Carb Cycling |

It’s very simple – Carb cycling is a mix of alternating a high-carb and low carb day. It sounds amazing right? You can enjoy healthy foods, the foods you love, and still lose weight. When using carbohydrate cycling, carbohydrate intake is lowered significantly (but not eliminated) for a few days in order to put the body in a fat burning state. Then, for one day, carbohydrates are increased again to normal levels in order to prevent the metabolic slowdown. In addition, by temporarily increasing your carbs, you also get to have higher energy levels throughout the fat loss process as well as preserve (and even gain) muscle tissue. There are different mixes of carbs cycling (one high day, one low day – three low days, one high, and so on) but overall your days will include:

Eating every 3 hours
Choosing healthy foods
Drinking lots of water- yes, all about the Jug life.
Eating 5-6 meals a day- no more and no less.
Eating high carb meals at breakfast, pre and post workout.
Eating breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up.

Carb Cycling works on the basis of controlling your insulin (a hormone produced in the pancreas by the islets of Langerhans that regulates the amount of glucose in the blood) levels. By restricting carbohydrates we lower our body’s insulin levels. Low levels of insulin in the body promote the fat burning process through the release of fatty acids. So on our low carbohydrate days, our body’s insulin levels are reduced, promoting fat burning, whilst on our high carbohydrate days, our insulin levels rise, replenishing our muscle glycogen and giving us the energy we need to train. This type of cyclical low-carb diet plan has been proven by the University Hospital of Manchester to result in better fat loss and insulin resistance compared to normal dieting (do your research:)).

Keep in mind that carb cycling is for individuals looking to gain muscle, and lose body fat. I have come across a lot of research with the ketogenic diet and fat burning (Very low carb, moderate protein, and high fat), and this diet is great for someone who has already build the physique size they want. But, it’s not a starting point I would put some of my clients on.

For example, If you’re a 6’3 male with no muscle mass (or 5’1 tiny physique with no muscle)- a ketogenic diet is going to make it very difficult to put on quality size (or the lean muscle look), verses using a high-carb diet with low fat. With that said, if you’re looking to lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass a carb cycle will be perfect for you to reach your goals.

What are macronutrients?

Are composed of protein, carbohydrates, and fats for our bodies to function and lose weight properly.

The power of protein:

Protein is the main building blocks of the body and is used for building, repairing and maintaining tissues, create enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters and serve other important functions of the body. Proteins are large molecules made up of amino acids, which are considered the building blocks of protein. When we eat protein our body breaks down the protein into amino acid parts. We are unable to synthesize all twenty amino acids needed for protein synthesis; therefore, those that cannot be synthesized must be consumed in the diet and are referred to as essential. The ten which the body can synthesize on its own are nonessential.

Role in the body:

The main building blocks of the body
Helps with growth of body, and cells (children, teens, and pregnant woman)
Build and repair tissue
Immune Function
Making essential hormones
Preserving lean muscle mass
Each gram of protein provides four calories of energy for the body

Complete Protein: means the food source has all the essential amino acids- meat, eggs, dairy, and seafood.

Incomplete Protein: Plant based foods are called incomplete since they only provide some of the essential amino acids- beans, brown rice, tofu, lentils, and nuts.

Carbohydrates:

Why do you need carbs? First of all your body utilizes carbohydrates before any other nutrient first, and help bring the protein into the muscle for growth. AKA: helps you look lean. Yes, carbs are our friends.

The major source of energy for fuel
Easily used for the body for energy (get an awesome workout in)
Muscle growth
Stored in muscles and liver for later use
Your bodies tissues use glucose (a sugar in carbohydrates) for energy- kidneys, brain, muscles, central nervous system to function properly

What are sources of Carbohydrate?

Carbohydrates exist in three forms: sugar (simple carb), starch (complex carb), and fiber. The difference between the groups is how quickly it is digested, absorbed, and its chemical structures.

“Sugar” Simple Carbohydrates

A simple carbohydrate is considered a “simple sugar,” meaning that it has one unit of sugar called a monosaccharide (mono= one). These sugars are quickly absorbed into the body and used for energy, and raise blood glucose levels rapidly.

Fructose (fruit sugar)
Glucose (blood sugar)
Galactose (milk sugar)

A carbohydrate with two units is called a disaccharide.

Sucrose (table sugar) – made of one unit of glucose, and one unit of fructose.

