A new article was posted this morning in the (free) online version of Ultrarunning Magazine on
Metabolic Efficiency Training and Fat Burning. Pretty good summary from Sunny, who is a local Sports Nutritionist and ultrarunner. The key concept, and the one I struggle with the most, is that this is 70% diet and 30% training (much like weight loss itself).
Awesome article - everyone should read this! My only nitpick is he makes it sound like the exercise training is a one and done situation
"Will you lose your speed? No, this is just a base training period; remember, we are not talking about that long—four to 10 weeks.". I think it's a permanent fixture in anyone's training regardless of abilities.
I agree with his 70/30 breakdown; I think the nutrition aspect is the main reason for my improvement last year. I was a huge carb burner that depended on so many damn gels to get through a week's worth of workouts. :X I'm now able to roll out of bed, have a coffee, and go run for 2+ hours with zero fuel. There's only one way that happens - improved fat burning.
This is very close what we did as a family; the one thing we still struggle with is finding ways to keep the leafy greens going. It gets old really quick.
"Remember, this is not a low-carb diet; it is a balanced diet. This means your meals will look different than the usual bagels, oatmeal and pasta. Breakfast may be black beans, spinach and eggs (or egg whites) microwaved to resemble an omelet, with some feta cheese or salsa on top. Or it may be yogurt with lots of berries and nuts added. Lunch and/or dinner may be a huge salad with steak, salmon or tofu on top. Or it may be a lean piece of meat with lots of vegetables and some fruit and a small bit of cheese for dessert. If you cannot go cold turkey on grains, then add a small bit of quinoa or brown rice to your dinner, but this will delay results somewhat. Snacks can be cut-up veggies with a yogurt-based dip. Soups, chili, stew, lettuce wraps—be creative!"
I somewhat disagree with him about it not being a calories counting exercise. I'll bet 95% of people have no clue what their daily intake is in terms of macros. There's only one way to figure that out - count your calories. I learned a ton by tracking my daily intake on myfitnesspal. Once you get a handle of what is in the foods you eat, it's easy to do. But before then, you're just taking wild ### guesses, IMO.
One last random thought that I think is huge (I remember us discussing this before) -
"Try training first thing in the morning, fasted." I really think this was a big breakthrough moment for me when I realized just how long I could go in a fasted state. I started small; just doing it on 5mi recovery days. I gradually stepped it up to 8mi MLRs and then 12-13mi. I think it was my final 20 miler of the cycle where I went for it on an empty stomach and I felt incredible. Aside from the physiological advantages, it was a huge mental boost to know I could knock out 20 miles with no fuel.
Oh and quinoa fn sucks. Hate that stuff.