How to FUEL for the marathon & carb loading

[@chrisotc6832]

*top tip* Wholegrain Basmati rice has the lowest GI (glycaemic index) of all rice types, which means once digested it releases its energy slowly keeping blood sugar levels more stable!✊

[@ethierkevin]

Can someone explain to me here how 600ish carbs on the two days before a race isn't a carb load? This is a pretty significant amount of carbs to hit. Thanks.

[@andreasbacklund5895]

I experience that a high carb diet might be beneficial for performance, but it is easy to overindulge and harder to sustain a race weight. The brain wants "more".

[@samwoodward2676]

I think it’s key to really find areas to drop your fats very low and drop your protein as well so that you’re not in too much of a surplus

[@thecoffeerunner1281]

Man , I started watching you just now and I absolutely love your videos - your attitude and vibe are truly amazing . Keep this coming please !

[@banksj54]

so if im doing the 1-day carb program @ 77kg, 770grams of carbs in one day seems crazy high. Do you every feel lethargic on race day or is it a timing thing based on when you stop eating vs. race morning, where you glucose levels are still high

[@2spoons]

Huge thanks Stephen..... I learnt on my first Marathon - the London Marathon... staying in a self catering apartment and cooking... Tuna Pasta Bake the night before........ H U G E B A D I D E A..... carrying all of those carbs around for 4 hours is not fun...... Now I only change my diet slightly..... and I don't weigh hard as much either! - Just get plenty of water in and that stops you feeling feint when you are running out of your comfort zone!

[@vtrider82]

Thanks bro. Great plan for my upcoming York Pennsylvania marathon Sunday.

[@danwallace8728]

Stephen, I'm new to this running game but you and your content are the best by a long way. Keep it up man

[@terryvandenbroek5438]

sorry, I didn't quite understand, a pint of water per ?hour?, tht would give me a water intake of roughly 7 liters a day,

[@stephenscullion262]

Ha yeah, I might have got my maths wrong on that one, but we should have from 7 am - 7pm, likely 5-6 pints a day, and when carb loading or training then a little bit more.

[@davidboyce5320]

Love your videos. Keep it coming. I'm pulling for you to reach your goal to make the Olympic team.

[@ow_lars8780]

I could taper the whole year long 🍝

[@vlid0]

I tried following formulas for one of my marathons and felt sick at one of the days from eating when I didn't feel like eating. It was a good marathon, but I still bonked at 35. The following one I ate as much as I felt like eating and apart from the night before when I felt hungrier than usual (as if the body already knew what I needed) I ate normally during the last week. The result was a 19min PB and no bonk.

[@stephenscullion262]

It's a really interesting few days (like we have built this IDEA, (EAT EAT EAT), but like go take your car to the petrol station and try keep pouring in more petrol (and don't drive anywhere) which is essentially what we do race week. Glucose levels can also have a massive role on energy levels, stress levels, and ones mood. All in a all it's a disaster, and train will always have the biggest impact if we "get home" or not. Staying consistent with nutrition, "dressing your carbs" to help a slower release of energy, and not going crazy with TOO much food is likely all you need to know. Stay hydrated, and don't eat foods that likely take 2-3 days to digest fully or you're carry weight you didn't need.

[@vlid0]

@@stephenscullion262 Thanks for the advice and yep, it's ultimately the training that gets you there

[@georgidalton4315]

Good video Stephen

[@alisonsezonov1420]

I think it depends on where you are in your running journey you are, but i find the fitter and leaner you get, you lose all excess body fat, and your body needs but burns off the carbs when you train and run. You have to focus on eating the good highly nutritious carbs though.

[@stephenscullion262]

That's interesting, and probably very accurate. I just don't know enough about it, but I do know I've found my journey back to fitness kind of interesting as we put all this emphasis on losing weight thinking that's why we're slower. But I'm kind of back to a good weight for me, and I can tell you fitness is still a fair bit away.

[@ReyCaballes-nj7dp]

Hi sir im new runner,thank you

[@YisakSamuel]

hi how are you i saw your training tips, i learn more and money things be highind morathon traninig . also i will know you onice you are in ethoiopia right. kip working you are motivatem more...thanks..

[@IndianaNaturalDog]

similarly, based on your own race regimen, how many days out do you perform your last strength session before a marathon?

[@johnwalterhanna]

I'm jealous. 600 carbs? No carb loading for me. As a Type II diabetic if I eat as little as 10 carbs it will send my blood sugar above 200 for hours unless I'm exercising for those hours. Still trying to figure out my race fueling strategy. I will run my first half marathon race in two weeks.The plan is to eat a few dates within an hour of the start of the run and then a few more dates half way through the half marathon. I would love to beat 2 hours but my watch race predictor say 2:02. I guess it also depends on my knees and Achilles that have been bothering me lately. Most of my training runs have only been an hour so I only eat three dates. My longer runs I have done at a lower "max fat burning zone hr" so I did not take any extra carbs even running for three hours. I also have to be careful how much protein I eat because excess just turns to glucose. My diet focuses on healthy fats and low carb veges (all the green stuff)! Good luck everyone! The struggle is real!

