However, carb loading strategies should be personalised, as individual needs and responses can vary greatly. Timing is crucial when it comes to carb loading.

Begin the process approximately 36 — 48 hours prior to your event. This timeframe allows your body to store glycogen, the primary fuel source during prolonged exercise. To determine the right amount of carbohydrates to consume, it's advisable to consult with a sports dietitian. They can assess your individual needs and recommend a specific daily intake.

Generally, athletes are advised to consume around 8 — 12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day during the carb loading phase. In conjunction with increased carbohydrate consumption, it's important to implement an exercise taper during this period.

Reducing the intensity and volume of your workouts allows your muscles to recover and glycogen stores to be maximised. A useful tip would be to practise carb loading as part of training prior to the actual competition or event.

This will allow you to experiment with different strategies, gauge their effectiveness, and make any necessary adjustments. By doing so, you can optimise your performance and fuel your body effectively for the endurance challenge ahead.

It's important to note that carb loading protocols may vary among athletes. To develop a personalised plan, it is recommended to discuss your specific needs with both a sports dietitian and physical trainer. They can guide you through the process, fine-tuning the dietary and training aspects to suit your individual requirements.

Carb loading doesn't mean you should increase your total daily calories. Rather, it involves adjusting the proportion of your calorie intake that comes from carbohydrates. Overeating can lead to weight gain and feelings of heaviness or discomfort, which are not conducive to optimal performance.

Do not neglect to consume sufficient fluids prior to an endurance event to ensure that you are adequately hydrated. Failing to properly hydrate can lead to dehydration and negatively impact your performance and recovery. Another common mistake is not consuming enough carbohydrates to maximise glycogen stores.

For effective carb loading, aim for 8 — 12 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight each day. The exact amount of carbohydrates required prior to an event should be discussed with a sports dietitian, as this will vary across different individuals and different types of sport.

This can come in the form of refined carbohydrates like bread, rice, and noodles. Although foods and drinks high in refined sugars, such as smoothies, cereal bars, and flavoured milks are generally not recommended on a regular basis, it is acceptable to use these foods and drinks to meet the higher-carbohydrate demands of carb-loading prior to endurance events.

Some athletes consume too much fibre while carb loading, leading to gastrointestinal discomfort. In the final days leading up to the event, switching to low-fibre carbohydrate sources such as white bread instead of wholemeal bread, or regular pasta rather than wholegrain pasta can help alleviate potential digestive issues.

Some people make the mistake of consuming high-fibre or fatty foods during their carb loading phase. Fatty foods can displace the carbs needed to fill glycogen stores, and while high -fibre foods like vegetables, whole grains and fruit are healthy and recommended on a regular basis, these should not be overconsumed during the carb loading phase because they can cause digestive discomfort especially if consumed in large amounts.

While the focus of carb loading is on carbohydrates, protein should not be completely overlooked. Including a moderate amount of protein in your meals can aid in muscle repair and recovery. Speak to a sports dietitian to understand your individual protein needs and how adequate protein can be incorporated into a high-carbohydrate diet.

The days leading up to a race are not the time to try a new dietary strategy. Every athlete is unique, and you should use your periods of training to trial and fine-tune your carb loading plan. When carb loading, you should avoid high-fat and high-fibre foods and alcohol. Instead, what you should go for are foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in fibre to maximise glycogen storage and minimise digestive discomfort.

These include:. Refined grains. Choose white bread, white rice, or pasta. While whole grains are generally healthier, they're higher in fibre, which can lead to digestive discomfort when consumed in large quantities.

Refined grains, on the other hand, are more easily digested, and are therefore more appropriate to meet the high carb needs during carb loading. Starchy vegetables. Potatoes and sweet potatoes without skin, as well as taro are some good choices.

Fruit juices and canned fruits. These are high in simple sugars which are more carbohydrate-dense than fresh fruit. It is acceptable to include foods and drinks high in refined sugars, such as juices, flavoured milk, canned fruit, and smoothies as part of the diet to meet the high carb needs during the carb loading phase.

Low-fat dairy. Milk, yogurt, and low-fat cheeses provide carbohydrates along with some protein for muscle recovery. Flavoured low-fat milks and yoghurt are a good way to provide lots of carbohydrates in a small volume.

If you're interested in learning more about carb loading or are going to go on the diet for an upcoming event, our experienced dietitians can help. This is a phenomenon that has been rearing its head much more in recent years.

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Copyright © Parkway Holdings Limited. All rights reserved. Company Registration no. As your experience grows, you may not need to do this anymore. However, it is a good idea for beginners. The days before your event or competition are important, and having an upset stomach due to unfamiliar foods can spoil your experience and exercise performance.

Because of this, you should choose foods that are familiar to you — in addition to being high-carb, low-fat and low-fiber. If you are considering using carb loading before an upcoming competition or athletic event, there are a few things you should think about.

