Ask the Coach: What's the Best Fuel?

As a running coach, one of the most asked questions I get (especially among my race trainees) is, "What's the best fuel, fat or carbs?"

I learned along time ago, that like politics, food can be a very emotional topic for people. So, I'm not here to say one fuel is bad and one fuel is good. I can share from personal experience and from the research which tends to be better for a runner. As an individual, you an decide what's best for you. And as always, consult with your physician and/or registered dietitian when making any dietary changes, especially if you have specific dietary needs or a physical condition dependent on a specific diet.

In my race training plans I provide my runners with basic fueling guidelines to support their pre-, during-, and post run fueling and refueling. These guidelines provide basic carbohydrate, protein, and fat recommendations based on my education from RRCA, ASCM, and NPTI. From my running coach's perspective, carbohydrates are a runners main source of fuel.

A lot of recent popular diet programs use a fat-for-fuel approach. A big draw to these programs is initial quick weight loss. Most of the fat-based diets severely restrict carb to as little as 10% while increasing fat up to 75% of calories. The bases for his shift is that this type of diet for the athlete will prevent bonking or crashing. This type of diet is supposed to provide a bigger reserve of energy sustaining activity for longer periods of time. Research has been done showing that ultra marathoners and Ironman triathletes who had a high fat diet of 70% fat and 10% carbs for 9-36 months burned fat at much greater rates during an 180-min run than those who followed a lower fat diet of 25% fat, 59% carbs. This outcome seems pretty good.

More research, however, shows that for sports where you need to kick it up a notch at times, a high-fat diet, isn't going to provide that umph you're looking for. Why? Well, as your body learns to burn fat more efficiently, it impairs your body's ability to burn carbohydrates. Your body uses fewer chemical reactions to convert carbs to energy. So, with a proper carb store and your body being able to quickly convert carbs to energy, you can get that boost you need to charge that hill, or pull out of a fatigue slump, or change gears  as you near that finish line. With conversion of fat to fuel, your body is more like, "Oh okay, you want to go faster. Wait, hang on. I'm working on it."

Idea Fitness Journal (April 2018) shares that in a review of 61 studies, the vast majority showed that diets relying on more calories from carbs than fats were optimal for athletic performance (Stellingwerff & Cox 2014). None of the studies showed that a carb-rich diet hurt performance. Most research shows that decreasing carbs in favor of fat isn't likely to get you to the finish line faster. (Burke et at. 2017; Havemann et al. 2006; Urban et al. 2017; Zinn et al. 2017).

Another thing to keep in mind if you desire to go to a high fat/low carb diet is that it takes weeks to adapt to. I do not recommend a runner who wants to try a high fat diet switch to it while at the same time starting a race training program. Start the transition several months prior to starting race training. Why? When switching to a high fat diet one can expect to experience fatigue, constipation, and mood swings none of which would be great to experience while starting up a race training plan.

Personally, I'm a proponent of eating a well balanced diet. I'm a strong believer in a good mix of complex carbs (including whole grains, fruits and veggies), healthy fats, and protein is key. Then when kicking in race training, I believe slightly increasing healthy complex carbohydrates is key in supporting your workouts.

Here's the Story...of a Lovely Potato...

Let's face it. Pasta is the "Marsha" of the Brandy Bunch of training foods. It get's all the glam, all the attention, all the pre-race dinners. The potato on the other hand, is the "Jan" of the bunch. I can hear the ole spud now sitting in the burlap sack in the back of the pantry saying, "Pasta, Pasta, Pasta! All I ever hear is Pasta!" Well, before that spud runs off feeling unloved and gets replaced in all the reunion movies with a doughnut or a bagel or something, let's take a closer look at this "plain-Jan" misunderstood veggie.

This step-child of the veggie world often gets a bad rap. Many people seem to have the misunderstanding that potatoes aren't nutritious. I guess it's because they're not leafy or dark green, but actually potatoes are loaded with vitamins and minerals. Did you know that a regular baking potato contains 64% of your daily value of vitamin C and 53% of your daily value of vitamin B6, and a sweet potato has 700% of your daily value of vitamin A? Being prone to calf cramps, the thing I like most about potatoes is that they contain over 1,500mg of potassium. That's three times more than a banana! It's a bit of a myth that you have to eat the skin to get all the vitamins. The skin accounts for about 50% of the potato's fiber, but actually most of the nutrients are inside the spud.