“Starch” Complex Carbohydrates:

These carbohydrates are known as polysaccharides (poly= many), which is a starch formed by many units of sugar linked together. They are broken down by the body into simple sugars to be absorbed; therefore, they take longer to break down in your body providing prolonged energy and stabilize your blood sugar rather than spiking your blood.

Examples of sources: Grains (rice/wheat/oats), roots, legumes, potatoes, and yams.

FATS:

Dietary fat is a macronutrient that provides energy for your body. Each fat molecule is made of one glycerol molecule and three fatty acids. Fat is essential to your health because it supports a number of your body’s functions.

Role in the body:

Supplies high energy: 9 calories per gram of fat, therefore, these food sources are higher in calories and contribute to a source of energy your body can use all day long.
Build healthy cells in your body
Brain health
Help your body use vitamins- A, D, E, and K
Nutrient absorption
Help with hormones- helps regulate sex hormones (growth during puberty)
Provide healthier skin, hair, and nails
Acts as a protective cushion for your organs in your body.

Types of fat: there are two groups of fats: unsaturated and saturated fats. The saturation of the fats has to do with its number of double bonds in the structure of the fat molecule, and how your body digests them. The saturated fats have no double bonds, and the unsaturated fats have one double bond.

Unsaturated Fats: claimed to be the “good fats”

Monounsaturated fats: lower total cholesterol and LDL (the bad cholesterol) and increases the HDL (good cholesterol). Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, and pistachios), avocado, canola oil.
Polyunsaturated fats: help lower cholesterol, and is found in sea foods, fish oil, corn, soy, safflower and sunflower oils.

Saturated Fats: has been claimed to raise total blood cholesterol as well as the LDL cholesterol (the bad), and found in animal products such as meats, dairy, and eggs. However, there is recent research claiming that saturated fats have no effect along with the healthy fats. (8)

Essential Fatty Acids:

Your body can synthesize most of the fats it needs from your diet; however two essential fatty acids- linolenic and linoleic acid can’t be synthesized in the body and one must consume them through foods. These two fats are called Omega-3 and Omega 6 and are important for brain development, immune system function and blood pressure regulation.

Omega 3 (linolenic acid) – important in brain health and fighting against cardiovascular disease. Which are found in Brazil nuts, fatty fish- salmon, herring, sardines, and tuna.
Omega 6 (linoleic acid) – similar benefits to omega-3, that is found in seeds, nuts, grains, and vegetable oils (sunflower, sesame, cottonseeds, and safflower). You should be eating about twice as much omega-6 as omega-3, so that your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is 2:1.

Trans Fat: The truly harmful fats are artificial trans fats and processed vegetable oils.

Studies show that Trans fats lead to insulin resistance, inflammation, belly fat accumulation and drastically raise the risk of heart disease (3, 4, 5, and 6).
Limit commercially fried foods and baked goods made with shorteningor partially hydrogenated vegetable oils: doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes).
Small amounts of transfats occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, including beef, lamb and butterfat. There have not been sufficient studies to determine whether these naturally occurring trans fats have the same bad effects on cholesterol levels as trans fats that have been industrially manufactured. (7).

Conclusion:

Honestly, that’s my 99 problems because who doesn’t love carbs? That’s why we are all saved by this amazing diet called carb cycling. You get to enjoy your high days, and suffer a little on your low days. Hang in there, because you will love it. As a beginner I start my clients off with one high day, and one-two low days to see how your body responds. It is important to realize that high carb day, means VERY low fat, and the protein stays the same for every day. On your low carbohydrate days you will have lower calories, with more fat; however, this will help put you at a calorie deficit at the end of the week- resulting in weight loss (more fat loss then anything). This pattern of high carbs and low carbs helps spare muscle, and has been shown to create a more lean physique. Carb cycling combined with nutrient timing (which we will talk about later) is the key to building your desired physique.

Carb cycling tips to take into account:

Make sure you always eat high carbs on your harder training days, which is typically leg day or maybe a full body day.
Your body needs those carbohydrates the most on those harder lifting days, and having them before your workout will help fuel you in the gym so you can work harder and push more weight.
Also, having the carbs after your workout will help saturate the muscles and aid in muscle recovery. Make sure you have your higher carb meals around your workout, and time them properly for low and high days, because you want all these carbs to have less likely chance of turning into body fat.

Carbohydrate Cycling is perfect for someone who wants to lose body fat, and gain lean muscle mass.

Remember this Fun ‘Fit’ Fact & you will see changes:

It is important to have carbs before and after your workouts, because carbs and insulin stimulate the recovery process by driving critical nutrients to the muscles. AKA: muscle gains.