Carb Nite Solution to kickstart weight loss after a plateau

arcadia1983

I've been in the induction phase of Atkins ( less than 20g carbs per day) for a month now. Lost 18 pounds in the first 20 days, now i've been stuck for 10 days.
I read good things here and there about the Carb Nite Solution, which seems to me like a really low carb diet as well (maybe a bit more than 20g of carbs per day, but not so much more) and I just need to get some details straight to understand and not undo the work I've done so far

1- is is called "night" because the carbs intake has to be in the evening or is it just a whole day?
If it's an evening thing (so last part of the day) how long before going to bed? 4 hours? 6 hours?
2- assuming it's not just a binge, how many grams of carbs is allowed on the "carb nite" then?
3- does it just have to be carbs or is it true "the sugary the better" like instead of going rice or pasta go full throttle donut for insulin response reasons?

I seem to find a lot of "inspirational talking" about this Carb Nite Solution thing but no one talks about plain simple technical details, so any help on this would be much appreciated.

yarwell

http://carbnite.com/ buy the book ?

Seems to be eating a box of carbage one night a week or the like

arcadia1983

I did and even there the kind of food and the amount you can eat con "Carb Nite" is not discussed specifically. There are list of food for the low carb days but nothing on the Carb Nite more than generally "you can eat donuts or a slice of cheesecake" so nothing specific about amounts or specific foods to have or avoid. That's where my concern came from.

arcadia1983

ok, just to update, I had a carb nite on Thursday. Ate a pizza and some ice cream.
Went back into less than 15carbs a day on friday morning, so eggs, bacon, spinach and such.
This morning (Sunday) I am still up almost 2kgs.
And I don't like it one bit. How am I supposed to have kick started my weight loss again if 3 days in again I just got 2 extra kilos? According to the book I should have another "carb nite" on Thursday but if things are really good and I am lucky maybe by thursday I will have lost these 2kg the carb nite actually put on me! So what's the point in loosing a little that you put back every week again anyway on carb nite???

yarwell

The concept is flawed and I think you've proved it.

If you're going to do low carb eating it's better to just stick to it.

123losinforme

I have started this Carb nite solution..... I lost 14 pounds in 9 days...I am on day 10 of the induction and I am supposed to eat carbs tonight but I am nervous about the carbs now... I will update to see if I gained any but I am planning on not going overboard because I am feeling GREAT!!!! Any advice?

yarwell

I have started this Carb nite solution..... I lost 14 pounds in 9 days...I am on day 10 of the induction and I am supposed to eat carbs tonight but I am nervous about the carbs now... I will update to see if I gained any but I am planning on not going overboard because I am feeling GREAT!!!! Any advice?

Disclaimer: I haven't read the book.

A fair bit of the 14 pounds will be water weight from switching to low carb eating - reduced glycogen stores and less retention of sodium. Eating carbs is likely to put that part back on, so I wouldn't. Hopefully the book explains this and how it is supposed to work, ??

Mistizoom

Looks like I'm too late, but why would you do this? You have had a phenomenal loss in a short period of time. Your body may need to take a while to catch up. Just stick with the plan and the pounds or inches will come off. I've lost all my weight eating low carb and the few times I have gone off plan it has derailed me for at least two weeks, if not longer.

chani8

I agree with Mistizoom.

I'll add my two cents, in that it's all about calories. When my family first started low carbing, we had trouble eating enough. Then we got good at it, and started eating too much. So we started tracking calories. Maybe some people don't need to count calories on a low carb diet, but we did, and if you're stalling, then maybe you're simply eating too much.

123losinforme

I agree with Mistizoom.

I'll add my two cents, in that it's all about calories. When my family first started low carbing, we had trouble eating enough. Then we got good at it, and started eating too much. So we started tracking calories. Maybe some people don't need to count calories on a low carb diet, but we did, and if you're stalling, then maybe you're simply eating too much.

