Eating carbohydrates before a run, and specifically carb loading before a long run or race, is essential to make sure you have the energy you need to perform at your best.
But to optimise recovery and future performance, it’s just as important to carb re-load after your runs.
Here’s why carbs help you to recover after exercise, how many carbs you should eat in a day, and signs you might want to increase your carb intake.
TL;DR ON HOW MUCH RUNNERS NEED TO EAT AFTER RUNNING (OR CARB RE-LOADING)
Carb re-loading means consuming carbs to replace the energy you used during a run or exercise.
The higher the volume and intensity of your training, the more carbs you need to consume.
Consuming carbs after running helps support and enhance our recovery and lowers the risk of injury, illness and reduced performance.
You want to consume 1-1.2g of carbs per kilogram of body weight per hour within the first 2-4 hours after exercising as this can promote faster recovery.
Most moderately active runners should aim for 4-6g of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight spread throughout the day.
If you are training particularly hard, are fully depleted after a long run or race, or feel high amounts of fatigue, then you may want as much as a total of 8-10g of carbs per kilogram of body weight spread throughout the day – similar volumes to a marathon carb-load.
WHY ARE CARBOHYDRATES ESSENTIAL FOR RUNNERS?
Carbohydrates that we eat and drink are stored in the body as glycogen which is converted into energy for all of our cells to use. Carbs are the fuel which helps our muscles to contract.
We should aim to eat carbs before all runs, whether it’s a small snack or a meal, as our body needs those carbs for energy – and the more training we do, the more carbs we need to fuel our performance and also to help our recovery.
During exercise, the stored glycogen is used up and needs to be replaced. If it’s not properly and fully replaced then it’s likely we’re always running with reduced energy availability and that can lead to long-term health issues like REDs.
WHY ARE CARBOHYDRATES SO IMPORTANT AFTER RUNNING?
Exercise uses up energy stores within the body and we need to replace them because we don’t just use glycogen for exercise: we need it for all actions in our body, and our brain has a large glycogen energy need.
After exercise, here’s why it’s important to consume enough carbohydrates:
We need to replenish glycogen stores – in other words, to make sure we have fuel in the tank. Having glycogen stores enables us to be able to adapt to hard training sessions.
Hard exercise can increase your body’s stress response and in turn suppress the immune system, but consuming carbs can reduce the stress response and keep the immune system functioning well.
Being low on glycogen (which is the brain’s main source of energy) can also negatively impact sleep, which will further impact recovery and training readiness.
Those carbs not only help us recover but they help us to have the energy we need for future training.
The goal shouldn’t be to just top up with the amount of carbs you need for a certain activity; keep the tank at a moderate level all the time, then fill it to the top for harder and longer sessions, or if you’re feeling wiped out.
HOW MANY CARBS SHOULD YOU EAT AFTER EXERCISE?
It’s important to replenish carbs soon after exercising and then also eat more carbohydrates throughout the day in line with your general carb requirements and exercise intensity – see below for guidance.
In general you should aim for 1-1.2g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per hour for two to four hours after exercise, and research suggests that consuming carbs as soon as possible helps optimise glycogen resynthesis. If this seems like a lot, then it may mean that you’ve been underfuelling.
For a 70kg runner that means aiming for 70-84g of carbs per hour for two to four hours, which is a total of 140g-336g in the four hours after exercise (which is a window of optimum glycogen resynthesis in the body).
Those post-exercise carbs form part of your overall daily carb intake. Here’s a table of carbohydrate needs based on activity levels (source). Carb intake as grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.
If you are doing very long, very hard or multiple sessions back-to-back, then consuming 8-12g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight throughout the entire day may be important to optimise your recovery. That’s a similar volume to what you’d eat in a carb load. For a 70kg runner it would mean a total of 600-900g of carbs in a day (which is a lot).
SIGNS RUNNERS MIGHT NEED MORE CARBS
If you feel extra hungry after a long run, then add in more carbs.
If you’re waking up with lasting aches or have low training readiness then you may need to increase your carb intake.
If you feel restless and hungry in the night.
If you’re feeling wiped out and really depleted after a long run then prioritise eating as many carbs as possible. That means if you’re struggling to move from the sofa with the tiredness of a workout, then do what you can to eat more carbs, quickly.
If you’re struggling with the volume of training and like progress feels difficult then consider taking a day off and actually doing a mini-carb load. It could help to replenish your energy stores which will help you to feel better and perform better.
HIGHER CALORIE REQUIREMENTS CONTINUE DAYS AFTER THE RUN
Some runners can feel extra hungry in the days after a long run or marathon.
Recent research into runners in a 100-mile race found that even seven days after the race they had calorie requirements of 50% more than baseline – in other words, if their basal metabolic rate was 2,000 calories a day, they needed close to 3,000 still just to maintain daily functions.
While there isn’t clear data in regards to the afterburn of a marathon, it may be that we require additional carbs and calories for several days after a very long or hard effort – denying or ignoring signs of hunger could delay your return to running.
PROTEIN IS IMPORTANT, BUT CARBS ARE CRUCIAL
It’s still important for runners to consume protein after exercise as this can help to repair muscles.
It’s ideal to have a combination of carbs and protein in all your meals and snacks.
Runners should aim for around 1.8g of protein per kilogram of bodyweight through the day alongside your carb requirements. This will help promote recovery and training adaptation.
MULTIPLE CARB SOURCES CAN HELP PROMOTE RECOVERY
The body stores glycogen in both the muscles and the liver. To help replenish both then consume glucose (sugar, pasta, rice, etc) to refill the muscles, and fructose (fruit, fruit juice, honey) to refill the liver.
After a run which really depletes the glycogen stores (like a long run or marathon) it’s essential to refuel with both glucose and fructose.
FAQS ON CARB RE-LOADING
Depending on your volume and intensity of training, you should aim for 5-10g of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight each day, with the higher end of that range for hard days, long runs or runners maintaining high training volumes.
After a run you should aim to consume a mix of both protein and carbs. Try to eat something as soon as possible which has around 50-100g of carbs and 25-35g of protein, but then be sure to continue eating a mix of carbs and protein throughout the day. Eating carbs after a run is essential to help you recover and to have energy to train again in the future.
In order to promote recovery and readiness for future training, it’s good to consume your typical volume of carbohydrates even on a rest day. That means maintaining a higher intake of carbs and not reducing the amount you eat.
Carb loading is the process of eating additional carbohydrates in the two days before a long run or race. Carb loading maximises the energy stores within our body, which is very important for very long or hard efforts. Runners should aim to consume 6-10g of carbs per kilogram of body weight.
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