"Eat your pasta" says granny!!

One may have heard, throughout their athletic life, that they should eat pasta before sport. Many may even have a specific pre-game meal that they have been eating prior to competition since they can remember. However, how many people really know what they are eating? What is this food doing to my body, and will I score a goal tonight if I eat this, or miss the net if I eat that?

Well, here it is, the myths and facts of carb loading and its effects on performance. Typically, one consumes roughly 50% of their diet through carbs, one of the three macronutrients (proteins and fats make up the three).  With one carb resulting in the equivalent of 4 calories, a person who is supposed to consume 2400kcal in a day would see 1200 of those come from carbs, meaning 300g of carbs per day. Initially upon looking at the numbers, 300g of carbs in a day is a lot, but not to the general public in terms of what is a carb. The simplest of terms, a carb is anything that is not a fat or protein. Well, gee thanks! Carb are things such as all of our grains, wheat’s, pastas, sugars and breads. It is also, our vegetables, our juice, and even some hidden in things like almonds.

So, why would we carb load for performance?

Simple, carbs are the fastest at metabolizing in the body to supply energy to the muscles. Intramuscular glycogen and glycogen stored in the liver come from our exogenous carbs we ingest. As well, carbs are the ONLY fuel used by the brain. The more carbs in the blood stream, stored in muscles and liver, the more work we should be able to complete. Yes protein and fats are wonderful forms of fuel for the body, however, they take longer to be used up and it is harder for the body to burn them as fuel. Carb loading, by my definition, is exceeding 8g of CHO per kg of body weight. This same said individual, who need 2400kcal a day weighs 98kg, would now need to consume 784g of CHO a day, which works out to 3136kcal. Yes, much over the kcals required to maintain weight, but we have not factored in their sport performance and the calories expelled there. In my opinion, carb loading can be effective, if done correctly. Give at least 24 hours of CHO loading prior to performance for best results. Is it necessary or recommended for recreational athletes? Absolutely not. It is impractical to spend that much money on more food combined with the time requirements and the effect on the body (ie. feeling bloated, feeling sick, gastrointestinal issues, higher blood pressure, etc). What athlete would want that before an event?!

New Age Carb Load: Personally, I would follow this ‘carb load’ in high intensity, long endurance events such as a marathon, ironman, ect. Mainly, it is only effective in sports where there is no ability to refuel during the sport. These athletes should follow the 1 to 1 rule when exercising. 1g CHO for every one minute. This would be why carb loading is not effective for the big 5 professional sports: NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA, PGA. The newest idea in the sporting world is 3-4 days before a major event would be to simply add 200-300g to your daily CHO consumption.

Questions? Langdon.4747@gmail.com