Carbohydrate loading before bodybuilding competitions. restoration of glycogen stores. If you have adapted to fats, then you need to replenish carbohydrates in very small amounts, even during sports.

So, when you can devour everything that comes into your head
and get high from it, and, as many hope, at least
hurt your stomach and not make your ass more cellulite?!

Is it necessary? There is such a term - carbohydrate loading.
More precisely, this is not only a term - it is a real and valid
a tool used by professionals and fitness enthusiasts
in order to boost your metabolism to new achievements
and conquering new heights.

And also, which is very pleasant - the figure becomes
more embossed, the metabolic process turns on again
with a little, but still, enthusiasm, and your mood,
as well as well-being and performance
in training, it gets better. Days for 5.

Bodybuilding and fitness professionals use this
instrument before the competition to emphasize the relief,
and also to remove the remaining water from under the skin. Moreover, muscles
filled with glycogen, and become voluminous.

And now in order. How it works and when to use it
Who can and who can't.

During the so-called drying, most amateurs and pros
fitness follow the so-called low-carbohydrate diet.
That is, speaking plain language everything counts literally in
grams - and protein, and vegetables, and fats, and especially complex
carbohydrates, which, not only are they cut, they are completely
may or may not be in the diet.

I'm not talking about any sweets, fruits and other joys.
ordinary people - a no brainer that this is primarily on
the very first stage (the easiest) has already been removed.
What happens at this time with the body, provided that
you have been eating right for at least three to six months.

P.S. (A more detailed diagram of the inclusion of your body in
I analyzed the process of proper nutrition in the fitness kitchen
for 6 evenings. After mastering these easy basics
you can move in the direction you need - to lose weight due to
fat, or gain muscle mass).

Those same carbohydrates are the main source of energy
for our body. That is, our body, first of all,
perceives carbohydrates as fuel. And then all the rest
nutrients such as fat and protein. But they are harder to work with.
And the body needs to readjust.

So carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our
organism, can accumulate in our body in a special
form called glycogen! It happens in the liver
as well as in the muscles, especially in those who train these muscles
regularly.

The process is constant in its manufacturability. We eat complex
carbohydrates, part of them goes directly to immediate needs,
and part goes to replenish partially spent glycogen stores.

It is used when you have not eaten for a long time and went, for example,
to the GIM. But there is a limit below which the body will not become
use glycogen, it can partially replace the source
energy for fats.

This is what happens on low-carb diets, the so-called drying.
When we deliberately cut carbohydrates to a minimum (do not remove
completely, but cut back), the body first uses glycogen in the muscles
and liver, partly using fat for their energy needs.

Our muscle volumes are falling, the biceps seem to us smaller.
Still - after all, they no longer have glycogen. Many at this stage
they start to panic and quit. I did the same before.
As soon as the biceps fell below 47 cm, then I had a panic!

I always wanted huge hands, under 50 cm, and preferably 54 cm,
just like Arnie! Now I realized that I don’t need such volumes,
so this is nonsense - hands grow even on drying, or rather they do not lose weight
at all. It makes me happy, but not my shirts.

So it usually goes on for a few weeks
this race for razor relief. The result of everything is either competition,
or just a beach vacation. I have it, on the one hand,
experiment, and on the other hand - just with each training
priorities change over the years.

Once I dreamed of being a huge heavyweight, maybe even
try your hand at bodybuilding, and for this he recruited and recruited
not one year of muscle mass. Now I think a little differently. Yes and
I wanted more mobility.

Let's go further. After 3-4-5 weeks of a good low carb start
our body starts to slow down. More precisely, he begins to understand that his
brazenly deceive, do not give him the cherished carbohydrates, which are so
loves the brain. And that's all - the forces in training are no longer the same,
fat burns weaker, the body is somehow flat and soft.

And here we need to give a little kick to our body to accelerate
it in the direction we need. In other words, simple and delicious food.
During the day, maybe two. Here everything is individual for each person.

But! It doesn't have to be just a cake or some fast carbs.
Alone, I mean. Our task is to load yourself with complex carbohydrates,
to fulfill one important goal that will give us strength and
will allow you to continue to train and get results. And this goal is
replenish glycogen stores, of course.

That's why I say that we are talking not about blunt stuffed stomach
(I did this too and I know what I'm talking about) but about strategy, about smart
strategies to help our body calm the brain by giving it
just one or two days of proper food.

Someone whines about sweets - yes please! ate porridge
for breakfast, eat some dessert, but not half the cake!

Although you are unlikely to be able to, for my personal experience shows
that the stomach is already reduced and those portions that used to fly
easy, now, in the next 2-3 days they simply won’t fit in you.

Here is a photo of my first meal at boot time, me and half
did not master, although his eyes were hungry. Ate only twice.
Then the cruel food begins again until the moment
until you decide that enough is enough.

And here there is an insidious mistake - many begin to immediately sweep away
everything is off the table, thereby the body again gains excess.

The exit should be smooth and correct.

Conclusion. These tools are very powerful in the right hands.
Even if you are not a performing amateur, but just a person who wants to
lose weight, then you can use this chip in your process
building a slim figure.

But remember - do not delay this day and do not turn the day
in Week. Remember what kind of work your current figure was given to you.
You can ruin it in two counts ...

Loading is not a banal stuffing of the stomach with anything, only
to devour! If you started everything just for the sake of it - in vain!
This is temporary and does not mean at all that you will never again
don't eat your favorite food.

Moreover, practice shows that the longer you go without sweets
and hazards, the body weaned from them, and you become already
all the same on cakes and other prohibitions. You enjoy the right food.

All health and success in your healthy way life!

P.P.S.. If the article was useful to you, please tweet about it through the button
above and also share it in in social networks through the buttons below.

All professional athletes know what carbohydrate unloading and carbohydrate loading. In recent years, it has become popular to use carbohydrate loading and unloading therapy before important competitions and during the increase in basic loads.

Even if you are not a professional athlete, but regularly do fitness or sports, then information on how to properly carry out carbohydrate loading and unloading can also be very useful for you.

So, first things first…

What is carbohydrate unloading for?

Athletes practice carbohydrate unloading in three cases:

1. When preparing for a competition and want to improve the relief of the body by reducing the fat layer

Everyone knows that fat mass body and weight increase mainly due to an excess of carbohydrates. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates leads to overweight. And if you reduce the consumption of carbohydrates, then the body will draw energy from the breakdown of lipids, thus reducing the fat layer.

To make the muscles more visible, athletes get rid of excess body fat just due to carbohydrate unloading.

2. When they want to increase the intensity of gluconeogenesis in the body

Gluconeogenesis is the ability of the body to synthesize glucose on its own when its reserves are exhausted, and if it does not enter the body enough (it does not enter at all).

