The Complete Guide to Pre-Race Carbohydrate Loading: How Modern and Outdated Approaches Differ, Plus the Ten Most Common Reasons for Failure

健康與醫學

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2026年7月28日

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35 次觀看

Three days before the race, you start to hesitate: should you do “carbohydrate loading” or not? One camp online says you should first do an exhausting workout, eat almost no carbs for two or three days to drain your body dry, then binge on starches; another camp says don’t do anything special, just eat normally; and someone else says eating two bowls of pasta the night before the race counts as loading. Among these three claims, one is a decades-old method, one is a misunderstanding, and one simplifies something complex to the point of losing its meaning.

What this article aims to do is: explain the physiology of glycogen from the ground up, clarify why the “classic depletion method” is no longer recommended in most cases today, how simplified the modern approach has become, who actually needs to do it, who would only make themselves miserable for nothing, and—most importantly—why so many people who clearly “did the loading” still perform worse on race day.

1. What Glycogen Actually Is and Where It’s Stored

How Carbohydrates Are Stored in the Body

The rice, noodles, bread, fruit, and sugary drinks we consume are ultimately digested into monosaccharides like glucose that enter the bloodstream. Blood sugar cannot rise without limit, so excess glucose is linked together into a branched macromolecule for storage—this storage form is glycogen. You can think of it as a highly branched tree: the more branch tips there are, the more sites are available to be cleaved off simultaneously, and the faster it can be mobilized. This branching structure matters: when the body needs a large energy supply within seconds, it can’t just slowly peel pieces off the end of a single line.

Two Main Warehouses: The Liver and Skeletal Muscle

Glycogen is stored in two primary locations in the human body, with completely different functions—this is the first thing many people get confused about.

Liver glycogen acts as the “central bank for maintaining blood glucose.” The liver can break down glycogen into glucose and release it directly into the bloodstream to supply the whole body, especially the brain and central nervous system, which can almost only burn glucose. The liver’s capacity is relatively small, and a single night’s sleep consumes a significant portion of it—which is why the pre-race breakfast isn’t optional, but a necessary step to “replenish the liver’s overnight expenditure.”

Skeletal muscle glycogen acts as a “local fuel tank for personal use.” Glycogen inside muscle cells can only be used by that muscle itself; it cannot be released as glucose to support other parts of the body. In other words, the glycogen in your quadriceps can’t save a calf that’s running low on sugar, let alone your brain. Muscle mass far exceeds liver mass, so the vast majority of whole-body glycogen is stored in muscle; conversely, the amount of muscle glycogen directly determines how long you can sustain high intensity.

Another often-overlooked point: glycogen isn’t dry. Glycogen is stored in the body in a bound-water form—for every unit of glycogen stored, several times its weight in water is pulled into the cell along with it. This phenomenon will become crucial later when we talk about “weight gain.”

Why Glycogen Is the Critical Fuel for High-Intensity Endurance Exercise

The body has two main fuels: fat and carbohydrate. Fat stores are nearly inexhaustible—even an athlete with very low body fat has enough fat to fuel several ultramarathons. So why do you still run out of steam?

The key is the rate of energy supply per unit of time, not total storage. The fat metabolism pathway is long, requires more oxygen, and mobilizes slowly—it suits low-intensity, long-duration output. When you push the intensity up—the sustained high-output sections on the back half of Wuling, your target pace in a road race, the bike leg of a triathlon—the rate of fat oxidation can’t keep up with muscle demand, and the shortfall must be covered by carbohydrate. The higher the intensity, the greater the proportion of carbohydrate.

So the real situation is: you don’t lack fuel; you lack fuel that’s “fast enough.” Glycogen is that “fast enough” fuel, and its stores are finite—that’s why endurance sports have to deal with the glycogen problem at all.

The Physiological Description of “Hitting the Wall”

When muscle glycogen is largely depleted, the body produces a highly recognizable set of responses—what cyclists and runners call “hitting the wall,” “blowing up,” or “bonking”:

Output suddenly drops, and you can’t bring it back. It’s not a gradual slowdown; it’s like someone turned your power ceiling down a notch. Your willpower is still there, but your legs just can’t produce the number they did a moment ago.
Perceived exertion spikes. At the same speed, everything suddenly feels brutally hard, and the sensation of breathing and heart rate no longer matches the numbers on your devices.
You must lower the intensity to keep moving. Because the body is forced to switch to a fat-dominant fuel mode, and fat’s rate ceiling is what it is.
If liver glycogen depletion is also causing hypoglycemia, you add another set of more central-nervous symptoms: loss of focus, impaired judgment, trembling hands, cold sweats, dizziness, mood instability, and visual changes. On descents and in group riding, this is a real safety risk, because your line choice and braking reactions dull together.

It’s important to distinguish two things: muscle glycogen depletion makes you “unable to go fast,” while hypoglycemia makes you “unable to think clearly.” Both can happen at the same time, but the treatments differ: the former requires pre-race storage and continuous in-race fueling, while the latter requires immediate intake of rapidly absorbed carbohydrate.

And the cost of hitting the wall isn’t just that race. Recovery from deep depletion typically takes several days, and it’s not a “sleep it off” situation; your training quality, immune status, and mood in the following days all suffer. That’s why the pre-race storage strategy deserves serious attention—not to set a personal record, but to avoid gambling away the results of an entire training block in the final few dozen kilometers.

