This is a question I get asked a lot, especially from those who regularly exercise.

Despite being aware that carbohydrates are the main fuel for exercise, many people are unaware that carbs also promote strength and endurance, delay muscle fatigue and speed up recovery resulting in fewer injuries.

Your activity level and personal training goals will largely dictate how many carbs you need each day but, as a general rule of thumb, the following applies:

🔸 Light, low intensity, exercise: 3g-5g per kilo of body weight.

🔸 Moderate, (around an hour in duration), exercise: 5g-7g per kilo of body weight.

🔸 High, (1-3 hours at moderate-high intensity), exercise: 6g-10g per kilo of body weight.

🔸 Very high, (4-5 hours at moderate-high intensity), exercise: 8g-12g per kilo of body weight.

Of course, eating the right balance of food groups for your personal training goals is important so again, as a general rule of thumb, you should also aim for:

🔸 at least 20% of overall calorie intake to come from healthy fats;

🔸 1.2g-2g of protein per kilo of body weight (in the lower end for endurance and higher end for strength training).