The development of physical endurance in an athlete directly depends on the intensity of gluconeogenesis. With carbohydrate unloading, a person deliberately creates a sharp deficiency of glucose in the blood, which stimulates the development of gluconeogenesis.

Professional athletes achieve a high intensity of gluconeogenesis, which is immediately noticeable in their endurance and athletic performance.

3. When they want to increase the efficiency of carbohydrate loading

The alternation of unloading and loading days gives much best effect than just carbohydrate unloading and loading separately. During carbohydrate unloading, the body gradually weaned from the intake of glucose from food into the blood and begins to synthesize glucose on its own.

Further, during the carbohydrate loading, the body continues to synthesize glucose for some time by inertia, in addition to the one that begins to enter the body along with carbohydrates. As a result, glycogen stores grow, which means that the endurance and strength of the athlete will increase.

How to carb off

With carbohydrate unloading, all simple and complex carbohydrates are excluded from the menu. If you have never practiced a carbohydrate-free diet before, then it is better to start unloading gradually, gradually reducing the amount of carbohydrate intake until they are completely eliminated.

Athletes accustomed to a carbohydrate-free diet can immediately exclude all carbohydrates from the menu. This is the so-called "drying" (however, during "drying" water consumption is also sharply limited).

Simple carbohydrates include all sweets, sugar, flour products, bread made from flour premium, pasta from the same flour, refined cereals. Complex carbohydrates include all vegetables and fruits, whole grain cereals and flour (bread) products from wholemeal flour, dried fruits. Mushrooms also contain a certain amount of carbohydrates, so they are also excluded.

The daily calorie intake during carbohydrate unloading must be observed at the expense of proteins and the right fats. So, during carbohydrate unloading, it is allowed to eat:

– Egg whites (reference animal protein);

- Dairy and sour-milk products of low fat content;

– Fish and seafood (a source of protein and valuable fatty acids from the Omega series);

- Lean meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit, nutria);

– By-products;

– Low-fat rennet cheeses;

- Cold pressed vegetable oil.

Increasing the amount of protein will speed up the process of fat burning, which will affect body weight and the appearance of the relief (protein helps to increase muscle mass, as it is a building material for muscle fibers).

Untrained people should practice carbohydrate unloading for no more than 2 weeks, and trained people - no more than a month.

What is carbohydrate loading for?

Athletes carry out carbohydrate loading in the following cases:

1. When to get out of carbohydrate unloading and reintroduce carbohydrates into the diet

After all, carbohydrates are the main source of our energy. Glucose, obtained from the breakdown of carbohydrates, is essential for the functioning of the brain, because the brain does not work on fats and proteins.

Of course, our body can synthesize glucose itself during gluconeogenesis, but this process cannot and should not continue indefinitely.

Therefore, the best way out of carbohydrate unloading is a gradual and smooth carbohydrate loading, in which carbohydrates are introduced into the diet slowly until the usual carbohydrate rate is reached (depending on individual needs and daily calorie intake).

2. When to gain weight before a competition

It is known that fat mass weighs more than muscle mass, and it is best to gain it on carbohydrates. Before the competition, in order to be in the right weight category, athletes can gain body weight on purpose. Due to the growth of muscle mass, this is not easy and takes a long time, but high-carbohydrate nutrition allows you to quickly close the issue.

3. When to replenish your body's glycogen stores

At the beginning of physical activity, the body takes energy from glycogen for training. When glycogen stores run out, energy is taken from fat stores. This mechanism is used when it is necessary to burn fat and correct weight in the direction of its reduction.

On average, glycogen stores are consumed in 30-40 minutes, and then the breakdown of fats begins. But if glycogen stores are greater, then the workout may last longer. The amount of glycogen affects the endurance and strength of an athlete.

With the synthesis of energy from glycogen, a person is at the peak of his abilities, fatigue almost does not appear, and the intensity, speed and strength indicators of training are at a high level.

When energy is taken from the breakdown of fats, fatigue occurs faster, endurance decreases and strength indicators too.

Professional athletes have higher glycogen stores than beginners, which is why they can train longer, with better intensity and endurance.

Glycogen stores can be increased by alternating carbohydrate loading and unloading. And also this alternation contributes to a faster and more intensive growth of muscle mass.

How to carry out carbohydrate loading?

Proper carbohydrate loading involves gradually bringing the amount of carbohydrates to the usual norm. To determine your carbohydrate norm, you must first calculate your own, and then, based on the result, calculate your daily carbohydrate quota (read how to calculate).

Now you know how many carbohydrates you should consume if you want to keep the weight within the limits that you have. Next, divide this weight by the number of days of carb-loading that you plan to do. Remember that the number of days of carbohydrate unloading and loading should be about the same.

The amount of carbohydrates received is your so-called carbohydrate “step”, which you must do from day to day until the end of the carbohydrate loading period. On the first day of loading, consume carbohydrates in the amount of one "step", on the second day - in the amount of two steps, and so on until the amount of carbohydrates consumed is brought to normal.

It is not recommended to abruptly resume carbohydrate intake within the normal range. First, your body has become unaccustomed to carbohydrates and getting glucose from them. Secondly, carb-loading was a shock to your body, so don't shock your carb-load as well.

And, finally, during unloading, the body began to synthesize glucose and glycogen on its own, so a sharp intake of a large amount of glucose from carbohydrate foods will lead to a large jump in blood sugar and the same big allotment insulin.

Do not forget the fact that carbohydrates perfectly bind water molecules, so their excess (during the weaning period during unloading) can lead to edema, increased blood pressure, and kidney problems.

To neutralize this phenomenon, you can replace fruits with dried fruits at first. There is almost no water in them, so the balance of fluid entering the body will not be disturbed.

There is also such a thing as pre-workout carbohydrate loading. It consists in the fact that the athlete consumes carbohydrates an hour or two before training to replenish their glycogen stores. This will increase the productivity of training, endurance and strength indicators.

For carbohydrate loading, it is better to use complex carbohydrates, which are slowly digested and lead to a slow and gradual release of glucose. When used complex carbohydrates there are no sharp jumps in blood sugar and a longer satiety is achieved.

What do athletes experience when carbohydrate unloading and loading?

In the first days of carbohydrate unloading, athletes feel an incredible craving for sweets, flour products and all other foods containing carbohydrates in large quantities. This is due to the fact that the body has ceased to receive glucose from the outside and opposes this.

The brain, which feeds on glucose, does everything it can to lure you into carbohydrate foods: increases appetite, increases hunger, impairs sleep so that you can’t sleep for a long time and block its signals.

