ΤΗE GOLDILOCKS EFFECT - Get your carbs just right

Matching carbohydrate intake to your own needs really does matter - Goldilocks was right to be picky! We explore three different strategies for getting it just right

When it comes to carb intake, cyclists have three main options: first, ‘fuel for the work required’ (FFTWR) – matching carb intake to the energy you intend to burn. Second, ‘low carb, high fat’ (LCHF) – eating few carbs and instead getting most of your energy from dietary fat. Finally, high-carb fuelling (HC) means feeding the body the maximum amount it can absorb while exercising vigorously – upwards of 90g per hour. The benefit of consuming plentiful carbs is obvious: you won’t run out of fuel. But why would you deliberately restrict carb intake, and is it worth the risk?

Low-carb, high-fat (LCHF)

Where did the idea come from?

The idea of consuming a diet low in carbohydrate has been around for a long time. Ancient Greek Olympic athletes are believed to have consumed little carbohydrate, since they are mostly meat. Two thousand years later, in 1958, physician Richard Mackarness published Eat Fat and Grow Slim, calling for a massive reduction in dietary carbohydrate - the first popular, modern LCHF manifesto.

In endurance sport, the LCHF approach is underpinned by the knowledge that the human body, even the leanest, carries tens of thousands of calories in fat reserves. LCHF proponents argue that, rather than plying ourselves with sugar, we should train our bodies to burn some of the approximately 50,000kcal available from stored fat.

Does it promote weight loss?