Keto vs Carb cycling? To do or not to do....

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nicholeconrad77
nicholeconrad77 Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey guys! I’ve been hearing so many people starting this Keto diet or carb cycling... what are the advantages and Disadvantages of them... I’m not sure if I should just stick to clean eating or take really get rid of my belly fat.. maybe I should try one of these? Thoughts??

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    Oh... to lose weight, you have to eat less (fewer calories than you burn), and belly fat is just fat on your stomach. You can eat any way you want, but clean eating is so many different things that it isn't even a thing. Why you would do carb cycling, well maybe if you're a competitive athlete and need a final push to give you the edge.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Neither of them are technically a "weight loss" diet- so don't look at them as such.

    They are just methods to eating that help you manager your food and your day. But they aren't for "dieting" specifically.

    why would you want to carb cycle?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    also you mention belly fat- you can't spot reduce.
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I carb cycle - I'm doing more of a re-comp and eat/ drink the bulk of my carbs peri work out - around my training time - this includes supplementation during the work out & post training meal maybe with rice or potatoes & meat . Through out the day or non training days I'm maybe <100 gms carbs + another 100 + maybe 150 pre + post training. I have good success with it. Eastcoast Jim
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    Carb cycling tends to be more for those with certain fitness routines, like powerlifting or bodybuilding, that want to do a low carb diet to lose weight but need to refresh glycogen reserves for their workout performance. I don't see much benefit for it if you are just doing low carb or keto for weight loss purposes.
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    Carb cycling tends to be more for those with certain fitness routines, like powerlifting or bodybuilding, that want to do a low carb diet to lose weight but need to refresh glycogen reserves for their workout performance. I don't see much benefit for it if you are just doing low carb or keto for weight loss purposes.
    ...and I don't see much benefit in doing low carb or keto for weight loss purposes, unless that diet specifically helps with controlling appetite and adhering to one's calorie goal. Other than that, there's nothing magic about a low-carb/ketogenic diet. It still all comes down to calories in < calories out no matter what your chosen macro split is.

    Also, I concur that carb cycling is majoring in the minors for the vast majority of people.

    I'm not a fan of those either but if you are going to do them and do not have performance issues due to lack of carbs then carb cycling makes no sense.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,013 Member
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    nicholeconrad77 wrote: »
    Hey guys! I’ve been hearing so many people starting this Keto diet or carb cycling... what are the advantages and Disadvantages of them... I’m not sure if I should just stick to clean eating or take really get rid of my belly fat.. maybe I should try one of these? Thoughts??

    I've never heard of carb cycling for weight loss, only for fitness goals or athletes.

    The advantage of keto is that if you are satiated by fat and not by carbs, it makes it easier to stay at your calorie goal. I've never done keto, so I'm sure there are disadvantages I'm not aware of, but the main one for me is that I feel better when I eat carbs and almost eliminating them would make me sad.

    You might want to check out this thread if your primary concern is your stomach:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1

    I actually didn't eat clean, keto, or anything else. Just logged my food, stuck to my calorie goal, and started getting more steps. Personally for me I found increasing the fiber and protein in my diet was the key, but everyone's different - you have to play around and figure out what foods work for you. Good luck!
  • nicholeconrad77
    nicholeconrad77 Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks everyone! I love hearing all views!
  • scottyaus2732
    scottyaus2732 Posts: 67 Member
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    Old thread but I have had amazing results with a cyclic keto diet when I was in the Army. It was coupled with an intense weight lifting program as well.

    Well some 15 years later I am having another crack. No longer in the Army and 15 years older and 30 years fatter. But let’s see how this goes. I hope to see some more opinions, experiences in here.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
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    scottyaus2732 wrote: »
    Old thread but I have had amazing results with a cyclic keto diet when I was in the Army. It was coupled with an intense weight lifting program as well.

    Well some 15 years later I am having another crack. No longer in the Army and 15 years older and 30 years fatter. But let’s see how this goes. I hope to see some more opinions, experiences in here.

    I've never keto'd or carb cycled, but I was in the military.

    I had great weight loss results when I was in Boot Camp, due to food only being available three times a day, having to be consumed quickly, having to be consumed with two glasses of water, and being terrible. Plus I was bored at night, so ran. And of course we ran during the day, and marched everywhere. This was the Air Force, which had the least physical components and requirements.

    Fast forward to Okinawa, where the food was MUCH better (not referring to chow hall food, but the many varied restaurants on and off base), coupled with alcohol, and I gained it all back.

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