Are You Eating Enough Carbohydrates For Your Workout?

If you are on a mission of fat loss and have just started up on a new workout and diet plan, one thing that you do need to take into account is whether you are eating enough carbohydrates to fuel this added exercise.

One big mistake that some people make is putting themselves on an ultra-strict diet plan and then loading up on exercise, thinking this will yield faster results.

But, you must remember that exercise requires a certain amount of fuel and if that fuel is not coming in, you’re going to run into problems.

Here are some important points to know to ensure you are getting the carbohydrates you need.

Assess Your Muscular Strength

First, you need to look at your muscular strength levels. How have you been feeling? Strong and powerful or weak and fatigued?

If it’s the latter, this is a great sign that you may not be getting enough carbohydrates in your diet to sustain the level of intense exercise that you are asking of your body.

Try adding 20-50 more grams per day, especially on the days you exercise and see if that makes a difference.

Assess Your Recovery

Another place to look at to determine whether you’re getting sufficient carbohydrates is with your recovery ability. Do you recover quickly between workout sessions?

Or does recovery seem to take days? If it takes too long, that too is an indication you may be too low on carbohydrates.

You won’t bounce back quite as quickly while dieting as you otherwise would, but you shouldn’t be dragging yourself around for days after a workout session.

Assess Your Mode Of Exercise

Also think about the mode of exercise that you’re doing as some exercise variations are more demanding on glucose than others.

If you’re doing plenty of weight lifting or sprint training, these are the two exercise variations that rely most on glucose, so your carbohydrate intake needs to go up.

If you’re just doing moderate intensity exercise, you can afford to ease up on carbohydrates as your body can use fat as a source of fuel.

So there you have a few points to know and remember about the carbohydrate intake and exercise connection. It’s a must that you are getting enough in, so really focus on paying attention to this element so you optimize fat loss, but exercise performance as well.