Carb loading for edurance Runners

[Gymgurl]

The Athlete's Kitchen: Carbo-loading---Tips for Endurance Runners
By Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD
October 2006

* Does carbo-loading mean stuffing myself with pasta?
* Should I avoid protein the day before the marathon?
* Will carbo-loading make me fat?


If you are a marathoner who is fearful of "hitting the wall," listen up: proper fueling before your marathon, triathlon or other competitive endurance event can make the difference between agony and ecstacy! If you plan to compete for longer than 90 minutes, you want to maximize the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles because poorly fueled muscles are associated with needless fatigue. The more glycogen, the more endurance (potentially). While the typical runner has about 80 to 120 mmol glycogen/kg muscle, a carbo-loaded runner can have about 200 mmol. This is enough to improve endurance by about 2 to 3%, to say nothing of make the race more enjoyable.

While carbo-loading sounds simple (just stuff yourself with pasta, right?), the truth is many marthoners make food mistakes that hurt their performance. The last thing you want after having trained for months is to ruin your performance with poor nutrition, so carbo-load correctly!

Training Tactics
The biggest change in your schedule during the week before your marathon should be in your training, not in your food. Don't be tempted to do any last-minute long runs! You need to taper your training so that your muscles have adequate time to become fully fueled (and healed). Allow at least two easy or rest days pre-event.

Fueling Tactics
You need not eat hundreds more calories the week pre-marathon. You simply need to exercise less. This way, the 600 to 1,000 calories you generally expend during training can be used to fuel your muscles. All during this week, you should maintain your tried-and-true high-carbohydrate training diet. Drastic changes can easily lead to upset stomachs, diarrhea, or constipation. For example, carbo-loading on an unusually high amount of fruits and juices might cause diarrhea. Too many white flour, low fiber bagels, breads, and pasta might clog your system. As Marathon King Bill Rodgers once said "More marathons are won or lost in the porta-toilets than they are at the marathon..." Fuel wisely, not like a chow hound.

Be sure that you carbo-load, not fat-load. Some runners eat gobs of butter on a dinner roll, big dollops of sour cream on a potato, and enough dressing to drown a salad. These fatty foods fill both the stomach and fat cells but leave muscles poorly fueled. The better bet is to trade the fats for extra carbohydrates. That is: instead of devouring one roll with butter for 200 calories, have two plain rolls for 200 calories. Enjoy pasta with tomato sauce rather than oil or cheese toppings. Choose low-fat frozen yogurt, not gourmet ice cream.

Meal Timing
NYC Marathon Queen Grete Waitz once said she never ate a very big meal the night before a marathon, as it usually would give her trouble the next day. She preferred to eat a bigger lunch. You, too, might find that pattern works well for your intestinal tract. That is, instead of relying upon a huge pasta dinner the night before your event, you might want to enjoy a substantial carb-fest at breakfast or lunch. This earlier meal allows plenty of time for the food to move through your system. You can also carbo-load two days before if you will be too nervous to eat much the day before the event. (The glycogen stays in your muscles until you exercise.) Then graze on crackers, chicken noodle soup, and other easily tolerated foods the day before the marathon.

You'll be better off eating a little bit too much than too little the day before, but don't overstuff yourself. Learning the right balance takes practice. Hence, each long training run leading up to the endurance event offers the opportunity to learn which food--and how much of it--to eat. I repeat: During training, be sure to practice your pre-marathon carbo-loading meal so you'll have no surprises on race day!

Weight Gain
Runners who have properly carbo-loaded should gain about one to three pounds--but don't panic! This weight gain is good; it reflects water weight and indicates you have done a good job of fueling your muscles. For every ounce of carb stored in your body, you store almost three ounces water. Fluids
Be sure to drink extra water, juices, and even soda pop, if desired. Abstain from too much wine, beer, and alcoholic beverages; they are not only poor sources of carbs, but can also hinder your ability to perform at your best. Drink enough alcohol-free beverages to produce a significant volume of urine every two to four hours. The urine should be pale yellow, like lemonade. Don't bother to overhydrate; your body is like a sponge and can absorb just so much fluid.

Protein
Many marathoners eat only carbs and totally avoid protein-rich foods the days before their event. Bad idea. Your body needs protein on a daily basis. Hence, you can and should eat a small serving of low-fat protein--such as poached eggs, yogurt, turkey, or chicken--as the accompaniment to most meals (not the main focus), or plant proteins such as beans and lentils (as tolerated).

