Can eating fat make you run longer?
Low-Carbohydrate-High-Fat Diet: Can it Help Exercise Performance?
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Athletes on near-zero carbs (5%) can rebuild muscle glycogen just as well as those eating high-carb diets.
For decades, sports science taught that carbs are mandatory for glycogen resynthesis—this shows the body can make glucose from fat and protein if given time.
Practical Takeaways
If you're an ultra-endurance athlete, try a strict LCHF diet for 6+ months to see if your fat-burning capacity improves—track performance in long races.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Athletes on near-zero carbs (5%) can rebuild muscle glycogen just as well as those eating high-carb diets.
For decades, sports science taught that carbs are mandatory for glycogen resynthesis—this shows the body can make glucose from fat and protein if given time.
Practical Takeaways
If you're an ultra-endurance athlete, try a strict LCHF diet for 6+ months to see if your fat-burning capacity improves—track performance in long races.
Publication
Journal
Journal of Human Kinetics
Year
2017
Authors
Chen-Kang Chang, K. Borer, P. Lin
Related Content
Claims (6)
Eating a high-fat, low-carb diet for a long time might make you feel more tired during long races because it increases certain chemicals in your blood that can affect your brain and make you feel sluggish.
For athletes who need to make weight (like wrestlers or boxers), eating low-carb and high-fat for a long time might help them lose fat without losing muscle, which is safer than starving or sweating off weight quickly.
Even when eating almost no carbs after a race, athletes who’ve been on a high-fat, low-carb diet for months can still rebuild their muscle sugar stores just as well as those eating lots of carbs.
After months of eating mostly fat and very little carbs, elite endurance athletes can burn fat much faster during long races, helping them save their body’s limited sugar stores for when they need a final burst of speed.
You can’t just switch to a low-carb, high-fat diet and expect to perform better in endurance sports right away—it takes months for your body to adjust and start burning fat efficiently.