Correct me if I'm wrong bobthib, but when you say you bonked, you don't mean you were collapsed at the side of the road, unable to pedal, only that you had a dramatic loss of power, or were cramping, or something of that sort, right? People get carried away when they hear the word bonk, even though "Bonk Training" has become widely accepted. But again, when you do it, you don't really bonk, you just force your body to use fat reserves by not eating before your ride. I routinely ride for a few hours with no caloric intake, or eating only fatty proteins, to train myself to burn fat.

Endurance athletes need a lot of fat. Carbs? Only for extreme efforts, and they should be complex. You have to focus on increasing protein and fat in order to avoid having your diet too much carb-centric, since carbs are everywhere. Calories are not all the same. Simple carbs and sugars go right to your liver in the form of fat, with disastrous results. IMO, if you want to get to ideal weight, and be healthy, you keep the protein and fat up, limit the carbs, and work your ass off.