Event day:
Carb-loading is just part of the fueling plan! What you eat on marathon day is critically important and helps to spare your limited muscle glycogen stores. By fueling yourself wisely both before and during the event, you can enjoy miles of smiles.


Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD is Board Certified as a Specialist in Sports Dietetics. She counsels casual and competitive athletes in her private practice at Healthworks, the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA (617-383-6100). Her Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Cyclist's Food Guide, and Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for everyday Champions all offer additional information about how to prepare for endurance events. See www.nancyclarkrd.com and www.sportsnutritionworkshop.com for more details.


SAMPLE MENU #1
Approximate Calories / Carbs (g)
Wheaties, 2 cups - 220 / 48
Milk, 1% lowfat, 8 ounces - 100 / 12
Bagel, 1 (3.5 ounce) - 300 / 55
Cream cheese, lowfat, 2 Tbsp - 50 / 2
Orange juice, 12 ounces - 160 / 40
* Breakfast: 830 cals, 75% carb


Whole grain bread, 2 slices - 200 / 40
Peanut butter, 2 tablespoons - 200 / 8
Jelly, 2 tablespoons - 100 / 25
Fruit yogurt, 8 ounces - 230 / 35
Potato chips, baked, 2 ounces- 240 / 45
* Lunch total: 970 cals, 65% carb-


Apple, 1 large - 120 / 30
Graham crackers, 4 squares - 120 / 22
* Snack total: 240 cals; 90% carb


Chicken breast, 5 ounces - 250
Rice, 1.5 cups cooked - 300 / 65
Brocolli, 1 cup - 50 / 10
Dinner rolls, 2 whole wheat - 200 / 40
* Dinner total: 800 cals; 60% carb


Banana, 1 medium (4 ounces) - 100 / 25
Sherbert, 1 cup - 260 / 45
* Snack: 360 cals, ~100% carb -
TOTAL Menu #1 -3,200 / 547 g
~70% carb; ~4 g carb/lb for a 150 lb athlete


SAMPLE MENU #2
Oatmeal, 1 cup dry, cooked in - 300 - 55
Milk. 16 ounces - 200 - 25
Raisins, 1/4 cup - 130 - 30
Brown sugar, 1.5 tablespoons - 50 - 12
Apple juice, 8 ounces - 120 - 30
* Breakfast: 800 cals; 75% carb


Sub sandwich roll, 6" (4 ounces) - 320 - 60
Lean meat (4 ounces) - 200 - --
Fruit yogurt, 8 ounces - 240 - 40
Grape juice, 12 ounces - 220 - 55
* Lunch: 980 cals; 80% carb
--

Fig Newtons, 6 - 330 - 65
Jelly beans, 15 large - 150 - 38
* Snack: 480 cals; 85% carb


Spaghetti. 2 cups cooked - 400 - 80
Prego spaghetti sauce, 1 cup - 250 - 40
Italian bread, 2 slices - 150 - 30
Root beer, 12 ounces - 140 - 38
* Dinner: 940 cals; 80% carb


Canned peaches in syrup, 1 cup - 200 - 48
* Snack: 200 cals; ~100% carb
TOTAL Menu #2 3,400 - 646 g
~75% carb; ~4.5 g carb/lb for a 150 lb athlete


Tools to help you carbo-load
When carbo-loading, you want to consume about 3 to 5 grams carbohydrates per pound of body weight. (This comes to a diet with about 60% of calories from carbohydrates.) Divide your target grams of carbohydrates into three parts of the day (breakfast+snack; lunch+snack; dinner+ snack), and choose foods that help you hit your target. You can find carbohydrate information on food labels and at www.fitday.com.

If you weigh: Total g carb/day Target # carbs per five hours: 7 a.m.-noon; noon-5 pm; 5 pm to 10 pm00
100 lbs - 300 to 500 g - 100 to 175 g
125 lbs - 375 to 625 g - 125 to 210 g
150 lbs - 450 to 750 g - 150 to 250 g
175 lbs - 525 to 875 g - 175 to 290 g


Sample 50 gram carbohydrate choices for the foundation of a meal or snack
Wheaties, 2 cups
Nature Valley Granola Bar, 2 packets (4 bars)
Thomas' Bagel, 1 (3.5 oz)
Banana, 2 medium
Orange juice, 16 ounces
Apple, 2 medium
Raisins, 1/2 cup
Pepperidge Farm multi-grain bread, 2.5 slices
Baked potato, 1 large (6.5 ounces)
Pasta, 1 cup cooked
Rice, 1 cup cooked
Fig Newtons, 5
Flavored Yogurt + 3 graham cracker squares

 

[Gymgurl]

The Athlete's Kitchen: Sports Nutrition Tidbits
By Nancy Clark, MS, RD
March 2006

If you are eager to learn more about how to best fuel your body for top performance, you might enjoy muscling through three pounds and 557 pages of Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals. The new fourth edition of this in-depth resource was recently released by SCAN, the sports nutrition practice group of the American Dietetic Association. (It is available at www.eatright.org; click on Shop Online.)

