Carbohydrates are very important in the diet of every human being, especially physically active people. They are the basic source of energy, and stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen, they affect efficiency during training. Different types of carbohydrates cause a different reaction of the body, so it is important to select them in the pre-workout nutrition.

How much carbohydrate should we eat a day? Previously, it was recommended that carbohydrates provide 60-70% of the energy of the daily diet. However, this approach is ambiguous and can lead to too little glycogen storage (low calorie diet) or ingestion of amounts that the body cannot store (high calorie diet).

It seems more reasonable to calculate the need for carbohydrates taking into account body weight, type and frequency of training.

How many carbohydrates should physically active people eat?

The higher the body weight, the higher the muscle mass and the greater the glycogen storage capacity. This means that the more you exercise, the more glycogen you need. In the case of moderate training lasting about 1 hour, you should provide 5-7 g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight, while if you exercise intensively, 2-3 hours. per day your requirement increases to 7-12 g per kg body weight.

For example, a woman weighing 60 kg who does aerobics for an hour needs 300-420 g of carbohydrate per day, and a man weighing 80 kg who cycles fast for 2 hours a day needs 560-960 g of carbohydrates.

In the case of a very high demand, covering it with food may be difficult or even impossible due to the large volume of meals and the feeling of overeating. In this situation, carbohydrate drinks are recommended - meal replacement shakes and drinks with glucose polymers.

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Already during the research conducted on athletes in the 1960s by Bergstrom and colleagues, it was found that the carbohydrate content in the diet, and thus - the amount of glycogen, affects performance. The group following the low-carbohydrate diet had significantly worse results, got tired faster and opted for lighter training than the group on the high-carbohydrate diet.

The concentration of glycogen in the leg muscles of the subjects was also measured. The amount of glycogen upeople on a high-carbohydrate diet was twice as high as in those on a medium-carbohydrate diet and 7 times as high as in those on a low-carbohydrate diet.

When to eat carbohydrates and what to choose?

Not all carbohydrates have the same effect on the body. When choosing carbohydrates for meals, it is best to use the glycemic index value, which describes what happens to your blood glucose after consuming a particular product. Food with a low GI during digestion releases energy more slowly and keeps you feeling full for longer. Foods with a high GI significantly increase blood sugar levels, and after consuming them, we quickly feel hungry.

The time, size and type of meals are very important in pre-workout nutrition. It is best to eat a meal before exercise 3-4 hours in advance. This is the time it takes for the food to digest and the stomach to empty. This will keep you from feeling neither too full nor too hungry.

If your daily schedule does not allow you to eat a full meal before exercise, eat a light snack 1-2 hours before exercise. Your endurance will be higher and you will use your training better than if you were hungry. Too long intervals between meals and training can cause a drop in blood sugar levels, faster fatigue and dizziness.

If your goal is to lose body fat, exercising on an empty stomach right after you wake up can help you burn fat faster. This is when insulin levels are at their lowest and glucagon levels are at their highest. In this state, more fat from adipose tissue is transported to the muscles and used as a source of energy.

Carbohydrates before and during training

By exercising on an empty stomach, however, you risk becoming fatigued much faster, interrupting your training, and burning fewer calories than when exercising after a meal. Most experts agree that they recommend low GI foods as the best source of carbohydrate in your pre-workout meal because they provide energy for the duration of your exercise. They also cause better fat burning during training.

Thanks to this, you can exercise longer and more intensively, because you will get more energy from fat, and your glycogen stores will last longer. This approach has been substantiated by numerous studies. Most of them clearly demonstrated that people exercising after a meal with a low GI value could train longer and more efficiently than people who ate foods with a high GI.

The recommended amount of carbohydrates before training is about 2.5 g per kg of body weight.

There is no need to consume carbohydrates during exercise lasting 45-60 minutes. However, it should be supplementedwater loss in the body. Training lasting more than an hour requires carbohydrates to maintain an adequate level of glucose in the blood, delay the moment of fatigue and enable more intense exercise. It is then recommended to provide 30-60 g of sugar per hour, preferably in the form of high GI products. It's also important to eat within the first 30 minutes of exercise, and not just when you're tired, as the body takes about half an hour for the sugar to enter the bloodstream.

Carbohydrates delivered during training can be both liquid and solid, but washed down with water. This snack should be light, not overburden the stomach, and above all, it should contain sugars that will be easily and quickly absorbed and used as a source of energy. These can be isotonic drinks, diluted fruit juices, cereal or energy bars, or raisins. Eating ready-made protein-carbohydrate mixes can be far more beneficial than consuming carbohydrate alone during exercise. This kit can minimize the breakdown of proteins during training and accelerate their regeneration.

Carbohydrates after training

Eating carbohydrates after exercise is essential to replenish lost glycogen stores. It is especially important to get the right amount of sugar if you exercise vigorously every day. Glycogen regenerates fastest in the first two hours after training. In the following hours, the speed of the process gradually slows down, and about 6 hours after exercise, it returns to normal.

For the most efficient glycogen supplementation, it is recommended that you eat 1g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight in the first two hours after exercise. If you exercise often, it's best to choose foods with a high glycemic index after training as they quickly raise blood glucose levels and contribute to faster glycogen replenishment.

After 8 hours, your muscle glycogen is higher if you eat a high GI meal than if you eat a low GI meal. However, after 24 hours, the glycogen levels are the same. This means that the type of carbohydrate eaten after a meal is important mainly for people who train frequently. If you are exercising once a day and not too hard, you can eat both high and low GI carbs.

As with exercise, your post-workout meal should contain protein, not carbs. Such a composition causes faster restoration of glycogen and better absorption of amino acids into the blood, thanks to which it stimulates protein synthesis. It also weakens the production of cortisol responsible for the breakdown of proteins. If you exercise intensively, remember aboutcalculating the need for carbohydrates for your body and meet them properly. The correct distribution of carbohydrates throughout the day and their selection helps to achieve better sports results, improve performance and minimize the risk of injury.

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Diets for active people