Can fat adaptation work at an elite level, especially in endurance sports? We talk to Zach Bitter, an ultra endurance athlete who has broken world records and been part of the FASTER study with Dr. Stepehen Phinney & Dr. Jeff Volek.
Bio: Ultra-marathon athlete. Completed over 40 ultra-marathons. Accomplishments include; 3x National Champion, 3x Team USA 100km World Championship team member, 12 hour World Reocrd 101.7 miles, 100 Mile American Record (11:40:55).
Time Stamps:
8:19 – What is an ultramarathon and how did you get into it?
10:01 – How did you get into fat burning?
12:50 – Is there community backlash towards fat adaptation?
14:30 – What’s stopping athletes from using fat as fuel?
17:19 – How does diet vary depending on the marathon?
20:42 – Do you need a personality for ultrarunning?
23:16 – How do detach yourself when you’re running for many hours without stimulus?
26:26 – How do you deal with physical and mental pain accumulating over time?
28:58 – Does increasing pain tolerance help in real life?
30:44 – How do you know when to stop?
33:24 – Do you always tell yourself you’ll come number one in every race?
35:43 – How do you adapt to weather changes?
37:14 – Favorite challenges?
38:42 – How do I prepare for a marathon?
42:05 – How to condition yourself for weather changes?
44:14 – Routines & dietary protocols performed before and during the race?
48:13 – What if you consume a delicious calorie dense donut during the race?
50:43 – Using carbohydrates as rocket fuel during race
53:49 – Thinking of body as an energy expenditure unit
55:31 – The role of electrolytes on a fat burning diet
57:45 – What do you do right after the race?
59:38 – How do you deal with failure?
1:01:05 – Supplementation for fat burning marathon running
1:02:48 – Dual fueling with fat and carbs
1:06:55 – Fat Adaptation, Experience with & Results derived from FASTER study with Dr. Phinney & Volek
1:10:42 – What kind of study would you like to see?
1:13:28 – Any N=1 self studies you’ve done?
1:16:45 – Is there relevance of ketone levels to performance and fat adaptation?
1:18:22 – What exactly is ‘fat adaptation’?
1:19:38 – Go-to foods?
1:22:15 – What routines and workouts help with ultrarunning?
1:26:00 – Do barefoot running shoes work?
1:27:27 – Final Message
1:27:56 – Final Plugs
Plugs:
Twitter: @zbitter
Instagram: @zachbitter
Website: zachbitter.com
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