Runners...to carb or not to carb?
Sherylmarlee
Posts: 224 Member
Hey there runners! Ramping up my running schedule and am looking for insight on how you fuel the day before, day of and post run. I have read recently that they have debunked the "carb load" theory pre runs. I enjoy a lower carb diet and struggle with my longer runs if I do not ingest a heavier carb load the night before. When I do ingest a higher carb intake, I can run forever-Forrest Gump style. Please weigh in on your thoughts and fueling methods that you find work best for you.
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I think it depends on how long your long runs are :ohwell: my 'long run' is only 6km at the moment as I'm slowly building up. So I don't need to eat differently - but I don't eat low carb. I do know that I can't run first thing on an empty stomach and have to eat at least 3hrs before my run or I get cramps :grumble: .
I think what I am getting at is that everyone is different - if eating more carbs the day before a long run helps you run longer (and enjoy it more) then go for it. I can't wait til I can run forever-Forrest Gump style :laugh:0 -
I eat high carb every day, normally 300 to 500, sometimes more. I run twice on most days and don't eat any differently before long runs.0
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I agree....I think the best way is whatever works for you.
I do see the science and logic behind "carbing up" before runs, in how your body burns carbs/sugars. It makes sense and I personally have found that if I have a carb heavy dinner the night before or even just a carb heavy day before, I have awesome long runs. On the other hand, on days I haven't paid a lot of attention and have had a protein heavy day, I tend to bonk pretty quickly. So my general rule is, if anything, I make sure I have a big bowl of oatmeal before a run and I am not hard on myself if I've had a low carb day and my run kind of stinks.0 -
I eat what most would call "low Carb" and have no problem on my long runs. My main thing is to make sure I eat an hour before I run and hydrate properly. I find I have more trouble if I don't drink an electrolyte drink than not eating enough carbs. I'll eat a peice of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and I'm good to go. All my long runs are over 6 miles. This week will be 10.0
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I'm not low carb... I get about 50% of my calories from carbs and that works fine for me. I don't plan meals or snacks around my exercise, though. I just eat meals and meal times and snacks when needed or wanted.0
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The night before a long run (usually 5+ miles) or a race, I'm all carbs all the time. Haha.
It depends on what works for you, but I learned the first time around training for a half-marathon that carbs are good. Experiment a bit and see what works. (:0 -
I average about 30% carbs. I don't "load" or even eat differently before my regular short (3-4mile) runs. I do eat an hour before my long (6-8) mile runs. But not carbs. Usually protein.0
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Find what works for you. I carb load the night before and the day of races and long runs. My mom can run a marathon with just drinking a cup of coffee. I tend to get hungry on my runs if I don't carb load and it is miserable for me.0
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I have found that a good mix of protein and carbs is what works best for me, but not a huge amount of either. Everyone is different, you'll figure out soon enough what works for you!0
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i am currently in training for a full...so i have learned thru trial and error that my carb intake is contingent on my mileage ....now, i dont know if others will agree but for ME i have been doing "bolus" carbs AFTER my longer runs (15-18milers) ...so within the hour after i run those longer runs i will load up and be good....i go into a carb starve prior to the run and my energy/stamina/speed is incredible. i have tried several different ways throughout my training and that is what works best for me.0
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Hey there runners! Ramping up my running schedule and am looking for insight on how you fuel the day before, day of and post run. I have read recently that they have debunked the "carb load" theory pre runs. I enjoy a lower carb diet and struggle with my longer runs if I do not ingest a heavier carb load the night before. When I do ingest a higher carb intake, I can run forever-Forrest Gump style. Please weigh in on your thoughts and fueling methods that you find work best for you.
Card loading as in the useless but traditional pasta the night before never was the method. It's very detailed method/routine and can work, but really only needed on longer distance, so you can run at a pace that still uses mainly carbs but won't run out.
Unless you are racing long distance, just don't go that fast. For shorter distance, same thing.
I'd suggest getting in at least 60% of your calorie burn in carbs post workout before the next workout. Depending on your pace, you probably burned off more than that anyway, but at least a place to start.
Also, it's interesting that the Primal and Paleo methods recognize that many people just plain enjoy the cardio, even though they recommend against it. They even have new book coming out on how to properly apply their eating methods with a routine that will use more carbs and needs replenished.
The thrust of their advice is just what I stated above. You can't change except through training what ratio of carbs/fat you burn during your workout, but you can at least replenish what you did burn.