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Potatoes are also a great source of complex carbohydrates. Pasta doesn't even have as much! No, they're not as romantic as pasta. And you don't normally have them by candlelight. And Lady and Tramp would have looked kind of funny sucking on opposite ends of a potato, but the fact is, potatoes make a great food for runners.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Hey but aren't potatoes high on the Glycemic Index?" Yep, they do have a high GI, but for runners that's a good thing. It means they're easily and quickly digested and get into your system to be used as energy quickly. If you have trouble with potatoes spiking your blood sugar too quickly, you can remedy this by eating a little fat or protein along with your potato. Greek yogurt is high in protein and is very similar in consistency to sour cream. Adding a dollop to your spud will help prevent that spike and slow down the digestion helping to provide a steadier stream of energy. You'll get the same result if you add a little Smart Balance margarine which will provide some fat(the good kind--polyunsaturated and monounsaturated). Or try eating a potato with a little chicken or turkey.

After a run, you need to replenish your spent carbs really quickly and that's the perfect time to ingest fast-acting carbs. Potatoes are perfect for this. Add a little protein and you have the perfect post-run recovery snack.

Now beware. Your sedentary friends will be quick to tell you (as they munch on their Mickey D's fries) that potatoes are bad, that they spike your blood sugar, and will turn to fat on you quickly. The sad thing, is that for them, that thinking is exactly right. If you're not active and you're not using those carbs as pre-run fueling or post-run re-fueling, it may very will have all of those negative effects. But I for one am elated, that I can mix-up a little homemade potato salad (using lowfat mayo) and wolf-it down after a run.

So Marsha...I mean Pasta, move aside! Potato Jan is moving into her own!

To Eat or Not To Eat? That's Often the Question.

Just recently I had an email from Brad, a reader of the blog, about fueling during the long run. Then this past weekend, one of the runners in my half-marathon training group, Amy, had a similar question about fueling your run. "To eat or not to eat?" is often top of mind for runners. Or probably even more accurately, "What to eat or what not to eat?"

For those of you hoping for a definitive answer, I'm sorry to disappoint. There are so many factors involved—likes, dislikes, allergies, digestive tolerance, and on and on. What works for one runner may have another runner praying to the porcelain god (or more accurately the plastic port-a-john god) the entire run.

There are however, some good rules of thumb to follow. The first rule of thumb is "Test well in advance." It's best to try new foods when you're not in training. If you are training, it's best to test new things early on so you'll know well in advance what's going to work and not work. When you're in your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe two weeks before the big race, fight hard the temptation to try something new. Better yet, just don't even go in until after the race. Ask your wife, husband, significant other, sister, brother, mother, the guy on the corner, somebody to pick up what you need. Same thing goes for the natural foods. Stick to what you know works when it's close to race day. And the biggest warning of all...Avoid the "Try me! Try me!" barking of the sales reps at the marathon expo. Although the marathon expo can be an exciting place the day before the race, try really hard to avoid much (if any) taste-testing. You never know what may throw your tum-tum for a loop!

Okay, I've rambled on enough. Sorry, it's the dad in me (as well as being the son of a preacher) feeling the need to give a little sermon on the dos and don'ts of pre-race eating. Here's the info you're really wanting to know.

Pre-run Fueling: Fueling before a long run should actually start the day before. Make sure your snacks and meals the day before your long run are comprised of complex carbs (vegetables, whole grains, etc.). In doing so, you’ll maximize your glycogen stores. Glycogen is the main source of energy for your long runs. When completely full, your glycogen stores have will provide enough energy for about 2hrs of running (~2000 calories). Some runners will tell me, "I ate breakfast before my long run, but I still bonked." There could be several things at play which caused the "bonk", but more than likely, even though they ate breakfast, if their glycogen stores were not full, the breakfast they did eat would only take them so far. Fueling is a continuous thing, especially when you're in training.