2. The Outdated Approach: The Classic “Depletion Phase + High-Carb Phase”

What the Original Logic Was

The approach promoted in earlier years typically looked like this: about a week before the race, you first did a very long, very hard exhausting workout to empty muscle glycogen as much as possible; then you ate a very low-carb diet (mainly protein and fat) for about three days while maintaining some training volume, keeping the body in a state of “extreme sugar deficiency”; finally, for the last three days, you switched to a high-carb diet while drastically cutting training.

The idea behind this design was: first make the body feel intense deprivation, trigger the mechanisms related to glycogen synthesis, and then when you replenish carbs, you’d store “supercompensated” amounts—higher than what normal eating would achieve. In theory, it sounded reasonable, and it was indeed considered effective in early observations.

Why It’s No Longer Recommended in Most Cases Today

The problem isn’t that the method has no physiological basis at all; it’s that its costs are wildly disproportionate to its “unnecessariness,” which was discovered later.

First, the gut can’t handle two drastic switches. After several days of very low carbs, suddenly switching to large amounts of starch and sugar forces the intestinal enzyme activity, microbiome, and water handling to re-adapt. In practice, the most common results are bloating, diarrhea, or constipation—and the timing lands right in the 48 hours before the race, leaving zero room for correction.

Second, training quality collapses during the low-carb phase. You’re still training during this period, but with no carbohydrate to burn, the intensity you can sustain drops noticeably, movement quality deteriorates, and coordination suffers. For the week before a race, when you need to preserve neuromuscular sharpness, this is moving in the wrong direction.

Third, injury risk rises. Fatigue, sugar deficiency, declining coordination, and poor concentration stack together to form exactly the combination most likely to produce sprains, crashes, and pulls. Getting injured in the week before a race because of a depletion phase is a completely lopsided trade.

Fourth, mood and sleep get dragged down. In a sugar-deprived state, you’re prone to irritability, anger, poor focus, and bad sleep. There’s already pressure before a race; adding a physiological low on top of it means many people arrive at the start line in a terrible mental state.

Fifth—and most critically—it was later found that all that hassle isn’t necessary. The modern consensus is that for athletes who train regularly and whose muscles already handle carbohydrate well, skipping the depletion phase and simply doing one to three days of high-carb intake combined with tapering can bring muscle glycogen to a very high level. Since the results are comparable, yet you’d pay all four costs above, the math doesn’t work out.

Sixth, the classic method’s assumptions don’t hold for “general enthusiasts.” The early protocols were mostly applied to trained populations whose lives could fully accommodate the plan. The average reader has a job, a family, and possibly business trips; maintaining both training volume and work performance during a low-carb phase is extremely unrealistic.

Where You Might Still See Traces of the Depletion Method

To be fair: completely dismissing it would also be wrong. Some very experienced athletes, in specific situations, do a “light version” adjustment—for example, doing one shorter high-intensity session the day before the high-carb phase to slightly clear the tanks before refilling. But this is a completely different magnitude from the original “exhaustion + three days of very low carbs,” and such fine-tuning should be individually planned by an experienced coach or sports nutrition professional, not copied from the internet. For the vast majority of readers, skipping the depletion phase entirely is the better choice.

3. Modern Approach: Simpler and Safer

The core of the modern pre-race glycogen strategy can be condensed into three points:

No depletion phase needed.
Increase carbohydrate intake one to three days before the race while significantly reducing training volume (taper).
Estimate carbohydrate intake based on body weight, and practice it during the training period first.

Why Tapering is the Other Half of Carbo-Loading

Many people only remember “eat more carbs” and forget “train less.” That’s the wrong half. Tapering serves two purposes: first, it stops you from continuing to deplete the glycogen you’ve worked hard to store; second, it gives your muscles the chance to build up higher storage levels in a low-expenditure state. If you stick to your full training schedule during the loading phase, it’s like pouring water in while pulling the plug out—your final storage levels won’t be much higher than usual, but you’ll have consumed a large number of extra calories.

Tapering doesn’t mean doing absolutely nothing. In the days before a race, you’ll typically keep some short, low-volume activity, which can include a minimal amount of high-intensity efforts to maintain feel, but total volume must drop significantly. The details of this fall under training planning; the key point is: training volume during the loading phase must be reduced—it’s a package deal, not an option.

Approximate Range for Carbohydrate Intake

Regarding how much to eat during the pre-race high-carb period, the approximate range widely cited in sports nutrition is: about 8 to 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day. Please be sure to understand the following:

This is an approximate recommendation range, not a precise prescription; individual variation is huge.
The high end of the range (near 12 g/kg) typically corresponds to people with very long race durations, higher training status, and digestive systems that have been trained to handle it.
Most amateur enthusiasts starting at the low end of the range (e.g., around 7 to 8 g/kg) are already consuming much more than usual, and it’s easier to achieve and less likely to cause gastrointestinal distress.
You must test it during your training period first—don’t try the highest amount for the first time on race week.