Those who withstand such pressure (it lasts no more than 7-10 days) will move on to the next phase - appeasement and a decrease in activity. During this phase, the appetite no longer torments, you almost don’t want sweets, but you want to sleep and reduce physical activity. This is the adaptation period of the body, depleted by glucose deficiency.

After this period, the third phase begins - a sharp jump in energy and increased physical activity. During the third phase, the body understands that glucose from the products will no longer be supplied and begins to synthesize it on its own. New glycogen are quickly created https: // site / sutochnaya-norma-kalorij-raschet / new reserves, the body works at full strength.

As a result, physical activity, endurance and strength indicators increase. The person sleeps as usual, is alert, has a moderate appetite, apathy disappears.

It is undesirable to stay in the third phase for a long time, despite all its charms, since the body itself should not produce glucose for a long time. Following the third phase, there should be a period of carbohydrate loading - gradual and systematic.

In the first days of carbohydrate loading, an even greater increase in strength occurs: glycogen stores increase due to the intake of glucose from food and the continuation of gluconeogenesis. Then comes a period of adaptation, in which the body ceases to produce glucose itself and takes it only from incoming carbohydrates.

But as glycogen storage has expanded, glycogen stores have also increased. This is reflected in the increase in endurance and strength indicators.
After the end of the carbohydrate load, the athlete smoothly switches to the usual mode of carbohydrate intake. The state of the body is stabilizing.

It is believed that no more than 3-4 unloading and loading stages can be carried out per year, each lasting no more than a month. For unprepared athletes, such experiments can be carried out no more than twice a year.

The usual carbohydrate loading before training can be carried out at least every day, as it does not affect total consumed carbohydrates and it is not preceded by shocking carbohydrate unloading for the body.

Be smart about everything you do to improve your athletic performance and figure. Good luck with your training!

Was this article helpful to you? Then like us and write in the comments, do you carry out carbohydrate unloading / loading and how often?

From Dr. Mercola

The carb-loading strategy is commonly used by athletes, such as marathon runners, a few days before a long run or race. The idea of ​​carb loading is to saturate yourself with carbohydrates - this is how the muscles will a large number of glycogen, which during sports will be used as fuel. For example, Runner's World says:

“The easiest way to achieve a simple and successful carb-load is to include carb-rich foods in every meal and snack [five days before the race].

This means that the main focus is on bread, pasta, rice, cereals, potatoes and fruits. A few days before the race is allowed to use simple sugars and refined grains…”

it maybe suitable for athletes with an intense training regime or an upcoming race, but even in this case, the wrong approach to nutrition (or if you usually follow a low-carb diet) is fraught with possible unpleasant consequences.

There are a number of good reasons for professional athletes to rethink the idea of ​​carb-loading, in part because dietary low content carbohydrates and high content fat provides fuel for more long time and improve metabolism.

At the same time, carbohydrate loading is completely unsuitable for the vast majority of people who are not professional athletes and exercise periodically, because this type of diet can lead to weight gain, digestive problems and even chronic diseases.

Disadvantages of carbohydrate loading

The idea of ​​carb-loading the night before a marathon or other high-intensity sporting event, or a few days before, comes with several serious problems. Carbohydrates are stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen, which the body uses as fuel. When fuel runs out, fatigue sets in and performance drops.

Carb loading helps increase your glycogen stores so you have more energy and can run further before you run out of fuel. But if you're burning carbohydrates as your primary fuel source, then during a marathon you'll does not matter need to be driven.

And since you need to refuel the body in the midst of an event, it turns out that the previous carbohydrate load was mostly in vain. Sports scientist Ross Tucker, Ph.D., told the publication Fittish:

“... just like you can't drive across America without refueling [fuel tank], you can't run the New York City Marathon without eating carbs during the race.

So when you have the opportunity to constantly refuel and provide the body with carbohydrates [drinks, gels, bars during the race], then the loading stage becomes completely redundant and unnecessary.”

Not only is this download most often not needed - it is also fraught with unpleasant consequences in the form extra pounds due to an increase in the mass of water (because along with carbohydrates, your body also stores water). The extra weight from a carb-load can easily negate the performance benefits, Tucker says.

He recommends sticking to your regular diet for the three days before your race, maybe upping your carbs a little and focusing on fueling your race. Even so, there are important caveats...

If you have adapted to fats, then you need to replenish carbohydrates in very small amounts, even during sports.

If you're following a low-carb, high-fat Paleo diet or a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet such as the one outlined in my nutrition plan, your body is most likely fat-adapted.

Our ancestors were adapted to using fat as their primary fuel, but now almost all of us have adapted to using sugar or glucose as our number one fuel source. The only way find out if you are fat adapted or not - pay attention to how you feel when you skip a meal. If you can go without food without looking like a hungry animal or dreaming of a chocolate bar, then you are likely fat-adapted.

And if, moreover, you have overweight, high blood pressure, diabetes, or you are taking statins, then you are most likely not equipped to burn fat as your main fuel.

The ability to rely more on fat for energy during exercise saves glycogen for when you really need it. It can improve your athletic performance and help you burn more fat.

As former long-distance triathlon competitor Mark Sisson explained, if you can train without carbohydrate loading, then you are most likely fat adapted. If you can train effectively while hungry, you are definitely fat-adapted.

Replacement of non-vegetable carbohydrates healthy fats and intermittent fasting are some of the most effective ways to stimulate your body's transition from burning carbs to burning fat.

So those of you who are already on a Paleo diet or similar are likely to be very efficient at burning fat for fuel and require very small amounts of carbohydrate replacement even during intense exercise.

There is some evidence that switching to a higher carb diet just before a race (if you were on a low carb diet before) can help "fill your tanks" to increase your performance... but it's very individual. For many, this strategy can backfire, as sudden carb intake can cause headaches, nausea, bloating, and other symptoms.

Many athletes are ditching carb-loading in favor of low-carb, high-fat diets.

Sports superstars like NBA players LeBron James and Ray Allen claim to have switched to a low-carb diet and have experienced it. beneficial effect. Other athletes are switching to a high-fat, low-carb diet, including long-distance triathlon competitor Nell Stephenson, pro cyclist Dave Zabriskie, and ultra-marathoner Timothy Olson.

When former long-distance triathlon competitor Ben Greenfield was training for the 2013 World Championships, he is said to have been on a ketogenic diet and reported improved stamina, stable blood sugar, better sleep and clearer thinking.

How to eat right before a workout?

The body only uses fat for fuel when glycogen stores are depleted. And it is this state of adaptation to fat that leads to more efficient use energy and other benefits such as stem cell regeneration and tissue repair, as well as reduced body fat, reduced inflammation, and improved insulin sensitivity.

