Runner/Jogger needs extra calories

Question
I'm a 22 year old male who recently I lost about 15 pounds, and I have gotten better at long distance running.  I run 5 - 6 miles almost every day, and lately I've been craving and eating a whole lot more carbs and sugar than I used to.  I've heard of endurance athletes carbo-loading, but I never considered myself an endurance athlete.  I might find myself eating a half a box of cookies, and then finishing off with a bagel, or two.  My stomach seems like a bottomless pit, so where do all these  sugars and saturated fats go anyway?  Sometimes I eat massive amounts of carbs like this  but the thing is I don't gain any weight, so is it okay to do this?

Answer
Hello Andre!

   Thank you for your nutrition question.  The reason you are probably craving carbohydrates is because athletes who race at high intensities for longer than 75-90 minutes are at risk of draining their precious carbohydrate stores.  Your body is telling you that you need carbohydrates for energy because the longer your muscles work hard, the more you dip into your glycogen reserves. When your muscle reserves run low, your body relies on blood glucose. This blood glucose can be supplied by glycogen broken down from your liver (a limited supply) and carbohydrates you consume while running.  
  In order to avoid weight gain from eating "bad" carbs such as cookies, I would recommend replacing them with "good" carbs such as "whole" grain breads, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, fruits and vegetables would be the best choices.  Oatmeal/raisin bars are excellent snack and full of energy.
  Since you are an athlete, I would also recommend checking out www.dietitian.mymagicwand.com which has a great fruit drink for athletes. For more answers to your nutrition questions check out "Ask the Nutritionists" by George Rapitis at www.authorhouse.com


Happy Holidays
George Rapitis, Bsc. Nutritionist
www.juiceblend.com  

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