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PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN

SPORTS NUTRITION

MODULE 1
SUMMARY NOTES
LESSON 2: CARBOHYDRATES, FAST
FUEL AND OPTIMAL RECOVERY
 TABLE OF CONTENTS:

3 LESSON 2 OBJECTIVES:

IMPORTANT NOTE

4 TYPES OF CHO FOODS

STARCHES

5 FIBRE

6 FIBRE

SUGAR

7 SIMPLE VS COMPLEX CHO

HOW ARE CHO DIGESTED AND ABSORBED?

8 WHY CHO IS IMPORTANT FOR THE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE

MUSCLE GLYCOGEN

9 CHO REQUIREMENTS

CHO INTAKE FOR EXERCISERS:

10 CHO REQUIREMENTS FOR ATHLETES

11 CHO DURING A WORKOUT

12 CHO AFTER A WORKOUT: RECOVERY

13 CHO AFTER A WORKOUT: RECOMMENDATIONS

POST-WORKOUT MEAL CHALLENGES

14 TYPES OF CHO FOR EXERCISE

GLYCAEMIC INDEX FOR ATHLETES?

CARBO LOADING

15 TRAIN LOW, COMPETE HIGH

16 NEXT UP

SUMMARY:

CASE STUDY

17 HEALTHY STARCH LIST

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Lesson Objectives
• What are carbohydrates (CHO) & how are they • Types of CHO and their benefits for performance
digested? • A
 nd we will briefly discuss two additional topics,
• Why are CHO important for an athlete namely:
• Calculating CHO requirements • Carbo loading and
• The importance of CHO timing • The concept of train low, compete high

Important note
Before we go any further, I want to highlight an important fact to take into
consideration with regards to the recommendations that I will be teaching you
in the upcoming lessons.

When I give specific recommendations these numerical values are evidence-

based recommendations for athlete’s (or trained individuals). Remember that
athlete’s make up <1% of the population and the rest of us are considered to be
‘exercisers. The reason I point this out is that athletes have different physiology
to exercisers.

This being said, the general sentiment/ guidelines can most definitely be applied
to an exerciser, but to a lesser degree. As you learn more about sports nutrition
you will also understand that these guidelines need to be individualised to suit
your unique needs and that you will obtain optimal results when you fine tune
these to your daily training.

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Types of CHO foods

Great, so admin out of the way- Let’s dive right into the world of
carbohydrates.

When talking about carbohydrates, `I find that many people

think that carbs are one specific food/ food group. Many times, I
hear people say that they ‘don’t eat carbs’ when in fact they have
merely omitted some forms of refined carbs like bread/ pasta.
For the purpose of today’s lesson, I would like to break down the
carbohydrate group into 3 subgroups namely: Starches, sugars and
fibre. (American Diabetes Association, n.d.)

Starches
Starches is the most widely known carbohydrate food sub-group,
but once again it is not limited to bread and pasta. Starches can be
split into:
• Starchy vegetables like peas, corn, potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Legumes like: Beans, lentils and chickpeas and
• Grains like Oats, barley and wheat
At this point I want to highlight the difference between wholegrains
and refined grains.

Wholegrains are exactly that, the whole plant with little or no

processing. These types of grains provide us with fibre, vitamins
and minerals.

A refined grain has been milled/ processed and has more often
than not lost the most healthful part. In some countries, refined
grains have been enriched to replace certain vitamins and minerals
in an effort to prevent deficiency diseases. (American Diabetes
Association, n.d.)

A fun and novel way to help yourself figure out if a starchy food is
‘healthful/ minimally processed’ is to ask yourself ‘Does my starch
look the same on my plate as it does on the plant’. If it does- It’s a
green light from me. If it doesn’t then it does not mean that you
should not eat it, but rather that it should not make up the majority
of your diet. Let’s do an example: Tell the classroom if there are
any bread trees? No! Are there any pasta plants? Also, no! I know
these seems like ridiculous questions, but it illustrates my point

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Types of CHO foods

quite well. The examples I have given you on this slide are all great
choices. For more healthy choices, refer to your toolkit where I have
included a list of healthy starches for you to print out and keep.