Here’s a conversion example to help grasp the scale: for a 60 kg athlete using 8 g/kg, that’s about 480 grams of carbs per day. What does that look like in food terms? A bowl of white rice (about a full standard household rice bowl) is roughly in the range of several tens of grams of carbs; a medium banana, a slice of toast, and a bottle of sports drink are each also in the range of ten to several tens of grams. You’ll quickly realize that 480 grams of carbs isn’t something you can achieve by “eating one extra bowl of rice”—it requires redesigning your entire day’s meal structure. This is also why anyone who has actually done it knows: the hard part of carbo-loading isn’t “do I want to eat,” but “can I even get it down.”

Weight Gain is Normal—and a Good Thing

As mentioned earlier, glycogen storage comes with water. When you significantly fill your muscle glycogen, weight gain is an expected and normal phenomenon, and this increase is mainly glycogen plus water, not fat.

Many people fall apart here: they step on the scale, see they’re heavier than usual, instinctively conclude “I’ve gotten fat, I’m doomed,” and then frantically eat less—or even deliberately dehydrate—the day before the race, throwing away everything they worked so hard to prepare. This is one of the most regrettable ways to fail.

The right mindset is: don’t weigh yourself during this period, or if you do, don’t draw conclusions from it. If it really bothers you, think of it as “the fuel tank is full, and fuel has weight.” Moreover, the water that comes in with the glycogen will be released as glycogen is broken down during the race, which actually helps with fluid balance—especially in Taiwan’s hot, humid summer conditions.

Outdated Approach vs. Modern Approach Comparison Table

Aspect	Outdated Approach (Classic Depletion Method)	Modern Approach
Depletion workout required	Yes, one long exhaustive session about a week before the race	No
Very low-carb period required	Yes, about three consecutive days of very low carbs	No
High-carb period length	About 3 days	About 1 to 3 days; 2 days is enough for most people
Training schedule	Maintains considerable training volume during low-carb period	Clearly reduced volume throughout (taper)
Gastrointestinal burden	High, two drastic dietary shifts	Low, only one gradual increase
Mood and sleep	Low-carb period often brings irritability, insomnia, poor concentration	Minimal impact
Injury risk	Elevated (fatigue + low sugar + reduced coordination)	Low
Execution difficulty	High, requires complete lifestyle adjustment	Moderate; main challenge is “getting it down”
Suitable for	Very few with professional team support	The vast majority of endurance participants
Typical outcome	Pre-race condition compromised, not worth the cost	Adequate reserves with physical and mental stability

4. Who Needs It, Who Doesn’t

Using “Estimated Exercise Duration” as a Rough Guideline

The most practical rough indicator for deciding whether to do glycogen loading isn’t distance—it’s how long you expect to be out there, and how intense the effort will be. A common cutoff is around 90 minutes:

Estimated time clearly under 90 minutes: Usually no special loading is needed. Normal daily carb intake, plus a solid pre-race dinner and race-morning breakfast, is sufficient. Forcing a load will only leave you feeling bloated, heavy, and off in the gut on race day.
Estimated time over 90 minutes, with non-trivial intensity: It starts to matter. The longer and harder the effort, the greater the benefit.
Very long but low intensity (e.g., a leisurely long-distance group ride, a stop-and-go event): Glycogen isn’t the limiting factor; in-race fueling matters far more than pre-race loading.

Note: for the same distance, different people spend very different amounts of time. A half marathon might take one person just over an hour and another two and a half hours; a 100 km cycling event might take one person a little over three hours and another five or six. Use your own estimated finish time to judge, not the distance.

Differences Between Single-Day and Multi-Day Events

Single-day, single-event race: The loading logic is simplest—fill the stores beforehand, keep fueling during the race.

Multi-day races or consecutive-day events (e.g., several consecutive days of long riding, stage races): The focus shifts from “one-time pre-race loading” to “rapid daily recovery.” Since you don’t have time for a two-to-three-day high-carb period, what you’re dealing with is “how do I refill the stores in the ten-plus hours between finishing today and starting tomorrow.” In this case, consuming carbs as soon as possible after the race (with some protein), eating a full dinner, and having a solid breakfast the next morning matter far more than any fancy pre-race strategy.

Multiple events or segments within a single day (e.g., one race in the morning, another in the afternoon): The refueling window in between is very short; the focus is on choosing easily digestible, low-fiber, fast-absorbing carbs rather than having a big meal.

Special Considerations for Triathlon

The difficulty of triathlon is this: in the swim, your body is horizontal and compressed; on the bike, you’re bent forward; on the run, there’s up-and-down impact. These three postures challenge the gut in completely different ways. Therefore, triathletes need to pay extra attention during the loading phase to “not leave undigested volume behind,” and the last meal before race day especially should be low-fiber and easily digestible. This is also why many triathletes significantly increase the proportion of liquid carbs in the final 24 hours before the race.

