WHAT IS CARBO LOADING
Carbo loading is a type of diet used by endurance athletes before races lasting more than 90 minutes. It works by increasing the proportion of carbohydrates in the diet during last 2-3 days prior to the start in order to allow muscle glycogen storage above the natural level. Glycogen is a polysaccharide that constitues a basic fuel for our muscles – the more there is, the longer our muscles can work. Reserves of this fuel in the muscles is normally sufficient to maintain activities shorter than 90 minutes, so it makes no sense to apply this diet for half marathons and shorter competitions.
Potentially, a well applied diet may delay the onset of fatigue by up to 20% and increase efficiency by 2-3% (Hawley et al. 1997). Usually, the body is able to store approx. 300 grams of carbohydrates in the form of glycogen (approx. 1200 kcal). With this method, you can temporarily increase this storage up to 500-600 grams of carbohydrates (approx. 2000 kcal).
Diet was created in the 60s and was later refined. Currently, there are two ways of applying carbo loading – the first (original), which consists of two phases, three days each, and the latter (developed in the 80s), which is restricted to only the second stage of 2-3 days before the race. Full carbohydrates loading aims at washing out carbohydrates from the body in the first stage through a diet composed of mainly protein, fiber and small ammount of fat) only to replenish the muscle glycogen later above than normal level. This happens due to a reduction of training (tapering) and eating almost sole carbohydrates. Thanks to this, „hungry” muscles should absorb glycogen like a sponge.
IS IT WORTH IT?
I do not intend at this point to comment on the legitimacy of this method. It is enough for me that I personally feel the positive effects of this method. I use it before every tough race, and the first time I tried it was after Dębno Marathon (06.04.2014), where I hit the wall on the 25th kilometer. Facing the Cracovia Marathon the following month (18.05.2014), I knew that there is too little time to significantly improve my endurance and I decided to try some other way. Carbo loading method allowed me to trim off five minutes from the final result, while the run itself felt much lighter and fatigue appeared only at about 40th kilometer (it was all downhill by then). From this race on, I always stick to this diet prior to any tough race.
HOW IT WORKS
I use the original version of a diet – I tolerate quite well the carb depletion phase. I feel fatigue, but it does not affect my mental attitude, and physical exhaustion at the end of the phase is for me a clear sign that everything is going according to plan. In my case, diet is as follows:
PHASE 1:
Usually races fall on sunday, so the first phase begins on monday and I keep it until mid-Thursday. DUe to the fact that I’m a veggie eater, it’s quite hard to cut off carbs completely, as vegetable protein sources also contain sugars. My diet at this time relies heavily on cottage cheese, eggs, yoghurt and veggies. The diet should be adjusted to your Calorie requirements and split proportionally into 5-6 meals. Breakfast and dinner should make up the biggest meals. Dukan diet recipes turn out to be well-cut for this phase – a lot of protein and fiber.
In this phase I carry on with two running sessions – on tuesday and thursday. The latter one is already very tough, as I am completely leached out of glycogen and this is clearly noticeable (higher heart rate, rapid breathing and heavy legs). Fortunately, these are tha last moments of this phase.
Sample meals during these days can be as follows:
BREAKFAST (1st meal) – oat bran pancakes + tomato / oatmeal with cottage cheese / soft-boiled eggs with several slices of avocado
SNACK (2nd and 4th meal) – yoghurt with a handful of nuts / cream cheese / flaxseed pudding / cooked broccoli with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds / buttermilk, natural / kefir
LUNCH (3rd meal) – Chili con carne (tofu instead of meat) / cauliflower curry with lentils and soy burgers / chickpea burgers with green beans / buckwheat with cheese and fried onions / cottage cheese dumplings
DINNER (5th meal) – cream cheese with tomato or cucumber / omelette with ginger or curry and peas / broccoli with feta cheese
The last meal in my case falls on the 4th meal on Thursday, approx. H. 16:00
PHASE 2:
Thursday’s dinner is a meal I think of from the moment I wake up because it is a complete carb meal. For me, these 2,5 days is enough to refill muscles with glycogen, but every body is different – for you Thursday may already be a day when you want to begin the second phase from the very start.
At Thursday’s dinner, usually I eat millet porridge with raisins, banana and other fruits (strawberries, blueberries, etc.). After such a supper I immediately feel better. During next days I eat virtually sole carbohydrates. We can safely take in some monosaccharide, but remember this to still be a healthy diet. As a reward for „suffering” during Phase 1, I allow myself half of vegetarian pizza on thin crust as one of the dinners. On the last evening, obviously, a „pasta party”, and in the morning on race day only proven meals – no experiments, so You don’t suffer any stomach upset on the route.
Sample meals during these days can be as follows:
BREAKFAST (1st meal) – muesli with milk or fruit juice / oatmeal/ bun with jam or honey / fruit juice
SNACK (2nd and 4th meal) – banana / cereal bar / smoothie / bun with jam / fruit salad / chocolate
LUNCH (3rd meal) – tortilla pizza/ Pasta with vegetables and pesto / pad-thai / risotto / dumplings with fruit / pancakes
DINNER (5th meal) – leftovers from dinner or small serving of pasta or risotto / pasta party / 2 buns with plum jam /
CAUTION!! DURING THE WHOLE DIET DRINK A LOT OF WATER.