Well that's the point I'm not stalling... I've eaten well above my calorie limit so I know calories don't matter when it comes to low carb... it's just I am supposed to eat carbs to prevent losing muscle and to keep the weight loss going steady... I'm just nervous about gaining much back..

Thanks to the posts... I do realize it's mostly water weight.. but I can't deny I've gone down one full pant size either.. I just feel lighter!

I'm really struggling on wanting to go above the 30 carbs tonight. I feel like what Mistizoom said, why blow it...

Thanks everyone! Still deciding what to do...

123losinforme

I've been in the induction phase of Atkins ( less than 20g carbs per day) for a month now. Lost 18 pounds in the first 20 days, now i've been stuck for 10 days.
I read good things here and there about the Carb Nite Solution, which seems to me like a really low carb diet as well (maybe a bit more than 20g of carbs per day, but not so much more) and I just need to get some details straight to understand and not undo the work I've done so far

1- is is called "night" because the carbs intake has to be in the evening or is it just a whole day?
If it's an evening thing (so last part of the day) how long before going to bed? 4 hours? 6 hours?
2- assuming it's not just a binge, how many grams of carbs is allowed on the "carb nite" then?
3- does it just have to be carbs or is it true "the sugary the better" like instead of going rice or pasta go full throttle donut for insulin response reasons?

I seem to find a lot of "inspirational talking" about this Carb Nite Solution thing but no one talks about plain simple technical details, so any help on this would be much appreciated.

I'm sorry I didn't answer this first! First off it's pretty simple... look up carb loading, it's basically the same thing. 1. eat no more than 30 net carbs a day, try to stay away from sugar alchols, and eat this way for 10 days. On the 10th night after you've eaten low carb all day start carb loading from 6pm till 12am...He recommends not drinking sugary drinks but eat any carb you want, potatoes, pizza, cake, cookies etc.... then the next morning start on your ultra low carb again for 5 days on the 5th night you do it again...then repeat the pattern. You can go past 5 days if you want but you can't go any sooner with the carbs before the 5th night... Make sense? The low carb is supposed to jump start the fat burning and get you into ketosis and the carbs are supposed to trick your body into burning fat not muscle... I'm on day 10, carb tonight but again, nervous because I'm so proud of those 14 pounds I've lost!

hope this helps

123losinforme

I've been in the induction phase of Atkins ( less than 20g carbs per day) for a month now. Lost 18 pounds in the first 20 days, now i've been stuck for 10 days.
I read good things here and there about the Carb Nite Solution, which seems to me like a really low carb diet as well (maybe a bit more than 20g of carbs per day, but not so much more) and I just need to get some details straight to understand and not undo the work I've done so far

1- is is called "night" because the carbs intake has to be in the evening or is it just a whole day?
If it's an evening thing (so last part of the day) how long before going to bed? 4 hours? 6 hours?
2- assuming it's not just a binge, how many grams of carbs is allowed on the "carb nite" then?
3- does it just have to be carbs or is it true "the sugary the better" like instead of going rice or pasta go full throttle donut for insulin response reasons?

I seem to find a lot of "inspirational talking" about this Carb Nite Solution thing but no one talks about plain simple technical details, so any help on this would be much appreciated.

I'm sorry I didn't answer this first! First off it's pretty simple... look up carb loading, it's basically the same thing. 1. eat no more than 30 net carbs a day, try to stay away from sugar alchols, and eat this way for 10 days. On the 10th night after you've eaten low carb all day start carb loading from 6pm till 12am...He recommends not drinking sugary drinks but eat any carb you want, potatoes, pizza, cake, cookies etc.... then the next morning start on your ultra low carb again for 5 days on the 5th night you do it again...then repeat the pattern. You can go past 5 days if you want but you can't go any sooner with the carbs before the 5th night... Make sense? The low carb is supposed to jump start the fat burning and get you into ketosis and the carbs are supposed to trick your body into burning fat not muscle... I'm on day 10, carb tonight but again, nervous because I'm so proud of those 14 pounds I've lost!

hope this helps

yarwell

The low carb is supposed to jump start the fat burning and get you into ketosis and the carbs are supposed to trick your body into burning fat not muscle

Eating carbs tricks your body into burning those carbs and storing any excess, having reduced fat burning accordingly, from what I read.