Although this resource book is written for primarily sports dietitians, strength coaches, athletic trainers and other health professionals who influence an athlete's eating practices, serious athletes might also like to feast on this hard-core (but well written and relatively easy to read) book that will answer all sports nutrition questions from A to Z, including alcohol, carbs, calories, fats, fluids, protein, vegetarian diet, weight gain, zinc--plus more!

To give you a taste of the information in the book, here are a few sports nutrition nuggets that might be of interest.

* The average 150-pound athlete has only 1,000 to 2,000 calories of stored carbohydrates (glycogen), but over 80,000 to 120,000 calories of stored fat. Most of the fat is deposited in adipose tissue under the skin, but a little bit is also stored directly in the muscles and is an important source of fuel, especially during prolonged exercise.

* Don't try to eat a fat-free diet! The recommended intake for athletes is about 0.5 grams fat/lb body weight/day. This equates to 60 to 80 grams per day of dietary fat for athletes who weigh 120 to 160 pounds. That's 15 to 20 teaspoons of butter! Preferably, the fat comes from healthful sources: nuts, peanut butter, olive and canola oil, and avocado.


* While some fat is good, excess calories of fat are fattening. Your body easily stores excess dietary fat as body fat. That's why you want to carefully carbo-load on pasta and breads, not fat-load on Alfredo sauce, butter, cheese, chips.


* Your body stores carbohydrates in the muscles in the form of glycogen (1,200 to 1,600 calories) and also in the liver (300 to 400 cals); this feeds into the bloodstream (100 cals) and fuels your brain. During hard training that depletes your muscle glygogen, you enhance your body's ability to store even more glycogen; this enhances your ability to exercise for longer before "hitting the wall."


* Athletes should eat at least 2 grams carb/lb. body weight per day. That's a minimum of 240 gm carb (about 1,000 calories) per day for a 120 lb woman and equates to 10 pieces of fruit or 5 cups of cooked pasta. Athletes in hard training actually should eat 4 to 5 gm carb/lb. No Atkins diet here!


* Adult athletes require about 0.5 to 0.75 gram protein per pound (1.2 to 1.7 g pro/kg). Scientific evidence suggests if you eat more than 0.8 gm pro/lb (1.8 gm pro/kg), you'll burn the excess protein for energy. In other words, eating a very high protein diet does not result in greater muscle gain, even with intense resistance training. To bulk up, eat more overall calories so you'll have abundant energy to build muscles.


* Because eating before exercise can enhance performance, you should target:
0.5 gram carb/lb body weight 1 hour pre-exercise
1.0 gram carb/lb 2 hours pre-exercise
1.5 gram carb/lb 3 hours pre-exercise
2.0 gram carb/lb 4 hours pre-exercise.


This means, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need about 75 grams carbohydrates--about 300 calories--of carb one hour pre-exercise, and 1,200 calories four hours out. This tends to be far more than most athletes consume. Experiment to learn how much your body can tolerate, and try to build up to this target if you currently eat less than this.

* Consuming carbs during endurance exercise can delay fatigue by 30 to 60 minutes. Target about 1 gram carb per minute of exercise--equivalent to 240 calories of carbs per hour if you weigh about 150 pounds. That's about 1 quart of Powerade per hour.

* Consuming carbs as soon as tolerable after hard exercise enhances muscle glycogen replacement because . . .
1) the blood flow to the muscles is faster immediately after exercise, so carbs can get carried to the muscles faster;
2) the muscles are better able to take up the carbs because of increased sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that helps transport carbs into muscles. Plan to have banana, fruit yogurt, fruit smoothie, and/or fig bars readily available.

* Both liquid and solid carbs refuel the muscles equally well, so take your choice: chocolate milk or a pasta dinner.

* While many athletes believe "thinner is better," don't try to get your body fat below 5% (men) or 12% (women). Each athlete has a fat percentage and body weight at which he or she performs best. Hence, you should listen to your body, and take note of how you feel and perform, as opposed to force your body to achieve a self-selected number.

