Let's talk carbs!

[seanmc]

The other thread on dieting in general brought this up - so I thought it would be good to dig into the topic with a fresh thread for future reference, et.

It's not secret that research has shown over the years that there can be a 50% variance in weight-loss within the same caloric load just based on carbohydrate levels. The other post was digging into types of carbs...and that is important. But I think the bigger issue for most people is not the carb source, but rather the carb quantity. We can all get fat eating perfect carb sources. Conversely, we can all lose weight eating crappy carbs. It's purely a numbers a game. And when it comes to finding a rock-solid, sustainable nutrition plan that is going to help us stay able-bodied and strong - and make us better shooters out there...it's all about finding out how much food we each need to move forward and get closer to that goal (weight loss, weight gain, maintaining weight, et).

So let's dig in here. Anybody familiar with the different body types (endomorphic, mesomorphic and ectomorphic) and how those genetics largely dicatate metabolic potential? I think it would also be good to talk about carb sensitivity, glycogen uptake during exercise and the body's energy-source preferences. It's all directly related to what we are talking about in that other thread.

Here is an excerpt from an article I recently wrote. It'll get us started in the right direction. Feel free to take the conversation in any good direction though. Hoping this is a good one.

"Indeed, every calorie you have ever burned is a carbohydrate. That comes as a surprise to most people. “What about the protein I eat or the fat I consume?” When you consume fats and proteins, your body uses them structurally to repair itself and for a host of other purposes as well. However if you have to metabolize those things for energy (and you can), you convert those fats and proteins into carbohydrate and use that for energy. Because of this energy-source preference, the human body has 3 primary storage systems for carbohydrate. The first is your blood stream. The average adult human can hold about 30 grams of carbohydrates in their bloodstream. Not much. Think of a banana or a piece of bread. This is where your body turns first when looking for energy because this is the easiest (and fastest) energy to access.

If the blood stream is at its storage capacity, the body stores the next 80 or so grams of carbohydrates (aka, glycogen) in the liver. A pretty small amount of energy. Think about half a bowl of pasta. If that system is full, the body tries to then store the extra carbohydrate in the muscle (aka, muscle glycogen). Your muscles serve two primary purposes. The first purpose is the most obvious one and that is to move your skeleton. The second purpose is lesser known. It acts as an energy storage system. The average male human can store roughly 500g of carbohydrate in their muscle tissue. The average female stores less than that, as the amount you can store here is directly correlated to how much muscle mass you have. Regardless though, we are talking about a bigger storage system compared to the previous two. However this too has a finite capacity. And when that system is full, the only other storage option your body has is to convert that extra carbohydrate to body fat. And store it. Concisely said, that is how we gain weight. We max out our carbohydrate storage systems with too much food and our body turns most of what we eat beyond that into body fat and tucks it into our fat cells. Forgive the protracted explanation. But it’s critical to understand this energy continuum. Because the same system that was just described is used to deliver energy when you need it most.

So what happens to the competitive shooter during an event? Well, a competitive shooter is active and is using calories, just like any other athlete. Picture a typical day at a match. Its hot outside so you likely have water with you. You start to shoot and all is well. You are sweating and drinking water as needed. The competition is rolling now and you start feeling the effects of your physical activity and energy expenditure. Your reaction time is slowing. You feel fatigued, though not bad. “I should not feel tired right now” you think to yourself. So you press on. Your transition times are slowing. Maybe you make a sloppy reload. Or the front sight is getting harder to focus on. It’s getting harder to plan your stages. Simply said you are making technical mistakes you should not be making. Your reaction time is slowing. What is happening? “It must be the heat because the other guys out here are hurting too” you reason. But in that moment, it’s not the heat. And the other guys are hurting because they are experiencing the same issue you are.

The technical term for the issue is exercise-induced hypoglycemia. Translation: You have very low blood sugar. Again, your blood stream can hold about 30g of carbohydrates. And you spent those in a hurry during competition. In a matter of minutes actually. So your body starts to pump glycogen (again, that is stored carbohydrate) out of your liver and muscles to “find” the energy it needs. Additionally, it starts to convert stored body fat into glycogen as well. Only this is an inefficient process in the body. It is a process that keeps you alive, just as it is meant to. However this is not a process that allows for 100 percent performance. And when your blood sugar is low, you start to experience very distinct and acute signs of hypoglycemia. Fogginess in your thoughts, decreased visual acuity, decreased energy (lethargy), decreased neurological efficiency and even shaky hands. Do any of those things sound helpful in competitive shooting? No they do not. In fact those are the very things we practice and train for! So while your practice may be making you better, your body can betray you the day of the competition. Having participated in competitive shooting events many times, I see the impact this has on shooters every single time I go out there. The more you become conditioned and able to recognize it, the more obvious it will be to you when you see it in yourself and in others alike."

These are the issues that I think we really need to talk about - that energy continuum and how it impacts our shooting performance.

Let's dig in!

Sean

[Kasteel]

Great post topic.

As carbs go, the type/quality of carb does appear relevant--although quantity certainly is critical. From what I've been reading, fructose is the carb source to limit: 15-25 grams per day even from fruit sources.

[John Thompson]

If one is on a low carb or carb cycling diet and they find themselves out of gas prior to a workout or during a shooting match then just take one of glucose pills they sell at drug stores. The instant 10 grams with get your blood sugar up for a couple hours.