Eat sugar, burn sugar. Eat fat, burn fat.

[Jim B]

Eat sugar, burn sugar. Eat fat, burn fat.

This is a vicious cycle. Carbohydrate (sugar) is your body's preferred source of fuel. That means that if you are eating an equal balance of carbohydrate, proteins, and fats, your body will tend to use the carbs first. That is because it is easier for your body to utilize carbs as a fuel source.

Fat calories will be readily stored if a carb energy source is present. This is partially why everyone has the idea that eating fat will make you fat. Yes, it will if you are also eating carbs.

If you are constantly providing your body with a carbohydrate source, it never has to dip into fat stores to operate.

*And remember the lesson on hormones:...The carbs are also causing a blood sugar spike and then insulin spike. INSTANT FAT STORAGE.

But, your body can run just as well off of fat as it can carbs. Fatty acids are broken down into ketones, which are used as fuel. This is called ketosis.

Ketosis　is not to be confused with diabetic　ketoacidosis.　If some fitness professional recommends a diet containing a good chunk of carbohydrate, and you are not a competitive athlete training 10-20 hours per week, ask them if they know the difference between these two conditions. If they can't explain it, then walk away.

Proteins consumed are only used for a fuel source as a last resort, like if you are truly starving to death in a survival situation.

Become a fat burning machine, rather than a sugar burner.

Most of us have been raised consuming a ready source of carbohydrate and we have virtually 24/7 access to cheap and easy carbohydrate sources. This makes it so most of our bodies are accustomed to doing nothing but burning sugars for energy sources.

The simple answer is that our bodies "forget" how to use fat as a fuel source and exist exclusively from carbohydrate sources.

It will take you from 2-4 weeks to get your body acclimated to using fat as a fuel source. To do this, you have to ban virtually all carbohydrate for a while, except green vegetables and a very minimal amount of fruit. This falls right in line with most paleo-style diets out there.

What about athletes? Won't my performance suffer?

If you are a sugar burner, then yes for this first little bit. This is why carb-lovers will throw statistics at you about how carb eaters outperform non-carb eaters. This is because they take two groups of carb-addicts and then yank the carbs from one group. Since both groups are used to burning carbs as their primary food source, the one with no fuel will suffer.

There are other studies showing a different outcome, but you won't hear about them from carb-addicts. In a 2012 study of elite Italian gymnasts, one group was virtually banned from consuming carbs for a month, and a second group was given a balance of carbs, fats and protein. Same number of calories.

The low-carb group was able to perform just as well as the carb group after the first few days, lost bodyfat throughout the study, gained muscle, and had zero deterioration of performance.

On a personal note, I can say that I have done hour-long interval training sessions with tons of power-endurance work in the form of things like burpee-boxjumps on a 24" box for 100+ reps and then pulled 500+lb deadlifts in the same day on less than 25grams of carbs. Proof is in the performance, not studies.

Once you go through the break-in period and get your body using fats as a fuel source, your body will have a dual fuel source for activities.