* Warning: Body fat measurements--even under research conditions--can be plus or minus 3 to 4%. If you are told your body fat is 16%, it might be 13% or 19%. Just having a different person measure your body fat can significantly alter the measurement. Use body fat measurements only as a guide and give yourself a body fat range.

* At rest, your body burns approximately 0.45 calorie per pound per hour. If you weigh 150 pounds, you burn about-- - 70 calories per hour of bedrest, or about 1,700 calories per 24 hours of doing nothing except staying alive.
- about 375 calories per hour of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking at a pace of 15 minutes per mile.
- about 1,200 calories per hour of high intensity exercise, such as running at a pace of 5.5 minutes per mile.
Clearly, the harder you exercise, the more you can eat!

But take heed: hard workouts followed by naps reduce your daily calorie needs. Athletes who turn into post-exercise couch potatoes commonly reward themselves with too much food and fail to attain their desired weight goals.

Sports dietitian Nancy Clark, MS, RD teaches active people how to eat to support their hard training. She has a private practice at Healthworks (617-383-6100), the premier fitness center in Chestnut Hill MA. Her best selling Sports Nutrition Guidebook ($23), Food Guide for Marathoners: Tps for Everyday Champions ($20) and Cyclist's Food Guide ($20) are available via www.nancyclarkrd.com or PO Box 650124, Newton MA 02465.

 

[Gymgurl]

Nutrition
by Stacy Sims, M.S. Exercise Physiologist

Nutrition is a double-edged sword.
Event nutrition is always a key factor but do you pay attention to general nutrition as well? The breakdown of muscles is inevitable, but what do you do to facilitate recovery and repair?

Special supplements?
Should we eat mainly carbohydrates?
What about protein?
And calories?
As a woman athlete, are you getting enough?
What are the answers?

Actually, there is not one true method for every athlete, just general guidelines and a lot of trial and error!

As an endurance athlete you need to fuel your body to meet performance demands. Remember, for every mile you run, you expend roughly 100 calories. On your training days, you should make sure you supplement your diet with foods rich in carbohydrates and protein (and low in fat).

For example, after a hard training run, you should replace your fuel sources with some protein and carbohydrates (i.e. a sandwich). Research has shown that a ratio of 4 grams of carbohydrate to one gram of protein eaten within the first half-hour of recovery provides optimal means of refuelling.

The carbohydrate will replenish your muscle and liver glycogen whereas the protein will be used to rebuild and repair the muscle damage you incurred.

During the day, you should supplement your daily food intake with fruit, veggies, and lowfat protein (yoghurt, cottage cheese, are great sources of protein as well as providing a calcium source) this will help with hydration and supply your system with the fuel it needs.

For example, instead of coffee and cookies, have some fruit with yoghurt and water. If you are hard pressed to get adequate calories, you may want to consider sipping on an electrolyte beverage.

Another key factor athletes often neglect is water. Or rather, staying hydrated. It is well known that humans need minimum of 2.5 L of water at day. But an athlete needs between 5 – 10L! Just a small amount of dehydration can affect your performance greatly! Make it a point to sip water throughout the day.

Decaffeinated/herbal teas are great too, if you want something other than water. Even carbonated water goes down better than straight water (for those of us who don’t really like the taste!). Some people I know wake up in the middle of the night thirsty so have started keeping a water bottle by their bed for a quick drink.

Here's an example of a daily meal intake:

Breakfast: 1-½ cups untoasted museli, or lowfat cereal
½ cup skim or soy milk with 1 serving protein powder
1 slice of toast with 1tsp margarine and a banana
½ cup fruit juice
water
Midmorning: fruit bar/cereal bar or supplement bar (Promax, Met-Rx)
Coffee/Tea with skim milk
Water
Lunch: Ham and veggie sandwiches
Yogurt
Fruit or veggies (i.e baby carrots, snow peas)
Water or herbal tea
Midafternoon: Lowfat cheese and crackers or Lowfat Cottage cheeseFruit
Water or tea
Dinner: Pasta in tomato based sauce with ¾ cup mixed veggies
Lowfat cheese and/or other lowfat protein (chicken)
Mixed green salad
Water or other noncaffeinated beverage
Night: Fruit or fruitbar or lowfat cookies
Water or herbal tea

Most endurance athletes put an emphasis on Carbohydrates. This is a very important macronutrient for endurance but with all the training we do, we also need protein for muscle recovery and repair. We also need fat to keep us going (essential fat is 12% in a woman, and around 5% in a guy—meaning this is the amount of body fat required for normal cellular function).

