Carbohydrates: Athletes know "carbs are king" when it comes to fueling for endurance and exercise. But you can't consume just any carbohydrate at any time. Here is what works.
Complex Carbs- Products containing simple sugars typically sucrose,fructose,and or glucose (dextrose)-must be extremely diluted or your body can't digest them. Thst's due to "osmolality" a chemical measure of the concentration of a solution's dissolved particles that can permeate a cell membrane.The trouble is, at this weak concentration 6-8% not enough energy is available for working muscles. To obtain enough calories during exercise,you would have to consume about two bottles of fuel per hour, increasing your risk of fluid intoxication.
In contrast,complex carbohydrates can be digested readily at a much higher concentration. At a solution of up to 18% complex carbohydrates can pass efficiently from the digestive tract to the liver. The liver then converts some of the fuel to glycogen for storage and some of it directly to glucose for immediate use by muscles.Complex carbohydrates allow you to absorb more calories for use as energy than you can from simple sugars.
Fatty Acids: The typical athlete has a vast reserve of calories (up to 100,000!)available from fat stores.When exercise goes beyond about 2 hours, these fatty acids are the fuel of choice, providing approximately 60-65% of your caloric expenditure.However, for this process to go smoothly, you must not consume excess calories (no more than about 180 calories per hour) during exercise. If you try to match energy losses with an equal amount of calories from your fuel, you will inhibit the use of fats for fuel.
Protein: After 90-120 minutes of exercise, about 5-15% of the calories you use will come from protein.If your fuel doesn't supply this protein, your body will scavenge it from muscle tissue- causing muscle fatigue and depletion, post-exercise soreness, and a weakened immune system.
To avoid this cannibalization, your ingested fuel should incorporate protein in a ratio of about 8:1 (by weight) carbs to protein. Although whey protein is excellent for use after exercise, soy is preferred for prolonged exercise.
These are just a few tips to help you as you begin your fitness journey. Feel free to fill out my free fitness assessment and I will help you choose a program that FITS YOU and make sure your goals are achieved!
Greatly needed info Steve!
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