Rethinking Pasta

Dave Tallo

My office moved a few months ago, and in my quest for new lunch spots in the new 'hood, I have had a few meals of weakness where it's been a big ol' middday serving of Italian deli white pasta.  The same nutritionally un-dense, starchy stuff that you should avoid unless post-hard workout or the night before a race, according to every book, article or piece of body comp advice that you, me and the rest of the multisport community have read in the last 15 years. 

Problem is ... the stuff has been great for my BT workouts later in the day (Or I think it has been great for BT workouts later in the day).  I have a pretty good radar about these things, and when I'm "On Pasta," I feel like I am able to hit intervals harder, and carry on hard later in the session compared to when I had been eating a nutritionally dense, balanced, fruit - veggie - low-fat dairy - lean protein lunch (with approximately the same number of cals).   

Possible?  I can understand that my pasta lunch would top up glycogen stores to assist later in the day, but I can't imagine they would have been too depleted in the first place, having had a fair breakfast (and having refueled immediately after the previous night's workout via dinner).  

Obviously, I have only a minimum of understanding of nutrition and physiology, so please be gentle.  

Maybe as a supplemental question, I would also ask "If there's a gain in workout quality, but my body is more readily storing the pasta calories as fat or not getting all the macronutrients that, say, a Paleo lunch would achieve, on balance is it worth it?" 

Last variable: pasta tastes good, and Mamma Mia, does it ever make me happy.   

Steven Ford

Good question and I am waiting for smarter people to answer as well.

Scott Alexander

I'm sure the nutritionists in da haus can add lots of value, but I've read a lot lately about paleo/primal and also about carb loading (granted, a lot of it is on the interwebs, and via a Road Runners Club Of American clinic), and the gist is that carb loading doesn't work within 12 hours and you have to be in a carb-depleted state in order to increase your glycogen uptake.

Paging Dr. Penny...

penlynwilson

@Scott: Thanks! Made me smile. Still getting used to that.

If you know me, you know I'm going to ask more questions:
1) Um. . . what's a BT workout? How long is it?
2) When was your last workout?
3) What did you eat/drink to recover after that last workout?
4) What are you consuming during your workout?
5) What is your starch (not carb - fruit and veg, starch - pasta, bread, cereal) intake like during the day normally?

Dave Tallo

Thanks Penny-A's to your Q's follow.

Posted By Penny Wilson on 16 Mar 2011 05:02 PM

@Scott: Thanks! Made me smile. Still getting used to that.



If you know me, you know I'm going to ask more questions:

1) Um. . . what's a BT workout? How long is it?

"breakthrough." normally, the harder or longer of sessions.  I would characterize Tuesdays hard bike/run brick as BT, or a Thrusday long run.  So, we're talking 90 mins or longer.  

2) When was your last workout?

typically 24 hours before. 

3) What did you eat/drink to recover after that last workout?

Typically dinner immediately after the session.  lean meat, veggies, some whole grains in whole wheat pita, brown rice, and so forth.    If I can't replentish right away, I'll put back a 500ml chocolate milk immediately.  

4) What are you consuming during your workout?

During that particular session, might be 3 banannas, a few banannas and a gatorade, or a clif bar.

5) What is your starch (not carb - fruit and veg, starch - pasta, bread, cereal) intake like during the day normally?

I wouldn't characterize it as high ... it might come from a breakfast muffin, a pita w lunch, but these are pretty small portions.

 

Coach Patrick

I have been supplementing pre-workouts with a fig newton / gels / etc even during my weight focus and have seen the quality of my workouts go up dramatically while body comp going down. My N=1, the food before is more important than what you eat after (from a body comp perspective). If you don't bonk, you'll workout better and not need to binge afterwards. That said, I think that the "window" for the carbs is up to 1.5 hours...I personally would opt for the salad and then have quick carbs before the workout.

William Jenks

Carb loading is really almost a separate question, in the sense that that term is usually used to mean really kicking it up to 110% (or whatever) of your normal stores, i.e., really getting it up as high as you can.

I think Patrick is right that exercising with a reasonable short-term calorie boost before exercise helps me. And it's generally starches/sugars that I *feel* help me best get that best workout. And I agree that I tend to feel less hungry after.

My version of life on eating is a lot simpler than most people's. I really don't buy into any of the extreme diets. We all know what's basically healthy ("Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." Apple good, twinkie bad.) Body comp in the long run (weeks/months) is 99% calories in vs. calories out. On an hour-to-hour or day to day basis, the mix and timing of calories makes a big difference in how you feel, how effectively you can work out, whether you feel like binging, etc. because of hormone cycles and the like. I think this is where we get confused on some of the other stuff about how magic diets make a huge difference for you...they do IF THEY LET YOU CONTROL CALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT.

That's how I interpret exactly the phenomenon Patrick reports.

penlynwilson

@Dave: Sounds like you are pretty well fueled. However, if you think you get a bump in the ability to workout from the pasta, I say go for it.