Carbohydrate loading is often discussed by athletes on specialized web resources. Find out what scientists think about this approach to boost results in bodybuilding. Like intermittent fasting, carbohydrate loading has become popular in bodybuilding in the past few years. John Keefer can be considered the founder of this nutritional method. The essence of carbohydrate loading looks very tempting to a lot of people. After all, it involves gaining muscle mass, burning fat, and at the same time you can eat sweets. It remains only to find out how much carbohydrate loading is more effective than standard sports nutrition programs.
Basic principles of carbohydrate loading
This is a fairly simple power scheme. You need to eat something in the morning, and it is even possible to skip breakfast. This should be followed by a lunchtime snack and after the end of the lesson, until 5 pm, it requires a small amount of carbohydrates.
The real food will be all evening after the training. Throughout the day, you can eat foods containing protein compounds. As you can see, everything is very simple, and we will now deal with the effectiveness of carbohydrate loading in bodybuilding.
Kiefer cannot, in the full sense of the word, be called the creator of this way of eating. Back in the days of Arnie, this idea was discussed. Carbohydrate loading is based on daily fluctuations in insulin sensitivity, taking into account the change in this indicator after strength training. According to the results of several studies, it has been proven that in the morning the insulin sensitivity of tissues is higher and for this reason, glucose will be better absorbed at this time. We have to admit that from the point of view of mass gain, everything looks great here. But in terms of gaining fat mass, everything is not so beautiful, since glucose in large quantities will enter the fat cells.
The entire carbohydrate loading method is based on a clear understanding of human biorhythms. You cannot consume carbohydrates during the period when the maximum conversion of glucose into fat is possible, but in the evening all carbohydrates should be used by the body to restore the glycogen depot.
The most important thing here seems to be the intake of the nutrient after the end of the exercise, after which the glycogen reserve is depleted, and the insulin sensitivity of the muscle tissues is quite high. For this reason, glucose must mainly be transported to muscle tissue. This sounds good in theory, let's see what happens in practice.
How effective is carbohydrate loading in bodybuilding?
Most of the creators of various dietary nutrition programs are trying to convince people that the processes of burning fat and gaining muscle mass have very complex mechanisms. They don't want to teach us how to eat right, but they want to make the maximum amount of money.
However, no one makes such statements in relation to loading with carbohydrates, but simply talk about the possibility of losing excess weight and gaining muscle mass. Admittedly, this nutritional method can be great for many athletes.
Most athletes visit the gym in the evening, and it can be quite pleasant to get all the carbohydrates during this period of time. But at the same time, there was very little scientific evidence for the effectiveness of carbohydrate loading. Perhaps, it is worth highlighting only two experiments, the results of which are most often cited as an argument by fans of this method of nutrition. In the first experiment, scientists compared the effectiveness of eating 70 percent of the daily calories in the morning and evening. It should be admitted that this study was quite lengthy and lasted for six months. Subjects who ate predominantly in the evening achieved great results in weight loss. Unfortunately, only ten people took part in the study, which is clearly not enough for a large-scale experiment.
The second experiment also lasted six months and was almost the same as the previous one. The results of these two studies were very similar. Opponents of carbohydrate loading may also make their case based on scientific research.
By and large, if this eating style suits you and is compatible with your biorhythms, then you may well give it a try. But at the same time, it should be said that many in this nutrition program are attracted by the opportunity to lose weight without laborious calorie counting and cardio training.
You can also eat fast food items. This, of course, is not a prerequisite, but it is quite acceptable. But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. Nobody is going to argue with the fact that insulin controls the process of fat accumulation by the body. However, when you start to consume food, you lose the ability to lose fat mass.
Our body is designed in such a way that when we eat food, it immediately begins to be spent on getting energy and replenishing fat reserves. Fat will only be wasted if your diet is low in calories.
As a result, you eat little during the day and during this period the insulin concentration is low, which leads to fat burning. But its reserves will be almost completely restored during the evening meal. By and large, you can achieve a similar or even greater result by simply reducing the daily diet and eating evenly throughout the day. In addition, in this case, you will not suffer from hunger.
When deciding for yourself the need to use a carbohydrate load in bodybuilding, you must remember that you will not be able to deceive the body by simply changing the timing of meals.
Of course, this method of eating will not harm your health, and you can easily evaluate its effectiveness for yourself. Any nutrition program should be individualized and perhaps loading with carbohydrates will bring you excellent results.
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