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Carbohydrate Cycling for Fatloss by Erik

Discussion in 'Beginner Training & Nutrition' started by Inatic, May 25, 2012.

Inatic Ya Gotta Wanna! Moderator

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Carbohydrate Cycling for Fat Loss - Part 1
by Lean Bodies Consulting on Monday, May 9, 2011 at 1:41pm ·
Ask someone you deem qualified what the best nutritional strategy to maximum fat loss is and you will get one answer. Ask another seemingly qualified individual the same question and chances are you will get a completely different answer. There are a few general constants you can expect to hear; for example, ensuring you are eating adequate amounts of protein and omega-3 fats. There is little argument there. However, the discrepancies arise when the subject of carbohydrate intake come up. Some will say high carbs are best, others say low carbs, and still others recommend something somewhere in the middle. The truth of the matter is that there really is no one best way of approaching fat loss. There are many different approaches that can, and have been, used successfully. Any fat-loss strategy must serve two purposes - one, it must be functional. That is, it has to do what it's set out to do - promote fat loss in this case for example. Two, it has to be 'doable', meaning it has to be a strategy that you can adhere to. A diet that is functional, but one you can't follow is useless. A diet that you can follow, but isn't functional is also useless. So, the most important elements to successful fat loss are ensuring that your strategy is customized to yourself, ensuring it's a plan you will adhere to, and adjusting your program based on your progress, or lack thereof. Nutrition is not a cookie-cutter game and what works for one doesn't always work for another. With that said, let's take a closer look at this carbohydrate issue.

Truth be told, there are benefits to having a fair amount of carbs in your diet and there are benefits to keeping them low. So why not use both strategies? Said in a simpler way, why not cycle your carb intake, and subsequently your caloric intake? By cycling your carb intake you get the best of both worlds. Assuming you keep your protein and fat intakes relatively constant, and only manipulate your carb intake, you are automatically cycling calories as well. The first benefit to doing so is that it may keep your body from adapting to what you are doing. Your body will always try to adapt to what you're doing and the leaner you get, and the more you take your body away from its natural set (or settling) point, the more your body will try to adjust its regulatory processes to halt your progress. This is just in part related to the regulatory hormone, leptin, although there are a number of other relevant hormones at play as well.

A Short Primer on the "Fat-Loss Decision Maker" Leptin

While not everything is known about leptin, what is known is that leptin levels are related to things like insulin, your caloric intake and your current level of body fat. Think of it as one of the big "fat-loss decision makers". The leaner you are relative to your normal bodyfat level, the lower your circulating levels of leptin are generally going to be. Under more normal circumstances, higher body fat, maintenance caloric intake, etc., leptin levels are higher. However, while on sub-maintenance calories, and particularly on low-carb diets where circulating insulin levels are low, leptin levels drop and they can drop quickly. Decreased leptin levels cause a cascade of other regulatory changes, namely a decrease in thyroid output and metabolic rate, as well as an increase in catabolic hormone activity and appetite. In an attempt to become more efficient, your body will try to adapt to make your newly lowered caloric intake its new maintenance intake; that is, it will make the necessary changes needed to do the same amount of work on less energy. Unfortunately, this usually means having to continuously lower calories or increase expenditure to maintain fat-loss progress, which inevitably makes it very hard to hold onto all your hard-earned muscle. There is only so far you can cut your calories and only so much cardio and training you can do. Remember, the diet has to be both functional and maintainable. Not to mention, this type of (all too common among competitors) dieting strategy really sets you up for a nasty rebound when you return to more 'sane' methods. None of this sounds too good does it? There has to be a better way, and there is. Planned and structured days of high calories and high carbohydrates may help with this.

As previously mentioned, there are benefits to both low-carb intakes and to high-carb intakes. When carb intake is drastically reduced you create a temporarily greater caloric deficit. In addition, low-carb intakes result in decreased levels of circulating insulin, increased levels of the fat-burning catecholamines and therefore a much heightened rate of fat oxidation. Quite simply, when insulin levels are low, you create an environment in which fat is more likely to be used for energy. Low muscle glycogen, as a result of decreased carbohydrate intake, obviously results in depleted muscles, but there are benefits to this as well. Low muscle glycogen tends to promote a higher rate of free fatty acid burning. Result? More fat loss.
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Inatic, May 25, 2012

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Inatic Ya Gotta Wanna! Moderator

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Part 2

Carbohydrate Cycling For Fat Loss - Part 2 (Practical Steps)
by Lean Bodies Consulting on Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 9:32am ·
Benefits of Cycling Carbohydrate Intake

On the flip side however, most people do not enjoy following a low carb strategy for very long. While there are clearly benefits to doing so, there are other things that need to be considered. Chronic very low-carb intake can actually impair insulin sensitivity and promote insulin resistance (related to ketone exposure). As already noted, low-carb intakes also result in overly flat, depleted muscles and gym performance typically suffers. Throw in a day of high carbs and your muscles fill out, you find yourself more vascular, your workouts are great, and you look and feel much better. There is also research to support the fact that these higher-carb/calorie days may stimulate leptin production (although a short term increase in calories/carbs would only have a short term effect on these hormones mind you), which as we already noted is an important player in the fat-loss game. The one issue on the leptin subject is that it is debatable as to what the significance of this short-term upregulation would be. It may be an increase that is not significant enough or long enough, but regardless, the point is that something is definitely happening as strategies used in an attempt to stimulate these regulatory hormones result in not only continued, but greater fat loss over time. Carbohydrates are also very protein sparing - meaning they prevent protein from being oxidized as fuel - which is an important consideration when muscle retention is a primary focus.

