Love your carbs

Why carbs?

Carb-rich foods are the optimum fuel for energy and, of course, an essential part of the athlete’s diet.  Once digested, carbs are eventually converted into blood glucose and used for energy, or stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle.

All carbohydrates are not the same, however. Different carbohydrates serve different purposes and we need to choose our carbohydrates wisely:

Gofaster tips

• Base all your meals on carbohydrates
• Don’t skip breakfast – try to have something unrefined – porridge, muesli, tomatoes on toast
• Eat carbohydrate-rich snacks – bananas, flapjacks, baked beans on toast, malt loaf
• Have fun experimenting with different types of pasta, rice, grains, lentils and pulses, couscous and polenta

Slow-burning carbs (low to medium G.I.)

are absorbed gradually into the body and will keep our energy levels topped up for longer – ideal for endurance and the general training diet.

• Wholegrain bread
• Unprocessed cereals such as whole rolled porridge oats
• Pasta, pulses, Basmati rice
• Most fruit and veg
• Nuts and seeds, peanut butter, hummus

Fast-acting carbs (high G.I.)

are rapidly absorbed by the body and provide a quick blood sugar rush – great for immediately after exercise to replenish tired muscles, not so good for keeping energy levels constant on a long run.

• Short grain white rice
• Processed cereals – cornflakes and rice crispies
• White bread
• Cakes, biscuits, confectionery and sugar
• Watermelon, dates
• Sports drinks and jelly beans
• Many processed foods such as pizza and burgers

Eat lots of fruit and veg

Gofaster tips

• Include fruit with your breakfast everyday
• Snack on fruit and veg – a carrot, a punnet of blueberries, a nice crunchy apple…
• Make sure you include salad or veg with every meal – buy delicious fresh veg, add loads of fresh herbs to your cooking, make exciting salsas with fresh fruit and veg (eg mango, cucumber, coriander and chilli)
• Make quick and healthy vegetable soups (eg watercress, butternut squash)

Protein for power and recovery

Gofaster tips

• Eat poultry, game or fish a couple of times a week
• Include iron-rich foods such as lean steak, mince, offal such as liver, clams, mussels scallops
• Snack on nuts and sprinkle roasted nuts onto salads, couscous and your breakfast cereal
• Cook meat on a griddle or grill to reduce fat content

Milk and dairy/non-dairy alternatives

Gofaster tips

• Use parmesan cheese shavings in risottos, pasta and salads
• Use natural yoghurt and fromage frais in sauces and salad dressings
• Make fruit smoothies with yoghurt or skimmed milk
• Don’t get too worried about cream and butter but use in moderation and avoid things like very creamy pasta sauces – it is difficult to get 60% of your calories from carbohydrate if you eat a lot of fat

Good oils and fats

There are three main types of fat

• Saturated ( found in butter, milk, ice cream, cheese, hydrogenated vegetable oils in processed foods like pastry, cakes and biscuits) – keep foods containing saturated fats to a reasonable minimum as they can raise blood cholesterol and are generally not heart-friendly.
• Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – omega 3 and omega 6 (found in oily fish, nuts, seeds, cold-presses vegetable oils) – foods containing unsaturated fats can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and are generally full of other health-enhancing nutrients.

Gofaster tips

• Keep saturated fats to a reasonable minimum
• Unsaturated fats should be an essential part of our diet
• Treat yourself to oily fish – fresh tuna, tinned mackerel
• Buy packs of seeds to snack on and sprinkle sunflower and pumpkin seeds on salads and cereal
• Roast your own nuts and use them in your cooking; pine nuts on pasta, pistachios in couscous, flaked almonds on rice etc
• Experiment with interesting cold-pressed oils; walnut oil on salads, rapeseed for frying at high temperature, olive oil in mashed potato