KateK8LoseW8

AFAIK, the carb nite solution is mostly used by people who are already pretty lean and are actively building muscle, or trying to recomp. It's not so effective as a weight loss program. But hey, if you lose weight that way, good for you. I just wouldn't mess with what's already working for you.

acpgee

A fair bit of the 14 pounds will be water weight from switching to low carb eating - reduced glycogen stores and less retention of sodium. Eating carbs is likely to put that part back on, so I wouldn't. Hopefully the book explains this and how it is supposed to work, ??

Nice explanation here, if the book doesn't explain it

http://justinowings.com/understanding-bodyweight-and-glycogen-de/

arcadia1983

Cheers for the input. I am trying to pay attention to calories as well now but I can tell in the first months I was shedding calories really didn't count. Because I was making let's say handmade meat balls (cause ready made ones almost always has bread or potatoes in them) and I could even get to 3k calories per day easily, and still drop weight.
I am now tryint to stay under 1100 calories per day (did in the last 10 days before carb nite) nothing changed still so I am not sure how much calories actually affect me.

I know I am insulin resistant and having diabetes on both my parents' sides I guess it makes sense low carb is the first thing that actually worked on me. I just don't understand why it stopped even if I kept being good.
And I fell like saying that no. Carb nite did not kickstart my weight loss after the plateau. I am definitely still there and now I just have 4 more lbs to lose...

carlge

I have lost 20 lbs in the last year by just reducing my calorie intake to 1200 and doing 30-45 minutes of cardio every day. But for the past few months, I haven't lost any more weight and even gained a few and my weight fluctuated. So two weeks ago I started the Carb Nite Solution diet. I read about it in a magazine that said "lose 14 lbs in 7 days!" I knew that was not a typical result and I was not expecting those kinds of results. I just wanted any result. It was really hard at first because I love bread and pasta, but I stuck to it, lost 4 lbs, had my first carb nite, and then I got discouraged because I gained a little back. But I got back on the low carb, and I feel great. Now, 14 days after starting the diet, I've lost a total of 6 lbs. That's a lot for me! It's always been difficult for me to lose weight, I've been chubby my whole life. But I'm going to stick with this diet for a while and see what happens. I'm still doing my cardio daily, I'm sure that helps.

I do have one complaint though, don't do this if you suffer from constipation. I have never been constipated in my life... until now. I hate the feeling,

Another thing that's very discouraging is that while I'm feeling so deprived of my favorite foods, my boyfriend is eating pizza and drinking beer regularly, but just because I'm on a diet, he'll eat a salad once a week, and still lose double what I've lost. WTF? I guess the diet is not to blame for that...

ulvmeto

Carb nite keeps you from plateauing. I've been on this for 3 months with 40 lbs off and inches. This is more successful than Atkins. If you haven't read the book then you won't understand the physics behind Carbnite. What happens on carbnite is the body is shocked by the Carb overloading your body turns up the heat and burns up the carbs before the carbs have time to turn into fat. Of course you may gain from water and increase in food consumption. I love seeing my body transform into a leaner me.:):wink:

KathHarding75

I dont know anything about this solution but what worked for me was to have some time off. One week was enough. I ate carbs during that week. Stopped cardio/weights. When I started again on the carb restricted diet and cardio/weights routine 5-7 days per week I lost an additional 4 kg.

KathHarding75

Yes it could also be a case of eating too much.

