Question

Kelly (66 kg) is a 48-year-old race walker who participates in half marathons. She walks 5-6 days per week, 1-2 hours per day, at a moderate to high intensity. Kelly makes an appointment with you to determine how much carbohydrate she should be consuming daily to keep her glycogen levels as high as possible. She also is interested in knowing how to properly “carbohydrate load” the week before a race. How many grams of carbohydrate would you recommend Kelly consume on a daily basis? What suggestions do you have for Kelly for carbohydrate loading 5–7 days prior to her races?

Answer 1

Kelly's estimated BMR = 10*66 + 6.25*162(avg height in cm) - 5*48 - 161 = (660+1012.5)-(240+161) = 1271.5

Kelly's Total Daily Energy Energy Expenditure = BMR*Activity level Multiplier(source:nutrition and fitness websites)

= 1271.5*1.65

= 2098 Cal

Daily protein intake = 0.90*105.822 = 95g = 380 Cal ; Daily fat intake = 15% * 2098 = 315 Cal

Estimated Daily Carbohydrate intake = 2098-(380+315) = 1403 Cal = 350g.

Kelly should consume approximately 350g of carbohydrates a day to maintain high glycogen levels.

For Carbohydrate loading, 5-7 days prior to the race she should start eating healthy carbs and a majority of calorific needs(80-85%) should come from carbs. For this, it is recommended to eat 4g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight, i.e. 400-420g of carbohydrates a day.