Carb cycling problems

amb961

Hi everyone, I would value some opinions please if anyone has time.

I've been low carb for two years, a year in maintainance, gained half a stone due to meds, that I've been unable to shift and have learned to live with that. (Was looking a but thin tbh).

Started carb cycling eleven weeks ago to maintain and tone up (I run and do kettlebell workouts), seems to be working, but have been having the most terrible binges the last few weeks. So am starting to put on weight and feel pretty low in general...urg. I feel disgusting tonight, just when I start feeling better after an bad episode the week before last, a binge got the better of me tonight.

I have always counted calories anyway, so am wondering if it's just the restriction of the different days driving me nuts. I started the carb cycling because I thought it would ease the constant restriction of low carb (I was keto five days a week then around 100 over two days) and I was really missing oatmeal etc. But actually I guess I've just added another layer of restriction, the binges have all been on high carb days in the evening, panic eating things I know I can't eat the next day.

So....i'm wondering if it's just time to just count my calories and eat whatever the hell I want within those?! Not to pay such detailed notice to macros and not mixing fat and carbs etc? This is a BIG departure for me after so many years and would be grateful for any support or advice! X

janejellyroll

If you think it would be helpful to you to focus less on limiting carbohydrates, I think it would be worth a try. I know that I personally don't do well when I try to limit too much -- it just makes me focus on what I "shouldn't" have.

amb961

Another reason I started carb cycling was because I started running in March, and started doing distances at then start of the summer.loke four or five miles three times a week and found o had no energy. The carb cycling did help with this.

deannalfisher

If you've added carbs back into weight, water weight gain is expected because they hold more water

Suzanne_the_foot_lady

I just stay within my calorie limit, I don't bother about the rest particularly, I like carb laden food and don't feel satisfied if I don't eat them, which makes me want to eat more, even if I'm not hungry. Just eat a sensible amount of what you fancy, don't cut them out until you binge on them.

JoLightensUp

thechiopodist wrote: »

I just stay within my calorie limit, I don't bother about the rest particularly, I like carb laden food and don't feel satisfied if I don't eat them, which makes me want to eat more, even if I'm not hungry. Just eat a sensible amount of what you fancy, don't cut them out until you binge on them.

I agree with this. Sounds like just counting calories would be definitely worth trying.

I am like thechipodist: I don't feel satisfied without carbs. If I cut carbs, I end up with ridiculous cravings. Low carb obviously works for some, but is a recipe for disaster for me!

Looking at my macro breakdown on MFP, about half my diet is carbs. As well as fruit and vegies, I include mostly high-fibre, low-gi carbs: oats, barley wraps, low gi/grainy bread, high-fibre pasta, beans etc. I find I am a lot less hungry and have less cravings when I include these. My husband is diabetic, so we usually plan main meals to include these types of carbs anyway.

One thing I have found has really helped me is being flexible with my calories. If I am hungrier one day, I eat more. If I am not so hungry another day, I eat less. It sounds ridiculously obvious to me now as I write this, but it is something I have had to re-learn. Part of this has been learning to recognise true hunger as opposed to boredom or stress-eating etc. My goal (given by MFP) is 1200 plus exercise calories, but I calculated my maintenance calories and figure if some days I am over 1200 but still under maintenance then I will be still losing, albeit more slowly. But still losing - so who cares! Every now and then I will be over maintenance as well - usually when dining out or a special occasion. I am still losing steadily at about 0.5kg (1 pound) a week.

ahoy_m8

It's good to try new things, experiment a bit to see what works for you. 11 weeks is a good amount of time to give something a go. It sounds like, after 11 weeks, carb cycling doesn't work that great for you. IMHO, I think it's hard to find the right cycle balance and it's easy to do "wrong." I end up binging when I try it, too.

Maybe try something different? E.g. equal calories from macros vs low carb for energy? I run 4mi 6x/week, and my energy level depends on what (how much) I ate the day before (vs same day). You definitely want to fuel your runs! Good luck, OP.

amb961

Thank you for all the responses! I appreciate it. I spent yesterday picking myself up post binge (and eating sensibly). Think I'm going to stick with my calories and not worry about macros too much for a few weeks. I need to get over this bout of binging, that is priority number one at the moment and dusting myself off and heading back to carb cycling each time doesn't seem to be working! I don't think I will weigh for a few weeks either, just stick to the cals but ease up on the rules and restrictions a bit. X

andysport1

@amb961 look into ketosis. Fb pages ketogains & ketoathlete.

Good luck

amusedmonkey

Since you don't have experience with living with a less restricted diet, the learning curve is steep. You have a few options:

- Go back to your old diet and accept that you will have to live with it.
- Don't carb cycle, increase carbs very gradually to discover your sweet spot. Carb cycling in your case is too abrupt of a change and you are not used to eating normally so this strategy can break apart.
- Learn from scratch how to eat by just eating what you feel is a sensible happy diet (no deliberate overeating or deliberate restrictions, carbs or calories), track everything, don't limit anything, just observe. You may gain a little bit of weight but it's worth it. After that start looking at the trends of what drives your calories up and try out strategies to combat these very specific trends over time until you have a collection of strategies and potential habits that make weight management easier and more pleasant for you. This is the most involved process which takes time, and is best overtaken during weight loss to make you ready for maintenance living a less restricted life, but you don't have that luxury since you're done with weight loss. You will have to re-learn how to eat in a less restrictive way without eating too many calories as if you know nothing about weight management, basically.