The misconception:
>I think of it like this; after eating, when insulin is being produced by
>the body, accessing the stored fat for energy is next to impossible.
>Glycogen use can be avoided almost completely by running at a pace
>slower than the pace at which lactic acid build-up can be felt and for
>me, that means moving much faster than a sloth.
One rarely accesses stored body fat during exercise, regardless of the
intensity, time of day, etc. Most of the triglycerides utilized during
exercise are stored in the muscle. The increase in insulin that can occur
after eating has little effect on exercise performance or on the
storage/utilization of stored body fat in the long run. It does not prevent
the utilization of triglycerides during exercise. Exercise actually causes
insulin levels to decrease. The body's hormonal responses to exercise are
complex and dynamic and cannot be described in simplistic and absolutist
terms. It is physiologically impossible to exercise without utilizing
glycogen. It is also impossible to somehow trick the body into using a
specific energy pathway.
Rick Gerwin