Starchy Carbs….Are they spawned from Satan?

intense strength training changes  the game completely. As your body attempts to restore glycogen and repair damaged  tissue, it is in an altered state for up to 48 hours after a training session.  Thus its nutritional needs are different. Starchy carbs, their ability to re-fuel energy reserves, and their anabolic effects definitely have a place in the diets of CrossFitters. A good analogy is gas for your car.  If your car just sits in the garage collecting dust, it doesn’t need gas.  Loading up on starchy carbs is like trying to fill up a full tank.  It just spills over the side.  In the human body, that overspill equates to body fat storage and a cacophony of other negative results — like elevated triglycerides, cholesterol, and insulin resistance. You have to EARN your starchy carbs through resistance training. However, if you drive your car around every day you have to fill it up often.  If you don’t, you will run out of gas.  An empty tank in the human body equates with becoming tired, lethargic, irritable, impaired performance, muscle loss, stubborn fat, frustrated that despite dieting your body is not changing, etc. You can’t redline everyday and expect to not run out of fuel. Intense training shifts the balance towards catabolic (muscle breakdown) processes. You need an anabolic (muscle repair) recovery period to restore balance.  And of course we know starchy carbs, and their effects on insulin, can be highly anabolic. Acceptable Starchy Carbs for Athletes: Tubers White Rice http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21475137 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3508745]]>