Practices, and Recovery. To read the complete list, download the free eBook at PrimalEndurance.fit. 

In this episode, I cover items 1-25 under the category of Primal Eating, starting with the many problems caused by the Standard American Diet and why it leads to lifelong insidious weight gain, chronic inflammation, and elevated disease risk factors. You will hear how refined grains and sugar products prompt the production of endotoxins in the gut, and how these internally manufactured toxins promote inflammation and inhibit ATP energy production, leading to overeating and poor performance. You’ll also learn why carrying excess body fat in spite of careful attention to diet and a high volume of training hours can largely be attributed to inhibited energy production (aka carbohydrate dependency), how chronic training patterns can lead to thyroid and adrenal problems and a lack of energy in daily life, and why weight loss strategies like portion control and devoted calorie burning is ineffective.

I reveal why the secret to weight loss is actually hormone optimization, which foods are best to eat for performance and recovery, and why even lean people can still suffer from the negative health consequences of carbohydrate dependency, like chronic inflammation, oxidative damage, and accelerated aging and disease risk factors. Finally, we talk about ketosis and Intermittent Fasting, and how I.F. can be used to accelerate fat loss, fine tune insulin sensitivity, and improve cellular repair for an anti-aging, immune-boosting effect. I also talk about why ketogenic endurance training represents such an exciting new frontier for peak endurance performance, the ultra-low-carb athletes who are performing amazing feats and literally becoming bonk-proof by remaining in a fat- and ketone-burning state, the results of Dr. Jeff Volek’s vaunted FASTER study, and the well-chronicled personal experiments of Dr. Peter Attia and Sami Inkinen, which suggest that any endurance athlete can quickly become fat-adapted and deliver performances superior to carb-fueled efforts.

TIMESTAMPS:

The standard American diet is based on excessive intake of processed foods, namely refined sugars, grains, and industrial seed oils. [00:23]

High calorie-burning athletes have an especially distinct need for good nutrition and for avoiding nutrient deficient foods because they're trying to nourish the body and recover. [05:48]

There is no good reason for humans to consume grains and many good reasons not to. Fruits, stems, seeds and leaves need more scrutiny.  [07:28]

The most superstars of the animal kingdom include animal organs, oysters, salmon, eggs, grass-fed beef and oily cold-water fish. [10:28]

Plant toxins cause innumerable problems. [11:40]

Endurance athletes can dial in optimal carb intake by first asking the question: Do I carry excess body fat? [12:27]

Calories burned through exercise stimulate a corresponding increase in appetite. [14:13]

Read labels.  Industrial seed oils are hidden in many of the products presented as healthy. Choose your treats wisely. [17:11]

There is a condition called “overfat” as opposed to being overweight.  People can appear slender but accumulate visceral fat. [18:37]

Carbohydrate dependency leads to burnout. [20:10]

Primal-style eating is fractal and intuitive when escaping carb dependency. [21:52]

Once fat adapted, intermittent fasting can be used to accelerate fat loss, fine tune insulin sensitivity and improve cellular repair for an anti-aging immune boosting effect. [24:19]

A suggested energy strategy for intermittent fasting is to wait until you experience hunger before eating in the morning. [26:44]

Your excess body fat is a function of your genetic predisposition to store fat combined with the amount of insulin you produce in your diet. [28:22]

Primal-style eating minimizes the importance of genetic predispositions. [30:16]

Escaping sugar dependency and becoming fat adapted gives you a cleaner burning engine. [33:32]

Ketones are an internally manufactured energy-rich byproduct of fat metabolism in the liver. [34:48]

Ketogenic endurance training is an advanced strategy that requires a strict devotion to very low dietary carbohydrate intake. [27:08]

A bonk-proof ketogenic athlete is preserving ketones for use by the brain, relieving it of heavy glucose dependency. Ketones burn cleaner than carbs. [40:16]

The fat-burning paradigm offers great promise to endurance athletes but you lose a little bit of power at the top when you are restricting dietary carbs. [42:03]

“Carb insulin model of obesity” is oversimplified. [45:12]

LINKS:

• Brad Kearns.com
• Brad’s Shopping page
• PrimalEndrance.fit
• Feldman Podcast no. 1
• Feldman Podcast no. 2
• Carnivore Score Food Ranking Chart
• Overfat Pandemic
• 21-Day Total Body Transformation
• The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance

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