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Good nutrition provides the foundation for your goals, whether you want to lose weight the healthy way or fuel high-level physical activities. Unless you eat “the right stuff” at the right times, you aren’t going to get very far in either direction. Unfortunately, what counts as the right stuff often depends on the situation. Your body can’t do everything at once. Restricting your calorie intake to promote weight and fat loss can make it very difficult to build muscle mass or train for endurance events. If you’re trying to combine any or all of these goals, things can get pretty complicated. This article will help you understand the role that carbohydrates play in fueling exercise and recovery and how both the timing and nutritional makeup of your meals and snacks can help you achieve your performance goals. With all the emphasis placed on exercising to lose weight, many people are surprised to hear that exercise itself doesn’t actually burn much fat as fuel. Exercise uses up the calories you've eaten, but most "fat burning" occurs when your body then has to turn to fat stores to fuel basic bodily functions. To fuel moderate and high intensity exercise, your body relies primarily on carbohydrates (glucose), which are broken down quickly to fuel muscle cells. (Your body can't turn fats and proteins into usable energy quickly enough to meet the demands of exercising muscles.) Therefore, higher intensity cardio and strength training activities will burn more glucose as fuel, and more calories overall. Learn more about the myth of the "fat burning zone" by reading this Ask the Expert Q & A . Action Step: Don’t limit your carbohydrates. Most people need about 100-150 grams (400-600 calories) of carbohydrates every day just to fuel their brains and central nervous systems. On top of that, you need additional carbs to replace the energy stores you used when exercising. If you’re trying to lose weight, research shows that a diet where 55-60% of total calories come from carbohydrate is ideal for most physically active people. It takes time to digest your food and turn it into glycogen, which is the primary fuel your muscle cells actually use during exercise. Glycogen is made out of glucose (which comes from carbohydrates) and is stored in both your muscle cells and liver. As long as you're eating enough nutrients to meet your activity needs, your body can store enough glycogen to handle about 2000 calories worth of high-intensity activity or 4000 calories worth of lower-intensity activity—even if you haven’t eaten in a while. Continued › |
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Nutrition Articles › Healthy HabitsHigh Performance Nutrition - Part 1The Big Picture: Food as Fuel-- By Dean Anderson, Fitness & Behavior ExpertSparkPeople advertisers help keep the site free! Learn more
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About The Author
Dean Anderson
Dean Anderson has master's degrees in human services (behavioral psychology/stress management) and liberal studies. His interest in healthy living began at the age of 50 when he confronted his own morbid obesity and health issues. He joined SparkPeople and lost 150 pounds and regained his health. Dean has earned a personal training certification from ACE and received training as a lifestyle and weight management consultant. See all of Dean's articles. |
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Member Comments
When I ran high school track our coach told us not to eat anything 3 hours before our training or event. When I started to cycle long enough to require food I couldn't handle it; it seems you have to train your body to send a little blood to your stomach even when your legs want it all. For a while I felt ill no mater what I ate while cycling hard. After I got used to it I found myself looking forward to a snack; in fact now I start to feel a little peckish 20 miles into most rides. - 2/8/2010 5:08:17 PM
from an avid runner struggling with weight loss and how the body actually works....THANK YOU! - 11/16/2008 1:37:24 PM
This was excellent, everybody need to know about workout. I do really think you answer all my questions . For now anyway lol
Ty for your help - 9/1/2008 9:42:52 PM