ND_Figgzie

Carb nite keeps you from plateauing. I've been on this for 3 months with 40 lbs off and inches. This is more successful than Atkins. If you haven't read the book then you won't understand the physics behind Carbnite. What happens on carbnite is the body is shocked by the Carb overloading your body turns up the heat and burns up the carbs before the carbs have time to turn into fat. Of course you may gain from water and increase in food consumption. I love seeing my body transform into a leaner me.:):wink:

Finally, someone who actually read the Carb Nite book and isn't trying to put their own slant on it!!!! Don't try to re-invent the wheel, people. Do it as it's laid out and stop trying to change it to suit your needs.

ND_Figgzie

AFAIK, the carb nite solution is mostly used by people who are already pretty lean and are actively building muscle, or trying to recomp. It's not so effective as a weight loss program. But hey, if you lose weight that way, good for you. I just wouldn't mess with what's already working for you.

It's a fat loss program. It states specifically that it is a fat loss program. If you lose fat then of course you will lose weight but this program is for people who can handle losing 1-2 pounds a week the right way which is preserving lean muscle. It takes time.

sungrrl

I have been doing a carb cycling diet for a few months now, which includes one "carb nite" every 2 weeks. I won't go into the science behind carb cycling, but I will say that as a female I have to keep my carb night LOW FAT. While doing the no carb and low carb portion of my carb cycling I eat high fat, but during that evening where I indulge in carbs, they have to be low fat. I also try to keep my calories around 1300 for the day and make sure to do weight training on the day of my carb night. If anyone wants more info, feel free to add me and/or message me!

BellaReina617

I have been doing a carb cycling diet for a few months now, which includes one "carb nite" every 2 weeks. I won't go into the science behind carb cycling, but I will say that as a female I have to keep my carb night LOW FAT. While doing the no carb and low carb portion of my carb cycling I eat high fat, but during that evening where I indulge in carbs, they have to be low fat. I also try to keep my calories around 1300 for the day and make sure to do weight training on the day of my carb night. If anyone wants more info, feel free to add me and/or message me!

I'm gonna have to try this because I'm seeing very slow progress on Carb Nite

gondive

I've not yet bought the book (probably this week) but I've been reading A LOT online. I've been on this basic program for 6 days now and have lost 5 lbs. Not sure about having a carb nite tonight or having to wait until next weekend, any thoughts / comments would be great.

thanks.

chase8oliver

Carb Nite was designed to essentially help create a more sustainable way of dieting. John Kiefer (the creator) had previously done just about every kind of nutrition program as a fitness competitor. He was tired of the many "old school" approaches that MOST people can't sustain for a very long time. There's only so many times a person can eat tilapia, chicken breast, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. (But hey, if you can eat limited food options, more power to ya.) Essentially, Carb Nite teaches your body how to use fat as its' source of fuel. For women, they have a smaller time frame of burning fat compared to men after a workout. This is meant to help aide the process. (Men use Carb Nite too by the way.) Carb Nite gives you a much, much larger range of food options to choose from. Almost any source of protein and various fat options are suggested. (I'm talking pork shoulder, rib eye, chicken thighs, bacon, avocado, etc.) You tell me how many unsustainable fa diets out there will allow a person to eat bacon on a regular basis and have a factual, scientific explanation as to why it's beneficial. As a fitness trainer, this is something I recommend to clients having trouble with their nutrition planning. The BIGGEST issue I see clients having trouble with is their carb intake compared to solid protein, and fat intake. From my experience, women LOVE carbs and sugar (fruit, baked goods, juice), so this helps them get on track. Once a week you are able to have a "Carb Nite" so you can enjoy your burgers with white bread, white rice, pizza, etc. People sometimes call this a "cheat day," but really, it's to keep your body functioning properly as it helps regulate insulin levels. THE KEY IS TO NOT EAT (as Kiefer puts it), LIKE A FAT KID. So, when your Carb Nite comes around don't go eating everything you missed out on from the previous days. Folks make this mistake and say, "Hey! This doesn't work! I got bigger!" Well, uh, DUH! What? You think your body is going to burn all that up just because you had a low gram count of carbs the last few days?? Come on folks. You can't out exercise a bad diet. Just doesn't work. Anyways, Kiefer has another program called CARB BACKLOADING which allows you to have carbs every night. It works similarly to Carb Nite. Except this is usually meant to help those who are already fit and have a little lower body fat percentage. Let me make this clear: DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. Buy the online book, and decide if this is something for you. Although I gotta tell ya, every person I know who tried doing a no carb diet, or Paleo, or Atkins, don't stick with it for too long because of limitations. In my opinion, Carb Nite and Carb Backloading are as close to "eating what you want" as you're gonna get while attaining a fitter body. Just my two cents and opinion. Hope this helps