If you can do your cardio totally in the fat-burning zone, you'll still see pace progress faster still, and to boot train your body to utilize fat better, and have less carbs to replenish before your next workout.0 -
I can't run low carbing. I feel sluggish and tired. My legs get heavy and I can't keep going past about 5 miles. After about 6 I start throwing up. Your body NEEDS a quick efficient energy source to run long distances. There's a reason sports recovery drinks are 4:1 carbs:protein. That's the ratio you need.0
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My diet is high carb, and I usually run once my dinner has digested, though sometimes I run while it's cooking, depending on what's for dinner.0
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"carbing up" doesn't work for everyone. If I were a runner, it certainly would not work for me. I'm sure others can attest as well. I am among those for whom carbs turn more to fat than to energy. Doesn't matter when it is whole grain, potatoes, or processed.
I mostly limit my carb to those found in green beans, small amounts of carrots and corn.
Every time I have any sort of bread I feel it for days afterward. So I limit it to only when it is unavoidable.
There is no single "right" answer.
There are many people who run several marathons a year and constantly train but never lose fat until they reduce carb intake while keeping total calories the same.
And it is not true that anyone can be a distance runner. One must have a metabolism that is capable of converting carbs to energy not fat. There is a reason all the world class runners have almost no body fat. And it is not because they run a lot.0 -
I have been training for a half for a few months now and never carb loaded before long runs. I do 2 medium-long runs per week (5-8 miles) and 1 long (over 10) along with 1 day of speed intervals and 1 day of hills...theres no way I could carb load for all of that! And Ive never felt the need to, I usually complete all the runs fine. I do eat a diet thats about 40-50% carbs all the time.
Well, I had a 8 mile very hilly race yesterday..so decided to carb load on Sunday. I dont think it worked for me because I didnt feel any difference at all. But who knows. Do what works for you. If you feel that it helps you, then do it. Maybe just having a higher carb diet overall is the way to go (it seems to be for me anyways). Everyone is different.0 -
And it is not true that anyone can be a distance runner. One must have a metabolism that is capable of converting carbs to energy not fat. There is a reason all the world class runners have almost no body fat. And it is not because they run a lot.
While indeed true not anyone can be distance runner, opposite reason for the pro's. Everybody's system turns carbs into energy. In fact too many people go hard everyday and train nothing but their glucose energy systems, which isn't great for endurance.
Pro's train their aerobic system to burn more fat at higher effort, the carb burning comes naturally as intensity comes up. Something they have to watch for too. Because of limited glucose storage they too can go out too quick, run out of glucose stores, and "hit the wall" and performance suffers massively as muscle is torn down to convert to glucose to supply the muscles. You can still see that in the marathon contenders sometimes - someone went out too fast, not enough training or recovery, whatever. They hit, they slow.
1lb of fat at 3500 calories of energy, used about 50% of the time by a well trained marathoner, can get them through 2 marathons actually.
The limiting factor is the glucose stores that if done just right, can get them through 1 marathon at race pace.
They are lean on fat precisely because they are running. Ever seen marathoner come out of some injury time? They can get fat just like anyone else.0 -
Ever seen marathoner come out of some injury time? They can get fat just like anyone else.
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unless your from KENYA, hahahahaha :bigsmile: :laugh:0 -
For me, it's not so much carbs as calories. I can't run more than 10 miles unless I up my calories a bit at least a day or two preceding my run. It could be a mental thing, but it just feels like a physical drain, like I have no energy... if I don't load up.
FTR: I ate at maintenance for a week before my half marathon in March to make sure I didn't have performance problems.0 -
HI ,
sorry to take over but how can you train your body to burn fat instead of sugar??And it is not true that anyone can be a distance runner. One must have a metabolism that is capable of converting carbs to energy not fat. There is a reason all the world class runners have almost no body fat. And it is not because they run a lot.
While indeed true not anyone can be distance runner, opposite reason for the pro's. Everybody's system turns carbs into energy. In fact too many people go hard everyday and train nothing but their glucose energy systems, which isn't great for endurance.
Pro's train their aerobic system to burn more fat at higher effort, the carb burning comes naturally as intensity comes up. Something they have to watch for too. Because of limited glucose storage they too can go out too quick, run out of glucose stores, and "hit the wall" and performance suffers massively as muscle is torn down to convert to glucose to supply the muscles. You can still see that in the marathon contenders sometimes - someone went out too fast, not enough training or recovery, whatever. They hit, they slow.
1lb of fat at 3500 calories of energy, used about 50% of the time by a well trained marathoner, can get them through 2 marathons actually.
The limiting factor is the glucose stores that if done just right, can get them through 1 marathon at race pace.
They are lean on fat precisely because they are running. Ever seen marathoner come out of some injury time? They can get fat just like anyone else.0 -
sorry to take over but how can you train your body to burn fat instead of sugar??
Workout in that zone. It's only good for weight loss if you remember that you only have to replenish the glucose stores by the time of the next workout, obviously not the fat stores that were used up.