If you're loading up on carbs before your workout, then you're actually suppress fat burning and many of the metabolic benefits of exercise, even if it temporarily increases your performance. For this reason, fitness expert Ori Hofmekler recommends literally flooding your body with stress-activated nutrients (SAF) before training.

These nutrients mimic the effects of intermittent fasting and exercise. He explains it this way:

“Once ingested, SAF substances can increase the survival of animals and humans. Some of these nutrients have been shown to mimic the effects of obesity and diabetes, as well as the rejuvenating effects of exercise and fasting. The fact is that food, rich nutrients, simulating exercise, ideal for pre-workout consumption.

With the help of these substances, you will prevent problems with burning fat, experience the healing effects of exercise and even enhance it.

...Please note that some of the most powerful SAF substances are no longer in our diet. These substances, which are hard to find, are found in the bark, roots, pits, and skins, which we don't normally eat.

However, some products available to us contain high levels exercise-mimicking SAFs such as phenols, caffeine, theobromine, catechins, and immune proteins, which thus have the potential to form powerful synergies with physical fitness.”

So where are these nutrients?

• whey protein from pastured cows
• organic black coffee
• unsweetened cocoa
• green tea

It's ideal to exercise on an empty stomach (see below), but if you're feeling weak or nauseous while exercising on an empty stomach, a high-quality whey protein shake is a great pre-workout snack.

A study published in the Journal of Medicine & Science for Sports found that consuming whey protein (20g per serving) 30 minutes prior to resistance training increased the body's metabolism for as much as 24 hours.

It appears that the amino acids found in high quality whey protein activate certain cellular mechanisms(mTORC-1).

This, in turn, promotes protein synthesis in muscles, increases function thyroid gland, and also protects against a decrease in testosterone levels after exercise. From a practical standpoint, consuming 20g of whey protein before a workout and another serving after it can double the benefits of increasing both fat burning and muscle building.

Feel free to experiment with the dose, as we have shown an average amount (depending on your weight and height, you may need half this amount or 50-75% more).

Exercising on an empty stomach may be best

Exercising during intermittent fasting essentially forces your body to shed fat because fat burning is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and it is activated through exercise and lack of food.

The combination of fasting and exercise maximizes the effect of cellular factors and catalysts (cyclic AMP and AMP kinases) that cause the breakdown of fats and glycogen for energy. On the other hand, a full pre-workout meal, especially carbs, will depress the sympathetic nervous system and decrease fat burning during the workout.

Instead, eating large amounts of carbohydrates activates the parasympathetic nervous system (which promotes energy storage - that is, it does the exact opposite of your goal). For example, one study showed that fasting before aerobic exercise led to a decrease in both body weight and body fat, while eating before exercise only reduced body weight.

In addition, exercise and fasting together lead to acute oxidative stress, which actually benefits muscles, triggers genes and growth factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and muscle regulatory factors (MRF), that signal brain stem cells and muscle satellite cells to become new neurons and new muscle cells, respectively.

This means that exercising while fasting can actually help keep your brain, neuromuscular, and muscle fibers biologically young. The combined effect of intermittent fasting and short-term intense exercise goes far beyond fat burning and weight loss. It can help you:

Proper sports nutrition is very individual

When it comes to exercise, there is no one size fits all nutritional requirement. For it to be effective for you, nutrition must take into account your type of activity, level physical training, diet and your personal goals.

If your goal is to become an elite marathon athlete, your nutritional requirements will obviously be very different from those of someone who wants to build muscle or lose weight.

For many people, fasting before a workout has the most benefits – it helps build muscle and burn fat.

But again, it depends on the training. It is unwise to run a marathon on an "empty stomach" for example, as your body will require great amount energy (but even so, if you are adapted to fat, this does not mean that you should lean on bread, pasta and other unhealthy carbohydrates).

If you're an athlete, competitive, and already fat-adapted, then it's probably not worth exercising regularly on an empty stomach, as this will reduce the intensity of your workout and reduce some of the benefits you're trying to get. In addition, training on an empty stomach is excluded if it is strength training.

When you fast for 14-18 hours, most of your glycogen stores are usually depleted, making it very difficult to lift your maximum weight to muscle failure.

Therefore, if you're lifting weights to muscle failure, it's best not to do it on an empty stomach. In such cases, it's probably a good idea to consume some healthy, slow-release starchy carbs the night before your workout so you don't run out of glycogen stores by the morning.

Then drink pre-workout whey protein to ensure you get enough BCAAs to fuel your muscles optimally during your workout.

Carb loading, or refeed, is sharp increase the amount of carbohydrates eaten over several hours or days. Unlike cheating (increasing the number of calories eaten), refeeding is useful not only psychologically, but also physically. Every athlete or dieter needs to load up on carbohydrates at least once in a while.

In the article we will talk about the features of the refeed.

The role of carbohydrates in the human body

Carbohydrates are considered the most important source of energy for humans.

• Complex. This group includes legumes, starchy vegetables(peas, potatoes, corn), beets, carrots and cereals.
• simple carbohydrates. They can be found in milk, dairy products, fruits, and sweets (cakes, candies, and so on).

What is the benefit of a refeed?

During a carb-load, you can take a break from your diet and eat well. But these are not all the benefits of a refeed. This nutritional system provides some physiological benefits. Below are the benefits of carbohydrate loading:

1. Restore muscle glycogen stores. Almost all diets are based on the rejection of food that contains carbohydrates. During such a diet, a person feels constant weakness, and, as a result, training becomes unproductive. Refeed will help you stick to the diet for a long time. In addition, training will become more effective.
2. Temporary suspension of catabolism. The risk of losing muscle mass increases if the percentage of body fat is too low. Carbohydrate loading can protect muscles from breakdown.
3. Improvement hormonal background. The most important advantage of refeed is the maintenance of the level of leptin, ghrelin and insulin in normal condition. These hormones are responsible for adaptation to hunger, weight regulation and metabolic rate.

Who needs a download?

Let's find out who and when really needs a refeed:

1. Carbohydrate loading on drying. It is recommended to do in the middle of the cycle. Refeed helps to reduce the load on the body.
2. Athletes before performances. Carbohydrate loading in this case helps to increase the volume of muscle tissue by approximately two centimeters.
3. Athletes who need endurance during training. Carb loading before a marathon allows you to get extra energy. Sometimes marathon runners continue to refeed while running the distance.
4. Athletes involved in strength sports. Crossfitters and bodybuilders often practice carbohydrate loading. It helps increase strength endurance.
5. Carbohydrate loading on a keto diet. This diet is complete failure from carbohydrate foods. Very often, people on this diet just need a break. After a refeed, you can safely continue the diet without fear of losing a large amount of muscle tissue. In addition, after a carbohydrate load, the person will regain strength and desire to continue the process of losing weight.