5. Practical Execution: How to Get It Down Without Problems

Three Core Principles

Increase carbs while lowering the proportion of fiber and fat. This is the key to “getting it down.” Both fiber and fat slow gastric emptying and increase volume and residue in the gut. Your goal is to reserve your limited stomach capacity for usable carbs.
Don’t cut protein. Many people assume loading means “only eat starch” and drop protein very low. That’s wrong. Protein intake should remain normal in the days before the race; it’s related to muscle maintenance, repair, and immune function. The right approach is maintain protein, reduce fat and fiber, and greatly increase carbs.
Switch to smaller, more frequent meals and make good use of liquid carbs. Fitting 400 to 600 grams of carbs into three meals a day is nearly impossible and will definitely cause bloating. Switching to five to seven eating occasions per day, without maxing out each one, makes hitting the target much easier.
Don’t try new foods on race week. Everything you plan to eat during the loading phase should be something you’ve already tested during training and confirmed your gut can handle.

High-Carbohydrate Food Options Available in Taiwan

Taiwan actually has a significant advantage in this regard, as suitable foods are readily available everywhere:

Staple Foods (Prioritize Low Fiber)

White rice (better than brown rice for the supercompensation period due to lower fiber)
White noodles, pasta, udon, rice vermicelli
White toast (easier to digest without crust), steamed buns, white bread
Congee, rice porridge (high water content, less likely to cause bloating, but note lower carbs per unit volume)

Convenient Supplements

Bananas (easy to obtain, easy to digest, also provide some potassium)
Sweet potatoes (high carb density, but more fiber; use discretion on the final day before the race)
Mochi, rice cakes (very high carb density, small volume, ideal for when you “can’t eat anymore but still need a bit more”)
Plain steamed buns, turnip cake
Soda crackers, white toast with a small amount of jam

Liquid Carbs (Lifesavers During Supercompensation)

Sports drinks
Fruit juice (choose pulp-free or low-pulp options; the pulp fiber in orange juice may cause discomfort on the final day before the race)
Honey water, sugar water, sweetened tea drinks (preferably without milk or with minimal milk)
Rice milk (but note some products are higher in fat)
Sports carb powder / energy gels (if you regularly use them)

Things to Be Cautious About

Whole grains, brown rice, large raw salads, legumes — nutritionally excellent, but they provide too much fiber during the supercompensation period
Fried foods, filled pastries, large amounts of nuts, rich sauces — too high in fat, which displaces carb intake and slows gastric emptying
Dairy products — if you are lactose-sensitive, the pre-race period is not the time to experiment
Spicy, heavily salted, strongly flavored irritating foods

Sample Daily Meal Plan (Illustrative, Not a Prescription)

The following is an illustrative arrangement for “Day 2 of the supercompensation period.” This is only a sample structure, not advice for any specific individual; actual portions should be adjusted based on your body weight, estimated exercise duration, and gastrointestinal tolerance, and should be tested during training beforehand.

Time	Sample Content	Key Notes
Breakfast	White congee or a few slices of white toast + small amount of egg or lean meat + banana	Retain protein, minimize fiber
Morning Snack	Steamed bun or plain steamed bun + sports drink	Top up with liquid carbs to reduce fullness
Lunch	White rice (increased portion) + one serving of low-fat protein (chicken breast, white fish, tofu) + small amount of cooked vegetables	Switch vegetables to cooked and reduce quantity to lower fiber
Afternoon Snack	A few mochi or rice cakes + fruit juice	High carb density, small volume
Dinner	White noodles or udon (clear broth, avoid oily) + low-fat protein	Avoid fried foods, thick soups, and oil-fried dishes
Before Bed	White toast with honey, or a cup of sweetened drink	Make up the day’s shortfall without overloading in one sitting
All Day	Continuously hydrate with plain water and monitor sodium intake	Glycogen storage requires water; don’t just drink plain water

Execution Timeline from 3 Days Before the Race to the Start

Time Point	Training	Dietary Focus	Other Key Points
3 Days Before Race	Significantly reduce volume; short, easy activity	Begin increasing carb ratio, maintain protein, reduce fried foods and high fiber	Confirm race-day schedule, start time, and transportation
2 Days Before Race	Very light or rest	Carb intake reaches peak; eat small, frequent meals; begin incorporating liquid carbs	Start paying attention to hydration and sodium; do not weigh yourself
1 Day Before Race (Daytime)	Rest or very short, easy movement	Maintain high carbs, further reduce fiber, avoid whole grains and large amounts of vegetables	Prepare race-day nutrition and gear
1 Day Before Race (Dinner)	—	Choose familiar, light, low-fat, low-fiber high-carb meal; do not eat until stuffed	Avoid alcohol; avoid trying a restaurant for the first time
1 Day Before Race (Before Bed)	—	If dinner wasn’t enough, top up with liquid carbs or white toast	Go to bed early; do not drink large amounts of water at this time to avoid nighttime urination
Race Day (Approx. 3–4 Hours Before Start)	—	Familiar high-carb breakfast, portioned to avoid bloating	This is the key meal to replenish the liver’s overnight depletion
Race Day (Within Approx. 1 Hour Before Start)	Warm-up	Small amounts of easily absorbed carbs (sports drink, banana, energy gels — whatever you normally use)	Adjust based on individual tolerance; must be practiced in advance
After Start	—	Plan in-race fueling based on race duration	Supercompensation cannot replace in-race fueling

“Supercompensation Cannot Replace In-Race Fueling”

This point deserves special emphasis. Some people, after completing supercompensation, feel “I’m fully loaded” and then slack off on in-race fueling. But glycogen stores have an upper limit no matter how full they are — beyond a certain time, they will inevitably run out. The purpose of supercompensation is to delay the point at which you need to start fueling and to extend the time you can sustain high intensity — not to allow you to skip fueling. The correct mindset is: supercompensation fills the tank, in-race fueling keeps adding fuel along the way — both must be done.