There are psychological factors to consider as well. How you feel on a diet is arguably just as important to your progress as any other variable. There are not too many people that enjoy looking flat and depleted all the time. Add to that the fact that some people simply feel awful on consistent low carb intakes. And let's not forget one of the reasons most people can appreciate - carbohydrates simply taste good. Of course, there is the flip side as well; there are a number of people who don't feel good on high carbs either. These are typically those who suffer from a degree of insulin resistance. So in both populations, a carb cycling approach still has great utility.

So to summarize, we want some days where carbohydrate intake and calories are higher and some days where carbohydrate intake and calories are lower. The simplest way to set this is to just cycle your carbohydrates and calories according to your weekly training schedule. For example, assuming four workouts per week, you might have your high days on your two big workouts, medium days on your two easier workouts, and low days on your off days. If you were only training three days per week, you could go with just one high day, on your hardest workout or the workout with the greatest volume, and then make your other training days medium days and again the rest, low days.

Carb Cycling: Practical Steps

First of all, let me say that carb cycling is not mandatory for great results; in fact, I don't even use it very often. It's just one tool in the dieter's 'toolbox'. Many people do just fine are far simpler approaches. With that out of the way, there is no one best way to cycle carbs or calories. In fact, there are many, many different permutations that can be used successfully. Both two and three-day rotations will work great provided the basics of good nutritional strategies are in place. Here is just one example that you could use as a template. Feel free to tweak it to suit your needs if necessary. On that note, one possible tweak that I have used for a long time is to just cycle between low and high carb days. On the low days, which by design would be days you are not lifting weights, you push the caloric deficit by going very low carbs and low calories and then on the high days, which are obviously your training days, you push the calories and the carbs. The low days will take care of the weekly deficit required for fat loss and the high days will help with recovery, fullness, workout performance, etc.

Ok, so how to set up a sample plan. First off is caloric intake. Once you know the caloric total you are striving for, the simplest way is to set up all the macros (protein, carbs, fat) for your medium day and then simply adjust carb (and secondarily fat intake) intake to determine your high and low days. So, assume the medium day is a standard dieting day. As an aside, but a valuable note to keep in mind, there are many different calorie equations you can use; however be aware that they all have the potential to be off by as much as 20%. So for the sake of simplicity you could just assume maintenance to be approximately 15x (generally 14-16x) total bodyweight and subtract 20-25% to create a healthy caloric deficit. This will put you around 11-12x total bodyweight. Remember, if you are not progressing on your current caloric intake, simply adjust it up or down until progress resumes.

Next up is protein. I am sure we are all in agreement that we need to eat sufficient amounts of protein when trying to lose fat and maintain muscle, so set it anywhere from 1.0-1.5g/lb of bodyweight and split it up evenly throughout the day. It's always a good idea to try to get the majority of your protein intake from whole food sources in my opinion as well.

You are going to have three carbohydrate intakes; one for high days, one for medium days, and one for low days. For your medium days, set your carbohydrate intake between 0.8 and 1.0g/lb of bodyweight. I think due to the low carb craze, that many will see this as a high amount of carbs, but truth be told, it really isn't. We've been brainwashed against carbs.

So now we know our calories, our protein and our carbs. All that remains is to figure out how much fat we're to eat. In this case, fat simply serves as a caloric ballast. Simply make up the rest of your calories from fat. Your protein intake will stay constant throughout all three days. With your fat intake, you've got two options; keep it constant and just let the carbohydrate fluctuation take care of the calorie cycling, or adjust the fat intake as well in order to increase or decrease the desired deficit. For example, if you really want to push your low days hard and try for a bit more weekly fat loss, consider dropping your fat intake down as well. Again, protein stays constant. On your high carb days, set your carb intake to around 2.0g/lb of bodyweight. This is the 'X factor' day. By that I mean it's the most variable day in the sense that some people will love the high days and some people will hate them. If you're not used to higher days, consider gradually increasing your totals over time, rather than just right off the bat. Give your body time to adjust and adapt. Finally for your low days it is going to be minimal as you're only eating fibrous vegetables; no starch-type carbs at all.

Remember the truth of the matter is that there is no one best method for fat loss. Carbohydrate and calorie cycling is just one logical and effective way of approaching it. Many who opt for this kind of approach find it very easy to follow as you get a few days a week where you get to eat some fun carbs, and like I said, who doesn't like eating carbs? One note for the scale obsessed. Recognize that due to the fluctuating carbohydrate intake your bodyweight will fluctuate as well. This is normal and to be expected. Due to enhanced glycogen storage and intracellular water after high days, you'll typically be up a few pounds. Again, to be expected. Even without that, there is always going to be day-to-day fluctuations in water balance. What you're looking for is a downward trend over time. I have one client of mine who likes to refer to the scale as a 'random number generator'. In the big picture it is just one piece of information. Without context and proper assessment of the information, it is of little use.

