Especially for Runners Who Carb-Load or Crave Carbs

Carbohydrates
 Are You Contemplating Carb-loading? Do You Crave Carbs? We are sure you’ve heard about it or may have done this in the past in preparation for a marathon. But how well do you know your carbs? To hear more about Coach Jessica and carbohydrates, listen to this episode.
 
#RunPainFree Academy sports biomechanics, athletic, corrective, and conditioning expert, Jessica Marie Rose Leggio gives us an insight into what carbohydrates is, what it does to your body, and which are the right types of carbs you should eat especially as a runner.
Ton of Misinformation
In this episode, Coach Jessica talks about a lot of misinformation about carbohydrates. In essence, carbohydrates are present in fruits, vegetables, and starch. Some WeightWatchers opt for an abundance of fruit, thinking it will have minimal effects on their weight.

“When you have an over portion of the fruit, it's all turned into sugar. The body will only take what it needs. Then it either gets rid of what it doesn't need or it stores it. If you don't have a good processing system, you're going to store it as sugar which becomes fat.” - Coach Jessica Marie Rose Leggio

Simple and Complex Sugars
Carbohydrates are 100% needed in our bodies. The issue lies between thinking that Twinkies and Captain Crunch and rice are equal to sweet potatoes, string beans, and strawberries because they're not. Simple sugars are broken down the minute they are ingested, unlike complex sugars.
Coach Jessica explains when we ingest food, insulin is released from the pancreas, which burns through simple sugars in seconds. Since you have a surge in insulin, without nothing else to burn, your body makes you crave more sugars.
The Downside of this Cycle
The whole cycle of crash-high-crash-high-crash happens all day long, it makes your internal organs tired, specifically your pancreas and kidneys. When you start to have a problem processing sugar, your blood sugar becomes unstable and you eventually borderline type two diabetes.

“Maybe one day I'll do the difference between a type one diabetic and a type two diabetic because they are totally different. Type two diabetics, you have complete control of fixing. You can literally fix this with eating and exercise. If you don't, you're going to be put on pills. If you don't do with the pills, you're going to need insulin, period. You're going to continue to grow but you absolutely have control over it.” - Coach Jessica Marie Rose Leggio

The Need For Complex Sugars
Coach Jessica stresses the importance of complex sugars in fruits and vegetables. Citrus fruits, such as oranges, pineapples, and grapes, have the highest content of sugar of all fruits. She advises that these fruits be taken early in the morning to allow your body to burn and use the energy throughout the day.

“Everything has a level with it. Here's the reason why everybody gets confused is that there are so many carbohydrates. If people get misled on what is or isn't a carb and overindulge and what they think isn't and it actually is, and that creates a problem.” - Coach Jessica Marie Rose Leggio

Carb-loading
Carbohydrates play an important role in your body because it is what delivers glycogen to your muscles, which is used for energy. Coach Jessica clarifies more misinformation about carb-loading for runners, such as it’s not supposed to only be done just a day before you run a marathon.

“I do not know where you think you are running with no carbohydrates. You will be gassed and tanked at mile 14 for a full marathon. You will be locked up with lactic acid with straight legs that can't move because your body was tapping into other processes because it ran out of ATP on its own. Ran out of the glycogen, has no more energy, which is carbohydrates. Guys, carbohydrates are your energy source. It is the energy fuel for your brain, not for nothing.” - Coach Jessica Marie Rose Leggio

Resources Mentioned:
#RunPainFree Nutritional Program
#RunPainFree Academy
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION IS:
What misinformation about carbohydrates did you previously know of?