6. Common Reasons for Failure (Please Read This Section Carefully)

In practice, the failure rate of supercompensation is actually not low. And the ways it fails are very typical — each of the following is a recurring pattern.

Failure 1: Turning Supercompensation into Binge Eating

The most common. Many people hear “eat more carbs” and interpret it as “I can eat freely,” so they eat until stuffed, continue for two or three days, severely exceed total calories, and bring in large amounts of fat and fiber along the way. The result: bloating and discomfort, heavy gastrointestinal burden, poor sleep, and feeling heavy on race day.

The Fix: Supercompensation is a structural adjustment (increasing carb ratio, reducing fat and fiber, eating small frequent meals), not “unlimited calories.” Eat each meal to “70–80% full but not stuffed,” and accumulate the total through frequency and liquid carbs.

Failure 2: High Carbs but Also High Fat

“Eating a big meal before the race” is a ritual for many, so they choose fried pork cutlet rice, spicy hot pot, all-you-can-eat barbecue, or creamy Italian pasta dishes. The carbs are there, but the fat is also excessive. Fat significantly prolongs gastric emptying time, meaning food will still be in your stomach when you start the next morning.

The Fix: Decouple “high carbs” from “big meal.” Eat a lot, but eat lightly. Clear broth noodles beat fried foods; white rice with steamed fish beats all-you-can-eat barbecue.

Failure 3: Too Much Fiber, Resulting in Bloating or Bathroom Runs on Race Day

This one is especially common among people who normally eat very healthily — because they usually eat brown rice, whole wheat, large amounts of vegetables, and legumes, and when they increase total intake during the supercompensation period, fiber increases proportionally. The result is bloating, stomach gurgling, or even having to find a bathroom mid-race.

The Fix: The supercompensation period is one of the rare times to deliberately reduce fiber. At least 24 to 48 hours before the race, switch brown rice to white rice, whole wheat to white toast, raw salads to small amounts of cooked vegetables, and avoid legumes and large amounts of fruit pulp and peels. This is a temporary strategy — you return to normal after the race, and it won’t affect long-term health.

Failure 4: Eating One Big Meal Only on the Night Before the Race

This is mistaking “supercompensation” for “the pre-race meal.” There is a physiological limit to how many carbs one meal can hold, and the discomfort from overeating will carry into the next morning. Relying on a single night produces very limited muscle glycogen improvement.

The Fix: Spread the total across one to three days, with five to seven eating occasions per day. This not only makes the total easier to achieve, but is also much more comfortable for the stomach.

Failure 5: Panicking at Weight Gain and Backing Out

As mentioned earlier, glycogen carries water, so weight gain is normal and positive. But in practice, many people can’t get past this hurdle: they weigh themselves the day before the race, see the gain, start to panic, and then deliberately eat less at dinner, skip breakfast on race day, or even go for a run to “burn it off.” The previous two days of effort go to zero on the spot, plus an extra layer of psychological stress.

The Fix: Simply don’t weigh yourself during the supercompensation period. Put the scale away and deal with it after the race.

Failure 6: Maintaining Heavy Training Volume During Supercompensation

“Since I’m eating a lot of carbs, I might as well train again.” This is self-defeating. The glycogen you store gets consumed by training, and the fatigue from training cannot be recovered before the race. Worse, high-intensity training in the final week before a race is almost impossible to improve race performance — it only creates fatigue.

The Fix: Supercompensation and tapering are a paired package. If you’re going to do supercompensation, you must accept that training volume needs to drop significantly during these days. Tapering won’t make you weaker, and training in the final days before the race won’t make you stronger.

Failure 7: Trying New Foods for the First Time During Race Week

The last thing you should do during race week is experiment. New energy gels, restaurants you’ve never eaten at, supplements recommended by friends, or mystery-brand drinks handed out at international races—any of these could be a disaster. Gut tolerance to food can be trained, but that training should happen during regular training.

The Fix: Rehearse your “race week menu” at least once during your training block, including the full sequence of pre-race dinner, race morning breakfast, pre-start fueling, and mid-race fueling. Use one long training session as a dress rehearsal and follow the entire eating plan exactly as you would on race day.

Failure 8: Ignoring Hydration and Sodium

Glycogen storage requires water, so your fluid needs during the loading phase will be slightly higher than usual. But the opposite mistake is also common: chugging large amounts of plain water while ignoring electrolytes. This is especially dangerous in Taiwan’s summer, where sweat rates are high and sodium loss is significant. Excessive plain water combined with insufficient sodium can cause discomfort or even more serious problems.

The Fix: Stay adequately hydrated but don’t overdo the water intake, and ensure your diet during the loading phase includes adequate sodium (sports drinks, soups, and normally seasoned foods all work). Do not deliberately follow a very low-sodium diet before the race.

Failure 9: Poor Management of Caffeine and Alcohol Before the Race

Alcohol: Celebrating the night before, or having drinks with dinner on the eve of the race, is a classic performance killer. Alcohol disrupts sleep quality, affects fluid balance, and displaces room for carbohydrate intake.

