Phuket Sport: To carb or not to carb

PHUKET: If you were to take a poll here in Phuket of the types of sports people do for fun or competition, chances are some form of endurance sport would rank number one. Our roads are constantly being utilized by cyclists or runners and our beaches have people going for long runs or swims to stay in shape. No matter what the form of exercise is, it is important to understand how to fuel your muscles properly.

Our muscles work by contracting and in order to do this they need fuel. That fuel comes in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and when broken down releases energy. Once the ATP has been broken down, it is important for the body to continually produce more in order to prolong our training sessions.

Endurance training is very different than high intensity training and thus requires different fuel sources. The breakdown of carbs and fats is the primary energy source to regenerate your ATP stores. Protein can be used as well, but predominantly carbs and fats are used.

Now, if we think about that for a second, we often hear about people who want to lose weight and exercise more, but at the same time they have been told by someone or read in a magazine that it is a good idea to stop eating carbs and fats. If they do this, they may not have enough energy available to exercise and thus could lead to other health problems. The bottom line is – it is ok to eat carbs and fats (we may have to modify or adjust a little bit) as we need them as part of our diet, especially for those people who partake in any type of endurance or distance training or competition.

So, the next time someone tells you to cut out carbs and fats be sure to take a good hard look at whether this is actually the right thing for you or not and whether this will help or hinder your health and fitness goals!

Fitness tip by Thanyapura’s Operation Manager, Brian Finniss Email: tslc@thanyapura.com

— Brian Finniss