Before you launch into carb loading, consider whether the type and duration of exercise you are doing requires it. If you will be performing exercise lasting more than 90 minutes without breaks, such as running or cycling, you may benefit from this nutrition strategy.

If your exercise is shorter or involves many breaks, such as weight training, carb loading is probably not necessary. If you record all the food you eat for several days using a food-tracking app or the nutrition labels on your food, you can calculate your current daily carbohydrate intake.

Then you can divide the grams of carbs you eat each day by your weight to compare your current intake to carb loading recommendations. For example, if you weigh pounds 70 kg and you normally eat grams of carbs per day, then you are consuming 1.

People who are carb loading may eat 2. That said, experts often recommend a more limited range of 3. Based on these recommendations, you would need to eat approximately double the amount of carbs you would normally.

Avoid choosing foods that are high in both carbs and fats, such as desserts, pasta with creamy sauce, pastries and similar items. As discussed, carb loading programs can last from one to six days. It may be a good idea to start with a simple program lasting between one and three days.

For example, you could simply increase your carb intake to around 3. You could also practice several different types of carb loading during training and keep notes to decide which helped you feel and perform your best.

Generally, it is best to experiment during your training rather than right before a real competition. That way, you can decide what will work best before your big event. Lastly, it may be best to focus on familiar foods during carb loading. Unusual foods could upset your stomach and impair your performance.

Commonly recommended foods include pasta, bread, fruits and fruit juices, smoothies, cereals and other high-carb, low-fat foods.

Once you have your nutrition plan set, you need to remember to taper your exercise in the days leading up to your event or competition. Summary Before you start carb loading, consider whether you will benefit from it. You should also figure out how many carbs you normally eat so you know how much to change your regular diet.

Deciding the right duration for carb loading is also important. Of course, it is also important to have protein to support your muscles. Try to focus on lean protein sources, such as fish, lean cuts of meat or poultry and fat-free dairy.

Try to find the best compromise between the recommendations and foods you enjoy. Many people eat high-carb foods that are high-fat too.

It is best to avoid these during carb loading. Below are some examples of foods that may seem high-carb but are also high-fat and therefore inappropriate for carb loading. Also, many foods that are a great part of your normal diet may be high in fiber.

You should limit or remove these foods from your diet during carb loading. These lists are not comprehensive. To find the best high-carb options for your diet, check the nutrition information for the foods you normally eat. Summary During carb loading, you should focus on eating high-carb, low-fat and low-fiber foods that are familiar and enjoyable.

Using the lists above can get you started, but you should also review the nutrition facts for your favorite foods. Carb loading involves two major components: increasing the carbs you eat and decreasing the amount you exercise.

Carb intake can range from 2. This strategy may not be useful for you if you are recreationally active but not an athlete or competitor in long-duration events. When you carb load, it may be best to choose familiar foods that are high-carb and low-fat. You may also need to limit your fiber intake during these days.

If you perform long-duration exercise, you may want to experiment with carb loading before your next event to see if it can boost your performance. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Learn about the best pre-workout nutrition strategies. EXERCISE AM before breakfast. Take a macro look at how quickly certain foods are digested with this important index. Don't let these innocent things get in the way of your fitness progress this holiday season. Close Ad ×. I want content for: Both Men Women.

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You can also check the color of your urine—properly hydrated urine should look like light lemonade. Typically, a carb load is done anywhere from one to six days before an event and involves two components: reducing exercise and increasing carb intake. createElement 'div' ; el.

parse el. querySelector '[data-options]'. Home Blogs Nutrition Carb Loading: How to Do It and Common Mistakes. What Is Carb Loading? Receive unique insights, advice and exclusive offers. Email address Subscribe. Determine your normal carb intake Tracking your food intake for a week can be helpful to determine what your current carb intake is.

Choose whole food sources like rice, potatoes, and root vegetables. Stay hydrated Regardless of which type of carb load you do, you want to stay hydrated. References Jeukendrup AE.

Nutrition for endurance sports: marathon, triathlon, and road cycling. J Sports Sci. Sullo A, Monda M, Brizzi G, et al. The effect of a carbohydrate loading on running performance during a km treadmill time trial by level of aerobic capacity in athletes. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. Hawley JA, Schabort EJ, Noakes TD, Dennis SC.

Carbohydrate-loading and exercise performance. An update. Sports Med. Bergström J, Hermansen L, Hultman E, Saltin B. Diet, muscle glycogen and physical performance. Acta Physiol Scand.

Sherman WM, Costill DL, Fink WJ, Miller JM. Effect of exercise-diet manipulation on muscle glycogen and its subsequent utilization during performance. Int J Sports Med. Burke LM, Hawley JA, Schabort EJ, St Clair Gibson A, Mujika I, Noakes TD. Carbohydrate loading failed to improve km cycling performance in a placebo-controlled trial.