Refeeding before a competition or during a diet is a temporary panacea. Remember that carbohydrate loading only works when the body is depleted. The body can only respond to a stressful situation. If you have always consumed a lot of carbohydrates and decide to load, then the result of the refeed will not be significant.

The basic rule of carbohydrate loading

Refeeding is not a way to figure out how many carbs to eat in a few days or hours. Don't take loading as an opportunity to eat your fill. A refeed is just an increase in carbohydrates in your diet. The level of fat and protein should remain the same.

It is acceptable to eat foods such as marshmallows, sherbet, marmalade and marshmallow. These sweets contain only carbohydrates. Cake, ice cream, cookies, donuts are prohibited. These foods are high in fat.

Remember that refeed requires strict adherence to the recommendations of proper nutrition. Your diet should still have the optimal amount of proteins and fats. Only carbohydrates should be an order of magnitude more than on a normal day. Please note that within one week you can either refeed or cheat.

What carbohydrates are there?

While loading it is better to use:

• low-fat pastries;
• bread;
• cereals (buckwheat, oatmeal, rice and others);
• paste;
• marmalade;
• grape;
• carrot;
• marshmallow;
• beets;
• bananas;
• marshmallow.

Sweets, as mentioned above, should be eaten in small quantities so as not to provoke an increase in body fat. Focus on foods that you usually do not eat during drying or dieting (bananas, grapes, bread).

If you feel bad on the refeed

There are people who do not tolerate carbohydrate loading. These include those who have poor insulin sensitivity and those who often follow a low-carbohydrate diet. These people may experience sharp drops blood sugar. How to avoid it? Here are the solutions:

• do not exclude proteins, fats and fiber from your diet;
• eat whole grains;
• eliminate from the diet

How long does a refeed last?

Let's consider three options:

• One day. Refeed lasting one day lasts from breakfast to dinner. Do not go to extremes and do not eat everything. Eat in moderation, just add some carbs to every meal.
• Two days. Refeed lasting two days lasts from breakfast to dinner during the days allotted for loading. It is recommended to eat a moderate amount of carbohydrates on both days to avoid spikes in blood sugar and energy.
• Five hours. If you decide to do a five-hour carbohydrate load, then start it in the afternoon. For example, from 15.00 to 20.00. Finish your refeed just before bed. Continue your diet the next morning.

During a carbohydrate load, it is worth eating every three hours. If your work schedule does not allow you to this mode, then it is better to transfer the refeed to a day off.

Reverse refeed

Here are the main postulates that characterize this method reverse carbohydrate loading:

• In the morning you need to eat little.
• By the evening, the caloric content of the diet should be significantly increased.
• Do not eat carbohydrates before the evening workout.
• After training, you need to eat a large amount of carbohydrates. Moreover, use carbohydrate food stands before going to bed.

Phase #1 Carbohydrate unloading.

How is carbohydrate unloading carried out? Carbohydrate unloading implies a simultaneous refusal to eat any carbohydrates: simple or complex. All types of sugar, confectionery and flour products, potatoes and other products containing starch are excluded from the diet. All types of vegetables and fruits are excluded: nuts, peas, beans and other legumes, mushrooms, due to some misunderstanding, sometimes classified as protein products, contain a large amount of complex carbohydrates. In short, none herbal products food cannot be used.

What then should the diet consist of? In the phase of carbohydrate unloading, the diet should consist exclusively of protein products of animal origin. What protein products are most preferred? The ones that are easier to digest. Of all protein foods, egg protein is the most easily digested. He should be given preference. The amino acid spectrum of egg white is ideal in its composition. In an egg, everything is optimally balanced essential amino acids. The World Health Organization (WHO) has adopted egg white as its standard. When it is necessary to evaluate the qualitative composition (amino acid balance) of any protein product this comparison is made with the amino acid balance of egg white.

The egg, among other things, does not have a tissue structure. The whole egg is one large cell, which means that there are no cell membranes that need to be digested. Eggs must be eaten boiled. Denatured boiled egg white is easily broken down by digestive enzymes, quickly absorbed and leaves no waste behind. Raw egg white is digested and absorbed extremely poorly, because. it contains a special antitrypsin enzyme that destroys trypsin - one of the main digestive enzymes. In addition, raw egg whites contain avidin, an antivitamin substance that irreversibly binds vitamin H. Egg yolks are absorbed worse, and if financial opportunities allow, it is best to eat only egg whites. After egg whites there are lactic acid products: kefir, yogurt, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese ( lean varieties). Proteins of fermented milk products are represented mainly by casein, which, being already partially denatured by lactic acid bacteria, is relatively easy to digest, although not as completely as egg white.

Casein (caseinogen) is a phosphoprotein, in the molecule of which phosphorus in the form of phosphoric acid is associated with amino acids. Just as in a person's life there is never a lot of money in the body, there is never a lot of phosphorus.

The main energy accumulator is adenosine triphosphoric acid, the main structural component of all cell membranes without exception - phospholipids, by the way, and teeth are composed of phosphorus and calcium salts, the inclusion of many vitamins in the metabolism is impossible without the addition of a phosphorus residue, etc.

It is especially good that casein is associated with milk calcium and forms active casein - calcium phosphate complex. Milk calcium is the most easily digestible calcium found in nature. Dairy products are the main source of calcium in our diet. Muscle contractions are not possible without the participation of calcium ions. The fats of fermented milk products contain deficient arachidonic acid, which takes part in the construction of cell membranes and removes cholesterol from cholesterol plaques. Only dairy products contain a biologically active protein-lecithin complex. The overall balance of all substances that make up milk is characterized by an anti-sclerotic orientation, which has a normalizing effect on the level of cholesterol in the blood serum.

All dairy products are a good source of vitamins. Vitamins are formed due to the activity of lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria not only produce vitamins, but also secrete a special kind of antibiotics that suppress putrefactive bacteria in the intestines. Products made with the use of acidophilus bacillus have the greatest ability to suppress the decay of proteins: acidophilic yogurt, acidophilic paste, cottage cheese. Having an acidophilic starter, you can easily prepare all these products at home from ordinary milk. Only before fermentation, milk must be pasteurized in order to destroy all foreign microorganisms. You can pasteurize milk by heating it to 60 degrees, or by bringing it to a boil. Dry acidophilic sourdough is sometimes sold in pharmacies, but you can do without it if you simply ferment milk with some kind of acidophilic product.

According to the ability to suppress putrefaction in the intestines, acidophilic products are followed by kefir. Kefir is nothing more than a real fungal culture, because. it is made with the help of lactic acid fungi. In the experiment, volunteers took 1 glass of kefir per day at night. After 7 days, all toxic decay products disappeared from the urine, which indicates complete cessation putrefactive processes in the intestines.

