How do you get your carbs?

Triathlon Forum
1

I have 5 weeks off work and want to use the time, in part, to make a serious effort at improving my diet. I’ve read Racing Weight and Feed Zone (currently looking to pick up a copy of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes).

From what I’ve read, it is recommended to take in roughly 10 g of carb / kg of body weight when training roughy 15 hours/wk. I currently weigh 175 lbs (goal race weight is 155-160), which translates to 79.38 kg, or 793.8 g carb/day. I’m having a hard time hitting this carb suggestion.

My current diet typically includes the following:

Pre-workout: Banana & 12 oz gatoradeBreakfast: Ezikel 4 english muffin w/ 1 tbsp PB & an appleMid-morning snack: 3/4 cup granola w/ 1/2 cup almond milkLunch: Spinach salad w/ garbonzo beans, peanuts, goat cheese, and an avocadoPost-mid-day workout (weights): 1 scoop whey protein, 8 oz almond milkMid-afternoon snack: 2 slices whole grain toast w/ 1 tbsp almond butterWorkout 3: gel packet (typically Clif Shot or Honey stinger)Dinner (changes week to week)
By dinner time, I have roughly 375 carbs left for my “quota.” I don’t want to A) have to find something that has that many carbs for dinner or B) eat that many carbs that late in the day. And yes, I am an extremely ritualistic eater. It is less of an issue with weight management as it is the fact that I hate making decisions about what “I’m in the mood to eat.” I’d rather eat the same thing every day for weeks on end and know what I’m getting at the grocery store than change it up week to week. The only difference is dinner, which I eat with my fiance, who does not share my views on repeating food.

Any suggestions for getting more carbs through the day other than replacing my lunch with pasta every day? Thoughts on rice & eggs for breakfast instead?

Also -any thoughts on almond butter v.s. peanut butter in general (both are low in carbs, so that’s a wash). Almond butter is about 3x as expensive as peanut butter, so if there’s not that much of a difference, I’m going to replace the afternoon almond butter with peanut butter.

2

Beer.

3

Beer.

x2.

4

Beer.

x2

x3
.

5

I get a lot of carbs in my breakfast which usually consists of: oatmeal or yoghurt with muesli along with lots of fruit. Usually 1 or 2 pieces of bread as well.

6

Really? 10g of carb per kg?

I’ve heard doing 5g/kg makes sense WHEN CARB LOADING.

Seeing as the body can only really process 60g of carbs per hour, you’re going to be pooping most of that out.

7

Really? 10g of carb per kg?

I’ve heard doing 5g/kg makes sense WHEN CARB LOADING.

Seeing as the body can only really process 60g of carbs per hour, you’re going to be pooping most of that out.

Ya, I was kind of hoping someone would say “that’s a load of crap” and have something to point to as proof. I’m pulling that number from Racing Weight, but will be very interested to see what “Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes” has to say once I manage to track a copy down. I’ve heard good reviews about that book while Racing Weight leaves me a little… discontented?

8

My experience may differ from yours, but life circumstances with work travel and a family have caused me to drop from training 12-16 hours/week year-round (with the exception of ~6-8 weeks of 6-8 hour/week training in the winter) to ~6 hours/week now. I had to take last summer off of road racing as well as this summer, losing fitness, putting on weight, and have started training with purpose again since mid-May. While I’m not focusing on the same length of races anymore (now my focus is on cyclocross and the occasional sprint duathlon), the decreased training hasn’t caused me to struggle getting back to fitness and hasn’t caused a struggle in losing weight either. I’m ~90% as fit as I was at my prior peak, based on comparative rides/courses, with only ~3 months of any real structure in my training again…and less base.

I attribute a huge part of this to my approach on my diet. Practicing a less-regimented approach to the Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance (book…check it out for ~$6 on Kindle), I’ve essentially cut out all grains and high-glycemic foods from my diet. I’m not as regimented as the ketogenic diet calls for in the book, but really focus on slow burn carbs when carbs are consumed. For example, my typical breakfast is a smoothie made with local yogurt (organic, grass fed jersey cow milk & probiotics only), strawberry & blueberry, spinach, whey powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, peanut or almond butter, coconut oil. Lunch is typically dinner leftovers, which is usually something like grilled chicken & veggies, bison burger stuffed with goat cheese & spices & spinach & sun dried tomato, chicken/steak fajitas with tons of peppers, mushroom/onion fritatta with a seasonal salad, etc. Nothing is processed and a month ago I cut out any artificial sweeteners of any sort. Training has converted to shorter sets but structured with high intensity intervals, taking 2 cardio workouts/week and replacing them with upper body strength training (figuring lower body will take place in the offseason and on the bike/run during the season). I stopped counting calories altogether, because my body tells me when it’s had enough, and it doesn’t take much.

