Alternating low carb with balanced diet?

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Twoboysmom2
Twoboysmom2 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
I have heard of some research done with people eating low carb for only 1 or 2 days per week and having a balanced diet the rest of the time. Supposedly, this has the effect of stimulating your metabolism and more weight loss than a steady diet. Has anyone tried this and can you comment further? What is the ratio of carbs to protein to fat you would recommend during the low carb days and during the balanced days?

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  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I don't know the answer to your question, but I'll bump you. :)
  • Jess830409
    Jess830409 Posts: 285 Member
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    I read about that study and I am also intrested in people that have tried thios and had success. I decided to give it a shot and see what happens...it cant hurt right? I started yesterday and the only goal I set is stay under 50 grams of carbs for 2 consecutive days (I chose Sundays and Mondays) and the rest of the week do my normal calorie counting /healthy eating. We shall see....but any more info would be appreciated :)
  • jens_journey
    jens_journey Posts: 25 Member
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    I also recently read this and decided to try. Today is the first of two with under 50 carbs for me. I will report back after a few weeks.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
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    Just eliminate processed carbs.
    your body needs carbs and unless you are in contest prep you shouldn't cycle them so low.
    keep an eye on dietary fibre and subtract that from your carb total for true carb number.
    eat up to 40% of your calories in carbs.
    easy right?

    Another way to look at it...
    Get 1-1.5g protein per pound of lean body weight.
    Get. 40-.75g fat per pound of lean body weight.
    The rest should be natural carbs.
  • jlreser
    jlreser Posts: 64 Member
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    I just read an article about this very thing over the weekend. I don't think it can hurt as the carb curbing is for only 2 consecutive days while the rest you eat normally. They suggested eating normal Thur-Mon and then low-carbing it Tues and Wed so I'm going to give it a go starting tomorrow. It seemed pretty easy to follow as you can eat as much lean meats (ground turkey and fish are the ones I recall) and then lots of veggies (bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, salsa - no potatoes or carrots) with watching the carb count to be NO more that 50 grams. Since I track that anyway as a column, I think this is just what I need to help jump start my plateau. I've lost 18 lbs but have been the same weight for 3 weeks now. I plan to weigh tomorrow morning and then again Thur morning just to see how much I've lost in the 2 days as a few folks reported 7 & 9 lb losses in those 2 low-carb days...and it doesn't hurt that my normal weigh-in day is Thur! :D
  • Jess830409
    Jess830409 Posts: 285 Member
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    Just a little update...I have been doing this for roughly 3 weeks, along with following my 1450 calorie goal on the other 5 days (which is my TDEE minus 15%) and so far have lost an average of 2.5 lbs. a week. So far I am happy with this result and it is nice to know I can limit carbs but still enjoy them on certain days instead of going totally low carb :)
  • athomew7
    athomew7 Posts: 12 Member
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    I have also read this and am trying it. I have had a terrible time losing any more weight after I lost 93 lbs a couple of years ago. I have been eating this for 2 weeks now trying to limit my carbs to 50g two consecutive days a week. The rest of the time I eat 1600 net cal and exercise 5-6 days a week. My food is very healthy and balanced on my cal. counting days. So far the scale is beginning to move downward again. I lost 3 lbs last week, and I am seeing results from my carb cutting days this week. It is exciting to finally see some movement in the right direction. :) I plan on continuing to eat this way until I get to my goal and maybe beyond.

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