When we tend to leave fat out of our diets, primarily women are guilty of this, we lose out on essential fatty acids necessary for immune and nerve cell function! It also protects your inner organs and allows estrogen to function properly (regular menstrual cycles are very important---it means your body’s hormones are in balance) and in the long run, this will protect your bones. Keeping your fat intake to 30-50 grams/day with saturated fat >10% of daily fat intake will keep your body functioning at its best.

General Dietary/Daily Guidelines WITHOUT training. (See the working examples at the end of this article for more specifics for training needs.)

At least 6 servings of breads and
cereals
At least 2 servings of fruits and 3
servings of vegetables
At least 2 servings of lowfat dairy
products
At least 1 serving of meat/meat
substitutes
At least 8 eight ounce servings of
noncaffeinated fluid
Make sure you are eating at regular intervals:
(i.e. something every 3 hours.) This will keep your blood sugars from fluctuating and help stave off fatigue as well as preserving that well needed muscle glycogen!
Working Examples:

Carbohydrates
Did you know that:

When muscle glycogen stores are used up, exhaustion occurs?
Muscle glycogen depletion occurs after 2-3 hours of continuous LOW INTENSITY training? But occurs within 15-30 mins of HIGH INTENSITY training?!
When liver glycogen is depleted, you cannot keep blood glucose levels normal-you hit the wall and cannot continue!
With low blood glucose levels, you’re body will have to rely on fat for fuel, however this is a very SLOW process, bringing you down to a speed of 2km/hr….. Signs and symptoms of low blood glucose: lightheadedness, feelings of uncoordination, weak, unable to concentrate, blurry vision, and feeling "spacey".
How many Carbohydrates do I need in a day?

The general rules of thumb:

For moderate to high intensity training lasting 60-120 minutes, you need 7-8grams of CHO/kg.
For endurance training involving 2-5 hours of intense training per day (distance running, cycling, swimming) you need 8-10 grams of CHO/kg.
For extreme training involving >5 hours of intense training per day (i.e. Ironman or multisport events) you need 10grams of CHO/kg.
My activity per day is: ______________________________

My weight (in kg) is: ______________________________

My CHO need is: (kg) x (gms of CHO for activity level) = ________________

Protein
We have all heard the buzz of high protein/low carbohydrate diets in the fitness realm. But, does it hold for endurance athletes? In some ways, yes. Protein is VITAL for muscle recovery and repair and in activities lasting 2 hrs or more amino acids (the building blocks of protein) can lend from 5-10% of the fuel necessary to keep going.

The other aspect of Protein, is you need protein to facilitate fat loss. Although the PRIMARY and MOST IMPORANT fuel for endurance events is CARBOHYDRATES, if you consistently eat carbohydrates, you run the risk of not allowing your body to optimally repair. The body will use carbohydrates for refueling muscle and liver glycogen as it is supposed to, however, without adequate Protein, the carbs you ingest will go to assist in the repairing of muscles. This will not allow for optimal refueling of the muscle and liver glycogen. As for facilitating fat loss—you need protein to keep the muscles repairing and rebuilding, and allow Carbohydrates to refuel the muscles and liver—thus allowing fat stores to stay empty. There is a half an hour window post event/training in which you need to get protein back into your system for optimal repair and metabolism. (The window for CARBOHYDRATE refueling is 2 hours post event/training).

Why do you, as an endurance athlete need protein? For muscle growth, repair, and strength adaptations, the key for successes!

Did you know that:

Hydration is key with endurance activity especially in view of the fact that PRO is a dehydrator?
An endurance athlete needs on the upward of 2 grams of PRO/kg a day for optimal muscle repair, growth, recovery and fat mobilization.
Whey and soy isolate protein powders are two very simple means of increasing your protein intake without increasing your fat intake.
How much Protein do I need in a day?

The general rules of thumb:

For strength/power phases of training you need 1.7-2.0 grams of PRO/kg
For endurance phases of training you need 1.2-1.4 grams of PRO/kg.
For optimal recovery, try to ingest 15 grams of PRO within the first half an hour post-event/training session.
My activity per day is:
______________________________

My weight (in kg) is:
______________________________

My PRO need is:
(kg) x (gms of PRO for activity level) = ________________

 

[Synpax]

A lot of folks severely over-do it with the carbo-loading. Massive pasta dinners sponsored by the race the night before the race.

 

[Gymgurl]

They do and that is not necessary for what I understand.....

 

[trez]

Thanks for that! That's some fantastic stuff. Not an endurance athlete myself but a good friend is a triathlete and I'm sure he'll love it!

Thanks again for the info.

T