I don't know how many of you are fans of The Office, but that show cracked me up when I was cranky during deployments. I caught one of the episodes today. It is Season 4, Episode 1, if you want to look it up. If you don't, heres a summary: Michael Scott (the bumbling idiot boss) hosts a 5K fun run to help cure Rabies. Yes. I said cure Rabies... Anyways, he decides to prepare himself for this race by carb-loading 5 minutes before the race with a huge plate of fettucine alfredo. And does not drink any water because rabies causes an irrational fear of water. Needless to say, it doesn't end well for him.
This is really funny because I am in the process of carb-loading for my 50K. It got me to thinking though...lots of people have heard of carb-loading but do they really know how to do it and when it is appropriate. Let me start by saying no one should be carb-loading for a 5K race. It is unneccessary for any distance less than a full marathon. It also is for healthy, long distance endurance athletes with no special dietary needs. If you do have special needs, its good to talk to a doctor before doing anything like carb-loading. I am simply going to explain the purpose for it and how I am going through the process.
For three days before my race, I am increasing my intake of carbohydrates to a high-carb diet level. This means lots of whole grains like oatmeal, popcorn, granola bars, and spaghetti for me! And of course, vegetables. They are another wonderful carbohydrate source. That is why my supper tonight going to be spaghetti made with whole grain pasta and sauce filled with veggies. And I am loving it, I can't lie... I still eat all whole grains, but more of my daily caloric intake is carbohydrates. I increase my calorie intake a little, but I eat a lot to begin with, so it isn't necessary to eat too much more. All in all, when you hear stuff about carb-loading, its an advanced dietary technique used to store extra energy for an endurance event. It helps improve performance (or in my case help me just survive...) and can be healthy when done right, but is definately not something that should be done on a normal basis or by someone who isn't about to do some crazy race because unused carbohydrates will end up stored as body fat. So there you have it! Carb-loading the right way...not the Michael Scott way!
*If you are an athlete who is considering carb-loading, please don't simply go off of this information. This is just a brief explination. Leave me a comment, and I will be glad to share more with you and help you develop a proper and healthy plan.*
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