Despite only consuming carbs in this way, I haven’t noticed a decrease in performance or that “shaky” feeling at any point working out, including a 5 hour training ride in the mountains out west with significant climbing…during which I consumed zero carbs, using what was in my body instead. I’m able to do back to back interval sessions that I couldn’t maintain previously and my body composition is transforming in positive ways it didn’t during the higher volume training while eating a lot of carb-based foods, with more fat loss and lean muscle preservation.

This is just my experience, but I’d encourage you to check out the book. It’s definitely more over the top than what most people can handle, but gives enough basic principals that can be integrated into how everyone eats. It’s helped me see that I was over-relient on carbs and it was hindering my performance more than anything.

Now if I could just get a handle on my night-owl tendencies I’d be set!

9

3175.2 calories from carbs alone on a daily basis seems pretty high. Especially if you’re trying to cut 15-20lbs (54,000-72,000 calories). Over 5 weeks you need to be at a ~10,000-14,000 calorie deficit a week. If you’re currently high sodium you can drop some lbs by making sure you’re eating only real, unprocessed food. But after a week of that you’re going to be looking at real weight and everything dropped will need to be fat.

Either way, I try to get most of my carbs from sweet potatoes/ whole fruit & veggies.

10

3175.2 calories from carbs alone on a daily basis seems pretty high. Especially if you’re trying to cut 15-20lbs (54,000-72,000 calories). Over 5 weeks you need to be at a ~10,000-14,000 calorie deficit a week. If you’re currently high sodium you can drop some lbs by making sure you’re eating only real, unprocessed food. But after a week of that you’re going to be looking at real weight and everything dropped will need to be fat.

Either way, I try to get most of my carbs from sweet potatoes/ whole fruit & veggies.

The 15-20 lb weight goal isn’t just for the 5 weeks, it’s a general goal. That said, I’d like to do as much as I can by 10/27, which is my 70.3.

I try to eat real food as much as possible, unfortunately for your point, so it looks like I’m facing real weight as-is. I think the most “packaged” thing I eat is the occasional Lara bar when I’m running errands or a gel packet when I’m literally running. Oh, and beer (but I have a whole other post on that) :slight_smile:

11

Beer.

x2

x3

X4
.

12

I’m actually trying to do the same thing right now and have a copy of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes at work with me. I haven’t gone through it yet but there is a chart with the recommended daily nutrient requirements. If I’m reading it correctly, it recommends 10-12 grams of carbs per kilo for days you are working out 3-4 hours at moderate/high intensity. For days of 90 minutes to 3 hours of moderate/high intensity, it recommends 7-10 grams of carbs per kilo. For days of under 1 hour of moderate intensity or several hours of low intensity, it recommends 5-7 grams of carbs per kilo.

13

High fructose corn sweetness!

14

Why don’t you eat any carbs after your mid day workout?

15

Why don’t you eat any carbs after your mid day workout?

I have 2 slices of toast for my mid-afternoon snack, which typically takes place around 4-5. After that, I have another workout around 7 during which I have a gel, and then eat dinner around 8:30. I will of course have carbs with dinner, but trying not to overdo it so late.

Unfortunately, the evening workout pushes dinner later. I am in a very hot area, so its often 7:30 - 8:00 PM before the temp falls below 100. I could try eating dinner before that workout, but that has historically always just made me sick. Too late of workouts also make it more difficult for me to fall asleep.

16

x5^3
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17

It doesn’t say what your morning and evening workouts are or their duration. Is it possible to move a longer workout to the morning or make sure that the workout in the evening is shorter and/or easier to eat before?

18

I’d eat more carbs at lunch, fewer at dinner depending on when your last workout is. Or I might eat a few more carbs than what’s in that whey/Almond milk mix…essentially zero carbs there.

19

I think you may have misread something. 10g per KG is for days when you are training 5+ hours. For your shorter days you’ll eat less. If you are training 15 hours a week, have one 5 hour day and a rest day lets say you are averaging 2 hours a day the rest of the week. On those days 5-6g per KG is all Fitzgerald recommends.

Training Volume (Hours/Day) – Carbohydrate Needs (grams per kilogram of body weight)
1 – 5 g/kg
2 – 6 g/kg
3 – 7 g/kg
4 – 8 g/kg
5 – 9 g/kg

5 – 10 g/kg

20

10g/kg does sound a little high, but would ultimately depend on how many calories you need to eat in order to maintain and/or lose weight. I would guess you are in the range of 3,000-3,500 cal a day based on 15hr a week training. If you eat 60% of that as carbs, you are looking 450-525g/day or ~7g/kg. If you are more in the 4000 cal/day range and 65-70% carbs, that would be right on the 10g/kg.

Are you a vegetarian? Your diet seems quite restrictive in the morning and after workouts. Are you having 4 english muffins, or is that a brand name? I would also add in much more carbs after workouts, you are looking for a 3:1 or 4:1 ration of carb:pro post workout (within 15min).