Carb Cycling... how to do it and does it work?

crystalfisher89

After coming back from my achilles tendon sprain (I had gained 6lbs back during the time that I couldn't do much- shoulda been lifting weights while waiting for it to heal, but at that point I was CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO)... I've now lost 4lbs of my weight gain from my gain while healing... but it's been two months the scale budged and the tape measure hasn't moved in a month either... Trying to figure out tweaks to my diet or ways to shock my system into triggering fat burn (it's there... on my hips and upper thighs). I'm trying to lower my body fat from 23% down to 20%.

I've read a bit about carb cycling. Basically doing 2 days of no carb, 3 days low carb, and 2 days high carb. What I've read is the days should be intermixed and don't do 2 days of no carb in a row, but instead do no carb days on the one rest day (or two if you take two) and on a low exercise day. 3 days of low carb on cardio days, and high carb days on days that you strength train.

What are your thoughts? How should it be done, and most importantly, does it work to trigger fat burning? This won't screw up my metabolism will it after I decide to come off of the carb cycling will it? or will I need to make this a lifestyle eating change?

In case you wanted this information, this is my workout routine: 2 days of strength training and abs, 3 days of cardio (interval running, abs, elliptical, turbo kickboxing), and one long mileage run (7-9 miles at the moment).

Feel free to gander at my diary (Friday and Saturday were out of the norm, but my typical eating habits are displayed on M-Th pretty well).

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

silken555

I did it for 3 months. Mine was Chris Powell's way of doing it. However, it just wasn't sustainable for me. The no carb days were a ***** for me to get food in (they always ended up being the EXACT same things I was eating) and I was always hungry and tired. In terms of weight loss, sure, I lost weight. But I've lost more, faster just doing my TDEE.

When I finally decided it wasn't for me, I slowly started adding carbs back in on the no carb days. I had been told that just dumping carbs back in as before could cause a bit of gain back. Going slowly helped and I never regained.

So, it MIGHT help kick start you, but I don't think it would be effective if you just did it short term. I only lost a large amount of weight for the first week...after that it was fairly eh...between 0.5 and 1lb and sometimes nothing at all.

Hope this helps.

hookilau

I keep hearing about people doing this and all I can think of is why o why? :laugh:

Not because I think it's silly, but because I do Keto & a couple of times I'd accidentally fallen victim to 'carb creep' while not counting calories or keeping track of macros. This meant going through that weird sleepy phase, the funky headaches, body aches & overall misery.

I'm interested to hear how and what the benefits are that would drive a person to carb cycle :ohwell:

crystalfisher89

Yeah, I'm using the TDEE method as well. I've found it's done a great job of maintaining the weight. When I do lose, it's VERY slow, but I guess when it comes off slowly, that's a good thing because usually that means it'll stay off longer too assuming I don't start eating crap again.

Someone suggested the carb cycling to me and was telling me all the benefits and I thought they were Bats&#* crazy too... but my curiosity was peeked so that's why I asked. When these fad diets come around sometimes I like to ask about them to get an idea. I won't even touch Keto, I'm human and should enjoy the things I eat to a point.

Thanks for your thoughts.

hookilau

Yeah, I'm using the TDEE method as well. I've found it's done a great job of maintaining the weight. When I do lose, it's VERY slow, but I guess when it comes off slowly, that's a good thing because usually that means it'll stay off longer too assuming I don't start eating crap again.

Someone suggested the carb cycling to me and was telling me all the benefits and I thought they were Bats&#* crazy too... but my curiosity was peeked so that's why I asked. When these fad diets come around sometimes I like to ask about them to get an idea. I won't even touch Keto, I'm human and should enjoy the things I eat to a point.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Yanno, now that I think of it, if I recall correctly, carb cycling entails not going really low on carbs when at the bottom of a cycle. Since my lifestyle is keto, if I did that, I'd be in misery until adapted to whichever form of fuel my body had most available, so misery would certainly ensue during changeovers. -However, if doing 100-150 g of carbs for the low days & cycling up to 300g on high days may not produce the effects associated with carb flu.

I'm human too, and I also have the right to enjoy the foods I eat to a point, however, I have T2D. :blushing:

My carbs can only come from veggies which usually has me netting less than 30g of carbs per day. A diet like mine (no starch or sugar) isn't easy, but it's not hard either knowing what the future holds for me.

I'm only 44 yrs old and though I've been dealt this genetic hand, with keto, I easily and regularly get blood sugar values that normal people have.

This means that I stand the same chances folks like you have, for developing heart disease, kidney disease, artherosclerosis, ocular damage, etc. :drinker: