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carbohydrate intake

I've been looking on the web at various carb calculators and for the amount of exercise i'm doing(2/3 hours/day) I should be taking on board approx 500gms(depends which calc I use). It's staggering how much rice and pasta etc this amounts to in a day. Luckily I enjoy my food and it's not a problem most days. However, I have a couple of questions.

1. Can I supplement this with powders during the day when not training as sometimes it's impossible to cram this lot in.

2. Should I still be taking on board this quantity on rest days.



Incidentally for a long time I've been feeling drained and realise I have not been eating nowhere near enough(although a good diet). I think I've been confusing this with overtraining as the symptoms seem to be similar



Any advice on this would be welcome

Comments

  • rpopper65rpopper65 Posts: 171
    Carbohydrates can come in a lot of different forms. Rice and pasta tend to be pretty "carbohydrate rich" staple foods, so they are often the chosen food to satisfy this type of dietary need. But, you can get carbs in other forms such as powders, gels, drinks, bread, fruit, etc. For me, it's also a question of looking at carb intake as part of a larger dietary picture, making sure I get enough nutrition and not just focussing on things like carbs, calories, fat and protein numbers. I mean, you could just eat 20 energy gel packets throughout the day and get all the carbs and calories you need for your exercise, but then you wouldn't be getting other important nutritional elements in.



    I turn to fruit for a lot of my carb intake in between meals. Bananas, apples and dried fruits are also a very good source of carbs that come with a lot of other nutritional benefits, too. Personally, I like to stick to wholemeal and wholegrain "staple" carbs (bread, pasta, rice) whenever I can, because the extra nutritional benefits usually outweigh the downside of having to eat more of it in order to get the basic carb/calorie intake I need for the day. Another thing I do is eat 5 smaller meals throughout the day (well, it means that I usually eat 2 lunches and 2 dinners at staggered times), rather than 3 bigger meals at standard meal times. It makes it easier on my stomach (e.g. rather than 2 big plates of pasta in one sitting, I will separate them into 2 separate meals about 2 hours apart from each other).



    And, on rest days, you don't need to take in as much, since you won't be using as much fuel that day.
  • andygeeandygee Posts: 2
    Thanks for advice. I've tried breaking down into a few meals and don't feel quite as blown up. Sorry for late response, I'm still finding my way round



    Thanks
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