Is Carb Loading a Myth?

Is carb loading a myth? A paper published in June has social media convinced that it is.

A comment landed on my socials this week saying exactly that. It didn't appear out of nowhere. There is a new paper doing the rounds, the headlines have picked it up and sprinted into some pretty heavy clickbait territory, and they have taken it somewhere I don't think the authors ever wanted it to go. So I'm going to tell you exactly what that paper says, what it doesn't say and how to apply it to you as an age group triathlete.

I'll walk you through the 14 studies this whole argument rests on, why only 2 of them were double blinded and the detail in the research design that changes how you should read every one of those headlines. Then I'll show you brand new data on 27 real women racing at the 2024 World Champs, which I think is the far more important number for you.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• What the June 2026 commentary actually did, and why it is not the carb loading study everyone thinks it is
• How 10,422 papers were screened down to just 14
• Why most of that research doesn't reflect how you actually race
• What happened to muscle glycogen when athletes ate enough carbohydrate
• Why I never wrote Matt Hauser a carb loading plan, and what that tells you about yours
• The World Champs food diary data on what female age groupers really ate the day before their biggest race
• The second problem with this research that nobody is talking about yet
• What I want you to do differently before your next race

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The comment that kicked this off
00:27 The paper behind the headlines, and what it actually is
02:58 From 10,422 papers down to 14
03:29 Why only two of them were double blinded
04:17 Riding with no fuel on board, and some of them fasted
05:42 The two studies the myth claim rests on
06:23 What actually happened to muscle glycogen
08:02 The one that was really a creatine study
09:33 Why I'm not calling this case closed
10:15 World Champs: only 26% hit their carb loading numbers
12:25 Train like a professional, eat like a beginner
12:48 Why Matt Hauser never needed a carb loading plan
14:34 There is a ceiling, but that doesn't mean your tank is full
15:40 The second problem nobody is talking about
16:26 Risk versus reward
17:54 What I want you to do before your next race
18:42 So, is carb loading a myth?

STUDIES MENTIONED

- Areta, J. L., [LILY: confirm the full author list from the paper before publishing]. (2026). Beyond belief? Absence of double-blinding and limited ecological validity in carbohydrate loading research. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2026-0058

- Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Schabort, E. J., St Clair Gibson, A., Mujika, I., & Noakes, T. D. (2000). Carbohydrate loading failed to improve 100-km cycling performance in a placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Applied Physiology, 88(4), 1284-1290. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2000.88.4.1284

- Tomcik, K. A., Camera, D. M., Bone, J. L., Ross, M. L., Jeacocke, N. A., Tachtsis, B., Senden, J., van Loon, L. J. C., Hawley, J. A., & Burke, L. M. (2018). Effects of creatine and carbohydrate loading on cycling time trial performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 50(1), 141-150. [https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001401

- Jones, R. O., Areta, J. L., Bennett, S., Pugh, J., & Louis, J. B. (2026). Dose-response of dietary carbohydrate intake on skeletal muscle glycogen, gastrointestinal comfort and body composition in endurance-trained individuals in simulated preparation for competition. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 36(6), e70312. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.70312

- Fortis, H. O., Whitehead, A. E., Cronin, C. J., Johnson, K. O., Shepherd, S. O., Hackney, A. C., Close, G. L., & Strauss, J. A. (2026). From intention to execution: Pre-race nutrition behaviours, influences, and performance outcomes in female endurance athletes at the IRONMAN World Championships. European Journal of Sport Science, 26(7), e70193. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsc.70193

If you want carb loading laid out properly in a way that is easy to understand, with a planner and a calculator that does all of the hard maths for you, my Carb Loading Masterclass is at dietitianapproved.com/carb-loading.

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