In the second installment of The Athletes Compass focusing on nutrition, Paul Laursen and Marjaana Rakai guide Paul Warloski through the nuances of adopting a low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet. They delve into Professor Tim Noakes' Real Meal Revolution, which categorizes foods into green, yellow, and red lists for easier dietary choices. The hosts stress the significance of fat adaptation, a process where the body becomes efficient at using stored fat for energy, thereby reducing its dependence on carbohydrates. This dietary strategy is discussed as a means to enhance athletic performance, facilitate weight loss, and improve overall health. Additionally, the episode provides practical advice for transitioning to a low carb diet, such as incorporating fasted training sessions and gradually decreasing carbohydrate intake.

Key Episode Takeaways

• Fat Adaptation: Transitioning to a fat-adapted state can improve endurance performance by leveraging stored fat for energy.
• Real Meal Revolution: This resource provides a framework for a low carb, high fat diet, categorizing foods into green (consume often), yellow (consume moderately), and red (consume sparingly) lists.
• Gluconeogenesis: The body's ability to produce glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, ensuring energy supply even on a low carb diet.
• Nutrient Density: A well-formulated low carb diet can provide superior micronutrient profiles compared to high carb diets.
• Experimentation: Athletes should experiment with their diet and training to find what works best for their individual needs, including trying fasted workouts and monitoring performance without carbs.
• Gradual Transition: Moving to a low carb diet should be done gradually to allow the body to adapt and to identify personal tolerance levels.
• Listening to Your Body: It's crucial to eat when hungry and choose nutrient-dense foods to avoid low energy availability and ensure proper recovery.

• Oral carbohydrate rinse: placebo or beneficial? - PubMed
• Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S): Scientific, Clinical, and Practical Implications for the Female Athlete - PMC
• Overfat Pandemic - Dr. Phil Maffetone
• Tim Noakes, The Real Meal Revolution