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The pre-run meal the day of your long run is important too. What you eat before an endurance run can greatly impact your performance. No food or too little food before a long run can result in fatigue. It can also cause you to burn more muscle which can result in injury. Lots of runners don't eat prior to a run because they fear the dreaded upset stomach. But not eating before a long run can result in a less than stellar run. Just like you train to increase your mileage, you need to train your body to eat something prior to running. What you eat and how much will vary from runner to runner. You don't need a heavy breakfast, but a combination of carbs and protein is a good plan.

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Eating prior to a run will give your body some fuel to use before having to use its reserves (those glycogen stores I mentioned earlier). If you start off using your reserves too soon and they get depleted, fatigue will soon follow as well as the dreaded "bonk." Fat is needed and is important in the absorption of nutrients, but avoid eating high-fat foods before a long run. These foods take longer to digest and will make you feel like a slug and may even cause you to feel nauseous on your run. For some runners it’s also good to avoid complex carbs right before a run. Yep, normally I’d be telling you to make sure your diet is rich in complex carbs, but for some runners, eating them shortly before a run can cause cramping because it takes complex carbs longer to digest. So, it’s okay to save the whole-wheat pasta for the dinner the night before and eat eat some white bread or other form of simple carb in the morning before your long run. Because your body will digest these foods quickly, these simple carbs will go directly to fueling the body, protecting your glycogen stores for later in the run.

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Some pre-run foods to try include:

• a bagel with peanut butter
• a waffle with peanut butter
• two graham crackers with peanut butter
• dry cereal
• a banana with peanut butter
• Greek yogurt with fruit
• Uncrustables (those little round peanut butter sandwiches with the crimped sides in the frozen foods section)
• an energy bar (check the label and make sure it's not loaded with saturated fat)
• a hard-boiled egg and toast

Keep in mind that you’ll want to avoid running on a full stomach so, you’ll need to wake up a little earlier in order to let your food digest. Eating 1.5 hrs before a morning long run is a good rule of thumb

You can train you body to use fat as a fuel source too. This can come in very handy on really long runs. Basically, running some shorter distances (4-8 miles) on an empty stomach will force your body to go to an alternate source of fuel—fat. The thinking is that if you’ve trained your body to burn fat as fuel, then during a long run, if you run low on your glycogen stores, your body will know to kick-in its fat-burning abilities. But just as I said earlier, you need to test this out well before race day. Don’t wake up race-day morning and decide not to eat anything before your 26.2-mile run so you can burn off all your fat. It ain’t gonna work for ya, and not only will the big brick wall hit ya in the face, it will land right on top of ya!

Fueling on the Run: For runs lasting more than 60 minutes, it's a good rule of thumb to take in 30-60 grams of carbohydrates every hour. Use the chart below from Runner's World to help you select some foods good for during your run. Be careful when using sports gels. There’s nothing wrong with them, but if you’re using them along with a sports drink, some may find themselves having stomach issues. Both are packed with carbs and usually the carbs are of the simple sugar variety. While your body will need to replenish is glycogen stores during the race, you don’t want overkill. Everyone is different and there’s no one cure-all, but for some carrying a bottle of water to use when taking a gel works well. Some may find that they can continue drinking only water throughout the entire run, if the gels they’re using contain carbs and essential electrolytes.

I’ve discovered that 100% coconut water contains the right amount of carbs and electrolytes for my long runs. I have problems with calf cramps and coconut water naturally has 15x the potassium of a banana and 2-3x the amount of potassium as most sports drinks. Others do better to drink water, take an electrolyte replacement tablet and then pack some pretzels, crackers, jellybeans, or Fig Newtons for their carb source. I have one running buddy that takes an Uncrustable along. Uncrustables are those little round frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with the crimped sides. He says it thaws on the run and by the time he needs one later in the run it’s ready to eat. Like I said, everyone is different.

Post-run Refueling: Eating 300 - 400 calories with a 4:1 ratio of carbs and proteins within 30-45 minutes after finishing your run will help ensure a quicker recovery. During a long run, you deplete your glycogen stores as well as create microscopic tears in your muscle tissue. Eating a carb/protein mixture helps to restore the glycogen and repair those tiny tears which is the muscle-building process.

