hungryconsumer
Seems to be differing opinions about how early to load carbs, and how much energy the body can actually store?There are... and there have been for quite some years now. The clear message for carbohydrate loading at the moment is that you can eat and store enough within the 24 hours before the race, i.e. on the Sat is when you need to really think about it. You could start earlier but i'm not convinced you really need to worry about that, assuming you aren't starving the body either!?The importance of getting it right is very clear though. When we studies 257 runners from last years marathon, those that get it right, i.e. met the recommendations of 7 grams per kilogram of body weight, they statistically ran at a faster pace during the marathon than those who didn't get it right. It really is a predictor of performance.The key additional stat we found is that approcimately 70% of people stated they carbohydrate loaded, but only 11% actually got it right - so what you think your eating isn't always bang on. The key thing for me is that it is about breakfast, lunch and dinner (& snacks) and not just the evening meal. Many people make the mistake of going for one massive meal and feeling ful, lethargic and uncomfortable. Its about grazing all day. For example:Ø Practically a meal plan could looks like this….
Breakfast (121 g) – a small bowl of porridge (31 g), 2 slices of toast (32 g), a banana (32 g), and a small glass of orange juice (26 g).
Lunch (97 g) – a jacket potato and baked beans (65 g) and a banana (32 g).
Dinner (110 g) – a small pasta starter (27 g), Chicken curry and rice (60 g), and yoghurt (23 g). When you feel most comfortable (normally between meals) also add in raisins (22 g in a handful), fruit (approximately 30 g depending on the fruit), cereal bars (32 g) to give you a ‘classic’ carbohydrate loaded day.
Ø A common mistake with carbo loading is that runners try to eat too much in one go, classically in the evening before – and often think that it’s a struggle. In reality try to add a little extra carbohydrate to your meals throughout the day and adding a few extra carbohydrate based snacks (as above).
