Low Energy on Carb Cycling

jamie31

Has anyone out there done Carb Cycling and felt like they didnt have enough energy to workout??? What did you do to stop this? I dont really want to add carbs just to workout because my body holds on to carbs but is there a certain combination of food that I can eat before workouts to give me energy??

Meganne1982

I've neverf done "carb cycling", but since I cut waaaayyy back on carbs from an already lower carb diet I have CRAZY amounts of energy, which I did not expect!

RMinVA

I am playing around with it now. My plan is to "split" my workouts. Do 2 30-min sessions instead of one 60 min session. Fairly easy some days since half an hour of that is weights. Haven't quite got the ball rolling, but have been able to do my shorter 2 mile runs w/no problems. My first big hurdle will be this weekend...going for a long run, so we'll see how it goes.

It does take a bit of a time to adapt, and it helps that the plan I am using allows for 2 pieces of fruit and 2 6 oz servings of yogurt a day. All refined carbs, beans, starchy veg, wheat, etc. are gone for 17 days though.

Teeeravis

I'm doing carb cycling right now, the low days are sooooooo rough, especially as a student and working part time. I don't even bother trying to work out. Staying alive is enough of a workout :P. That said, I plan my "high carb" days as intense workout days to compensate. The results have been pretty favorable, so I'm not to worried about a day or two off per week. It's just not doable in my experience.

RMinVA

I'm almost a full week into it now and I feel great!! I've been a bit off kilter w/my exercise for various reasons, so I am not sure about the complete impact yet. But from what I understand if you given it time, your body will adapt.

sara_xo

The Best Results are as follows:

High Carb Days

These days raise the body's insulin levels, fill glycogen stores, keep the metabolism burning efficiently, and stave off muscle catabolism. Since insulin levels are elevated all day on these days, cardio is typically not done (insulin inhibits fat-burning).

Medium Carb Days

These days are the "in-between" ones that allow for fat burning without dropping carbs too low. These days are good for both weight training and cardio.

Low Carb Days

These days are the heavy duty "fat burning days." They keep insulin levels low enough to allow for maximum fat burning while retaining muscle. These are great days to really push the cardio (even double sessions if necessary) as well as training.



Read this article if you don't believe me.

http://figureathlete.t-nation.com/free_online_article/diet_and_nutrition/cutting_edge_carb_cycling_for_fat_loss

Shawnalee0703

I am currently carb cycling... Low days are 130g ish carbs (i shoot for that anyway), 150g protein, high fat. and every fifth day I eat HIGH 250g+++ carbs, 150g protein and lower fat (or try to). this is at 1675cal perday. I have lost 8 pounds in 6 weeks of cycling- which is a really big deal for me at 70lbs lost I was having a really hard time keeping up a consistent loss, even with INTENSE training and eating clean (and I REALLY mean clean!). A mild carb cycle has definitely gotten my ball rolling again as I am on the last 15 lbs of fat that I want to lose!

Because it is not SUPER low carbs I am not drained. I use my high carb days USUALLY as my very intense training day. Seems to be going well.

Also, my carbs are all complex grainy carbs at breakfast and lunch then limit carbs in the pm to veggies and legumes. I also have a fruit with a protein at post workout.