Carbohydrates in diet

wod1

How do you know if you are eating enough carbohydrate to match exercise?

I cycle to work and some other rides averaging around 100 miles a week. In addition I have started to some training on swimming and running towards doing some triathlons. so an addional 2x 5km run and an hours swimming per week, one full rest day a week.

I have lost some weight from cycling but now sit at 67kgs for 180cm (in the middle of the BMI normal range) and dont apper to be losing any more.

In general I eat only 3 average meals a day and only have some additional snacks in the evevning. I feel I have a reasonable diet with low meat consumption but very high fish consumption (main source of protein) .Generally meals with oats (porridge or museli) for breakfast, fish and veg/pulses for lunch with fruit and then main meal (mostly fish) with a carb source. snack fruit or yogurt /toast or cake.

At times I can feel that my cycling feels a little heavy in the morning which is porbably just a mental attitude thing but is there any additonal signs that this might be due to carbohydrate intake? I have high protein intake due to having around 300g+ of fish a day on average but probably low complex carbohydrates ( not so much bread/rice / pasta/potato)

My wife is certain I dont eat enought complex carbs, would like me to weight an extra 5kg and wont accept pulses or fruit and veg as a suitable carbohydrate source. I dont really want to make any changes to my diet as I am happy with the intake I currently have and have a stable weight - however I dont want it to suffer on my performance as I have two triathlons booked for later in the summer.

If there was other tell tale signs of lack of carbohydrate intake that would be good. I am thinking the next step is to do some food diaries and look at the % protein / fat / diary and carbs......

imposter2.0

There doesn't seem to be any reason to suspect that you might be low on carbs (which you aren't, by the way). Why do you think you are?

SBezza

I eat very little complex carbs in the form of bread, potatoes, pasta etc, and I can quite happily train for 10+ hours a week fuelling mainly on fruit and veg. There is no real need to stuff your face with bread/rice/pasta/potatoes etc to get all the energy you need.

Unless you or you wife critically monitors what goes in, and how much you use you have no idea if what you eat is enough, but I would warrant given the volume of training you do, that you eat plenty. There are also plenty of people that train and race very well on virtually no carbs at all.

If you are happy with what you eat, keep it the same and don't be pressured into eating more/differently by anyone.

Zendog1

If you run out of glucose you bonk = not eating enough carbs.
No bonks = you are eating enough carbs. Any surplus will be converted to fat.

team47b

40 to 60 percent of your overall food should come from complex carbohydrates.

Your diet off the bike sounds OK, how many grams of carbs per hour do you eat when cycling over an hour and a half?

As a rough guide you need to consume 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour during endurance exercise, this is an average it obviously varies depending on your weight and intensity

Different carbs are absorbed at different rates and affect blood glucose differently.

Grill

Macros are personal. Roughly 80% of my calories are from carbs (mostly fruit and veg) and it works for me, but doesn't mean it will work for you. I have some complex carbs but not much. Power to weight bro, you can put on 5kg but it will just make you slower.

wod1

Thanks for the comments, Thats a good point about bonks. I have only had one bonk which was on a two hour ride that I did the first uphill into a head wind. I only tend to consume food if I was doing a 3hour + ride, and a banana or ceral bar with fluids (squash with a little sea salt)

I have no intention of gaining 5kgs but I am also getting nagged about it!

When I did 120 miles one friday and then back on Monday I was I guess apprehensive about bonks. I had a handful of ceral bars/ bananas and never felt at all short of energy with a lunch stop of a sandwich. Just after lunch the sandwich felt like a lead ballon in my stomach mind you.

Given how little some people in poorer areas of the world eat and live an active life I certainly think 3 meals a day even if one of them is only soup or salad (no bread or complex carbs) is totaly suffienct, I just need my wife to understand that which she doesnt. I think it is just because I have changed from weighting 92kgs 5 years ago down to 66kg - the first little bit by diet and the rest by getting into cycling. Cycling and espcially commuting is a wonderful world of exercise, fresh air and daylight rather than being in the office!

Grill

Word. You tell the missus what's up.

Medjool dates are the best energy food you can eat, give them a try.