Some starchy foods contain a protein called gluten. Some people

have negative reactions to gluten and because of this have decided
to omit it from their diets. A gluten free diet is not for everyone, but
if you are gluten free, you will find that majority of the examples I
have given, tend to be naturally gluten free and so you can enjoy
them too. In the reference list in your toolkit, I have gone ahead
and categorized the starches as gluten containing or gluten free for
ease of reference.

Fibre
If we look at all the healthier options of starchy foods, you will
find that they all have one thing in common, they are all relatively
high in fibre! Some interesting facts about fibre include that it
comes from plant foods and is considered an undigested nutrient.
Humans actually do not contain the enzyme necessary to fully
digest fibre and because of this, it remains mostly undigested
until it gets to your large intestine where it is fermented by the
bacteria that live there to produce a little energy and beneficial
substances that nourish your gut. We ideally need between 25-
30g of fibre per day, with most people falling woefully short of this
recommendation. A diet high in fibre can improve digestion, lower
blood sugar levels and reduce your risk for heart disease. (American
Diabetes Association, n.d.)

There are two main types of fibre:

• Soluble (aka ‘soft’ fibre)
Soluble fibre should be seen as the mop of the diet. It sucks up
fluid from your diet to ensure that the stool is soft and can be
passed easily. Soluble fibre can be found in the flesh of fruits and
vegetables as well as in soft grains like rice and oats.

• Insoluble (aka ‘hard’ fibre)

Insoluble fibre should be seen as the broom of the diet. It sweeps
out your gastrointestinal tract to ensure that your stool moves
through quickly and effectively. Insoluble fibre can be found in

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Types of CHO foods
the skin of fruits, vegetables and
legumes as well as in the bran of
wholegrains and high fibre breads
and cereals.
Both soluble and insoluble fibre
provide our stools with bulk and
through a variety of mechanisms
help to reduce your risk for bowl
cancer.
Fibre
So, to recap, minimally processed
foods that are high in fibre include:
• Fruits & vegetables
• Legumes
• Minimally processed grains
• Wholegrain cereals & breads
Just as a friendly tip, when
increasing your fibre rich foods, do it
slowly. It takes a little time for your
body (and your gut) to adapt with
some of the side effects being gas/
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flatulence, bloating and even the opposite of what you are trying to
achieve, constipation. When eating fibre rich foods, remember to drink
enough water as the gut needs the water to be able to effectively flush
through the system. (American Diabetes Association, n.d.)
Sugar
A hot topic at the moment is the current sugar-free movement! I want
to highlight here that there are different forms of sugar and not all are
something we need to avoid.
Let’s split sugar into two groups. (1) are our naturally occurring (or
intrinsic) sugars and (2) are our added sugars.
Naturally occurring sugars are the sugars that are found within a
food matrix. This means that they are found inside of specific foods in
combination with other beneficial nutrients. Two well-known examples
here are that of fruit and milk. Fruit contains the sugar fructose as well
as various beneficial vitamins and minerals as well as a healthy dose
of fibre. Milk contains the sugar lactose, but also provides protein,
fats as well as bone healthy minerals like calcium, magnesium and
phosphates. When these types of foods are consumed in moderation
in a normal diet, the quantity of sugar is not concentrated and thus
has a moderate effect on blood sugar levels. When you consume more
concentrated forms of these foods (for example, fruit juice or dried
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fruit) or if you consume large quantities of these

foods, your blood sugar levels will rise accordingly
and may have negative effects if this is done
regularly without any compensation in the form of
exercise.

Added sugar has many names, for example: Table

sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, syrup, honey, beet
sugar, cane sugar, raw sugar, maple syrup, high
fructose corn syrup, agave nectar. So, no matter
if it occurs ‘naturally’ or is more refined, all have
the same effect on blood sugar levels. (American
Diabetes Association, n.d.)

