I did a recent consultation with a Sports Registered Dietician and for my individual diet, the general recommendation was more carbs and less fat. My diet was closer to the standard 50/30/20. But for my training volume they recommended 400+ g of carbs per day. I have already been hitting my protein goals, so to increase my carb intake and maintain my same calorie intake, I have to decrease the fat.
I’m wondering what practical tips/recipes/ideas this community has for a high carb diet. Because finding carbs that don’t carry a lot of fat along with them (and still taste good) is tough! I’m a smaller person so my total calorie goal isn’t huge. Thus each gram of fat really makes it hard to hit 400 g of carbs…
Some examples of what I’ve already started doing:
-For breakfast instead of nonfat greek yogurt with berries and granola, I’ve cut the granola in half and added grape nuts in place of half the granola
-Eating egg whites instead of the full egg
-Keeping fruit like apples and mandarins around as easy snacking
-When I meal prep I’ll make the sauce/dressing with nonfat greek yogurt instead of oil
-We do a meal delivery service (hellofresh) for dinner sometimes. I’ve been taking out the added butter they call for. Then double the starch of the meal (rice, pasta, etc).
Get a good dental insurance… (fyi I’m a dentist and not joking, carbs are bad for your teeth, acidic fruits are bad for your teeth, eating frequently between meals is bad for your teeth)
How I manage 70C/25P/5F (approximately, I don’t track macros or calories anymore. I did do it for a month to set the eating pattern)
Vegetables
Fruit
Salads
Bagels
Bread
Beans
Lean meat (chicken breast, turkey, 5% fat beef mince, ham, etc)
Swap in low/non-fat versions of you sauces, dressings
Breakfast cereals - low/no sugar (oats + frozen fruit and PB2 every day for me but also bran sticks, wheat biscuits, etc.)
Recovery shakes using overnight oats and fruit
I don’t cook with oils or fats what so ever. You’d be surprised how much ‘leaks’ out of lean proteins when cooking.
Go easy on the processed sugar. Nutrient dense food is my first choice. It’s a challenge but going to high carb low fat made a massive difference for me in body composition, power on the bike, recovery and sleep.
I also periodize carbs. So before a big morning session I’ll go for a higher carb breakfast (oats, brown sugar, banana, PB2 on top OR PB2&J oats). After the session is a smoothie with oats, PB2, egg white protein powder, frozen banana + mango.
When you go food shopping read the food labels and understand the caloric value of fruits and vegetables. Spend the time looking at new foods/ways to get the right stuff in your kitchen. Also give time for your palette to adjust to what it perceives as sweet, salty etc.
We use veggie broth for pan frying rather than oil. This works best with a non-stick pan.
Starchy veggies are awesome if you’re sick of rice. Sweet potatoes, yams, all kinds of squashes/pumpkins, parsnips. We’ve been topping them with a little Tahini or sesame seed paste (it’s a fat, but also has nutrients and protein), mixed with water, maple syrup, soy sauce and lemon juice.
Yummy spices/spice blends instead of added oil/butter.
Note that “lean” meats still contain a lot of fat compared to lentils, beans and tofu.
I’d suggest to increase your intake of starches: more potatoes, rice, pasta, whole grains…
before and after you training you could add honey, sugar, syrup …
Fruit juices are also an easy way to get a lot of carbs in
I’ve recently “discovered” cornflakes. A post big ride 150g bowl with about 50g of honey and some milk seems to be a good way to get a fast-burning 175g load of carbs onboard with minimal fuss. I’ll then have a proper lunch a little while later when i’ve got the time.
Oatmeal rocks my breakfast world and even my recover shake world. I cook it up for breakfast and just put it raw (rolled oats) into my blender with frozen (or fresh) fruit, protein powder, and water.
eat white rice til my head falls off + lean meats and veggies to accompany. i also put low sugar bbq sauce on everything like im a 90s bodybuilder to get through large quantities of potatos/rice etc
