tried and tested by athletes
It’s true!
Our crêpes to go have become a favorite snack among athletes involved in some of the most grueling training regimens. Imagine swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then topping it off with a 26.2-mile marathon-length run? Incredibly enough, that’s what an Ironman triathlon consists of, and we’ve been happy to support one man from California’s successful quest to complete the Ironman Santa Rosa race! Congratulations, Grant, on completing this grueling course!
As it turns out, crêpes can be quite effective when it comes to providing energy for athletic activities! And this isn’t just coming out of nowhere. In fact, there’s both science and testimony that backs this claim.
hold on a second now…can crêpes to go really be used for athletic training?
Yes!
Little did we know when we first released our crêpes two and a half years ago they would become a favorite in the nutrition and energy arsenal of one athlete’s triathlon training (and he’s spreading the word to all of his training buddies in swimming, cycling, and running). Here’s his testimony (complete with training jargon that some may not understand) after trying one for the first time:
In light of this, we thought we’d have some fun and create a simple metric to ascertain how many crêpes to go you’d need to eat to have the energy to complete several popular exercises. Consider it the great Crêpe Conversion Challenge!
where are the best events to bring a lot of crêpes?
- tennis U.S. Open (even if you don’t play)
- golf U.S. Open (especially if you don’t play)
- bowling U.S. Open (only if you don’t play)
but wait, how does crêpe energy work?
Before we dive into a roundup of popular exercises and begin to compare the number of calories in each of our crêpes to go with the number of calories burned by each exercise, it’s time for a quick biology lesson!
The moment you take a bite of a delicious crêpe to go, your body begins to break-down the present sugars. Whether it’s a chocolate crêpe, caramel crunchy crêpe, or strawberry crêpe, the 10-12 g of sugar in each product is broken down and enters the bloodstream quite rapidly. This provides you with a quick source of energy for whatever activity you’re partaking.
Once the crêpe lands in your stomach, the 18-20 g of carbohydrates in each crêpe undergo digestion. As the carbohydrate molecules are broken down, they are in turn converted into sugar molecules. Since this process of carbohydrate break-down takes longer than sugar break-down, the complex carbs-turned sugar molecules are absorbed gradually and therefore provide a sustained source of energy.
Most athletes are supremely conscious of what they put into their bodies. The absence of preservatives, artificial flavors, artificial coloring, and high fructose corn syrup in our crêpes to go provide a fundamentally healthier alternative to products that can’t say the same.
let’s lay some groundwork with nutrition facts…
How many calories are in each of our crêpes to go (this information is also available on each individual product page, under the “nutrition facts” tab)?
- Chocolate crunchy crêpe: 150 calories
- Caramel crunchy crêpe: 130 calories
- Chocolate crêpe: 150 calories
- Strawberry crêpe: 120 calories
Sugar/carbohydrate content (also available under the “nutrition facts” tab on each individual product page):
- Chocolate crunchy crêpe: 10 g sugar/18 g carbs
- Caramel crunchy crêpe: 11 g sugar/20 g carbs
- Chocolate crêpe: 12 g sugar/20 g carbs
- Strawberry crêpe: 12 g sugar/20 g carbs
what types of exercise are you interested in?
There are so many different ways to be active! We thought it would be fun to make a list of some popular exercises and activities, include the number of calories you would burn for each, and how many crêpes to go you’d have to eat in order to have sufficient energy for those activities!
DISCLAIMER: **While crêpes are quickly becoming a triathlete’s best friend, we aren’t suggesting you use crêpes as a singular or primary source of energy. Of course, a healthy and regular diet is optimal for exercise of all kinds.**
The amount of calories a person is able to burn depends on how much they weigh. With the amount of time spent and energy expended on a particular exercise being equal, people who weigh more will burn more calories.
For this article, we’ll use 180 lbs as a weight benchmark. We also averaged the number of calories in each of our crêpes to go which came out to 137.5 and then rounded up to 140 for a cleaner number.
We will measure the number of crêpes needed to complete each exercise by dividing the number of calories burned from the exercise by the average number of calories in each crêpe to go. The number of calories expended for each exercise is calculated for 60 minutes of the specific exercise.
Let’s start with the three components of a triathlon! In case you missed it above, a triathlon is an endurance competition consisting of a swimming, cycling, and running stage, typically in that order.
without further ado, the Crêpe Conversion Challenge!
- Swimming laps (freestyle) – fast: 817 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 5.8 crêpes
- Swimming laps (freestyle) – slow: 572 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.1 crêpes
- Cycling (moderate intensity, 12-13.9 mph): 654 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.7 crêpes
- Cycling (mountain biking): 695 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 5 crêpes
- Running (10 minute mile): 817 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 5.8 crêpes
And that’s your conversion for triathlon disciplines! Now to some other common exercises…
- Cycling (leisurely, <10 mph): 327 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 2.3 crêpes
- Cycling (moderately, 12-13.9 mph) – stationary: 572 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.1 crêpes
- Calisthenics – vigorous: 654 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.7 crêpes
- Weight lifting – vigorous: 490 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 3.5 crêpes
- Basketball – competitive game: 654 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.7 crêpes
- Basketball – shooting baskets: 368 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 2.6 crêpes
- Football – competitive game (flag/touch): 654 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.7 crêpes
- Golf (walking and carrying clubs): 368 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 2.6 crêpes
- Martial arts: 817 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 5.8 crêpes
- Soccer (competitive game): 817 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 5.8 crêpes
- Tennis – singles: 654 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.7 crêpes
- Tennis – doubles: 490 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 3.5 crêpes
- Wall ball: 572 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 4.1 crêpes
- Hiking: 490 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 3.5 crêpes
- Skiing: 490 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 3.5 crêpes
- Walking the dog: 245 expended calories/ 140 crêpe calories = 1.75 crêpes
So what are you waiting for?! Aren’t you excited to try out the power of crêpes to go for yourself? If the answer is yes, the first step is to visit our shop and find some crêpes. Step two is eating the crêpes. For step three, the ball is in your court!
Our crêpes to go are reshaping the crêpe industry! Learn more about how we’re making it easier to eat delicious crêpes here.