When it comes to an athlete or exercisers,

concentrated forms of sugar may be needed to
fuel exercise and may be found in various sports
supplements and sports foods. It is important
that these types of sugars be used responsibly
and with purpose to avoid unwanted weight gain
will be stored as fat (for later use if needed). (Mahan
and uncontrolled blood sugar levels which may
& Raymond, 2017)
negatively affect your health. So, the majority of
your diet, should come from minimally processed
starches and foods with intrinsic sugars with How are CHO digested and
added sugars being used for training and events as absorbed?
needed. We know that when we eat, our GIT digests the
food into the smallest possible components (when

Simple vs complex CHO we eat a food that contains mainly carbohydrates,

the smallest component is monosaccharides like
You may often hear the term ‘simple’ or ‘complex’
glucose), and it is then absorbed mainly in the small
carbohydrates. These are alternative terms for
intestine.
sugars and starches. Simple carbohydrates usually
have a shorter chemical structure (i.e. mono– and
Our bodies primary source of energy is glucose (it
di- saccharides) and are burned preferentially (or
can obtain glucose from glycogen, fat or protein if
first).
not supplied in the diet). The glucose get absorbed
through tiny structures in your GIT and then
Complex carbohydrates have a longer chemical
absorbed into your blood stream.
structure (i.e. polysaccharides) and take a little
longer to digest. The rate of digestion is slowed
At this point (once it enters into your blood stream)
further when the complex carbohydrates food (or
many medical professionals will refer to it as your
starchy food) is high in fibre.
blood sugar. So, for example, when a diabetic tests
their blood sugar, this is what they are testing. The
Any carbohydrate eaten that is not used will be
amount of sugar absorbed into the blood depends
stored as glycogen and when those stores are full,

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on the type and quantity of food you have eaten,
the combination of macronutrients (carbs, proteins
and fats) in your meals and individual biology and
health status (like insulin sensitivity).
The aim of digestion and absorption is to get the
nutrient to your body cells where they can use it for
energy (to keep you alive). The glucose in your blood
triggers your pancreas to produce a very important
hormone called insulin.
There is a constant feedback between blood sugar
and insulin. A healthy person’s body will keep their
blood sugar levels stable, when there is more blood
sugar, the pancreas will make more insulin and then
when the blood sugar drops the pancreas is told
to stop making (or decrease making) insulin thus
keeping the levels as stable as possible.
Insulin is a very important hormone. If your body
does not make any insulin, you will be diagnosed as
a type 1 diabetic and if your insulin is not working
the way it should or your body becomes resistant to
it, then you may be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Let’s understand better how insulin works.
Insulin acts like a key and the insulin receptor is like
a lock. When the insulin in not connected (or the key
is not in the lock) then the glucose channel is closed
(or locked).
When the insulin connects to the receptor (like
when you put the key into the lock), the glucose
channel opens and allows the blood sugar to enter
into the cell. This is good because your body cell
needs the glucose to replenish ADP to ATP to create
energy. So, the insulin effectively clears the glucose
from the blood and pulls it into the cells.
Why CHO is important for the
physically active
So, what we have learned is that carbohydrate foods
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are broken down into glucose and this is used as
a source of energy for the body cells. In physically
active people this is very important. In actual fact,
glucose is one of the main fuels for sports activity.
Glucose is used in both the anaerobic and aerobic
energy systems where the different systems allow
for different levels of power output and intensity.
The skeletal muscle cell is able to get glucose from a
few places:
(1) Dietary CHO intake (exogenous)
(2) Glycogen stored in the muscle (endogenous)
(3) Glycogen stores in the liver
(4) G
 lucose created from other nutrients
(gluconeogenesis)
The first two sources are preferential.
This means that optimal dietary intake of sufficient
quantities of carbohydrates is vital and can
• Provide energy and fuel exercise and
• Optimises glycogen stores for next training
session
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017; Burke & Deakin, 2010,
Potgieter, 2013)
Muscle glycogen
Muscle glycogen is the way that your body is able to
store excess glucose for quick release.
The most important dietary factor that affects
how much glycogen you have on hand is your
carbohydrate consumption. As the body needs
constant fuel (and eating while exercising can be
difficult), there is a lot of interest in understanding
how we can increase the utilization of our internal
nutrient stores (i.e. glycogen and fat as adipose
tissue). Strategies to increase muscle glycogen have
been widely studied and it has been found that
increased glycogen stores can postpone muscular
fatigue & enhance performance and that there is
a direct and positive relationship between post
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CHO requirements
So, in order to:

