In this blog I will be referring to only complex carbohydrates, like those found in whole grain breads, grains like quinoa and farro, and yes, fruits, veggies, and dairy. About complex carbohydrates, these carbs have longer chains of carbon molecules, so it takes longer for your body to break them down. Which means the sugar isn't dumped into our bloodstream such as what happens with simple carbs thus, you have better source of energy that is longer lasting.
Last week my coach wanted to do BIG carb load for two reasons. 1: to see how my body reacts to carbs (everyone is different) and 2: to fill out my muscles.
I was instructed to consume 300 grams of carbs POST workout. I had a mix of pancakes, banana, yogurt, and sweet potato fries. I took photos before the carb load, during, and the next morning. Here is an the comparison photo.
As you can see, the area most affected by the carbs is my waist and upper body. I added about 2 inches to my waist during the carb load. That's a lot! I was shocked and nervous. How the heck am I suppose to lose 2 inches from waist in 2 weeks? However, it didn't take long for my body to go back to normal. 6 hours later, the next morning photo on the right, I was 70% normal and within 24 hours I was completely back to my normal shape EXCEPT my muscles were much more defined and I was filled out in all the right areas.
Carbs help fill your muscles you want to do this before your show to help show your muscles better and not look stringy on stage. You can fully see my delts in the right photo verses the middle and left photos. This was what my coach was mainly looking for. To see how and WHERE my body would store the carbs so that on show day we know what to expect.
Hopefully these visuals help you see how carbs affect your body for both good and bad.
Left is during carb load. Right is the next morning about 6 hours later.