After kefir comes curdled milk, made in the factory with the help of pure cultures lactic acid streptococci. Plain homemade curdled milk from sour milk contains wild lactic streptococci, but even it is able to suppress the decay of proteins in the intestine.

Fermented milk products are followed by fish and seafood in terms of amino acid value and lightness. Fish proteins are digested, but worse than the proteins of lactic acid products, because. fish meat already has a tissue structure and consists of muscle fibers. To start digesting fish muscle proteins, the body must first digest the shell of the muscle fiber, and it is much more difficult to digest than directly muscle proteins. Fish proteins have the ability to reduce the content of cholesterol and neutral fats in the body, tk. contain a large amount of lipotropic amino acid - methionine.

Fish oil, which consists of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, has high biological properties. These fatty acids are chemical structure similar to vegetable fats. Evolution did a good job with the fish. If their body contained fat similar to meat fats, then they would simply freeze in water, because the fat obtained from meat, with certain temperature becomes hard. Fish, on the other hand, do not freeze and do not harden even in the most cold water. The lipotropic effect of fish proteins is enhanced by the lipotropic effect of fish fat. In those countries where the basis of the diet is fish and seafood, the cholesterol content in the body is much less than in countries where they eat mainly meat. Japan is an example of such a “fishy” country. The content of cholesterol in the blood of an average Japanese is more than 2 times lower than in the blood of an average European. Atherosclerosis in the Japanese, of course, develops (it develops in everyone with age), however, it develops a decade later than in other nations. Therefore, life expectancy in Japan is much higher than in other countries. The Japanese proudly say to themselves that they eat fish, not meat. If a Japanese moves to another country and begins to eat meat, then he ages even faster than the indigenous population. From this it becomes clear that the longevity of the Japanese is due solely to their diet, and nothing else. Fish, especially sea fish, contain a lot of necessary for a person mineral elements. First of all, iodine. Interestingly, pollock is the cheapest fish we have, in Japan it is considered a delicacy and is very expensive. And red fish, quite the contrary.

Meat proteins occupy the last place in the hierarchy of animal proteins. Although they are well balanced in their amino acid composition, they are difficult to digest, because. muscle fibers of meat have a very strong, thick and indigestible shell. Meat is never digested and absorbed in the body completely. At microscopic examination The feces of people eating meat always find undigested muscle fibers.

So, in the phase of carbohydrate unloading, the entire diet consists of only one protein food. The menu is not that varied, but quite tolerable. As for fats, it all depends on what goals the athlete sets for himself. If the goal is to simultaneously get rid of excess adipose tissue, then no fats except for 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil not worth using. There is no fat deficiency in the body even when fat is 100% excluded from the diet. First, all animal protein products contain some amount of fat. Meat and dairy products contain fat from saturated fatty acids. Fish and seafood contain fat from unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

It's hard to do without sweets. There are habits that are very difficult to overcome. And here artificial sugar substitutes come to our aid - saccharin, slastilin (aspartate). Saccharin is a derivative of benzoic acid. Saccharin is 500 times sweeter than regular sugar. Saccharin does not have any side effects on the body. In case of an overdose, instead of a sweet taste, bitterness appears. Slastilin is a substance less sweet than saccharin and is a derivative of aspartic acid. It does not have a toxic effect, but unlike saccharin, it does not give a bitter taste in case of an overdose.

In addition to saccharin and sweetilin, there are also other sugar substitutes, such as xylitol and sorbitol, but they have a certain calorie content and are included in carbohydrate metabolism, therefore, they cannot be used for carbohydrate unloading.

Protein diet for total absence carbohydrates leads initially to a very significant drop in blood sugar levels. Those glycogen depots that are contained in the liver and muscles are enough for less than a day. After that, blood sugar drops quite noticeably. This leads to a sharp decrease in performance, both mental and physical. Muscle strength and endurance are sharply reduced. Athletes sometimes can't even handle half their normal training load. The reaction of the blood is shifted to the acid side due to the accumulation ketone bodies- underoxidized products of fatty acids. Fat cannot be fully oxidized without the energy supplied by carbohydrates. As a result of acidosis, general lethargy increases and drowsiness appears. During the first few days there is a complete depletion of glycogen depots in the liver and muscles. Lethargy, weakness and lethargy gradually increase and reach a maximum by 7-10 days. On the 7-10th day, there is a sharp improvement in well-being, the complete disappearance of lethargy, weakness and drowsiness. This is due to the fact that all the required amount of glucose is now synthesized from amino acids and fats. Synthesis of glucose from fat and amino acids - glucogenesis begins almost immediately after the exclusion of carbohydrates from the diet. In the liver, a special kind of short-lived proteins begin to be synthesized, which are enzymes of glucogenesis, i.e. regulate the flow of fatty acids and amino acids into the mitochondria of the liver, as well as into those structures where glucose is newly formed. The formation of gluconeogenic enzymes is stimulated by acidosis. The stronger the previous acidosis, the more actively glucose synthesis will subsequently be carried out. After the disappearance of ketone bodies from the blood, not only weakness disappears, but also a gradual restoration of sports performance occurs. The longer the phase of carbohydrate unloading lasts, the less amino acids are consumed for energy needs, and the more fats are consumed. Two main adaptive mechanisms human body in this situation, it is an increase in fatty acid oxidation and a new formation of glucose directly from fat. During the first days of fasting, glucose is synthesized in the liver, then the kidneys turn on in the process of glucogenesis, and after a few days, the intestines.

There is a gradual restoration of glycogen reserves in the liver and muscles, only this glycogen is synthesized not from food glucose, but from glucose formed from fats and amino acids.

Acidosis compensation and the subsequent restoration of glycogen reserves in different muscles occur at different times, from one to three weeks from the start of the unloading period. At the beginning of carbohydrate unloading, as a rule, you really want sweets, you want bread and flour products. Sweets and cakes can even be a dream at night. However, in the future, as gluconeogenesis is activated, the craving for sweets disappears and the person forgets about the existence carbohydrate products as if they didn't exist at all.

Full adaptation of the body to a carbohydrate-free diet is a signal that it is time to move on to the second phase - carbohydrate loading.

Carbohydrate loading not less than main part than unloading. Carbohydrates have the ability to bind water. 1 gram of carbohydrates retains about 4 grams of water in the body. If you immediately start eating during the loading period usual amount carbohydrates, then there is a water overload: swelling, headache, increased blood pressure, etc. In people with an excited nervous system, general excitement may appear, sometimes turning into aggression, insomnia. The loading period is therefore carried out very carefully. In the early days, carbohydrates are taken in small portions, in the following days their amount gradually increases. And so on until it reaches the usual values.