Caffeine: Caffeine has its place in athletic performance, but the pre-race period is not the time to change your habits. If you don’t normally drink it, don’t suddenly have a large cup on race morning; if you drink it daily, don’t suddenly quit cold turkey (which can cause headaches and lethargy). Also note that caffeine has a laxative effect for some people, so timing on race day needs to be managed carefully.

The Fix: Stick to your usual habits—don’t increase, don’t stop. No alcohol the night before the race.

Failure 10: Losing Control with Travel and Eating Out

Many races in Taiwan require you to arrive the day before, staying in hotels and eating out. Common problems at this point include: not finding suitable restaurants, only night markets or fried food near the hotel, having to go along with the group when eating together, hotel breakfast times being later than the race start, and being unable to find your usual supplements locally.

The Fix: Treat “pre-race nutrition” as part of your travel planning, not something to figure out on the spot. Details are covered in the next section.

Failure 11 (Extension): Treating Carb Loading as Compensation or a Binge for Dieting

Some people who normally watch their diet treat the loading phase as a “finally I can eat” free-for-all, leading to bingeing, guilt, and then even stricter restriction—a vicious cycle. This is no longer just a performance issue; it’s a warning sign related to healthy eating behavior (more on this later).

Failure 12 (Extension): Assuming Every Race Requires Carb Loading

As mentioned earlier, shorter races don’t need it. Forcing it will only make you feel bloated and heavy on race day. Carb loading for a race that doesn’t require it is a net negative.

7. Practical Issues in the Taiwan Context

Eating Out the Night Before the Race

Convenience stores: These are actually a very reliable option, and they’re everywhere in Taiwan. You can put together: onigiri or sushi (choose simple flavors, avoid mayonnaise and fried fillings), plain white toast, bread (choose plain varieties, avoid heavy butter and fillings), bananas, steamed sweet potatoes, sports drinks, and unsweetened or sweetened tea drinks. The advantage is consistent ingredients, and you can test the same products at a store near your home beforehand.

Local eateries (小吃店): Among Taiwanese小吃 options, suitable choices include clear broth wonton noodles (陽春麵), sliced noodles (切仔麵), rice noodle soup (米粉湯, low oil), white rice with steamed or braised lean protein, and congee. Things to avoid: oily rice (油飯), fried pork chops, Taiwanese fried chicken (鹽酥雞), oyster vermicelli (大腸麵線—the thickening and offal make it poor in both fat and volume), spicy or heavy hot pot dishes, and raw foods.

Traps to watch out for: Going for “pre-race nourishment” with ginger duck hot pot (薑母鴨), lamb hot pot (羊肉爐), or drunken chicken (燒酒雞)—these are high in fat, often contain alcohol, and are typically eaten late into the evening, making them one of the worst pre-race combinations.

Summer Races and Hydration

Taiwan’s summers are hot and humid, with poor sweat evaporation efficiency, making the perceived exertion heavier than in dry regions at the same temperature. Under these conditions:

Stay well hydrated during the loading phase, but don’t chug large amounts of water the night before the race (it will disrupt sleep and cause nighttime urination).
Pay attention to electrolytes, especially sodium. Sports drinks during the loading phase can address both carbohydrates and sodium in one go—a two-birds-one-stone choice.
In high heat, blood flow to the gut is shunted to the skin for cooling, reducing digestive capacity. So the last meal before a summer race should be lighter and easier to digest.

The Gap Between Hotel Breakfast Time and Race Start Time

This is a very common pain point at Taiwanese races. Many races start very early (dawn), and hotel breakfast often isn’t available yet, or the offerings aren’t suitable (lots of fried food, bacon, raw vegetables, coffee).

Practical approaches:

Prepare your own race morning breakfast. Buy white toast, bananas, steamed buns (饅頭), sports drinks, and your usual instant drink the day before at a convenience store or supermarket, and keep them in your room.
When booking, ask if the hotel offers early bird breakfast or takeaway meal boxes (some hotels in race areas accommodate this), but don’t hinge your entire plan on it.
If your room has a kettle, instant carbohydrate drinks are a very convenient option.
If the race start is extremely early, the gap between breakfast and start time may be compressed. In that case, choose something easier to digest and smaller in volume (e.g., liquid carbs plus a banana) rather than forcing down a large meal.

Difficulty Shopping at Outlying Islands and Mountain Races

At some race locations, shopping options are very limited: outlying islands have few stores with short opening hours; mountain races may have only one or two shops at the start/finish; and stores may already be closed when you arrive the day before.

Practical approaches:

Bring your key foods for the three days before the race with you. It sounds like a hassle, but white toast, steamed buns, mochi, energy gels, and instant carb powders are all easy to carry and don’t spoil quickly.
Check in advance whether there’s a convenience store nearby, its opening hours, and the nearest supermarket.
If travel time is long (e.g., by ferry or mountain roads), factor “what you’ll eat on the way” into your loading plan—don’t skip an entire meal just because you’re in transit.
Mountain areas have large day-night temperature swings and rapidly changing weather; transportation and the itinerary itself carry uncertainty, so it’s safer to build some slack into your nutrition plan.

