How to: Carbohydrate Loading

Carbohydrate loading is a process that has been done for many years and in many different ways. I have even tried to do this a few years ago before I learned about the proper way to do it in sports nutrition. When I played lacrosse, we would often have pasta parties the night before a big game and we all thought that we were really carb loading. However, eating an excessive amount of carbs less than 24 hours before an event or game isn't going to make much of a difference than if you didn't have any extra carbs at all. In order to properly carb load and have it help you in the event, the process needs to start about a week before the event or big game. Let's break this down step by step using an individual who weighs about 135 pounds, or 61.36 kilograms. To find out how much you weigh in kilograms, take your weight and divide it by 2.2.

Like I said before, carb loading needs to start about a week before the event.

7 days prior to the event, you should be having about 5g/kg of body weight in carbs. So, for our 61.36 kg individual, they should be having about 307 grams of carbohydrates for days 1, 2 and 3. You find this number by multiplying your weight in kilograms by 5, and voila! With the 307g of carbs being ingested, you should be engaging in intense training. This will help to deplete the current glycogen stores in your muscles in order to make way more carbohydrates.

Days 4, 5 and 6 will be lighter training days to ensure that the carbohydrates are being stored for the event just a few days away. On these days, the 61.36kg individual will be having 10g/kg of carbohydrates, or 614 grams of carbohydrates. Multiply your weight in kilograms by 10, and you'll have the grams of carbs you should be having for those three days. I know this sounds like a lot, and it is, but these three days are vital to fill up your stores for the big event.

Finally, the day before the event. This day will have light to no training at all for the event, and the individual should be ingesting the normal amount of carbohydrates. So a 61.36kg individual will be having about 250g to 357g of carbohydrates.

One of my favorite carbs is pasta, and I was so excited when I was introduced to Barilla's Protein Plus Pasta. In one serving, you're getting all the carbs you need, plus 17g of protein! It really packs a punch and helps to make sure you're getting more protein in your diet. You'll also be getting 7g of fiber, which aids in digestion, and Omega-3 fatty acids, which help support your heart. I would definitely suggest this to anyone trying to carb load. You'll get those carbs,protein, Omega-3s, and fiber in one easy source.