How the Glycemic Load applies to exercise.

      To start, I am not a Dietician nor a sports dietician. I am a Personal Trainer and (fingers crossed) a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach. I can discuss nutrition and how it plays a factor into exercise performance I cannot prescribe foods.

    Before getting into Glycemic Load, we must first know how that number comes about. Much like deeper fitness knowledge it begins with a formula. 

Glycemic Load= Glycemic Index times grams of carbohydrate per serving divided by 100

          A simpler formula is: GL=GI x grams of carb

                                                100

        Glycemic Index (GI) refers to how fast carbohydrates are digested and observed (raising blood glucose levels in the process) in a two-hour time frame. The formula to determine GI is quite complicated to put in blog setting. If you are truly interested the calculator can be found here. A key takeaway is that a lower GI number is digested slower and has a smaller rise in blood glucose. Think Kidney beans, carrots, or any starchy veggies. On the other hand, a higher number represents a spike in blood glucose. Digestion of glucose can either go into the muscles and later used for energy or into fat cells that turn into triglycerides. A rule of thumb pertaining towards exercise is higher GI foods before and during exercise for immediate sources of energy. In the military we use gummy bears or if your bougie use carbohydrate gels for more sustained exercises such as ruck marching. Simple enough right? In the words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend" GI does not take into account quantities of carbs consumed, how prepared or storage.  

        This is where the Glycemic Load plays a factor. GL takes portion size of a carbohydrate thus making it more of reliable factor in determining how much of a spike in blood sugar will occur. A lower number does not cause a spike in blood glucose and thus absorb slowly by the body. Raisons for example have a higher carb per serving thus having a higher GL than Strawberries. 

          How does this apply to exercise? It depends. After a lengthy aerobic style training session, the body needs carb sources to replenish glycogen used during exercise. A bowl of oatmeal with raisons would be ideal while after resistance training a more protein centric meal with lower GI would be better. Chocolate milk is a perfect example of a lower GL food to consume after resistance training.