Your needs for carbohydrates are influenced by a number of variables, including your age, gender, degree of exercise, general health objectives, and metabolism.
According to the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, carbohydrates should make up 45%–65% of your daily caloric intake. As a result, if you consume, let's say, 2,000 calories per day, 900 to 1,300 of those calories, or 225 to 325 grams, should be from carbohydrates.
Currently, 130 grams of carbs should be consumed daily, or RDA. That sum encompasses the amount your brain and liver require for proper functioning, plus a bit extra for your muscles and safety, and it serves as the least rather than the ideal daily consumption.
However, once you start an exercise regimen, your demands start to fluctuate greatly. This is due to the fact that during intense activity, carbohydrates—both those circulating through your circulation as glucose and those stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen—provide around 80% of your energy.
According to Donald K. Layman, retired professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois, your body burns through about 60 grams of carbs per hour when you engage in vigorous activity.
Additionally, supplementing with carbohydrates can greatly enhance the results of high-intensity interval training, according studies reported in Sports Medicine. Better performances also result in more calorie burn.
Your body will save any remaining carbohydrates for your brain if you don't eat enough to fulfill both your fundamental biological demands and those required to power your workout. Your workout could feel tougher as a consequence, and you might actually do worse.
According to Layman, those who are aiming to lose weight and are included regular exercise in their plan may be allowed to raise their carbohydrate consumption over the RDA. He thinks you may add about 60 grams of carbs per hour of activity and still lose weight "if you go to the gym regularly and stay pretty active."