Conversely, a quantity of the nutrition advice previously given to athletes to carb load including the consumption of toast & jam, jelly beans & sugary soft drinks seems obsolete, clearly they know these foods are full carbohydrate but they are devoid of other fundamental nutrients needed for elite performance & may even lead to the buildup of excess body overweight, which in itself may hamper performance.
Think about for a moment that excess body overweight creates inflammation, affects insulin signalling, alters appetite & disrupts hormone balance & you can begin to understand that eating much carbohydrate for the wrong sports & events may make your performance worse.
Carbohydrate loading is an idea that both athletes & the general public know of. This is largely due to the marketing of carbohydrate based products such as whole grains, sugary snack foods & sports drinks being the champion or elite sports performanc, & in some part information passed on by successful ex-elite athletes extolling the virtues of the dietary regimens that propelled them to the top of their sport. The idea of carb loading improving performance has been so successful that people think they require to carb load for all & any sports, be it before going to the gym, walking a marathon or playing chess!
What is Carbohydrate Loading?
Now, there is no doubt that carbohydrates are ergogenic & improve performance, there is much research to recommend they do otherwise, however few athletes [except those who work with professional sports nutritionists] & only a quantity of the general public would know when & how to carb load, which events or sports where's it applicable or how to do it with nourishing food.
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy employed by athletes that involves reducing training volume whilst simultaneously increasing the amounts of carbohydrates consumed in the days leading up to a game or event. The aim is to up regulate an enzyme called glycogen synthase [an enzyme that creates muscle fuel called glycogen] & cause the muscles to store higher than normal levels of glycogen. Muscle glycogen stores are normally about 100 - 120 mmol/kg BW, but with carbohydrate loading they can reach 150 - 225 mmol/kg BW.
Carbohydrate loading was originally developed in the 1960's by Scandinavian researchers & involved a complicated 6-7 day duration of a "depletion phase"-fundamentally a low carbohydrate diet-together with several hard training sessions. The aim of this phase was to deplete muscle glycogen stores & excite the enzyme glycogen synthase. Muscle glycogen stores could fall to as tiny as 25mmol/kg BW. This was then immediately followed by a 3-4 day "loading phase" where athletes would consume a very high carbohydrate diet [anywhere from 7-12g of carbohydrate per kg BW] whilst tapering exercise leading up to the event. However this approach to carbohydrate loading had its problems with athletes reporting muscle weakness, fatigue, anxiety & irritability.
Think about an example below of a high carbohydrate diet from Australian Institute of Sport [AIS] suitable for 70kg athlete providing 630g of carbohydrate, 125g of protein & 60g of overweight :
Snack : toasted muffin with honey, 500ml sports drink
Breakfast : 3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 1,5 cups of reduced overweight milk, 1 medium banana, 250ml orange juice
Snack : banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana & honey, cereal bar
Lunch : 2 sandwiches [4 slices of bread] with filling as desired, 200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt, 375ml can of soft drink
Late snack : toasted muffin & jam, 500ml sports drink
Dinner : 1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta, 3 slices of garlic bread, 2 glasses of cordial
What do they require for performance?
Is carbohydrate loading required?
In the example from the AIS above the foods, although high in carbohydrates, are also low in nutrition. Think about the diagram below of the kerbs' cycle & electron transport chain [I can see you eyes glazing over here but bear with me]. You don't require to understand all the chemical reactions, the fact that in order to turn all the carbohydrate in to energy you require a whole host of vitamins & minerals such as B vitamins, vitamin C, magnesium, CoQ10, copper, iron & sulphur.
Most people can complete a 5K & even a 10K run in less 90 minutes, so it doesn't appear applicable here either. With all of these sports it is still a nice suggestion to consume carbohydrate based sports drinks in the work of exercise & eat well balanced meals containing protein, fats & carbohydrates before & after exercise-you don't require to carbohydrate load.
How To Prepare For Exercise [inluding carbohydrate loading]
Carbohydrate loading ought to be done leading up to an important event such as a half marathon, marathon, triathlon or other endurance event where for 3-4 days prior to the event you can safely carbohydrate load as outlined by the AIS, & after having completed the event eat normally again. It might still be wise to consume some more nutrient dense carbohydrates foods such as tropical fruit, dried fruit & whole grains in lieu of foods such as jam, honey & muffins.
For the average gym goer desirous to lose weight there is no require to consume a higher carbohydrate diet-the whole point of most people going to the gym is to lose weight & eating a lower carbohydrate diet combined with resistance exercise has been shown to lead to nice weight loss results.
What seems more applicable for recreational athletes & those competing in team sports on a every week basis is to get their sports nutrition right in the post training/ post game window. Depending on what sources you read you have a 2-4 hour window after exercise to restock your muscle glycogen. It would be wise to consume higher carbohydrate based foods in this window, however it would even be relevant to consume more nutrient dense food. Consuming fruit & vegetables in this time is a given, but also consuming some whole grains, starchy vegetables such as potato or sweet potato or some dried fruits such as figs, dates, raisins would even be useful. However it would be wiser to avoid fruit juice & soda drinks as these have been linked with diabetes, & avoid foods such as jams, jelly beans & sugary breakfast cereals as these are junk foods devoid of nutrition.
By : Steve Hines
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