Transportation and Safety Reminders

If you do light activity in the days before the race on open roads, be sure to follow traffic rules, watch road conditions and traffic flow, and don’t race on the road to “find your legs” before race day. Getting injured during the taper is the least worthwhile thing possible. On mountain routes, watch for weather, falling rocks, and blind corners.

8. Special Populations and Risks (Must Read)

Carbohydrate loading is essentially a short-term, fairly significant change in dietary structure. For healthy people, the risk is limited, but for certain groups, this change can carry real medical risks. The following groups must consult a physician, dietitian, or their medical team before making dietary changes.

Diabetes, Especially Those Using Insulin or Blood Sugar-Lowering Medications

This is the highest-risk group. A large increase in carbohydrate intake directly affects blood sugar and can cause dramatic blood sugar swings: increased intake without corresponding medication adjustment can lead to hyperglycemia; conversely, over-adjusting medication or changing exercise levels can trigger hypoglycemia. Exercise itself further alters insulin sensitivity and blood sugar trends, creating many variables.

Clear Stance: Pre-race diet and medication adjustments for diabetics must be individually planned by a physician and medical team, including the frequency of blood sugar monitoring, timing and dosage adjustments of medications, and preparation for handling hypoglycemia. Do not copy the protocol in this article or anything from the internet on your own.

Kidney Disease

People with impaired kidney function often have strict limits on fluid, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, and protein intake. The high carbohydrate, large fluid volume, and electrolyte adjustments of the loading phase can all conflict with these restrictions. Any adjustments must be evaluated by a nephrologist or a renal-specialist dietitian.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Celiac Disease

IBS: The large increase in carbohydrates during loading (especially certain types of sugars and fructose sources) can trigger bloating, abdominal pain, and bowel irregularities. Such readers especially need to gradually identify a list of tolerable foods during training and discuss this with medical or nutrition professionals.

Celiac Disease: Strict avoidance of gluten is mandatory. Among common high-carb options in Taiwan, noodles, bread, steamed buns (饅頭), and baozi (包子) mostly contain gluten. You need to switch to alternatives like white rice, rice noodles, and sweet potatoes, and also watch for ingredients and cross-contamination in processed foods. This requires professional guidance—it’s not something you can handle just by reading labels yourself.

The same applies to other known food allergies or intolerances (lactose intolerance, specific food allergies): the loading phase is not the time to test your tolerance.

Those Currently Losing Weight, or With a History of Eating Disorders

This section is especially important. For people with a history of or tendency toward eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder), “a period where large amounts of food are permitted” can trigger quite intense psychological reactions—including feelings of loss of control, intense guilt afterward, and compensatory extreme dieting or excessive exercise. The weight gain that inevitably occurs during the loading phase can also become a source of stress.

Warning signs of eating disorders (if you or someone around you experiences the following, professional help is recommended):

Persistent and intense anxiety about food and weight that affects daily life
Episodes of uncontrolled binge eating, followed by intense guilt
Using vomiting, laxatives, diuretics, extreme dieting, or excessive exercise to “compensate” for eating
Perception of body shape or weight that clearly does not match objective reality
Avoiding social situations or gatherings because of fear of food
Irregular menstrual cycles or amenorrhea in women
Recurrent fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, feeling cold, and hair loss
Recurrent stress fractures or unexplained sports injuries

In Taiwan, available help includes psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and dietitians experienced with eating disorders. This is not a matter of willpower; it is a health issue that requires professional care.

As for those currently losing weight: if you are on a calorie deficit, the race-week loading will temporarily conflict with your weight-loss goals. The practical advice is—set aside your weight-loss goals for race week, focus on completing the race, and return to your original plan afterward. Trying to simultaneously “maximize performance” and “minimize weight” usually means doing neither well.

Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Nutritional needs, exercise intensity, and weight changes during pregnancy and breastfeeding all require special consideration and vary greatly between individuals. Any sports nutrition strategy must first be discussed with an obstetrician or relevant medical professional and should not simply apply general athlete practices.

Other Situations Where Prior Consultation Is Recommended

Those with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, or hypertension who are currently taking medication
Those with a history of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastric ulcers, or chronic gastrointestinal conditions
Those taking medications that may interact with diet or fluid/electrolyte balance
Older adults with multiple chronic conditions
Children and adolescents (nutritional needs during growth differ; adult loading strategies should not be applied)

Medical Emergency Warning Signs

If any of the following occur during the loading phase or the race, stop the activity and seek medical attention promptly:

Chest tightness, chest pain, palpitations, or irregular heartbeat
Shortness of breath or unexplained extreme breathlessness
Confusion, severe dizziness, fainting, or near-fainting
Seizures or uncontrollable muscle cramps that do not resolve
Persistent and severe abdominal pain, vomiting, or inability to eat or drink
Blood in stool, black stools, or blood in vomit
Dark brown urine (possibly related to rhabdomyolysis), or prolonged absence of urination
Severe and persistent headache, especially accompanied by nausea or altered consciousness
Diabetics experiencing symptoms of high or low blood sugar (such as extreme thirst, altered consciousness, cold sweats, trembling, confusion)
Significant edema, or abnormal rapid weight gain over a very short period accompanied by discomfort

This article provides general sports nutrition concepts and cannot replace individual assessment and advice from physicians, dietitians, or other healthcare professionals. For any physical discomfort, existing conditions, or medication use, please defer to your medical team’s opinion.