• Provide enough energy for performance

• Replenish used glycogen stores

• Have a protein sparing effect

How much CHO should you be consuming on a

daily basis?
The quantity needed depends on total daily
exercise glycogen storage and dietary CHO intake (up energy expenditure, type of sport, gender and
until a point where the glycogen storage threshold is environmental conditions and in the literature, you
reached). (Burke et al. 2004) will find that the numerical recommendations are
given in:
A person’s glycogen stores are usually sufficient to • % of total calories for exercisers
fuel exercise of less than 90 minutes. Thereafter • g/ kg for athletes
levels drop significantly, and high intensity exercise (Mahan & Raymond, 2017)
can no longer be maintained.
CHO intake for exercisers:
The athlete/ exerciser must either stop or reduce Ideally CHO should be
their pace significantly. Athlete’s will often describe consumed by exercisers
this as ‘hitting the wall’. This is obviously an according to their training
undesirable state. (Mahan & Raymond, 2017) sessions. Usually before their
workout (to provide them
Even if you do not deplete your glycogen stores in with an exogenous source of
one session, depletion can also occur gradually if energy) and after their workout
there is insufficient nutrients available for recovery. (to encourage post workout
This will often happen with repeated days of heavy recovery). As noted at the start
training or high intensity training taking place of the lesson, this can be tailored according to the
multiple times a day where the breakdown of individual’s preference and tolerance and is not a
glycogen exceeds replacement. AT the end of the hard and fast rule.
day, if you can train unimpeded for longer, you will
obtain better results and having higher levels of Most exercisers don’t need to eat a diet substantially
glycogen can help an athlete/ exerciser do this more different to perform optimally
easily. (Mahan & Raymond, 2017) • 45 – 55% of total energy (or 3-5g/ kg/ day) CHO
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

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Let’s look at how to apply this recommendation

more practically.

If we use the energy range from our previous lesson

of 25 – 35kCal/ kg and the CHO recommendation
of 3 – 5g/ kg with a test subject who has a weight
of 65kg. We can see that her energy range falls
between 1625 – 2275kCal/ day and that her CHO
levels will range between 195 – 325g/ day.

CHO requirements for athletes

The carbohydrate requirements for athlete’s
is more intricate than for exercisers. For the
purposed of this lesson I will only be looking
at the recommendations set forth by the
International Olympics Committee (IOC) as
their recommendations are more detailed
and allow for individualisation. There are
Now that we know the amount of CHO needed in
alternative recommendations created by various
a day, how should we split it up to achieve the best
organisations such as the American College of
outcomes. Carbohydrate foods can be considered
Sport Nutrition (ACSN) and the International
ergogenic aids when used in a time specific manner
Society for Sports Nutrition (ISSN). You can find
(meaning that they may enhance and maximise a
these recommendations in your toolkit for further
person’s performance).
reading.

When you consume a CHO before a workout it can

Once again, let’s look at how to apply this
stop and athlete/ exerciser from feeling hungry, can
recommendation more practically.
maintain optimal levels of blood sugar (to provide
a source of energy) and because of this is glycogen
If we use the energy range from our previous lesson
sparing (i.e. the body will first use the blood sugar
of 45 – 50kCal/ kg and the CHO recommendation for
before dipping into the glycogen tank).
a strength training athlete of 3 – 5g/ kg with a test
subject who has a weight of 65kg. We can see that
Research has shown that a pre-workout meal can
her energy range falls between 2925 – 3250kCal/
actually improve performance when compared to
day and that her CHO levels will range between 260
exercising in a fasted state and at the end of the
– 455g/ day.
day, better performance means better results.
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017)
What I want you to remember at this point is the
this is the amount of carbohydrates (from all food
Ideally a pre-event or workout meal should contain
sources) that this person needs in a day. We will
between 1-4g/ kg of CHO for athletes (and less for
learn what this means in terms of actual food at the
exercisers). It should be CHO based, non-greasy
end of lesson 5- so do stay tuned to learn more how
and easily digested. The reason for this is that fatty
to continue this calculation).