Some good post-run eats include:

• a glass of low-fat chocolate milk (it has the perfect 4:1 ratio of carbs/protein)
• a bagel with peanut butter or almond butter or Nutella (I love Nutella!)
• whole wheat crackers and peanut butter or almond butter
• a smoothie made with fruit and yogurt
• baked potato with Greek yogurt
• brown rice pudding with sliced banana
• whole-grain cereal with skim milk
• lowfat yogurt and fruit
• Uncrustables

What are some of your favorite pre-, during-, and post-run eats?

Post-Run Snack Shopping List

Probably the most important thing a runner can do after a run is refuel. Many times, other commitments, the family and kids waiting, not feeling hungry, or just being plain tired, prevents runners from taking that post-run step of replacing the carbs they've burned on the run as well as ingesting some protein to aid in a quick recovery.

A runner can burn close to 1000 calories on a 10-miler. That's a lot of calories. It's important to replace what was lost as soon as possible. Ever fall a sleep right after a long hard run? The nap may have felt good, but did you feel sluggish the rest of the day? The next day? That was probably due to your muscles not having been refueled after your hard run. It's kind of like driving your car past the oil-change date. It starts to run a little rough. Even if you don't feel like eating, it's best to at least down a sports drink soon after the run so you're at least replacing some of the lost carbs.

A good rule of thumb is to eat a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein within 45 minutes of finishing a run. Most research says this ratio consumed shortly after a workout is optimal in speeding-up recovery and getting your tired, broken-down muscles the nourishment they need to rebuild and repair. Nonfat or lowfat chocolate milk actually has this 4:1 ratio and makes a great post run recovery snack. Don't worry too much about having exactly the 4:1 ratio. The most important thing to take from this is that for a post-run snack, you need to consume more carbs than protein. Too much protein can slow rehydration and glycogen replenishment.

How much should you eat? Not a lot. Your snack only needs to be about 220-440 calories (200-400 calories [50-100 grams] coming from carbs and 20-40 calories [5-10 grams] coming from protein.) If you've finished an easy short run or a laidback long run, then go with a lighter snack. If it's been a hard quick speed workout or a hard long run, then go with a more substantial snack. After an endurance race such as a marathon, it's a great idea to repeat this snack combo every couple of hours to keep a constant refueling supply to your muscles hard at work repairing themselves. Remember the you're not adding calories on top of your regular caloric intake that will just sit there and turn to fat. You're replacing the calories you used as fuel on your run.

So besides chocolate milk, what are some other foods to have handy for a post run snack? Listed below are just a few of the foods to include on your post-run food grocery shopping list.

Post-Run Snack Shopping List

Fruits—Fruits are a great source of simple carbs. Yep, that's right, simple carbs. Usually when you think of simple carbs you think of the bad carbs like white bread and doughnuts. Fruit contains the simple sugar fructose which is a simple sugar, but fruits are also packed with lots of fiber and they're also nutrient dense with lots of important vitamins and minerals. Fruit makes a great post run snack because the simple sugar it contains is digested quickly and can quickly be converted to energy your muscles need in order to repair themselves after your run. Here are just a few of the great fruits you may want to include on your shopping list.

apples (fiber, vitamin C, antioxidants)

bananas (potassium, fiber, vitamins C and B6)

blueberries (vitamins C and K, fiber)

cherries (vitamin C, fiber, potassium)

cantaloupe (vitamins A and C, potassium)

figs (fiber, iron, calcium, potassium)

raisins (potassium, fiber)

Vegetables—Vegetables are a great source of complex carbs and other nutrients. Listed below are just a few of the many great vegetables to consider for your post-run eating.

beans (i.e., kidney, pinto, garbanzo, edamame, etc.) (protein, fiber, potassium, iron)

carrots (vitamins A and K, potassium, lutein, beta-carotene)

broccoli (vitamins C, K, A, B6; fiber; potassium)

celery (vitamins K and C, fiber, potassium)

corn (fiber, potassium, vitamin C)

leafy greens (i.e., romaine, Swiss chard, kale, spinach, mustard greens, etc.) (vitamins A and K, fiber, antioxidants)

butternut squash (vitamins A, C, E; fiber; potassium)

summer squash and zucchini (vitamins C and B6, potassium, fiber)

sweet potatoes (vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, beta-carotene)

tomatoes (vitamins A, C, K; potassium, lycopene)