How long should the download period be? Its duration depends on the duration of the unloading period preceding it. If the unloading period lasted a month, then the loading period should take at least a month. During this month, we should begin to consume carbohydrates and gradually bring their amount to the usual level. Since the usual amount of carbohydrates taken is strictly individual, we will not dwell on grams and calories in this article. Having calculated in advance how many carbohydrates we consume in a normal, Everyday life, divide this number by the number of days of the recovery period. Let's say we eat a total of 30 grams of sugar, 300 grams of bread and 300 grams of potatoes per day. If the recovery period lasts 30 days, then we should divide the usual daily carbohydrate diet by 30. It turns out that for one day of loading there are 3 g of sugar, 10 g of bread and 10 g of potatoes. On the first day of the loading period, we consume 1 part of the daily carbohydrate diet. Those. those same 3 g of sugar, 10 g of bread and 10 g of potatoes. And further, adding 1 every day, in a month we will already eat our entire daily allowance. The entire daily carbohydrate diet has been restored.

Since, during the unloading period, the body adapts to a carbohydrate deficiency and restores glycogen stores (glycogen in the liver, muscles, heart, etc. of the internal organs is constantly self-renewing. If we say that glycogen stores are restored due to the constant synthesis of glucose from fats, then this means that glycogen is constantly consumed and constantly signed by glucose of fatty origin), then with the start of loading, glycogen begins to be synthesized from two sources at once: from glucose of “fatty origin” and from glucose supplied with food. The activity of enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of glycogen is very high, and the amount of newly synthesized glycogen is limited mainly by sources of glucose. Therefore, from the very beginning of the loading period, glycogen is synthesized in increased quantities. If the unloading and subsequent loading periods were large enough (at least 1 month), then the amount of glycogen in the liver and muscles can be brought up to 200% of the usual level. This is a very high figure. None medicines, including anabolic steroid and insulin, we can't raise liver and muscle glycogen levels that high. This means an almost twofold increase in endurance and a one and a half times increase in muscle strength. About such increases in strength and endurance before, when there was no proven methodology for carbohydrate unloading, loading could only be dreamed of.

At the very beginning of the loading period, there is sometimes a slight lethargy and pleasant drowsiness. Then, as the amount of carbohydrates in the diet increases, the inhibition disappears and is replaced by a state of emotional and physical recovery. Subjectively, this is felt in the form of an increase in mood, the appearance of a thirst for activity. The speed of thinking increases and the motor reaction increases. The resistance of the whole organism to a lack of oxygen and to all unfavorable factors environment. AT better side the endocrine balance changes and the absorption of vitamins by the body increases.

AT most carbohydrate unloading - loading increases the endurance of the body. It is especially popular among athletes, skiers, rowers, swimmers and skaters. AT recent times more and more weightlifters, wrestlers and high-class bodybuilders are using carbohydrate unloading - loading in their arsenal. Professional athletes who earn a lot of money with their sportsmanship try to use every opportunity to improve their sports form. Professional boxers, masters hand-to-hand combat, tennis players and football players - everyone appreciates positive impact carbohydrate unloading - loading on the body and on sports results.

In addition to increasing endurance and strength, emotional and mental recovery, carbohydrate unloading - loading is accompanied by many beneficial changes in the body. In the process of unloading, while eating only protein food, fast loss adipose tissue. This is not surprising, because adipose tissue is 90% supported by carbohydrates from food. The rate of fat loss can depend on many factors, including motor activity. With intense aerobic exercise, the body can lose up to 500 g of fat daily. The more excess fat mass, the faster a person loses weight. As you lose weight, the loss of adipose tissue slows down and can reach 100 g per day. During carbohydrate loading, we achieve supercompensation of carbohydrate energy reserves, but we never achieve full recovery of adipose tissue. Partially, of course, it is restored, but only partially. Even if carbohydrate unloading - loading on was accompanied by no positive energy effects, then the loss of adipose tissue alone is worth it. Adipose tissue lives its own life. This is far from a passive dead balance. It is constantly self-renewing, constantly requires an influx of glucose, amino acids and vitamins.

Pancreas normal person produces an average of 40 units per day. insulin. Extra 5 - 6 kg. Fat require more insulin. The pancreas works under double load due to some insignificant 5 kg. Fat! What happens in the body of a person who has an extra 50 kg. Fat? It's scary even to think about what violence is being done to the pancreas, which is forced to produce 10 times more insulin. The pancreas of such people is depleted and so-called “obese diabetes” or type 2 diabetes develops, which does not require insulin for its treatment. It requires only one thing: weight loss. Many people who lose weight make a full recovery. To many, but, unfortunately, not to all. If part of the pancreas has died due to chronic overload, then it can no longer be restored, it remains defective and produces little insulin, and this is another extreme, fraught with many serious diseases.

Adipose tissue is able to bind up to 60% of sex hormones, both in male and female. female organisms. But without normal level sex hormones normal anabolism is impossible. There is a myth that in people with fat, muscles grow faster. This is a deep delusion. Take a closer look at people who are rapidly progressing in sports. All of them look quite thin. If a thin person progresses slowly, then this indicates more likely the presence of some kind of disease. digestive system. In itself, thinness is a brake on sports career can not be.

The unloading phase is accompanied by the inevitable intake of more than usual amounts of protein. This has a positive effect on the nervous system. If there was an exhaustion of the nervous system or overtraining, then they disappear. The nervous system is strengthened and becomes more resistant to all stress factors without exception.

Eating carbohydrates causes the release of serotonin, an inhibitory neuron, into the bloodstream. Serotonin enhances inhibition in the central nervous system and counteracts the effects of sex hormones, causing inhibition of sexual reflexes. With age, the amount of serotonin in the body increases. This negatively affects not only sexual function, but also the general condition of the body. If it was previously believed that serotonin improves mood, then in recent years more and more evidence has accumulated that serotonin, on the contrary, has a depressing effect on the nervous system. Serotonin increases inflammation and allergies. Many chronic inflammatory and allergic diseases caused by excess serotonin. Even a temporary exclusion of carbohydrates from food significantly reduces the release of serotonin into the blood. This leads to a reduction in inflammation, microbes, in general, are very fond of carbohydrates. In the case of carbohydrate unloading, microbes are deprived of a good nutrient medium) and allergies, to the activation of sexual function and an increase in overall activity.

During the carbohydrate loading, the human nervous system is activated even more, despite a slight decrease in the proportion of animal protein in the diet. The qualitative composition of carbohydrates during the loading is of no small importance. Glucose, of course, is most quickly absorbed in the intestines of all sugars and oxidized, however, fructose is stored more in the form of glycogen in percentage terms, and if it is possible to replace regular sugar with honey, where the fructose content is high, then this must be done. Maltose (malt sugar) can be stored as glycogen to an even greater extent than fructose and malt sugar concentrates, which are sold as raw materials for making dark beer, can be used for carbohydrate loading. A good source of glucose is grapes, in which glucose is almost the only carbohydrate A in watermelons, for example, there are no other carbohydrates other than fructose.