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foods are digested quite slowly and exercising with a full stomach is
not only uncomfortable but can also cause indigestion, nausea and
vomiting. This CHO based snack should be eaten 1-4 hours before
an event/ workout to allow for the food to be partially digested and
absorbed and allow the body to use the food to top up blood sugar
levels and muscle glycogen (if needed). (Mahan & Raymond 2017;
Driskell & Wolinsky, 2011, Potgieter, 2013)

Bottom line: Whether you are an athlete or an exerciser, you will

benefit from a carbohydrate containing pre-workout snack. In
athlete’s it may be a bigger snack or contain a more concentrated
form of carbohydrates and for exercisers it could be something as
simple as a banana.

I often get asked if it is good to exercise on an empty stomach. This

is a personal preference for exercisers (I know I struggle to exercise
with a full belly) however it is not recommended for athletes.
Fasting for prolonged periods of time (i.e. 12 – 24 hours) may
cause your blood sugar and muscle glycogen levels to drop, forcing
your body to dip into your liver glycogen stores (and subsequently
deplete them). This may affect both your physical and cognitive
performance. The reason why it is a popular question, is that some
research has shown that exercising in a fasted state, may have
metabolic advantages such as an increase in endogenous fat use
(or fat oxidation). (Mahan & Raymond, 2017)

This obviously will be of interest to everyone. For an athlete this

would mean that you could potentially tap into your fat stores for
a vast amount of internal energy and for the average Jo, this could
mean you could burn fat through this method and improve your
health and physique. Unfortunately, these metabolic adaptations
have only been seen in well trained individuals (sorry average Jo!)
but we will be talking more about this at the end of this lesson.

CHO during a workout

If your exercise session is going to last more than 60 continuous
minutes, you will probably need to fuel up during your workout.
This will make sure that you have sufficient energy in latter stages
of exercise. Whilst it will not prevent fatigue, it will delay it allowing
you to exercise for longer without slowing down. The reason for
this is that your body will use the exogenous (or dietary) CHO

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first meaning that the muscle glycogen is spared to be used at a

later stage. CHO intake during a workout may also improve your
performance and as an added bonus it may enhance feelings of
pleasure during & after exercise (which makes us want to do it
again instead of viewing it as a punishment). (Driskell & Wolinsky,
2011; McArdle at al, 2013)

The recommendations for CHO intake for an athlete during a

workout depend on the duration of their exercise.

It is interesting to note that the type of CHO consumed during

a workout is important. They recommend that a ‘multiple
transportable’ CHO be consumed at this time (usually in the form of
a mixture of glucose and fructose). As these sugars are transported
by different receptors, CHO oxidation (or the availability of the CHO
for energy) is increased when more than one CHO type is used. It
is however, recommended that fructose not be ingested in large
quantities due to the possibility that large quantities can cause
gastrointestinal discomfort (like gas and diarrhoea). (Mahan &
Raymond, 2017; AID, 2014; Potgieter, 2013)

CHO after a workout: Recovery

Recovery is a vital part of improving performance and without
adequate fuelling in recover, you may suffer from overtraining
and a subsequent decrease in performance. The main function
of consuming CHO after exercise is to replace your used glycogen
stores. This should be done soon after training, with some of the
research suggesting that you not wait more than 30 minutes before
you refuel.

Adequate recovery will enable you to return to training faster

and this will have significant performance benefits, will support
repetitive training and also play a hand in maintaining your long-
term health.

Your glycogen stores are able to replenish at a rate of 5% per hour,

meaning that at a minimum it will take 20 hours for your stores to
be properly repleted and any delay in CHO intake after exercise