While true that you will burn the same quantity of fat at higher intensities as at lower (say 250 calories worth), if you burned 500 total for 1 hr, you need only eat back 250 extra carbs before your next workout. If you burned 750 total at higher intensity for 1 hr, you still burned 250 calories of fat, but now you should really eat back at least 500 extra calories of carbs to replenish that. Or the next day cardio will be cutting into stores never topped off. Doing that day after day is bad news for muscle retention.
That's just a precursor to why it's alright to use the fat-burning zone (better called Active Recovery zone), actually up into the aerobic zone, as opposed to going all out all the time.
Which is what far to many do each and every workout, which isn't smart either. Your body learns to go for the carb burning first, not the fat-burning. Which if you do 30 min max each day, fine and no problem.
If your intent is to be a runner and do distance, you'll have a problem.
You can always start out with lower HR and whatever pace allows it, and you will get faster once the cardio-respiratory system starts maximizing. And less injury prone.
It's much harder if not impossible to start out with higher HR and max out, and hope to stretch that into longer distances somehow. And more injury prone for the pounding you give yourself.
So to train your body to burn fat easier instead of carbs, do about mid-Aerobic HR zone training. Once that stops showing progress in improved pace, then some higher end training is in order.
Here's great story of just how effective it can work. I took 2 weeks to see improvement. Mark here was much faster than me and much more trained on the wrong side, took longer. Same results though.
http://www.markallenonline.com/maoArticles.aspx?AID=20 -
I carb up before a long run. Other than that, I stay in the moderate zone with carb - between 120-150g per day. Run days, I try to get at least 175.0
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Its a very individual thing.
I dont do "low carb" but I try to keep my macro ratio of 40/30/30.
A 10K or shorter run, I eat like usual.
anything over that, I will add some extra carbs for breakfast. Like a big bowl of oats. But that's just me
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I agree....I think the best way is whatever works for you.
I do see the science and logic behind "carbing up" before runs, in how your body burns carbs/sugars. It makes sense and I personally have found that if I have a carb heavy dinner the night before or even just a carb heavy day before, I have awesome long runs. On the other hand, on days I haven't paid a lot of attention and have had a protein heavy day, I tend to bonk pretty quickly. So my general rule is, if anything, I make sure I have a big bowl of oatmeal before a run and I am not hard on myself if I've had a low carb day and my run kind of stinks.
i agree!0 -
As my 'carboloading' usually falls over a taper, resting or easy period before a long run I keep my intake of carbs the same as I would on a normal training day. As I am using less I now have a surplus carbs that is in effect carboloading. I aim to eat low GI carbs when carboloading. The morning of the event my breakfast would contain carbs as well. During the event or long run I would switch to intermediate or high GI carbs.0
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You know bales... I was thinking about this for a second. As you know fat burning enzymes and all these things happen to utilize fat better. Then my magical words hit me "you can't out trick your body." Made me thinking of RMR... as you increase your fitness your RMR will go down. So you will naturally burn less calories. Which would result in smaller utilization of fatty acids.
OF course this is just theory, but I am starting to think it doesn't matter?
As you get very cardio-respiratory fit, you can indeed find your body being so much more efficient in delivering oxygen and using it to burn fat, that you burn less calories overall.
So perhaps 1.11 cal/min compared to 1.25 previously for BMR or RMR. But you burn the same amount as soon as you start moving, just able to use fat for energy source longer and at higher intensities than previously.
Same way it takes x amount of energy to move same mass same speed same incline. Really cardio fit will just burn more fat doing the effort, as opposed to unfit or only training the an-aerobic system.0 -
I dont load but i find that fruit really works for me. Allows me to run for longer.0
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I don't know if it's carbing or not, but I did notice last week that I ate a TON of carbs on sunday and when I went for my run on Monday, I ran farther than ever and felt awesome! So....I think there's a possible correlation. I have a 5K race on Saturday, so my hubby is making spagetti for diner friday night! LOL0
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I'm running my first half marathon in 11 days and this thread has been very informative
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Unfortunately, a regular running schedule will demand that you take in carbs. It really is the best fuel for any cardio program. Trying to cut back on this while doing this kind of training is "burning the candle at both ends".
I know this may fly in the face of the MFP philosophy but in all the years I have been running I have yet to meet a fat runner (definition: A person who has run regularly for long period of time) And we tend to shove in the carbs when given a chance!0 -
I don't know if it's carbing or not, but I did notice last week that I ate a TON of carbs on sunday and when I went for my run on Monday, I ran farther than ever and felt awesome! So....I think there's a possible correlation. I have a 5K race on Saturday, so my hubby is making spagetti for diner friday night! LOL
If the night before actually improves performance, then you've just proven that you are usually glucose depleted for where you should be.
Which means you should increase carbs after your workouts or eat more in general for your level of activity.
Because all the night before is doing is replenishing stores that are easily enough filled. You aren't getting in extra beyond that.0
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