The Carb Conspiracy: Part 3

FITNESS, PERFORMANCE AND CARBOHYDRATES

If you want to shed body fat, then watching your carbohydrate intake is a good idea and one that works. To exercise regularly does require fuel in the tank however; and for those of you who seek athletic performance, then carbohydrates are not only your friends, but your savior.

Carbohydrates are stored in the liver, muscle and in your blood - to perform optimally you need to replenish those stores before, in some cases during, and after your training or competitive session.

Depending on how much lean weight you have, you can store between 300-400 grams of carbohydrates in your muscle (1200 – 1600 calories), your liver can then hold 75-100 grams (300 – 400 calories), and your blood glucose can carry about 25 grams or 100 calories. Liver, muscle and blood combined have a total carbohydrate storage capacity of between 1600 and 2100 calories (400 – 525 grams). Very muscular people would surpass that upper limit for muscle storage, but most of us can use these parameters.

Carbohydrates and Protein have the calorific equivalent of 4 calories per each gram, Fat has 9 calories per gram - more than double, which is one reason why fat has been given a bad rap. More of that later, but for now, all fats are not the same and no fat should be judged on its calorific value alone.

Our functional needs, when we are walking, lifting, or moving around in the course of a normal day, burn calories at a low intensity level and the low carb regime can work well enough with that; but as soon as you crank the intensity level up a little, you are going to need some muscle and blood glucose to fuel the workout and achieve optimal performance. The intensity level you train/compete at dictates where you get your fuel from and it is one of the reasons that I highly recommend always wearing a heart rate monitor.

Carbohydrates are essential for optimal performance, whether you are a competitive athlete or an individual who pushes themselves past their comfort level on a regular basis. Carbohydrates are necessary before, and in some cases, during and after exercise. High carbohydrate diets maintain a higher constant level of stored glycogen, but their effect on performance is not certain. However, what is certain is that a higher carbohydrate diet is necessary for the untrained person who enters into an endurance arena and seeks training adaptations to this new sport. The improvements they seek, coming from an untrained background, need solid glycogen stores and a high carb diet in the initial stages which will benefit their performance most.

For the trained individual then, the constant high carb diet may not be warranted every day; but on the days of training and competing, those glycogen stores must be replenished and ready to go.