Everybody who trains at a high level and needs to get the most out of his or her training will immediately notice when your carbohydrates intake is lacking: you will feel exhausted quickly and experience lower energy levels. The reason for this is that your body can only use glucose as fuel.
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It is relatively easy to convert carbohydrates into glucose but turning proteins or fats into glucose is more difficult, will cost more energy, and will take longer. When you do sports at a high level or for extended periods of time the available glucose will soon be depleted, especially when you limit your carbohydrates intake, and your body needs to start converting protein and fats into glucose. Because you use the energy quicker than your body can produce it you will feel exhausted and tired.
When the quality of your training has the highest priority you will need to make sure you have ample amounts of glucose available to perform at your best by eating enough carbohydrates. The diet for athletes will therefore be built around carbohydrates intake which is the most important macronutrient for them.
The table below gives ranges of carbohydrates intake based on the intensity of your training. A high level of activity means about 3 hours of training a day, and moderate activity 1-2 hours per day. The intense activity level is preserved for people who train well over 3 hours a day.
These recommended levels of carbohydrates intake in combination with the earlier recommended levels of protein and fat intake will most likely result in a total calorie intake well above the amount you calculated earlier. For athletes the sequence of determining the intake of macronutrients is therefore switched around where you first calculate the necessary carbohydrates intake followed by the intake of proteins and fats.
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