Fueling guide
Carb loading: what the research says
Carb loading means eating more carbohydrate for a day or two before a long event so the muscles hold more glycogen. The ACSM position statement gives 10 to 12 g per kilogram of body weight a day for 36 to 48 hours before events longer than 90 minutes.
For shorter events the same statement points to a lower amount in the day before. It is a number from a population, not a rule for you.
Your AI can turn it into a meal plan with grams for each day.
What the position statements say
Glycogen is the main fuel stored in muscle and the liver. The ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada statement says that for events over 90 minutes of sustained or intermittent exercise, 10 to 12 g per kg a day for 36 to 48 hours can raise glycogen stores.
A review by Burke and colleagues covers how carbohydrate availability before an event, during it and in recovery affects performance.
- Events longer than about 90 minutes: 10 to 12 g per kg a day for 36 to 48 hours.
- Shorter events: the day before is the point, with a carbohydrate rich day.
- Everyday training: 3 to 12 g per kg a day depending on load, from the same statement.
Why it is hard in practice
For a 70 kg athlete, 10 to 12 g per kg is 700 to 840 g of carbohydrate a day. That is a lot of food. The studies reach it with low fiber, low fat foods and liquid carbohydrate, since high fiber meals fill the stomach.
Weight may rise a little because glycogen holds water. This is a known effect in the research, not a sign of fat gain.
Before the start
Loading is one part of the day plan. The meal before the start and fuel during the event come from the same position statements. Race fuel plans for specific events put these pieces together.
In your AI
The AI you already use, with your data in Memory.fit.
- ChatGPTChatGPT plans your week, fuels your long sessions and writes it all back to Memory.fit.Set up ChatGPT
- ClaudeClaude writes your plans back to Memory.fit, and asks you before it replaces or removes something you have.Set up Claude
Grok BotGrok Bot plans and reviews from your real training, and can re-plan a week after a bad night's sleep.Set up Grok Bot
MuseMuse plans sessions from your real training and writes them into Memory.fit's Plan.Set up Muse
DotsOpenAI says a dot's background research uses your connected apps read only, so plans are written when you ask in the chat.Set up Dots- GeminiType @ in a Gemini chat and pick Memory.fit to ask about your training. Gemini asks you to allow each session it plans, and planning a whole week is not reliable yet.Set up Gemini
- GrokGrok reads your training, sleep and fuel, and can plan around them.Set up Grok
- Perplexity ComputerPerplexity Computer reads your training in Memory.fit. Whether it writes a plan back isn't checked yet.Set up Perplexity Computer
- Claude CodeClaude Code reads your training and writes the sessions it plans back to Memory.fit, asking before each change unless you allowed it.Set up Claude Code
CueYour Cue agents plan your week and write your fuel plans from your real training, sleep and recovery.Set up Cue
What to send
Copy one, send it to your AI.
“My race is in 10 days. Look at my weight and plan in Memory.fit and write daily carb targets for the two days before it, with the grams from the position stand ranges.”
Tools:
get_athleteset_day_targets“Write a meal plan in Memory.fit for the day before my race with the carbs I need, using low fiber foods I like.”
Tools:
get_athleteset_meal_plan“Check what I logged yesterday in Memory.fit and tell me how many grams of carbohydrate I still need to reach today's target.”
Tools:
get_ledgerget_day“Save in Memory.fit that big pasta dinners the night before sit well for me.”
Tools:
save_memory
Questions
In short.
The ACSM position statement gives 36 to 48 hours before the event, so about the last two days.
10 to 12 g per kg a day in the position statement, for events longer than 90 minutes.
The statements tie loading to events over 90 minutes. For shorter ones they describe a carbohydrate rich day before.
Glycogen is stored with water, so body weight can rise a little. That is a known effect in the research.
Mostly low fiber, low fat carbohydrate sources such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, juice and sports drinks.
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