Muscle glycogen is the stored form of carbohydrate in your muscles, which the endurance community regards as the be-all, end-all of energy production. Running out of muscle glycogen is usually blamed for hitting the proverbial "wall" or "bonking", but in fact your body can function just fine with other sources of fuel. Your body is smart - when sugar is unavailable it switches to an enhanced form of fat metabolism to produce energy. In fact, it continues to burn fat for fuel even after the exercise is over.

Training with Low Muscle Glycogen Enhances Fat Metabolism in Well-Trained Cyclists

"Training with low muscle glycogen reduced training intensity and, in terms of performance, was no more effective than training with high muscle glycogen. However, fat oxidation was increased after training with low muscle glycogen, which may have been due to enhanced metabolic adaptations in skeletal muscle."

Bring on the bacon and eggs!

"Scientists believe that breakfast programmes the metabolism for the rest of the day, and a fatty meal will help the body break down fat later on.

Carbohydrate rich foods in contrast appear mainly to prepare the body to break down only carbohydrates, the International Journal of Obesity reports."

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