Carb Overload!!

I am sick of carbs. I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever ever say that. I started carb loading last night for my race on Saturday and already I am craving protein. In fact I started a half a day late since I forgot until my doctor’s appointment late in the afternoon. Of course the dr also cancelled my fill since he wants me to be able to fuel correctly and stay hydrated. Makes sense and I was kind of worried myself, but I didn’t want to wait until the end of October for a fill (my next appointment was right before the half which would have meant no fill). Luckily, he is now in the office twice a month for fills. So the fill is only postponed two weeks instead of two months. Thank God!
My reminder on carb loading caused me to take an unplanned detour to the grocery store last night. It was sooo tempting to just pick up those lovely bakery items instead of the carb packed veggies , whole grain crackers, and other “healthy” carbs. I was this close to picking up some Bannana’s Foster ice cream – limited time flavor and one of my absolute favorites. I had the container in my hands and actually figured the number of calories that the whole thing had b/c you know those “little” containers of premium ice cream would get completely eaten. 840 calories if you were wondering. Much better than I would have thought and I know I will burn it off, but I decided going crazy on sugar right before race day probably wouldn’t make me feel great.

For those of you not familiar with carb loading it isn’t the all you can eat pasta dinners the night before the race. Some people do do that, but it isn’t really recommended since it is just too heavy in your stomach. Plus your liver just doesn’t store enough glycogen in one big meal. Glycogen is what carbs are turned into so it can be used as energy. You want your liver and muscles to be full of the stuff so you have as much energy as possible. It is also ironically the same stuff that Drs want us to get rid of before surgery using the low carb liquid diet approach. No wonder our engery levels tank during that time!

To do carb loading the “right way” you start three days prior to race day – according to those pesky dietitians. (Love you Kelly!) First, if you are dieting you need to increase your calories to equal what you burn. For me that is somewhere around 2200 on average (higher on long run weeks). Then you are supposed to eat 60-70% of your calories in carbs. For me that would be 330g – 385g of carbs or 1320-1540 calories from carbs. That is more calories in just carbs than I typically eat in total for an ENTIRE day! And that is the more conservative method of figuring your carb intake. Some dietitians recommend you eat 8-10 grams of carbs per kilogram of weight. For me that would be 687-860 or 3436 calories in just carbs!! I don’t know if I could physically eat that many calories.

So suffice it to say I am going to have to do a modified carb loading program. Something much more band friendly. I am trying to up my calories hoping somewhere around 2000 (maybe a little higher, but I don’t want to feel like I have overeaten on race day). Then I am making sure I am getting my protein and finally upping my carbs. It should give me somewhere around 55% of my diet in carbs (1100 calories).

Sounds great, huh? Yeah eating things I love (potatoes, bread, etc…) is great, but honestly eating a days worth of calories in carbs doesn’t feel as good as I remember. After 24 hours I would rather grab a stick of cheese then a whole grain pita chip or a bowl of squash (which I LOVE). Oh and I found out that carb loading also has the *great*effect of causing you to store more water and thus gain weight. It isn’t that bloated feeling thank God, but a 2-3 pound increase in the scale is very very likely.

What a thing to complain about!! I am guessing that I would get used to the increase in carbs after a few more days so I am going to have to be very careful after race day. But since I didn’t go crazy on ice cream before the race I am telling everyone now that I will have something sweet when we are done. My banded dad might start drooling, but after burning nearly 2000 calories I think that I will have earned it. Not that it will be my “reward”. It will just be a tasty way to replenish my glycogen stores and I can’t think of a better time to add in a high calorie snack :)