Simple Carbohydrates Will Lift You Up Before They Let You Down… Hard
Carbohydrates are your body’s primary source of energy. This means that when you ride or train, carbs are the first thing your body burns for energy. For that reason, you should always have a steady supply inside your body when you ride.
Low-carb diets don’t work for athletes – especially dirt bike riders. We’re constantly burning through energy with every move we make on the track. It never stops. But you can’t just get any source of carbs and call it a day. You have to be mindful of what you’re taking into your body.
Eating the wrong type of carbohydrates can decrease your overall performance on the track, making you react slower, move slower, and lose focus.
So you need to know what these bad carbs are. You need to know what to avoid.
Related: Speaking of things to avoid, take these steps to avoid dehydration at all costs!
Good And Bad Carbs
There are good carbohydrates, and then there are bad carbohydrates. Most people eat more bad carbs than good carbs. And they don’t even realize it.
Good carbs are complex carbohydrates that burn at a slower and steadier rate – providing more energy over a longer duration of time. Bad carbs are simple carbs that burn at a rapid rate – supplying quick bursts of energy in short intervals.
In a different article, I touched on what good carbs are and gave you a list of types of food that contain large amounts of complex carbs. In this article, we’re going to find out more about simple carbs – the bad carbohydrates.
What Are “Bad” Carbohydrates?
Simple carbohydrates are essentially simple sugars that are extremely easy to digest. As such, they provide no real value to your body (other than giving you a quick burst of energy before your body either crashes or craves more).
The higher in sugar and lower in fiber that a carb source is, the worst it will be for your body. Almost all simple carbs share those same characteristics.
Why Are Simple Carbs Bad For Riders?
While simple carbs do supply energy for the body, they do it only in short bursts. These short bursts are not sufficient for longer duration races and training sessions.
Simple carbs also are one of the biggest contributors to weight gain due to the increased rate that they’re digested and their inherent ability to increase hunger. And as you already know, increased weight can decrease performance and put your body more at risk of certain diseases.
Foods That Are High In Simple Carbohydrates
A popular nutritional diet guideline for motocross riders is 60% carbohydrates, 25% protein, and 15% healthy fats.
But the 60% of carbs should be mostly made up of complex carbs (whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and legumes). The one thing that all of those foods have in common is that they’re NOT PROCESSED!.
And that’s one of the distinguishing features of simple carbohydrates. Below is a list of popular simple carbs that you will want to avoid more often than not:
- White bread
- Sodas/pop
- Potato Chips
- White rice
- Pastries and other baked goods
- Crackers
- White pasta (enriched pasta)
When you’re in doubt about whether a carbohydrate is simple or complex, simply ask yourself this question: Has it been extensively processed?
If you can answer yes, then it’s most likely a simple carb. If you can answer no, then it’s most likely a complex carb, and perfectly fine to eat.
If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave them in the comments or on our FaceBook page!