Grains—Whether it's bread or pasta, look for 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat. If it's not clear how much whole grain is used, check the nutrition label. Low fiber means more processed/refined grains have been used. Also check to make sure the sugars content is low. Then check the ingredients list. The ingredients are listed in order by how much is contained in the product. So, whole grain or whole wheat should be listed as the first ingredient. Sometimes it's hard to find 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat products. If that's the case, buy products that have the the highest fiber content per serving (3 grams or more). 100% whole wheat products will also have more protein since the grains have not been processed or refined. Avoid products where the first ingredients listed are "enriched flour" or "enriched bleached flour."

100% whole wheat pita

100% whole wheat tortilla

100% whole wheat crackers

100% whole wheat bagels

100% whole wheat English muffins

whole-grain cereal (cold or hot)

pretzels (choose the whole grain variety that's baked not fried; Check the label. Some of the flavored varieties contain extra fat and calories)

100% whole-wheat or whole-grain pasta

Oatmeal (steel-cut is probably the most healthful, but the quick-cooking and instant varieties are good too. Be sure to check the fat and sodium content of the instant varieties.)

Quinoa (Besides soybeans, quinoa is the only other plant that's a complete protein. It's tasty and has the texture of pasta. It cooks quickly and can be used as replacement in many pasta dishes as well as being prepared as a hot breakfast cereal.)

Dairy—Dairy products are an excellent source of calcium which is needed for strong bones, but most people are unaware that calcium is also a key ingredient in the energy production process for muscle contraction. Just be sure to select the low-fat or no-fat varieties. Milk is also fortified with vitamin D which helps build a strong immune system.

skim milk

part-skim mozzarella string cheese

1% or fat-free cottage cheese

low-fat or fat-free yogurt

low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt (contains twice the protein of traditional yogurt)

low-fat chocolate milk (has the perfect 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein)

Meat, Fish, Eggs and Meat Substitutes—Meat, fish, eggs, and meat substitutes are great sources of complete proteins. Fish containing Omega-3s (healthful polyunsaturated fats) help improve cardiovascular health and can help reduce blood pressure. Lean meats and poultry are also high in iron, B12, zinc, and phosphorus. It's no longer taboo to eat eggs. Research has shown that they're not the bad health culprit as once thought. Eating an egg a day is fine. Eggs are high in protein, iron, B12 and folate.

turkey breast

chicken breast

lean cuts of red meat

deli-sliced turkey, ham, roast beef (Watch out for high levels of sodium and fat. Not all deli meats are equal. Some are made with lesser quality and higher-fat meats. A good trick is to have it lean deli meats shaved or sliced very thin. That way you can pile it on your sandwich and it looks like more than the same serving size of a thicker cut.)

ground turkey or chicken (make sure it's lean white meat)

tuna (select varieties packed in water; the new pouches are great!)

salmon (select varieties packed in water; the new pouches are great!)

veggie patties (there are a wide variety of veggie burgers and black bean burgers as well as soybean-based chicken flavored patties in the frozen foods section that are low in fat, high in protein, quick to cook, and pretty tasty.)

eggs and egg substitutes (the yolk contains the fat including the omega-3s as well as vitamins A, B12, and E. Because the yolk contains the fat it contains about 3/4 of the egg's calories. The egg white contains more than half of the protein, iron, and selenium.)

