Carbs (and fats!) can be manipulated to your advantage depending on how you’d like to feel and perform.
Unlike protein, which should be dosed fairly evenly throughout the day, swinging carbs ⬆️ or ⬇️ throughout your meals can produce totally different results.
have an early morning strength training session?
You’re gonna wanna be sure to have some extra carbs at breakfast to support energy for that workout, recovery and muscle building. No appetite in the morning? No problem! Just make sure you’re topping off your last meal from last night with a larger carb load to be ready to go in the morning.
maybe you have a workout later in the day?
You ate lunch at noon, you’ve got a workout planned at 4, and know dinner won’t be until 6:30. Eating some carbs (paired with a little protein) for a pre-workout snack will guarantee you’ll have the energy to crush your workout.
To plan ahead for this, just eat lower carb for breakfast or lunch to save some carbs for that pre-workout meal.
one of my favorite ways to use carbs?
I like “bookending” them around my workout. This means eating 50% (or more) of my carb intake before and after workouts and making the rest of my meals lower in carb. This allows your body to best utilize the carbs for your workout and supports metabolic flexibility.
If you’ve previously been a low carb enthusiast and are still a little scared to reintroduce them (but know you need to), try this “bookending” strategy so you can *really* feel the benefits in your performance almost immediately.
Carbs can be easily manipulated in meals so if you’re not currently using them to your advantage, give some of these strategies a try.
