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<h3><span style="color: #993366;"><strong>SUGARLESS ENDURANCE FUELLING</strong></span></h3>
Below is my February 2012 experiement where I proved you can successfully race hard over the Marathon (42.2kms) and a Half Ironman Trialthon (2km, 90km, 21km) on water alone - <em><strong>completely free of sports products</strong></em>.

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I proved by combining real foods, with a good portion of real satiating fats, and aerobic <a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/walk.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-1864 " src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/walk-150x74.jpg" alt="walk" width="215" height="106" /></a>based endurance exercise, I could fuel hard exercise over 3-4 1/2 hours on prodominately stored fat.

My collective health improved remarkedly as a result.  Oh, and I still raced at my optimum.

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<blockquote>
<h5><strong>Damn! now they've made a movie about some other cat doing the same thing.  Well, it's nice to know my claims are now completely supported with science. (see video below)
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<h3><span style="color: #993366;"><strong>PAMPY'S POST Feb 2012</strong></span></h3>
Can I race at my optimum over a 42.2km marathon and ½ Ironman triathlon on water only – zero calories – zero sugar?
Or, is it possible to fuel these athletic pursuits on predominantly stored fat. More so, can my stored fat be broken down fast enough to fuel my <em><strong>race pace</strong></em> – which – is certainly harder than easy conversational effort.
The clear message or dogma from sports nutrition companies suggests I can’t – I will require refined sugar.
I’d better give you a quick background behind why on earth I decided to tackle a ½ Ironman triathlon (4.30hrs of racing), and marathon (42.2kms) on water alone – absolutely no calories whatsoever. Yep, no Gatorade, Carb gels, bananas, sports bars – zip.
If you’ve read my Top 10 articles over the past 20 weeks (&lt;2010), it should be clear by now that I strongly believe sugar, more so fructose, is the primary cause of unnecessary, leading towards self sabotaging illness, weight gain leading towards obesity and the pandemic we now face. Australia is now 3rd in the world for obesity per head.
I ran my first ½ marathon in 1993 and ever since have raced events that have pretty<a href="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fgggxx.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-2053 " src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/fgggxx-300x250.jpg" alt="fgggxx" width="191" height="159" /></a> much all been sponsored by a high sugar (fructose) sports drink. I was informed at every race that in order to avoid <em>“hitting the wall”</em> I should drink the sponsors’ product in buckets. So I did. I accept that when in depletion our body requires re-stocking of critical fuel (sugar) – so a quicly uploaded hit of sugar made sense.
After either vomiting or dealing with gastric discomfort in nearly every race I entered, and after 10 years replacing most of my teeth, it was time for a change. Do I really need all this sugar to perform athletically?
Further to making a change in my own dietary interests, I’d like just one last rant on sugar and its’ effect on our health……
Australian 2012 statistics clearly report that 67% of our population are living at a body weight excess of what nature intended. 27% are clinically obese, 42% are obese, and 38% are ill - due to what has been coined “the metabolic syndrome”.
What am I referring to as being ill? – The big 4 &gt; Type 2 diabetes, Hypertension, Blood lipid disease &amp; Heart disease. This equates to 75% of our countries medical care. I should state that obesity and unnecessary weight gain doesn’t necessarily cause illness, but it is certainly the driver.
Incidentally in 1970, 9% of Australians were considered overweight. Wow, what the hell happened in 40 years?

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<h3><span style="color: #993366;"><strong>Enter: My 8 week experiment – 8 weeks to reach "Fat-Adaptation"</strong></span></h3>
<strong>Here are the rules:</strong>
- I’m only allowed to exercise 4 hours a week – all in my AZ (Aerobic Zone – my most perfect fat burning zone)
- I will only consume real foods (<strong><a title="BP FOOD CHOICES" href="http://www.bp28dayprogram.com.au/">my complete diet is listed on my website</a></strong> – mainly real fats, a bit of protein, above the ground veggies, and a sprinkling of fruits &amp; below the ground veggies)
- I will completely avoid <strong>ALL</strong> refined sugars (again all listed – gotta watch out for the hidden ones)
- Volume is always dictated by satisfaction – if I’m hungry I eat (real foods) – if I really feel like I need a sugar hit, I’ll only use fruit (fructose – but with fibre).
- There’ll be no counting calories – which is great given maths ain’t my strong point.
- I’ll race (meaning, I want to win) a ½ Ironman triathlon and Marathon fuelled only by water – the events will take me 4.30hrs &amp; 2.50hrs respectively.

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- My starting weight 81kg – I am 6’1”

OK, so I here you saying, but you’ve always trained, always played sports, always been pretty much your natural weight.
<strong>Fair enough</strong> – so I’ve pulled in a client Steven Barnett who starts at 110kg, loves all things sugar, tells me he’s a lazy bugger, and supports the Bulldogs – so he hasn’t got a stack going for him.
Steve, will follow the identical nutrition and exercise (relative) formula I am following. He will not do the triathlon or marathon thing.

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<span style="color: #993366;"><strong>RESULTS</strong></span>

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- I finished the triathlon in exactly 4.31hrs (3rd damn it) only using water.
- I was 75kg and healthy on race morning
- I never felt like “hitting the wall” and I wasn’t hungry after the race.
- Usually I am hungry for 3 days after a race – I felt satisfied and loaded on the Monday morning.

- I race the marathon a week later in 2.48.  Again, I did not go close to hitting the wall.
- Steven’s weight some 8 weeks later is 95.3kg. His full diet analysis and exercise regime, along with a diary of his journey is also on my website
- Would I recommend others tackle events sugar-free. YES, but NOT until you’re “fat adapted”

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<span style="color: #993366;"><strong>So why did this happen?</strong></span>
In short - consistent real food options (30-40% real fat) changed our relationship with food. Our behaviour and emotions towards fuelling our bodies changed. It changed towards the way nature intended. We no longer require cognitive inhibition (will-power) to avoid foods that make us fat and sick. These toxic foods no longer appealed. Our brains were led and continue to be led towards options that leave us energetic and rarely hungry. We re-programmed our brains to FAVOUR stored fat as our primary fuel source.

BP
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