Nuts and Nut Butters—Nuts are a great source of protein, vitamin E, folate, and magnesium. They also provide a small amount of fiber and iron. They're a great source of heart-healthy fats (mono- and polyunsaturated). Keep the serving size small (about 1 oz). Be sure to eat the raw or toasted varieties that contain no additional oils or salt.

almonds (great source of Vitamin E)

walnuts (contains more omega-3s than any other nut)

peanuts (1 oz packs 8 grams of protein)

peanut butter

almond butter

Miscellaneous

tomato-based pasta sauce (tomato-based sauces provide potassium; vitamins A, C, and K; and antioxidants. Meat varieties will provide some protein too. Select sauces with less than 700mg of sodium per 1/2-cup)

hummus (made with chickpeas and tahini [sesame paste], and is a great source of protein and calcium)

guacamole (avocados are a good source of potassium, vitamin E, heart-healthy unsaturated fats, and folate)

trail mix (skip the candied variety; focus on ones mainly consisting of dried fruit, granola, and nuts.)

dark chocolate (choose varieties that are made of 70% cocoa or higher. Keep the serving size small. One square of a 70% Dark Chocolate Lindt Bar and 1 oz of almonds make a great snack)

energy bars (be careful. Some are loaded with fat. Select ones with 6 grams or less of fat, 200 calories or less, 25-30 grams of carbs, and 5-10 grams of protein.)

sports drink (for post-run refueling be sure to select varieties that are not low in carbs.)

There are hundreds of different combinations for snacks using the foods listed above. Here's just a few.

Post-Run Snack Ideas:

English muffin with peanut or almond butter

apple slices and a mozzarella cheese stick

apple slices and peanut or almond butter

apple, pear, or peach slices with low-fat cottage cheese

baby carrots with peanut butter or hummus

leftover chili makes a great post-run snack

wheat crackers with hummus

wheat crackers with tuna salad (made with lowfat mayo)

turkey wrap (lean turkey wrapped in a tortilla)

pita bread with hummus

pita or tortilla with tuna

pasta with meat sauce

pasta with tuna

scrambled egg and 100% whole wheat bread sandwich

sports drink and a mozzarella cheese stick

So, stock your cupboard and your fridge, train hard, and don't forget to refuel. You're tired muscles will thank you for it!

Good Carbs Bad Carbs

Fad diets are great for three things—making the originator of the diet rich, making people spend a lot of money, and confusing the heck out of people. Dictionary.com defines "Fad" as a temporary fashion, notion, manner of conduct, etc., especially one followed enthusiastically by a group.
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The success of a fad diet or fitness trend is usually not measured by the number of people who make healthy lasting life-changing habits. No, their success is usually measured by how much money they rake in. They're usually enough curious people that end up trying the method or product that monetarily the trend is a success. Often fads do produce an initial positive change that stirs-up a lot of hype, but usually the fad is not something that a person can stick with long term and incorporate into a life-long habit. The problem this causes is that the public tends to remember that initial change not that it didn't have a lasting effect. So, even long after the fad has past, the original thinking (or lack there of) that went along with the fad tends to hang around. That's kind of what happened with the No-Carb-Craze. There are still people that shy away from any kind of carb because they think they're all bad.

In general, people want that quick fix. We've all been suckered into one gimmick or another. I've owned an Ab Roller and yes a Health Rider too. Now that I look back and picture me on the Health Rider contraption, I think I must have looked like an overgrown kid on an adult hobby horse. And to think that thing cost almost $400! I bet more than a few of you have a Thigh Master hidden away on a closet shelf too! I remember when I was a kid, one of my mom's friends had a vibration belt machine. I think the theory was you could jiggle the fat away!

The '80s saw the low-fat craze which was followed in the '90s by the no-carb craze. There was even a store down the street from my home that was a Carb-Free Store. Luckily, People are finally coming out of the ban-the-Carbs-era, but it's amazing how many individuals still think carbs are the bad guys. The reality is that anything can be the bad guy if you over indulge. Carbohydrates are essential to your survival.

Actually one theory sports scientists have as to why many marathoners bonk around mile 20 is that the brain goes into protective mode when it thinks it's in danger of running out of carbs. So, to protect itself, the brain actually fatigues the muscles causing you to slow down, hence protecting those important carbs.

But even if you're not running a marathon, carbs are essential to your diet. According to Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) guidelines, your total caloric intake should be comprised of 45%-65% carbs. For simplicity let's just say 50%. So for a 2000 calorie diet, that's about 1000 calories.

