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The two most important stored nutrients that provide energy for ATP production are glycogen (carbs) and triglycerides (fats). When these nutrients are broken down into simpler forms, they generate enough energy to bind ADP + P into ATP and to act locally in the tissues where they are stored. These nutrients provide energy for cells that don’t have energy stores of their own, such as the brain and red blood cells. In times of low food intake (during fasting, extreme dieting, or very long endurance endeavors), they will continue to circulate through the body to provide cells with enough energy to generate ATP. This process is essential for survival.

Your body breaks down larger molecules into a more usable form:

Glycogen

Glucose

Triglycerides

Fatty acids or ketone bodies

Proteins

Amino acids

ATP 101

To recap: You need a constant stream of ATP to carry out both your most basic and higher-level functions. The energy that is needed to generate more ATP comes from triglycerides and glycogen. It’s the breaking of the phosphate bonds in ATP that releases the energy for the task at hand—for example, muscle contractions and enzyme production. Once this bond is broken, it leaves us with ADP + P again, and the body will repeat the cycle of breaking carbon-hydrogen bonds to regenerate ATP.