KimRojas8352

I've just started the CNS and my carb nite is this Thursday. I've read quite a few posts about how women can't just indulge in whatever they want like men can do. So, when you kept your carb nite low fat, you were ok? Any suggestions on what to eat that night? Thanks so much!!!

oddyogi

I have been doing a carb cycling diet for a few months now, which includes one "carb nite" every 2 weeks. I won't go into the science behind carb cycling, but I will say that as a female I have to keep my carb night LOW FAT. While doing the no carb and low carb portion of my carb cycling I eat high fat, but during that evening where I indulge in carbs, they have to be low fat. I also try to keep my calories around 1300 for the day and make sure to do weight training on the day of my carb night. If anyone wants more info, feel free to add me and/or message me!

YES. Keifer even states in his books and posts that the carb nite has to be low fat. So if you only eat pizza, ice cream, etc., (read: carbs with fats in them) then it won't work right. you need to stick to high carb low fat carbs, i.e. rice, potatoes, donuts, turnovers. I believe he says if you would like to have a treat with fat in them, you wait until later in the night, due to the length of time it takes to absorb fat compared to the quick insulin spike of the carbs.

UsedToBeHusky

I seem to find a lot of "inspirational talking" about this Carb Nite Solution thing but no one talks about plain simple technical details, so any help on this would be much appreciated.

That's because it is a complete scam without any real science to back it up.

I know that isn't the answer you were looking for with this post, but this is the help I have to offer. Allowing yourself to be fooled by marketing schemes allows you to build up false hope and continue on the treacherous path of unsustainable weight loss and yo-yo dieting.

lrmall01

Interesting read regarding Carb Nite and women. I believe the OP was female so this might help with troubleshooting.

http://athlete.io/5302/kiefer-qa-the-carb-nite-solution-for-women/

Update:

Sadly just noticed this was a zombie thread. In case the OP or anyone else cares, here's my $0.02 regarding the original questions.

1- is is called "night" because the carbs intake has to be in the evening or is it just a whole day?
If it's an evening thing (so last part of the day) how long before going to bed? 4 hours? 6 hours?
2- assuming it's not just a binge, how many grams of carbs is allowed on the "carb nite" then?
3- does it just have to be carbs or is it true "the sugary the better" like instead of going rice or pasta go full throttle donut for insulin response reasons?

1 - It is called a "night" because it is a pretty short - like 4 hours - so you can't go too crazy. Also probably a little catchy marketing as well, but it should be a single meal and perhaps dessert. It is not free reign to stuff your face all day.
2 - I don't think he specifies, as it might be a little different for everyone. I'd say start small and build up from there.
3 - You are trying to create an insulin spike so you want to go for foods that are primarily carbs. Avoid foods that are carbs and fats. I think the link above discusses this.

Good luck!

justemailemma

Stick to complex carbs and avoid refined sugar (i.e. ice cream) like the plague on your carb load. Whatever you increase should come off and then some a few days later. I've been doing this for several years with a lot of success. My "cheat meal" is equal to 150 g carbs and a total caloric intake of 2,000 for the day. All other days is 1,400 calories and 50-100 grams of net carbs to maintain. To lose, I stick to a 1,200 calories, 30-50 net carbs per day diet.