Carb loading for endurance sports

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RobynLB83
RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am starting a 5 day 80 mile high altitude backpacking trip tomorrow. My priority with nutrition on this trip is to stay as physically strong as possible. I'd like to carb load today. I can't rest because I run / hike 4-5 hours a day for work. Will eating at maintenance fully resupply my glycogen or how much over maintenance should I eat?

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  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    At this point just eat & not worry about how far over maintenance you are. Over the course of 5 days & 80 miles, you are going to be eating pretty much as much as you can. Carb loading now isn't going to make or break the trip,staying properly fueled as you go will.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    I generally go slightly over maintenance (200-300 calories) three to five days prior to an endurance event. I am not sure if this is necessary, but it has never failed me. Also, I read somewhere that your body retains the glycogen better with hydration. I try to get a good portion of my carbs from juices and sports drinks during that time. My experience with carb loading has been more for marathons than the type of event you are doing, so I hope that others that have more experience in ultras and the like respond. Good luck!!!
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Left it a bit late if you are going tomorrow.
    You may find this article interesting although it's aimed at cyclists....

    http://roadcyclinguk.com/how-to/nutrition-what-is-carb-loading.html

    I would worry about fuelling your exercise rather than how much over maintenance you go.
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    You shouldn't have any problem getting nutrition during backpacking so it's not as if you need to carb load. Just eat during the day. Food won't be an issue at all. Just make sure you're getting enough water.
  • RobynLB83
    RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
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    rybo wrote: »
    At this point just eat & not worry about how far over maintenance you are. Over the course of 5 days & 80 miles, you are going to be eating pretty much as much as you can. Carb loading now isn't going to make or break the trip,staying properly fueled as you go will.

    Yeah. Just wondering if an extra 1,000 today would help on day 1 or not really make any difference. I don't usually do anything different with my nutrition
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    You shouldn't have any problem getting nutrition during backpacking so it's not as if you need to carb load. Just eat during the day. Food won't be an issue at all. Just make sure you're getting enough water.

    I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic. I can never eat or carry enough food backpacking and usually lose a half lb to a lb per day...
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
    edited October 2015
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    RobynLB83 wrote: »
    rybo wrote: »
    At this point just eat & not worry about how far over maintenance you are. Over the course of 5 days & 80 miles, you are going to be eating pretty much as much as you can. Carb loading now isn't going to make or break the trip,staying properly fueled as you go will.

    Yeah. Just wondering if an extra 1,000 today would help on day 1 or not really make any difference. I don't usually do anything different with my nutrition
    _Waffle_ wrote: »
    You shouldn't have any problem getting nutrition during backpacking so it's not as if you need to carb load. Just eat during the day. Food won't be an issue at all. Just make sure you're getting enough water.

    I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic. I can never eat or carry enough food backpacking and usually lose a half lb to a lb per day...

    No. Not being sarcastic. Carrying calorie dense food is must. My base calorie requirement before any exercise is 2500. I don't have an issue with food backpacking. Your issue is most likely that high altitude acts as an appetite suppressant. If you eat what you feel like eating you're going to lose weight at high altitude. Eat more food.


    Picture from a week long event earlier this year from over 14k feet. I know all about this high altitude stuff.
    j5UtpH7l.jpg

    ETA: You do have a pack on your back, correct? Put food in it. Get a water filtration system so you don't need to carry so much water.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Studies I've seen show that about 50g carbs or 7g per kg of body weight every couple hours will fully replenish muscle and liver glycogen in about 24 hours if you're fully depleted. Since I doubt you're starting from anywhere near tanked out, you can just go with that for as long as you've got.

    For the hiking, nut butters are your friend. But if you haven't been training with them, I wouldn't recommend suddenly switching over for the hike...it's a bad location for digestive upset.
  • Sam_I_Am77
    Sam_I_Am77 Posts: 2,093 Member
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    RobynLB83 wrote: »
    I am starting a 5 day 80 mile high altitude backpacking trip tomorrow. My priority with nutrition on this trip is to stay as physically strong as possible. I'd like to carb load today. I can't rest because I run / hike 4-5 hours a day for work. Will eating at maintenance fully resupply my glycogen or how much over maintenance should I eat?

    Try and find some research on the subject of "Carbohydrate Supercompensation", that should help. :)
  • RobynLB83
    RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
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    hill8570 wrote: »
    Studies I've seen show that about 50g carbs or 7g per kg of body weight every couple hours will fully replenish muscle and liver glycogen in about 24 hours if you're fully depleted. Since I doubt you're starting from anywhere near tanked out, you can just go with that for as long as you've got.

    For the hiking, nut butters are your friend. But if you haven't been training with them, I wouldn't recommend suddenly switching over for the hike...it's a bad location for digestive upset.

  • RobynLB83
    RobynLB83 Posts: 626 Member
    edited October 2015
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    Thanks all! I think I'll try to get in a few hundred more grams carbs than usual throughout today to make sure I'm topped off. Also, I'll make sure to eat as much as I can on the trail (even when not hungry) per the advice of Waffle aka The Itallian Grandmother of Backpacking.

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