[@stephenscullion262]

Wow, and I thought I had a hard time getting to know carbs & the impact on my body. I thought I was pretty sensitive to carbs (& I am, and so are most people if you don't make good choices) but that's super interesting. I did a video based on glucose etc.. and what I eventually found helped to stabilise my glucose, but it was almost micro dosing the carbs.. in a way that allows my body to use them "As I go" and so I avoided take a full gel, or too much carbs when my body didn't need them, or it just decided to release insulin and store causing a dump effect. I guess you might have to consider always doubling down on natural things that help stop rises, and so while this isn't "perfect" it's your own version of perfect, perhaps even 3 times. What I kind of mean, (but could be wrong) is if I find that eating brocoli, or drinking some white vinegar pre carbs helps to slow down the release, (I'd not want to do that pre race) but maybe you can find something that you can dress your carbs in to slow it down naturally. Or learn to predict the rise in glucose, and have steady flow of insulin yourself? microdose it while you ingest the carbs.

[@johnwalterhanna]

@@stephenscullion262 Thanks for the reply, thanks for all the great tips, and thanks for sharing your journey with us! Your KZbin channel is really inspiring and helping me to stay motivated. Yes, I have severe insulin resistance due to years of eating a poor diet and genetics. I can take pills to increase my insulin levels or inject with insulin but it would just make my insulin resistance worse in the long run. So instead of beating my pancreas until it is dead I have decided I need to change my lifestyle and eat healthy (Keto for me) and exercise (as much as possible). Thanks for reminding me about vinegar. Sometimes I'm slow to follow my own lessons. Last summer I made a salad with some savory corn (kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYDakIuZjtVjmcU) from the garden with vinegar and was surprised that my blood sugar stayed lower than expected. I need to incorporate more vinegar into my meals. Another thing I know that increases my insulin sensitivity is fresh bitter melon (seems 1000 times more potent than the pills). But fresh bitter melon is not available locally. It has taken me several years to find a variety that will grow in my area. Last year I was successful with a few fruits of a Okinawan White Bitter Melon! This year I'm going to load the garden up with these vines and hopefully be eating many bitter melon salads!

[@johnwalterhanna]

@@stephenscullion262 Thanks again! I just found out my doctors have been wrong for years and I have been re- diagnosed from Type 2 diabetes to a Type 1 LADA diabetic at age 50. Now dosing carbs will be critical while I add insulin into the equation. 😅

[@robnott6622]

Would you be OK if having say an extra gel or 2 added into a regular eating pattern?

[@jackjack8205]

Why would you eat a gel outside of a run? That’s not proper nutrition

[@yohhannestegegne-uu9we]

Think so much my brother. I like it. Would you make a video about tapering program.

[@mr.h.9103]

New ish runner here and training for my first marathon. So if I am a waffles and maple syrup kinda guy, can that back fire on me as a carb load. I read the fiber from the flour can possibly cause issues. I am absolutely fine with gluten, zero issues.

[@Sagargurjar10k]

Thanks you sir

[@garystanley3966]

Sweet new vid again, now i got something to watch in work lol

[@ryaninSartell]

Supersapians?!?!?!

[@Cameron220]

A video on fasted running? I recently started running at 5am off 6.5-8hrs of sleep and not eating at least 9hrs before running in the AM. I do it for convenience before school and I feel very energized early on. Is there negatives to fasted running if I’m just doing easy to moderate pace for 8+ miles?

[@GTE_Channel]

I would say no. In my opinion you have serious health issues if you cant run that distance with low intensity without the need for carbs. Running fasted/depleted actually increases the amount of carbs your body can store, to a certain extent ofcourse. I would recommend eating afterwards because that will help with recovery. But I'm an idiot, so better not listen to me 😬

[@Cameron220]

@@GTE_Channel thanks! Also what do you mean by your body can store more carbs when your depleted?

[@GTE_Channel]

@@Cameron220 science suggests that if you train in a low glycogen state that your body is going to adapt and creates more storage. So training that way can help you get faster on raceday

[@victorledezma5912]

Thanks 🤟

[@allanahmet]

Thanks bro!❤️

[@carlneild]

Wish I'd have watched this a week ago. Did Manchester Marathon last Sunday (my first) and completely bonked after a very low mileage taper week and 3-4 days of about 850grams of carbs (I'm 92kg) - I never did this in training, I simply ate a few more carbs the day before my long runs and always felt like I got the balance right (for me) during those runs. The first half of the Marathon I felt as if I could literally feel my stomach still digesting. Lessons learned, but I could relate to everything you said here.

[@hannesaltenfelder4302]

Note to myself: Final 2 days about 8-10g/kg bodyweight of carbs per day. Proteins, fats, vegetables etc as normal.

[@stephenscullion262]

Proteins, fats prior to carbs, slow down release

[@markphilpottultra]

The nutrition landscape for endurance athletes is changing as rapidly as shoe technology is. If you haven't checked out Zach Bitter yet, then he proves what can be achieved with low carbs and keto for outstanding results. I am following this process and as a Ultra Distance runner its a mind blow out. Carbs are the worst fuelling known to mankind. Fat adaptation is opening the door to amazing possibilities.

[@thepsychologist8159]

"Carbs are the worst fuelling known to mankind" - OK, whatever. Go and tell that to the elite distance runners. Don't feel humiliated when you find them laughing in your face.