Holyfat Science: First Principles of Endurance Fueling
In an era of copy-paste sports nutrition advice, misinformation spreads faster than facts. At Holyfat, we go back to metabolic fundamentals — not marketing formulas. Here’s what the science actually says about energy, performance, and long-term metabolic health.
MYTH #1: “You need carbs to perform”
Fact: Carbs are a fuel source — not the energy.
Carbohydrates can provide quick ATP when oxygen demand is high — but they aren’t your body’s only or even preferred fuel at most intensities. In reality, your body creates ATP (the actual energy currency) from carbs, fats, and even proteins — depending on the intensity, duration, and your metabolic conditioning.
If you're doing long-duration, low- to moderate-intensity training (like most endurance athletes), fat is the dominant fuel, not carbs. Train your metabolism to reflect that.
MYTH #2: “Fat isn’t efficient for performance”
Fact: Fat is the most energy-dense fuel in your body.
Gram for gram, fat provides more than double the energy of carbs or protein — 9 kcal vs. 4 kcal. And you’re carrying a lot of it — even lean athletes have 30,000+ kcal of fat on their bodies. Properly trained, your metabolism can unlock this fuel reserve and sustain high performance — without the constant need for sugar hits.
MYTH #3: “You’re always burning carbs during training”
Fact: At low intensities, you burn mostly fat.
If you're training under ~65% of your VO₂max (Zone 1 or Zone 2), your body runs primarily on fat — especially when insulin is low and glycogen isn't topped off. The crossover point — where carb burning takes over — varies based on your diet, training, and fat-adaptation level. But for most well-trained athletes, fat remains the backbone of aerobic effort.
MYTH #4: “Fat oxidation is fixed — you’re either good at it or not”
Fact: Fat oxidation is a trainable skill.
Your body can be taught to burn fat efficiently — just like it learns any other performance trait. Fasted training, low-carb fueling, and Zone 2 volume build mitochondrial efficiency and metabolic flexibility. Some fat-adapted athletes can oxidize up to 1.85 g of fat per minute — enough to run a marathon without gels. This isn’t talent. It’s training.
MYTH #5: “Fat is too slow to fuel intense efforts”
Fact: That’s outdated science.
Early studies on fat oxidation were done on sedentary people. In trained athletes, the story changes completely. Fat-adapted endurance athletes can burn 1.5–1.85 g/min of fat at moderate to high intensities. That’s fast, sustainable, and efficient. The idea that “fat is slow” only holds true if your diet and training make it so.
MYTH #6: “Metabolic health is about race-day performance”
Fact: Metabolic health is built between races — in your daily habits.
Endurance isn't just about finish lines. It’s about the state of your metabolism every day — how your body handles insulin, manages energy, and recovers. Constant sugar fueling in training suppresses fat metabolism, disrupts hormones, and promotes dependency. You don’t fix your engine on race day — you build it in training.
MYTH #7: “You need a gel every 40 minutes — even in Zone 2”
Fact: If you spend most of your time in Zone 2, why the hell are you eating sugar every 40 minutes?
Zone 2 is where your body learns to burn fat. It's where mitochondrial adaptations happen. It's the engine-building zone. Every time you take a gel during low-intensity training, you interrupt that process. You spike insulin, shut down lipolysis, and tell your body to burn carbs instead. If 80% of your training is aerobic, your nutrition should support fat metabolism not undermine it.
First Principles Fueling
At Holyfat, our products aren’t built for quick sugar highs. They’re designed for metabolic integrity — nut-based, fat-forward, and built for sustained endurance and long-term health.
Fuel smart. Train wise. Perform free.