9. After the Race: How to Wrap Up the Loading Phase

Carb loading is a short-term strategy, not a new lifestyle. After the race, there are two things to address.

Post-Race Recovery Nutrition

After the race, your body’s muscle glycogen has been heavily depleted, and consuming carbohydrates (along with some protein) at this time aids recovery. In practice, it doesn’t need to be complicated: eat whatever is readily available as soon as possible after the race (bananas, sports drinks, rice balls are all fine), then have a more complete meal afterward. This step is even more important if you have another event or race the next day.

Note that many people’s gastrointestinal systems remain sensitive after a race, so do not immediately eat large amounts of greasy or irritating foods, especially after racing in high temperatures. Start with fluids and easily digestible foods, and return to normal eating once your stomach settles.

Return to Your Normal Diet; Don’t Let Loading Become the Norm

This is the most easily overlooked part. The high-carb, low-fiber, frequent small-meal pattern during the loading phase is a temporary arrangement for a specific purpose:

Bring fiber back. Brown rice, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes should return to your daily diet. Long-term low fiber intake is not good for gut health.
Bring calories back into balance. Total intake during the loading phase is usually significantly higher than daily needs. If your diet doesn’t adjust back after the race and training volume returns to normal, your weight will slowly creep up.
Don’t use “I exercise” as a license for long-term high-calorie eating. This is why many people find their weight and body fat slowly rising after a few racing seasons.
Make a clear mental switch. Give yourself a clear boundary: return to your normal eating pattern on the second or third day after the race.

If you find it difficult to switch back from loading mode to normal mode, or if you fall into several weeks of overeating after every race, this may be a signal that needs attention—please refer back to the eating disorder warning signs list above.

10. Key Takeaways and Action Checklist

Key Concepts to Remember

Glycogen is stored in two places: the liver supports blood sugar and the brain; muscles support themselves. The fueling logic for each is different.
You don’t lack fuel; you lack “fast enough” fuel. This is why glycogen matters in high-intensity endurance sports.
The depletion phase is a thing of the past. Modern approaches don’t require depletion workouts or extreme low-carb phases.
Carb loading = increased carbohydrates + reduced training volume. Both are essential.
Weight gain is normal—it’s glycogen bringing water along with it.
Carb loading does not replace in-race fueling.
Races shorter than about 90 minutes usually don’t require carb loading.
All strategies should be practiced during training first; race week is not a laboratory.
Individual variation is huge; all numbers in this article are approximate ranges, not prescriptions.
Those with chronic diseases, special physiological conditions, or a history of eating disorders must consult a healthcare professional first.

3-Day Pre-Race Checklist

Day 3

[ ] Training volume has been significantly reduced
[ ] Carbohydrate ratio has started to increase; protein intake remains unchanged
[ ] Fried and high-fat foods have started to decrease
[ ] Race-day logistics confirmed: start time, transportation, bag drop, toilet locations
[ ] Confirmed available food sources and their opening hours near your accommodation

Day 2

[ ] Carbohydrate intake is at its peak, switched to smaller, more frequent meals
[ ] Liquid carbohydrates (sports drinks, juice, sugar water, etc.) added to help spread out total intake
[ ] Hydration is adequate, and sodium intake from food is appropriate
[ ] Did not weigh yourself (or weighed but made no decisions based on it)
[ ] Did not try any new foods or new brands of supplements

Day 1

[ ] Rest from training, or only very light movement
[ ] Fiber further reduced: white rice, white noodles, and white bread replace whole grains and large amounts of raw vegetables
[ ] Dinner is a familiar, light, low-fat, low-fiber high-carb meal, eaten to about 80% full, not stuffed
[ ] No alcohol
[ ] Race-day breakfast food is purchased and placed in the room
[ ] Supplements, gear, race bib, and timing chip are all ready
[ ] If still short on carbs before bed, top up with liquids or white bread
[ ] Go to bed early; do not chug large amounts of water before sleeping

Race Day

[ ] Eat a familiar high-carb breakfast about 3 to 4 hours before the start
[ ] Consume a small amount of easily absorbable carbohydrates before the start, based on personal tolerance
[ ] In-race fueling plan is clear (what to eat when, where to refill water)
[ ] Willing to slow down or drop out if the body shows any abnormal signals

Final Thoughts

Carbohydrate loading is one of the few preparations in endurance sports that offers “low investment, clear returns,” but its value depends on getting it right. The wrong version—binge eating, fatty foods, high fiber, only eating for one night, weight panic, and still doing full training—not only provides no benefit but can actively ruin your race.

What truly determines success or failure is often not what you ate in the three days before the race, but whether you practiced this protocol during your training period. Your gut can be trained, but it takes time, and it won’t do you any favors on race day. Treat your fueling strategy like a workout to practice, and on race day you’ll only need to repeat something you’ve already done many times.

One more reminder: this article is general sports nutrition information and cannot replace professional medical evaluation. If you have any chronic conditions, are taking medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of eating disorders, please discuss any dietary changes with your physician or dietitian first.

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