Hello Lisa,

Yes and No.

Everyone has to find what works for them and how to best work through the learning curve. There are a lot of factors to consider when you plan your eating habits around long distance kind of sports.

1. Level of exersion
2. Environmental factors (hot/cold, humidity, wind are the big 3 that come to mind.)
3. Length of exersion.
4. Your general condition.

Ok, I am certain others might modify or add to that list.

All of the data from the Atkins side says that cyclist (my personal form of exercise) perform better at MODERATE levels then their carb-loading friends. Moderate is relative with respect to items 1-4 above. I use a heart rate monitor for all of my cycling so that I can keep myself appraised of my exersion level.

As an example, today I did 80 km/ 50 miles. Temps were low, wind was light, averaged about 28 kph, I'm in good condition. My calorie requirements for that ride were about 2500 Kcals. Pre ride I ate rather minimal (about 400 Kcals, mostly fat) but I carried 27G of carbs in a gel, and additional 17 g of carbs in my home-made sports drink, and 45 g of carbs in a power bar. I did great and only needed to use my sports drink until the last 45 minutes and found I needed the extra boost from the carb gel but not the power bar.

I took in an additional 20 g of carbs as part of my dinner. That helps in a slightly quicker recovery then if I don't do that. All told, I will have had about 70 g of carbs today.

The kicker is that if you push your HR up towards the higher aerobic to anaerobic ranges, it will become impossible to keep your blood sugars up enough to perform and any where near your peak level. You could reach the point of the dreaded BONK which is the point were you have depleted all of your "ready energy reserves" and your body needs to refuel. Or, you can find the exersion level that is the best compromise of performance and yet allowing your body to work off of its fat stores. Anything above the later needs to be supplemented with foods that can be quickly converted to energy.

As I alluded to before, I think that after long duration exercise that some extra carbs are essential to more quickly recover. However, I do NOT carb load now as I did in the past. I am not an elite cyclist and my typical ave speed of 27-29 kph seems to be within my range to keep me "moderate" most of the time.

I am still learning and experimenting.