Learn: Bread, pasta, rice, cookies, ice cream, those are all the things we tend to think of when we think of carbs. Typically, people will see an athlete and say "oh you're fit you must not eat carbs" when in reality, they could not be more wrong! Carbs have several functions in the body:

1. They are the main source of energy - the body breaks down carbs into glucose and glycogen to be used as energy in the muscles

2. Hormone function - the body needs at LEAST 130g of carbs per day in order function how it wants to.

3. Building muscle - not only does the body need protein, but it needs the energy from carbs in order to pack on more muscle!

4. Recovery - Like protein, carbs help repair damaged muscles, and get you feeling good for your next workout

Unlike protein, there is not a generic formula to calculate out exactly how many carbs each person needs. It can be done in certain ways but for simplicity sake, I'm going to leave it with a few main points:

• As athletes, you should be having some sort of carb with every meal: that could be oats, rice, potatoes, fruit, cereal, sports drinks, etc.
• Vary your carb sources: aim for at least one grain, one fruit, two veggies, and maybe a starch every day.
• Eat some quick-digesting carbs before your workout - things like fruit, fruit snacks, gummies, cereal, and sports drinks are great!
• Aim to have your largest carb meal following your workout - this does not mean go stuff your face with a massive bowl of pasta, but do make sure you refuel after you're done training in order to help with recovery for the next day!

Test Your Knowledge

Which of the food examples below contain more grams of carbs?

How did you do?