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will only serve to delay this rate. (Potgieter, 2013;
Mahan & Raymond, 2017)
CHO after a workout:
Recommendations
If an athlete needs to refuel quickly due to having
< 8hours between events/ workouts, then it is
recommended that they recover using 1-1.5g CHO/
kg/hour and consume this directly after exercise
and then every 2 hours for the next 4-6 hours. If
they are taking part in regular training or have a
longer time to recover, then there are less ridged
guidelines, with the recommendation being that
the athlete should then still consume a CHO rich
recovery snack, but the size and concentration will
depend on what their CHO goal is for the day.
Some research has found that adding 5-9g of
protein (per 100g CHO) to the post-workout
snack may help to increase the athlete’s glycogen
resynthesis rates and in addition to this it will
provide amino acids for muscle repair and promote
an anabolic (or building up) hormonal profile.
(Mahan & Raymond, 2017; Sousa et al, 2014,
Potgieter, 2013)
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Post-workout meal challenges
After a workout, you may not feel like eating a
meal and one of the reasons for this is that when
the body/ core temperature is increased your
appetite is depressed. For this reason, many
athlete’s/ exercisers opt for a CHO rich drink. Often
this is in the form of a sports recovery shake or
a bar. The pros of these products is that they are
usually fortified with micronutrients and are ideal
for athletes on the run however caution should
be used when using them regularly as many of
these supplements and foods are unregulated and
so may contain banned substances. Reputable
brands should be used and only when absolutely
necessary, not to replace whole foods on a regular
basis.
A great example of a post-workout snack that
encompasses these recommendations is that of
chocolate milk. I will be going into more detail on
this as well as sports foods and supplements in a
later lesson.
When deciding on what types of CHO to consume,
one should always put long term health first. All
people (weather you are an athlete, exercisers or a
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Types of CHO for exercise

and athletes. Some studies have

shown that when low GI foods
are eaten that there may be an
improvement in the athlete’s
metabolism and substrate
utilization, but unfortunately this
did not seem to translate into
improved performance. When
high GI CHO are consumed
during exercise it diminishes the
GI effect of the pre-event meal.
The GI effect would be slow
release of energy if a low GI food
was eaten. This means that is
an athlete cannot consume any
sedentary person) should strive to choose CHO foods that are minimally CHO during an event, a low GI
processed. Not only will this provide them with adequate amounts of pre-meal may benefit them. The
fibre (which as we have discovered has multiple benefits), but it will also slower release may fuel their
improve the quality of the diet and supply you with more vitamins and exercise for longer. This being
minerals. Often these types are carbohydrate foods are classified as said, more research needs to be
being ‘low GI’. conducted before any definitive
recommendations can be made.
The term glycaemic index (or GI) is a tool to rank CHO containing foods (Potgieter, 2013)
according to blood glucose response elicited after consumption (relative
to white bread). Low GI foods are said to elicit a slow release response
Carbo loading
and high GI foods a quick release response. Majority of the time, athlete’s
This is a very popular dietary
(and exercisers) should consume a variety of low-moderate GI starchy
strategy to increase the
foods with a focus on concentrated/ simple CHO during particularly
amount of glycogen found
difficult/ intense training or when it is a challenge to meet high CHO
in an athlete’s muscle. As we
requirements. This is simply due to the fact that these types of CHO are
have learned, it is desirable to
absorbed quite quickly and as they are more concentrated, the athlete
have more glycogen in your
does not need to labour through mountains of food at critical times
muscles as it will then help to
during their training and event schedule. For example, drinking 500mL
fuel your exercise for longer
of a CHO containing drink with 50g sugar is much easier than eating 3-4
without relying on external
slices of bread (which would yield a similar amount of CHO).
food sources. Traditionally the
(Potgieter, 2013)
supercompensation approach
was used where an athlete
Glycaemic index for athletes? would undertake 7 days of
So, is GI an appropriate tool to use for athletes? carbo loading. They would
The truth is that there are no clear recommendations when it comes to GI

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start with a low carb diet for 4 days paired with muscle specific
depletion training (meaning that they would do exercise to drain
the muscle of glycogen and purposefully eat low carb to prevent
refuelling). This would be followed by a high carb diet with no
training for 3 days before the competition. This method has been
shown to drastically increase muscle glycogen stores. A normal
muscle has approximately 1.7g glycogen per 100g where a super
compensated muscle can have up to 5g glycogen/ 100g muscle.
Unfortunately, the problem with carbo loading is because each
gram of glycogen holds onto 2.7g water, it is considered a ‘heavy’
fuel which may actually hinder performance. (McArdle et al, 2013)

Carbo loading has been found to only be beneficial for endurance

activity lasting more than 60 minutes and no benefit has been
found for higher intensity or shorter duration activities. If you
want to try carbo loading without feeling heavy, a modified
approach may be for you. This includes a gradual tapering
of exercise paired together with a modified increase in
carbohydrates (instead of extremes of both). This aims to give you
the best of both worlds. (McArdle et al, 2013)