J Appl Physiol Bussau VA, Fairchild TJ, Rao A, Steele P, Fournier PA. Carbohydrate loading in human muscle: an improved 1 day protocol. Eur J Appl Physiol. Escobar KA, VanDusseldorp TA, Kerksick CM.

Carbohydrate intake and resistance-based exercise: are current recommendations reflective of actual need?. Br J Nutr.

Vandenberghe K, Hespel P, Vanden Eynde B, Lysens R, Richter EA. No effect of glycogen level on glycogen metabolism during high intensity exercise.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. Greenhaff PL, Gleeson M, Maughan RJ. The effects of dietary manipulation on blood acid-base status and the performance of high intensity exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. Jul 14, Nutrition Tips to stay healthy this summer: Ditch the summer detox.

Photo: Hannah DeWitt "], "filter": { "nextExceptions": "img, blockquote, div", "nextContainsExceptions": "img, blockquote, a. btn, a. Carbohydrates are one of three types of macronutrients used by the body—the other two being fat and protein.

In their most basic form, carbohydrates are glucose, and this is converted by your body into energy—providing four calories per gram protein also provides four calories per gram, while fat provides nine.

There are many forms of carbohydrates:. Think of mono- and disaccharides as simple carbs, with oligosaccharides and polysaccharides as complex carbohydrates. The simpler a carb is, the quicker it will be broken down and used by the body as energy.

Simple carbs will result in a rapid rise in blood glucose and insulin secretion from the pancreas; complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and will result in a steadier rise in blood glucose.

Carb loading involves an athlete topping up their muscle, blood, and liver glycogen carbohydrate stores by consuming a very high amount of carbohydrates in the days leading up to a race. Unfortunately, their particular approach required three days of exhaustive exercise combined with three days of high-carbohydrate fueling, which is hardly the pre-race taper many of us adhere to now.

High glycemic foods are those that are ranked highly on the glycemic index: they are foods that are rapidly digested and absorbed and cause a sharp rise in blood sugar e. One of the biggest mistakes athletes often make when approaching carb loading is failing to practice it in training.

Ideally, an athlete will practice carb loading going into race simulation workouts a few times before race week. This allows the athlete to assess reaction to the higher carbs, practice eating the actual prescribed carbohydrate amounts, and decide which foods are best tolerated.

Practicing the carb load is absolutely crucial, but doing dry runs of the pre-race breakfast and the in-session race fueling is equally as important. Rehearsing these strategies will provide familiarity and confidence that a fueling strategy is on point when it comes to race day.

RELATED: Ask Stacy: What Makes a Good Pre-Race Meal? For women, there is a dearth of research investigating carb loading related to race-like conditions. The majority of studies have focused on the percentage of energy intake i.

However, the studies did not determine whether the total energy consumed on a daily basis actually met the demands of training and racing. There are a few studies that have investigated loading in women using a high enough amount e.

Women need to load in relation to their body mass and consume high amounts of carbohydrates in order to boost glycogen stores. Another consideration is the menstrual cycle phase and how it impacts carb loading. Women appear to have a greater capacity to store glycogen during the luteal phase the ~14 days after ovulation compared to the follicular phase the first day of bleeding through to ovulation.

While more research is required, it is important to note that what works for one woman will not necessarily work well for another.

Staying well-hydrated is the key to dropping that last-minute water weight. In the week prior to starting your carb-cutting program, boost your intake of sodium — plain table salt. The simplest way to do this is to sprinkle salt on all of your meals.

Elevating sodium increases water retention in the body and decreases the water retention hormone aldosterone.

Remain with a higher-than-usual sodium intake until one day before carbing up during the program in step 7. When you suddenly reduce your sodium intake at that time, and while aldosterone levels readjust, your body will excrete even more water — most of it coming directly from beneath the skin.

This will lead to greater definition. Greater water intake sets up the body for greater definition at the end of the process. This first drop will help prevent the shock of taking your carb count too low too quickly. If you were previously eating approximately 1, calories from carbs per day about normal for a pound bodybuilder who consumes 3, calories a day for bodyweight maintenance , then cut your total carb intake to grams g per day, focusing mostly on complex carbs, early in the day.

Still, for these two days, maintain your pre- and postworkout nutrition simple carbs at approximately 50 g, divided between those two meals. Some people go wrong at this step. When carbs drop, you must increase protein consumption to prevent muscle breakdown. However, if you increase your protein intake too much, a lot of that extra protein is burned as fuel, sparing the body from emptying its glycogen stores.

Therefore, to experience the muscle-saving effect of extra protein without inhibiting the depletion of glycogen stores, elevate your protein intake only by about 50 g daily on each lower-carb day.

