Carb Cycling

oliverwnc

Hi there,

Long time user of the site but first time in the forums but it occurred to me that you would probably be able to help. Things are going quite well and I'm managing to get that ideal situation of building muscle while losing fat. I'm following the basics and that's fine.

You will have heard it before but it's just shedding that last little bit of body fat and getting the percentage down really low. One of the things you hear about a lot is carb cycling and I fully understand the principle of keeping the metabolism high and not letting the body enter "starvation mode" but I'm just not 100% sure of how to implement it.

My normal goal is around 230g carbs per day. Maybe this is all entirely wrong so please correct me but, as I understand it, I want to consume about that amount of carbohydrates on a cycle but on different days. I think you go lower for a bit and then hit a high number one day just to perk up the metabolism, right?

So does that mean I should just do, say, 200g Monday-Wednesday, 290g Thurdsay, 200g Friday-Sunday, 290g Monday and so on, or does it mean more of a discrepancy up and down or what? I can't find a clear description online.

One more thing I should add. I am a simple creature and, although it is occasionally mentioned, I just can't do no carb days. If I don't have some oats when I wake up and a couple of other top ups, I will not perform well that day in any respect.

Any advice would be much appreciated. To thank you, I'll head over to the recipe board and post up a couple of my favourites. Seems fair!

Shutterbuggg

I have not implemented it but I am reading up on it now. Hope this helps:

http://heidipowell.net/2713/carb-cycling-101/

Leonidas_meets_Spartacus

Starting something with I can't do this that is a recipe for failure.

sarahbrown1015

I found the book Chris Powell wrote very helpful and simple to understand.

Angela26point2finisher

Chris and Heidi Powell also have an app that you can download, and it gives you suggestions on what to eat on the different days, takes all the guess work out of it. I really like it. There's also a short motivational video to watch that comes every morning. It's called Vemma Bode.