So what is your DRI for carbs? In order to determine this, you need to know how many calories you consume in a day. You can do this a couple of ways. One way is to keep a log of your daily eating. Simply list (hand written in a journal or electronically on a spreadsheet) all the foods you eat each day for 3 days. Pick three days that represent your typical eating habits. Don't include a day that contains unusual eating such as attending a pot-luck-dinner or a dinner party where you may eat more than you normally would. Then use a calorie-counter book to list the calories for each food listed. Most of the new books include calories for common fast foods and prepackaged foods too. Or you can use a site like FitDay.com. This site is free and you can keep track of all your foods by using their extensive food data base as well as adding in your own foods that may not be listed. This site not only will keep track of calories, it can generate reports on other areas such as vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

Once you know the total calories for each of the three days, calculate the average for the three days to determine your daily Total Energy Intake. Your Total Energy Intake could be too low, just right, or too high. To determine the appropriate Total Energy Intake for someone with your height, weight, and activity level [click here] to use the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator. Compare your actual Total Energy Intake with the Daily Calorie Needs Calculator result. Are you in the ballpark? Do you need to eat more? Cut back?

Once you know what your daily caloric intake is (or should be) all you have to do is take 50% of your total daily calories and that's the number of calories you need each day from carbs. (If you want to have a range of calories to work with, multiply the Total Energy Intake by 45% and 65%. For a 2000 calorie diet, the carb-calorie range would be 900-1300 calories)

Nutrition labels usually list carbs in grams not in calories, but it can easily be converted. One gram of carbs equals four calories. So, a food that has 20g of carbs is going to contain 80 calories from those carbs. And thinking of it in the inverse relationship, if you're wondering how many grams of carbs equal 1000cals (your daily requirement of carbs for a 2000cal daily diet), just divide 1000 by 4 and you'll get 250 grams. So about about 1000 calories of your 2000-calorie daily diet will come from carbs and that equates to about 250 grams of carbs. (Keep in mind that you need to replace 2000 with whatever The Daily Calorie Needs Calculator computes as your daily caloric need.)

Cool. Now that you know the percent of daily calories that should come from carbs and you know how many grams of carbs that equals, there's one more thing you need to keep in mind—not all carbs are alike. The ban-all-carbs craze of the 90s (for the most part) categorized all carbs as bad. But, that you see, was the fad's "gimmick"—Eat Meat, Not Bread. It was a lot easier for the consumer to remember. And so began the dawn of the lettuce-wrapped burgers. Funny thing is that lettuce is actually a carb. Perfect example of what we're still trying to overcome today—over generalization of carbohydrates.

There's a lot of science and fancy words I could throw at you—saccharides, monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides, glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, and on and on. But the main thing to know is that all carbs consist of different types of sugar units (saccharides). What makes carbs good or bad depends on the number and type of sugar units it contains.

Simple carbs consist of one or two units of simple sugar. Because of this, they are very easy to digest and digest quickly. As a result, simple carbs are fast-acting. Ever notice how quickly you get a burst of energy after eating a candy bar? Problem is unless you put that energy to use with some type of physical activity, most likely those calories will be stored as fat. Eating too many simple carbs combined with a sedentary lifestyle are two of the biggest causes of obesity and adult onset diabetes today. I think sports nutritionist Nancy Clark says it best, "Carbohydrates are not fattening; excess calories are fattening."
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Simple carbs are mainly represented by highly refined, processed, and packed foods such as cakes, cookies, crackers, white bread, candy, sugary soft drinks, fruit drinks, table sugar, corn syrup, pastries, fast foods, etc. Only about 10% of your daily carbs should come from simple carbs. 10% of 250 grams is only 25 grams. It's amazing how quickly you can use up or go beyond your 10% simple sugar limit:
Little Debbie Mini Powdered Doughnuts = 19g
REESE'S Peanut Butter Cups (2 cups) = 21g
Hershey Bar = 25g
Snickers Bar = 30g
Mountain Dew (12oz can) = 46g
Coke (12 oz can) = 39g
Coke (Medium from McDonalds) = 58g
Coke (32 oz Big Gulp Fountain Drink) = 91g

Complex carbohydrates contain long chains made up of three or more single sugar units. Because of this, they take longer for your body to digest and as a result will stay with you and provide energy for the long haul. You still need to be physically active or even complex carbs can eventually be stored as fat, but it takes longer to do so. As a runner, you most likely will have put those complex carb calories to good use during your runs.
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Complex carbs include unprocessed, unrefined, whole grains (wheat, oatmeal, corn, brown and wild rice, etc.), nuts, seeds, dried beans, vegetables, and fruits. Complex carbs are also better than simple carbs because they contain many other vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. Some complex carbs even provide other health benefits. Oatmeal for example, has been shown to help lower total cholesterol levels.