A pound bodybuilder who normally eats a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day should consume about g of protein during this phase. However, the goal here is to lower carb reserves, and volume work is tremendously effective in doing so.

It all goes back to supercompensation. The more carbs you can deplete, the greater amount you can store during the carb-up process, leading to biggerand tighter-looking muscles. On these days, drop your carbohydrate intake to g per day, emphasizing complexcarbohydrate sources, such as yams, oatmeal and brown rice.

Take these in early in the day and target about. When carbohydrates drop, reserves of glycogen stored in muscles begin to decline. As glycogen levels decrease, the body begins to pump up its production of glycogen-storing enzymes. When you later pack in greater quantities of carbs, those carbstoring enzymes will help pack away these additional carbs as new glycogen, yielding fuller looking muscles.

Cutting all the extra sodium should be enough of a drop. Now the fun begins. After five days of depleting carbs, along with performing volume work, your muscles will be tremendously lowin fuel, screaming to be replenished. When you switch to a high-carb intake, much of what you consume will be directly stored in your muscles.

This requires that you do intensive endurance exercises for the initial phase that is before the 3 day period then have a high carb diet with no exercise for the rest of 3 days. It is the same as the classic 3 days except that, instead of exercising for the initial phase, you do not exercise at all.

Consume 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of your weight per day. It is the most simple carb loading. Again this will depend on the duration of the event, but training status should also be considered. For example an elite Tour de France cyclist will consume on average g carbohydrate per kg body mass per day, but somebody running their first half marathon will not need this much.

So for a minute race, g per kg body mass of carbohydrates is adequate the day before. For marathons and ultra-endurance events g·kg·bm is advised. A 70kg athlete running a marathon will require at least g 8g·kg of carbohydrates. This is the equivalent of 9 large potatoes, g raw pasta or 17 ½ ml bottles of Lucozade sport.

Not all carbohydrates do this. The glycaemic index GI determines the effect a certain food has on blood glucose with high-GI foods being broken down much quicker during digestion than low-GI foods, and are absorbed by the muscles more effectively. Foods with a high glycaemic load GL have a greater quantity of carbohydrates for a given weight of food, and together with GI allow your muscles to efficiently obtain more carbohydrates.

Large intake of fibrous typically low-GI foods can lead to gastrointestinal discomfort so it may also be wise to focus on simple, low fibre foods to alleviate digestive issues. White potatoes are high-GI and GL and removing the skins reduces the fibre content, making mashed potatoes an ideal choice when carb-loading.

Typically breakfast, your pre-race meal should prioritise easy to digest carbohydrates with ample protein and plenty of fluids. Choosing lower-GI foods may actually be better in the hours before a race to help maintain satiety, and research also suggests that it may enhance performance compared to high-GI carbs.

Nutrition timing and quantities, again, are down to the individual, however it would be practical to eat hours prior to racing, containing g·kg carbohydrate 1g·kg·hour. Having foods that are high in carbohydrates and low fat and fibre is best for carb loading. Include foods that contain protein like fish, dairy, and meat.

Eat usual foods that contain high carbs and low fat. Having foods that are high in carbs and high in fats including high fiber foods. Avoid making your stomach uncomfortable which may deplete performance and carb loading experience. Carb loading is designed in such a way that it is only beneficial for people who are doing intensive endurance exercise for more than 90 minutes.

It may not even be beneficial for athletes having slightly shorter durations of 50 to 90 minutes. Studies show that carb-loading has shown no benefits of improvement in performance for short-duration activities that last less than 20 minutes. Carb loading is best for activities that last more than 90 minutes like, football, cycling, and running.

Sorry to disappoint! Although carb loading always involves increasing the number of carbs you consume and decreasing your physical activity, nutritional experts have developed different types of carb loading plans for athletes to follow in the days leading up to a competitive event.

A few examples include:. For this program, you take a rest day no physical exercise! and eat about 4.

This strategy involves completing a very strenuous exercise session on day one of the plans. During the six days of this plan, you also gradually reduce the amount of exercise you perform. On days four to six, you only exercise for a maximum of 20 minutes per day. Choosing foods that are also high in fat or fiber instead of just carbs can lead to unnecessary weight gain and feelings of sluggishness or digestive discomfort.

Keeping a close eye on nutritional labels can help you make healthy high-carb choices without suffering any unintentional side effects. Also, avoid introducing any new foods into your diet while carb loading.

Doing so could cause digestive issues that affect your performance. The amount of carbs you need depends on your total calorie goal and your sport. Nutritional experts usually recommend eating about 2. Any more, and you risk eating too many calories. Wondering what you should include in your high-carb diet during the few days before an event?

Good choices include lean cuts of poultry, fish, and fat-free dairy. Avoid binging on these foods before a race! They can help you determine the right amount of carbs based on your goals, body weight, and any physical conditions you might have.

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