Cyclical Keto
LolaDeeDaisy23
Posts: 383 Member
Just as the title states... I’ve been toying with cyclical keto for the past 11 weeks. First I started with Lyle’s suggestion of consuming high GI carbs on day 1 of the carb up and taper down to lower GI carbs on day 2.
Boy, in theory it sounds great but I need to have willpower made out of steel to stop myself from eating 1,000g of carbs worth of bagels and bread. Instead of eating the planned 300g carbs, I’d go way WAY overboard. I guess I really am a carb addict 😞
Fast forward three weeks I changed my approach to a split carb up. One on Mondays and the other on Thursdays. I’ve tried bulking on standard keto but the results were less than worth all the effort. I feel like I’m making tons more progress this time around. Just wanted to share my experience with anyone who’s interested in building muscle in low carb☺️
Left- February 2018.
Right-July 2018
Boy, in theory it sounds great but I need to have willpower made out of steel to stop myself from eating 1,000g of carbs worth of bagels and bread. Instead of eating the planned 300g carbs, I’d go way WAY overboard. I guess I really am a carb addict 😞
Fast forward three weeks I changed my approach to a split carb up. One on Mondays and the other on Thursdays. I’ve tried bulking on standard keto but the results were less than worth all the effort. I feel like I’m making tons more progress this time around. Just wanted to share my experience with anyone who’s interested in building muscle in low carb☺️
Left- February 2018.
Right-July 2018
5
Replies
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You look amazing! Keep up the great work!
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I really really need to build muscle, but carbs scare me. Does GI mean Glycemic Index? Those are my triggers. :noway:
BTW you look fabulous.1 -
I agree that the carb triggered appetite is a huge challenge. I cycle between about 100g on lifting days and about 30g on non-lifting days...if I get over about 120g, then I have super crazy cravings the next day. For me, it also works best if I eat the carbs after a workout, not before. Mostly it's about finding what works for you, but definitely for me more carbs are needed to put on muscle, when I was straight keto I was just not able to get bigger muscles. But I need keto for migraine control, because I can promise you workouts don't happen at all when migraines get in the way. Cycling the carbs has been awesome!2
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@lsutigerscage Thank you!
@PaulaKro Thank you so much! Yes GI means glycemic index. Now I have lower GI carbs for my high carb days, like beans or yams or brown rice. I feel WAY better eating lower GI carbs vs eating high GI carbs. It is scary... especially since I was eating standard keto for so long. But increasing carbs once in a while is beneficial. It decreases cortisol, increases leptin, and decreases ghrelin... according to Mr. Lyle McDonald.3 -
@tcunbeliever Yes me too. Wasn’t able to build muscle on standard keto. So cool to see how there’s so many ways to cycle carbs and different protocols work for different people!0
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You look amazing! well done! My new PT I started with yesterday morning recommended the cyclical keto which I am loosely trying it out right now and have meal prepped for the week and will kick it into high gear started monday. So far I dont feel too bad! I feel pretty good! I am new to Keto have been trying off and on its just getting over that carb craving hump that kills me everytime I end up crashing and stuffing my face full of carbs
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With cycling do you still stay in ketosis?
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@tayusuki Yes because I am fat adapted before carb cycling. It’s easy to go in and out. I also train with high intensity 5x per week with heavy weights and do moderate intensity cardio 3x per week.1