Train low, compete high

The final concept I want to discuss today is that of train
low, compete high. An athlete will consume a high fat, low
carbohydrate diet for up to 2 weeks, with normal training. This
will be followed by a high carbohydrate diet and tapered training
(for 1-3 days before an event). The theory is that this method may
help to increase the rate of fat oxidation/ fat burning and may also
slow the breakdown of glycogen during sub-maximal exercise.
In other words, the body will burn fat for submaximal exercise
and retain glycogen for high intensity bursts. (Burke & Deakin,
2010; Potgieter, 2013) Currently there is insufficient evidence
to prove this method will lead to a will improved performance
and it had actually been shown to lead to an inability to train at
high intensities. With this in mind, it may suit a select group of
ultra-endurance athletes but is definitely not a one size fits all.
(Potgieter, 2013).

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Next up

• Functions of fat • CHO is recommended:

• Structure of fat • B
 efore, during (if >60 minutes) and
• Types of fat after exercise
• Storage of fat • T
 he choice of CHO should aim to
• Dietary fat recommendations enhance health
• High fat diets & exercise • Not huge performance differences
• Timing of fat intake & exercise • M
 odified CHO loading may be
• Fat stores as fuel for exercise beneficial
• Ranges for normal body fat % • T
 rain low, compete high may
• How to increase fat burning during benefit select ultra-endurance
exercise athletes
• Practical application

Summary:
Let’s summarise what we have
learned today:
• CHO is found in a variety of foods:
• Starches, fibre & sugars
• Insulin assists with CHO digestion,
absorption & utilization
• Muscles obtain glucose from:
• Breakdown of muscle glycogen,
CHO intake
• Smaller extent: Glycogen in liver &
breakdown of other macronutrients
• Optimal CHO intake:
• Provides energy & optimises
glycogen stores for next session
• More glycogen in muscles
• Delay fatigue & increase
performance
• CHO requirements should be
sufficient to:
• Provide energy, replenish glycogen
& be protein sparing
• CHO requirements in exercisers (%)
and athletes (g/kg) differ
Case study
Remember Matt, our elite long-
distance runner?
1. H
 ow many g/kg CHO should he
consume/ day (if he trains at a
moderate intensity for 2 hours/
day)
5-7g/kg/day
2. If Matt weigh’s 70kg, what is the
range of CHO he should consume/
day?
5 - 7g/ 70kg/ day
= 350 - 490g/ day
3. If he is running a race for 2
hours, how much CHO should he
consume during the race?
30 - 60g/ hour
= 60 - 120g for the race

Professional Diploma in Sports Nutrition

 17 WWW.SHAWACADEMY.COM

HEALTHY STARCH

LIST
Gluten containing Gluten free
Cereals
Oats, rolled/regular/ quick cooking (oats only, no other added ingredients)*
Swiss muesli**
High Fibre Bran**
High fibre, minimally processed starches (BEST)
Barley Amaranth
Bulgur wheat Buckwheat
Einkorn Corn, fresh/ frozen/ canned
Legumes: Beans/ lentils/ chickpeas (can use dried/
Khorasan wheat (Kamut)
canned)
Pearled wheat Millet
Spelt Mixed vegetables with corn, peas & carrots
Rice, brown/ wild/ red/ black
Quinoa
Sorghum
Teff
Quicker release starches
Potato
Baby potato
Sweet potato
High fibre crackers (choose ones with >8g/ 100g fibre)*
Refined starches (LIMIT)
Pasta (durum wheat/ whole-wheat) Gluten free pasta
Whole-wheat couscous
100% rye/ seed loaf (heavy & dense) Gluten free bread
Wholegrain bread rolls Gluten free bread rolls
Rye bagel/ brown pita Gluten free bagel/ pita
Flour made from any of the above*
Snacks (LIMIT)
Popcorn

*  May contain gluten (gluten is found in wheat, barley & rye, check the ingredients list), cross
contamination may occur with other grains/ sensitivity to other grains may occur.

** Choose lowest sugar options

Professional Diploma in Sports Nutrition