You have to be on your toes as a shopper. There are lots of grain products masquerading as whole-grain or whole wheat. Marketing gurus are quite clever in disguising what's really in their products. Just because it's brown doesn't mean it's whole-wheat or whole-grain. Some products contain caramel coloring to give it that brown whole-wheat/grain look. Also, steer clear of products using phrases such as "wheat", "enriched wheat flour", "multigrain", "5-grain", "rye", "made with whole wheat", "made with whole grain", or "contains the goodness of whole grain." Unless it says 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat, it's probably not. Check the ingredients on the label. The closer to the front of the list the more it contains. Look for breads that have at least 3 grams of fiber. If you're at your local bagel shop or bakery, ask them to tell you about their whole-grain and whole-wheat products. In my experience they're more than willing to share with you what goes into their various offerings.

Carbs are an important link in a complex electrical and chemical chain of events that produce energy on which your body runs. Think energy in, energy out. As long as you're fueling your body properly and you're physically active, you'll be putting that fuel to good use and weight gain will be easier to avoid. It's when a higher percentage of simple carbs are ingested and a more sedentary lifestyle is adopted that weight gain will take hold.

Why Are Carbs So Good?

One big reason carbs are so good is that it's the only fuel that the brain can use. That's actually one of the reasons why you hit the wall around mile 20 in a marathon. When your brain realizes that you're just about about out of glycogen (the form in which carbs are stored in the body for fuel) the brain can actually send messages to begin fatiguing your muscles in an attempt to slow you down. It's basically a self-preservation mechanism kicking in because the brain needs some of that fuel too in order to function.

Carbs are stored in the muscles and liver in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is the most efficient fuel your body burns for energy. Carbs are also loaded with B vitamins, chromium, fiber, iron, magnesium, and phytochemicals (which come from plant nutrients) all of which are important to good health and can even help prevent many cancers.

Pick your carbs wisely. Most of your carb intake should be from complex carbohydrates. Complex carbs are usually from unprocessed, unrefined, whole grains. So instead of white rice, eat brown rice. Instead of white bread each whole grain bread, etc. They take longer for your body to digest and because of this complex carbs will stay with you and provide energy for the long haul. Most of the early part of the carb-loading phase before the race will consist of eating complex carbs.

Simple carbohydrates are food products that are made of processed and/or refined grains. Because they have been processed and refined, they are digested very quickly and provide quick energy. Sugary soft drinks, white rice, sugar, candy, and fruit are examples of simple carbs. Don't avoid simple carbs completely, however. For example fruits are simple carbs, but they are nutrient dense foods that provide many different vitamins as well as fiber. Simple carbs, because they are processed so quickly, do raise the blood sugar levels really quickly. That's why when you eat a candy bar you feel a quick boost of energy, but then soon after crash. Simple carbs tend to have a high GI (a rating using the Glycemic Index) and complex carbohydrates tend to have a lower GI. Foods considered high are 70+ on the GI scale, 56-69 are considered medium, and under 55 are considered low. [Click here] to find out more about the Glycemic Index.

As a runner, eating foods with a lower GI will provide you a better source of energy for the long haul. But simple carbs do have their place. Eating simple carbs shortly before a race can provide quick energy that will be used and if you have stock up prior to the race on complex carbs, you shouldn't feel that crash. Also during the race, using gels and sports drinks (which usually contain a combination of simple and complex carbs) and be used quickly by the body and provide that needed energy later on in the race when your glycogen stores begin to get depleted.

Note: If you are diabetic or have other health concerns, consult with your doctor before making any dietary changes.