There is a war raging against carbohydrates. Most of the rage surrounding carbohydrates has to do with weight loss because new studies were released that show that a calorie is not a calorie when it comes to weight loss diets(1). It is our recommendation at this time, however, that athletes take a broader view of carbohydrates and weight management and stick to the basics. The majority of your calories should come from carbohydrates because paddle athletes should be focused on performance and not weight loss.

Athletes need energy. Sedentary people, whom these studies investigate, really do not need that much energy to sit around playing video games or answering e-mail. In our experience, if an athlete gets their total daily calorie(2) load dialed in (e.g. you do not eat too much), weight management will work itself out. Your body will adapt to the demand placed on it and you will lose or gain weight (muscle) based on whatever your genetics dictate.

Again, focus on your performance and not what you look like in the mirror. If you get your total calorie load dialed in and follow your training program the rest will work itself out. If you are meant to be a stocky muscular person, you will get there. If you are meant to be tall and thin that is where you will wind up. By supplying your body with the proper energy (e.g. carbohydrates) you will be able to work out harder and longer and your weight management plan will be dictated by the exercise you are doing rather than limiting your workout fuel. Limiting carbohydrate will limit your performance. Step one is to get your calorie intake dialed in. If you eat too much carbohydrate or anything else you will most certainly get fat.

Another aspect of the carbohydrate war is limiting carbohydrates in an effort to change their metabolism in an effort to induce their body to better utilize fat stores while racing. We are not in a position to refute the metabolic validity of this theory but, in our experience in the real world, athletes who attempt this type of diet suffer from decreased performance because they are not able to maintain their level of training while they are limiting their carbohydrate intake. This leads to a decrease in performance. Moreover, we find it much easier to eat an extra gel or two during a race than go through the hassle and headache of attempting to change our metabolism to utilize fat stores during a race. Ultimately, time will tell if limiting carbohydrate in training, in an effort to change your metabolism, is a fad or if it will stand the test of time.

(1)  http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20120626/all-calories-not-created-equal-study-suggests
(2) Be sure to account for your caloric expenditures during training