And that's a basic primer on carb cycling.
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Inatic, May 25, 2012

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jamistar77 Well-Known Member

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Great info! This article is what helped me lose that 22lbs!

jamistar77, May 28, 2012

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lesliemirinda Member

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Awesome info--thank you!

lesliemirinda, May 29, 2012

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pavermama Rut Row!

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Awesome info here!! Just what I needed!! I printed it out for my "brain don't retain!!"

pavermama, May 30, 2012

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Free2Bme Member

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Great article. I just need to get over my fear of math while waiting for my turn on the "list".

Free2Bme, May 31, 2012

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jamiebelle New Member

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When you help people with carb cycling, do you suggest that their total daily calories remain the same every day? Or that they eat more/less depending on their train/rest status for any given day?

jamiebelle, Jun 5, 2012

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Erik Admin

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Depends on the program - both 'can be' viable options.

One could eat at say 12x BW every day for a week or cycle calories over the week and still have it 'average out to' 12x BW/day.

Erik, Jun 5, 2012

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pegavi Member

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On the low carb days, I know that what carbs you get are in the form of fibrous vegetables, but is there a limit to the amount of carbs to have on a low day? A cup of broccoli here a cup of grean beans there, etc. (in addition to any carbs if you had cottage cheese) could add up, so I was just wondering if there was some limit, like 50g for the day. Or does that not matter and you can eat the fibrous vegetables freely on those days? I ask because I can eat a lot of vegetables!

pegavi, Oct 6, 2012

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Inatic Ya Gotta Wanna! Moderator

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fibrous veggies arent free other than a few cups or salad green.

Inatic, Oct 6, 2012

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Scarl3tbutt3rfly Motivated and ready!!

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pegavi said: ↑

On the low carb days, I know that what carbs you get are in the form of fibrous vegetables, but is there a limit to the amount of carbs to have on a low day? A cup of broccoli here a cup of grean beans there, etc. (in addition to any carbs if you had cottage cheese) could add up, so I was just wondering if there was some limit, like 50g for the day. Or does that not matter and you can eat the fibrous vegetables freely on those days? I ask because I can eat a lot of vegetables!
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There isn't really any rule. Some people do super low carb days. Getting under say 20g. When I have carb cycled most recently. I never had my low carb days below 75-80.

Scarl3tbutt3rfly, Oct 6, 2012

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pegavi Member

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Good to know. I was thinking about keeping it at around 40-50g,so I guess that is ok.

pegavi, Oct 6, 2012

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Suzie New Member

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Great article! Thank you!

Suzie, Oct 7, 2012

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cathymp Well-Known Member

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Scarl3tbutt3rfly said: ↑

There isn't really any rule. Some people do super low carb days. Getting under say 20g. When I have carb cycled most recently. I never had my low carb days below 75-80.
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Under 20g?!?!?! I don't believe I could even function on that. lol!

cathymp, Oct 9, 2012

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pegavi Member

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cathymp said: ↑

Under 20g?!?!?! I don't believe I could even function on that. lol!
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I know, seriously! I can get 20g carbs in two meals with just vegetables! Then what, chicken and oil the rest of the day? Blah:crying:

pegavi, Oct 9, 2012

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Scarl3tbutt3rfly Motivated and ready!!

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cathymp said: ↑

Under 20g?!?!?! I don't believe I could even function on that. lol!
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I agree :nod:

Scarl3tbutt3rfly, Oct 9, 2012

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Mrz193 New Member

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Question - I have been working towards this article for the past two weeks - not sure if I am giving it too much thought???
If I am trying to loose fat and weight, I weigh 140 lbs, I have been doing 4 days of weight training:
Monday upper heavy and 20 minutes interval
Tuesday lower light
Weds 40 min ss
Thurs lighter upper
Friday 30 minutes metabolic
Sat heavy lower
Sunday Off
If I want 12X body weight to lose 1,680 cls, and 1.1 protein per body weight - 154 grams, is my information correct by saying I can't do 2.2 grams of carbs per body weight because that would would be 280 grams - causing me to be too hight in calories if my fat is 26 grams so I have been keeping my carbs around 230 - or should I lower protein or fat?

Mrz193, Nov 7, 2012

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JodiShep New Member

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Awesome article :wink:

JodiShep, Jan 13, 2013

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Marilyn Member

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Thanks for the info. I have never counted calories. This is all foreign to me. I'm trying to soak all of this in and understand it. I don't even know how to start. I'm 5'4" and 130 lbs. I guess I calculate caloric intake by... I don't know.... back to more reading....I'm so confused....

Marilyn, Jan 17, 2013

#19
Inatic Ya Gotta Wanna! Moderator

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try using an online resource like fitday, my fitness pal , cronometer to count calories.

Inatic, Jan 17, 2013

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