How to actually eat more carbs

Making your body, and your sports RDNs, so happy

Rice Krispie treats. Pop Tarts. Graham Crackers. Animal Crackers. BAGELS!

You might be a person on the internet, and/or an ultra-marathoner, if you see the list of foods above and think about sports, and if these are some of the things you’re using to fuel your workouts these days. (And if you’re also an 80s or 90s kid, the nostalgia factor makes these snacks taste even better. It’s science!)

In some ways, the restrictive low-carb-ways of the early 2010s running culture¹ have eased up a bit. In certain corners of the sports-nutrition-internet, we’ve embraced the foods listed above with abandon. It’s a beautiful thing to see! (We could also embrace them outside of the context of sports²!) But that doesn’t mean our sports nutrition work here is done.

The carb fears linger, and chime in at the worst times. While we’ve embraced convenient, high-carb, easy-to-digest snacks like those above, we still see things like fear-mongering around “ingredients you can’t pronounce”, hesitancy to embrace liquid calories, and questions about whether the OG sports drinks—the things we grabbed long before electrolyte mixes were on the shelves of sport stores and Target alike—have “too much” sugar. (Which are all parts of conversations I’ve had just this week!)

I wonder how many cases of REDs could have been avoided “simply” by addressing these fears around carbohydrates—more specifically, sugar, some processed convenience foods, and liquid calories.³

Why are we talking about carbs at all? Here’s a great post from Stanford’s FASTR program explaining carbohydrate availability, and why it’s important in the broader context of energy availability (i.e. eating enough to support your body as a human and a person in sport).

I find that when athletes who are newer to endurance sports and/or working with a sports dietitian for the first time, they’re shocked by the carbohydrate intake recommendations. It’s often far above what they’re used to consuming, for myriad reasons. (Bust mostly, see above: running and diet culture!)

“If you want to train big and race big, you have to work on nutrition,”

Shares Stevie Lyn Smith RDN CSSD, a sports dietitian in the Lane 9 Directory. She joined us on the Lane 9 Podcast (episode 62) to talk about nutrition for endurance athletes—in her work, this is often longer distance running and triathlon events. And she is not hearing that you “can’t” have more carbs. More directly, “You have to pay to play,” she says.

See also: Abby Chan, MS, RDN’s feature in Lane 9. “Carbs are friend, not foe!”

We’re ready to help you walk the walk. To pay the (carb) bills. To stay in your sport and keep your periods regular. Sometimes, it starts with carbs.

HOW to actually eat more carbs

But first, because this is the internet, this must be said: This is not a fully comprehensive guide to eating more carbs, and of course each athlete has unique needs for their sport, their body, their food and cultural preferences, and their lifestyle. It’s not possible to make one list of tips-and-tricks that applies to everyone⁴.

That said: if you are a person who is highly active—in endurance or team sports, chasing kids and/or pets around all day, or whatever else it is that keeps you moving—here are a few suggestions to bump that carb intake up a bit.

1. “Liquids all day, baby!”

This is Stevie Lyn’s mantra for her Ironman triathlete and ultra-endurance athletes, but this could also apply if for any reason many of the high-carb foods don’t work for you, or you don’t have regular access to them.

LIQUID CALORIES ARE OKAY TO CONSUME. We just, feel like that needs to be said, loudly.

2. Carbs at every meal and snack.

This is one of the first things I check in on with my athlete clients, especially if they trend on the lower end of a carb intake that would be healthy for them. It’s a little easier to eat enough carbohydrates when we’re eating them often, and that may be with every meal or snack. There are so many ways to check these boxes, and many meals and snacks have carbs from a variety of foods. But with the aforementioned diet culture-y ways on top of the current PrOtEiN! trends, there are still some tendencies to skip the carbs. Let’s not.

3. Embrace all (or more of) the carbs.

As we’ve said maybe ten times already in this post alone: Embrace carbs in all their forms, but don’t stick to just one. For example: Yes there could be someone who “eats carbs” but…then it turns out they only eat fruit and starchy vegetables. Let’s broaden that horizon! We have grains and pastas and breads and cereals and snack bars and fruits and vegetables and liquids and the list goes on. The are options aplenty!

4. Fuel before, during, and after your workouts…with carbs!

We knew this one already though, right?! The trifecta is key, especially if you’re dabbling in those ultra-endurance or longer effort spots.

Let’s talk about the DURING piece, which is where we know people are skimping more often than not. Do you always biologically “need” carbs during a workout or training session? Maybe not. But does it help meet your overall energy needs and help avoid low energy intake/availability? YES. Yes yes yes. We love to think about the big picture for fueling, and if a gel and/or a sports drink and/or a little snack-break during a workout or team training session helps meet energy needs and avoid under-fueling at large, even if it doesn’t feel ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, let’s go with the helpful thing.

5. Find, and eat, the carbs that you LIKE.

You see Graham Crackers all over the running world thanks in some part to Meghann Featherstun RDN CSSD. You see Pop-Tarts in the hands of ultra-runners and marathoners alike thanks in some part to Amelia Boone and Amanda Katz. You heard that Hobbs Kessler loves applesauce and rice krispy treats. Carly Larios told us she loves her toddler’s snack pouches! Trinity Rodman makes a matcha latte before some of her training sessions with the Washington Spirit⁵.

Cool! That’s what works for them…and maybe for you, but maybe not! Stick with what you like. That’s cool, too.

Now, what does work for you?

As we said above, this isn’t THE only list of ways to eat all the carbs, it’s a few we thought might be helpful reminders.

What would you add? What are the carbs you’re loving right now?
(Please keep this an energy-friendly place on the internet and don’t go anti-carb on us in the comments.)

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1. and of course many decades before and after that in the broader DIET Culture.

2. Funny how in Wellness Culture these things are “okay” if you’re working out, but “unhealthy” if you’re just a person trying to eat food, and this is what 1) you like and/or 2) is available to you.

3. Not talking about alcohol here, though that could be a part of the conversation if applicable.

4. I.e. If these things don’t apply to you, you don’t have to discredit the list as a whole. 🙃

5. Courtesy of “For the Win”, the NSWL 4-part docuseries!