New to carb cycling - a couple of questions!

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lc63
lc63 Posts: 19 Member
Hi guys, just starting carb cycling this week after hitting a slump and my weight loss just stalled. Hopefully this will shake it up a bit and Im excited to get started! On my third day today and finding it fine so far. Just a couple of questions from a beginner -
1. In general how long do people keep up carb cycling? I am under the impression its not a long term thing
2. On low carb days do you all avoid carbs (be it refined or complex carbs) completely and only use your carb allowance on non starchy foods? For example, my daily allowance on low carb day would be 50g but for that 50g I could fit in half a potato or something with dinner BUT to me low carb would never involve potatoes (!) so am I better off using this allowance on veg and avoiding obvious carbs completely on low days?

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  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    lc63 wrote: »
    Hi guys, just starting carb cycling this week after hitting a slump and my weight loss just stalled. Hopefully this will shake it up a bit and Im excited to get started! On my third day today and finding it fine so far. Just a couple of questions from a beginner -
    1. In general how long do people keep up carb cycling? I am under the impression its not a long term thing
    2. On low carb days do you all avoid carbs (be it refined or complex carbs) completely and only use your carb allowance on non starchy foods? For example, my daily allowance on low carb day would be 50g but for that 50g I could fit in half a potato or something with dinner BUT to me low carb would never involve potatoes (!) so am I better off using this allowance on veg and avoiding obvious carbs completely on low days?

    Low carb is low carb IMO. If you want to waste your 50grams of carbs on a small potato go right ahead. However, I feel that my carbs are more used on things like spinach and onions/green peppers in my salad. You get more bang for your buck that way. I would enjoy that potato on the high carb day. However, if that's not realistic then you won't stick with it. My problem is once I have that starchy carb, I want all starchy carbs. On low carb days, it's easier to avoid chip like snacks because well... they have carbs. BUT, on high carb days, if I have a rice cake, then I want tortilla chips, then I want popcorn and so on and so forth. It's easier to snack when it's a higher carb day so I try to only have them like twice a week. How far are you from your goal?
  • lc63
    lc63 Posts: 19 Member
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    Thanks for your reply tri_gal
    I think I am of a similar mind frame. On low carb days I think I'm better to just avoid starchy carbs altogether and fill up on veg etc knowing that on high carb days I can have my potatoes or whatever it is Im craving.

    I have lost 20 pounds so far since Feb and probably have another stone to go realistically.
  • sadinplaid
    sadinplaid Posts: 140 Member
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    @lc63 I'm just getting started and see you posted this over a month ago - how's your progress?
  • amandacowan1978
    amandacowan1978 Posts: 50 Member
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    On my low carb days my carbs are reserved for items with high fiber. So things like lentils, oats, raspberries, nuts, etc. as I always aim for at least 20 grams of fiber. If I don't get that, my stomach gets upset on those low-carb days. But it really is whatever works for you though. :)