As products for carbohydrate loading, it makes sense to use dried fruits, which are not only a carbohydrate concentrate, they good source vitamins. Surprisingly, it is a fact: many dried whole fruits contain many times more vitamins than fresh ones. Recent studies have shown that when fruits are dried, peculiar ripening processes occur in them, somewhat similar to the process of cheese ripening. There is a multiple increase in the content of vitamins and, no less important, the content of dicarboxylic acids, in particular succinic and malic, increases. Dicarboxylic acids are not only very easily included in the processes of biological oxidation, they enhance the process of oxidation of other energy sources: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, milk and pyruvic acid. There are even avant-garde methods for obtaining natural juices. Whole berries and fruits are first dried and then ground and mixed with water, thus obtaining juice with pulp. Yogis have noticed thousands of years ago that the effect of dried fruits on the body is different from the effect of fresh ones. They recommend, regardless of the time of year, even in summer, to consume at least 300 gr. dried fruits. India 0 tropical country. It is difficult for its residents to complain about the lack of fresh fruit. And if they already recommend including dried fruits in their menu, then you need to listen to their recommendations.

The effect of dry fruits on the body is different from the action of fresh ones. This is also explained by the fact that in addition to vitamins, all fruits also contain antivitamins, which, when fresh fruits are consumed, neutralize vitamins. When fruits and berries are dried, antivitamins are destroyed, but vitamins are not. This should also be taken into account when analyzing the effects of dried fruits on the body. Dried fruits, among other things, are a real pantry of trace elements, especially potassium. The penetration of potassium into the cell stabilizes its charge. Potassium enhances the process of muscle contraction, without which normal anabolism is impossible. Potassium is valuable for its dehydrating properties: it removes excess water from the body. In the loading phase, the appetite for everything sweet wakes up. People often go overboard on carbohydrates. As a result, excessive water retention and edema occur. Recall that 1 g of carbohydrates holds 4 g of water. Using dried fruits as a boot material, we are less likely to earn edema and headache than when using sugar and bread.

Recently, a variety of commercial food products have appeared that are designed specifically for carbohydrate loading. They are arranged in the form of tablets or capsules, each of which contains a strictly defined amount of carbohydrates, measured in grams or calories. This facilitates dosing and correct loading. The qualitative composition of such products also differs from ordinary sugar. If finances allow, then such products should be used. If finances do not allow, then the most common products will do, you just need to understand what and where you upload.

In the phase of carbohydrate unloading, some changes in the structure of cell membranes occur and the cells become more permeable to glucose and other carbohydrates. This increased permeability is maintained throughout the loading period, and even for some time after it. The body continues, as if by inertia, to gain carbohydrates in excess of the norm. After the loading period is over, and the carbohydrate diet is equal in quantity to the original one, you can continue for some time in the same proportion to increase the proportion of the carbohydrate diet daily. If the loading period is long, for example, 30 days, then you can continue to increase the carbohydrate diet for about 15 more days, i.e. half of the loading time. At this time, the “open carbohydrate window” in the membranes of muscle cells will still be preserved. Muscle strength and endurance in this period of "overload" will continue to increase. However, side effect there may be an increase in excess fat mass. In some cases this is justified and in others it is not. And here an individual approach is needed.

Sugar substitutes such as sorbitol and xylitol deserve special mention. Xylitol in its structure is a pentahydric alcohol. It is obtained from corn cobs and is available as a powder. Taking xylitol does not increase blood sugar levels, however, xylitol has the ability to be deposited directly as glycogen. It's very valuable dietary product, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the liver and heart. The choleretic effect of xylitol allows it to be used as cholagogue like a medicine. Sweets and confectionery products made with xylitol have a pleasant refreshing taste, they do not have the cloying taste inherent in ordinary sugar. Xylitol is also available in pure form and he deserves more wide application than as a simple sugar substitute. During carbohydrate overload, xylitol can be used as a means to increase glycogen depots. Xylitol to some extent reduces the content of lactic acid in the blood. Sorbitol, like xylitol, is an alcohol, but not five, but six-atomic. Oddly enough, they get it from rotting fruit. The raw material for the production of sorbitol is most often the squeezes of rotten apples. Sorbitol is available in the form of granules. Sold as a sugar substitute for diabetics. Sorbitol, like xylitol, is able to integrate into carbohydrate metabolism and increase the content of glycogen in tissues. Sorbitol, however, is significantly inferior in this capacity to xylitol. A distinctive feature of sorbitol is a very strong choleretic and laxative effect. Sorbitol in the intestines attracts water, interferes with the absorption of intestinal juice, and ultimately acts as an osmotic laxative. Unlike saline laxatives, it does not cause irritation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa, it acts gently, although more strongly. Interestingly, the laxative effect of sorbitol is manifested only in persons with normal and low acidity gastric juice. In persons with high acidity, sorbitol does not have any laxative effect, causing only choleretic action. Attempts were made to produce confectionery products using sorbitol, however, due to the strong laxative effect, these products became so notorious that they had to be abandoned. Sorbitol finds a certain market, although not in such quantities as xylitol.

Carbohydrate unloading - loading in sports is far from exhausting all its possibilities. There will certainly be more research to be done, new methodologies to be developed, and new products to be offered for download. I think that in the near future carbohydrate unloading - loading will be widely introduced not only in sports, but also in clinical medicine. I have been using it for many years to treat patients with the most various diseases, and sometimes even just with a restorative and health-improving purpose.

How often and for how long can unloading and loading periods be carried out? A few decades ago, when carbohydrate unloading - loading was just part of sports practice, unloading and loading periods were carried out for no more than 2 weeks each and only once a year in preparation for especially important competitions. Later, as they accumulated positive results observations, carbohydrate unloading - the load began to be recommended to be used more often, up to 4 times a year, and not only before competitions, but also during basic training for general metabolism stimulation. Now everything is gradually moving towards the fact that elite athletes will use unloading - loading almost constantly, throughout the year with long courses, in which both unloading and loading periods last a long time, at least 1 month each. Techniques are being developed to carry out protein unloading - loading, but in real practice, such protein unloading - loading comes down first to a gradual decrease in protein intake to a certain level in order to reduce catabolism, and then to an increase in protein intake in order to spur anabolism processes. There is a gradual merging of methods of carbohydrate and protein unloading - loading. A decrease in the amount of carbohydrates consumed is combined with an increase in the amount of proteins consumed, and then vice versa.