The Best "Diet" to Drop Body Fat (Perminently)
First off, I hate the term "diet". I would prefer, program, or even lifestyle. But anyways..... Carb-cycling is a powerful tool that I have used with all my clients since I began, and why? Because it works! Most diets now-a-days will tell you stay away from carbs, so how could this be a good diet? The fact is, carbs are actually very important, and can be a very powerful tool for your healthier lifestyle. Carb cycling is not only something that you can use when you are wanting to lose weight, but it is also something that you can use when trying to build lean muscle, which makes this, in my opinion the best program (or lifestyle) in the world! I don't believe in restricting yourself of protein, carbs, or fats, and thats what most of these fad diets now-a-days are doing, and the results are terrible long term. Keto diets, great for now, bad for later....No carb, great for now, bad for later..... etc. etc.
In this post, you’ll discover…
What carb-cycling really is
What determines how many carbs you should be eating
The best times for you to consume carbs
Top 4 benefits of eating healthy carbs
If you should be carb-cycling to get to your goals
WHAT IS CARB-CYCLING?
When it comes to trying to lose weight, most popular diets tell you to exclude, labeling them “bad.” But carbs aren’t the enemy if you know which ones to eat and how to use them to your advantage. Not all carbs are bad for you, and knowing the difference between good and bad carbs can impact your results.
Carb-cycling is when you use carbs to your advantage by cycling the amount you consume day-to-day. For some people, this means altering between high, medium, low, and/or no carb days. The number of carbs that you take in each day is determined by when the carb intake is needed, the person as an individual, and the goals they wish to achieve. Because every person is different, as well as their goals, this means that their intake of carbs would need to be different. This can make deciding how many carbs to consume each day a challenge. The idea behind carb-cycling is to manipulate carbs so that you fuel your body with the carbs needed for calories or glucose. This supplies your muscles with glycogen which can reduce the breakdown of muscle during your workout. During low carb days your body switches and burns fat for energy.
THIS CAN IMPACT HOW MANY CARBS YOU NEED
Your goals – Depending on what goals you are trying to reach impacts the number of carbs you should be consuming. This means the number of carbs you consume is determined by whether you are working to lose weight or put on muscle mass.
Your training – The type of training, and how often, can significantly impact the number of carbs you need to be consuming. This is because the carbs you consume will be a crucial source of energy that will have a great impact in the gym.
Body fat – The amount of body fat you have can determine how many carbs you should be consuming. As you lose weight and workout, you will become leaner and so a number of high carb days will alter in comparison to your low carb days.
WHEN SHOULD I TIME MY CARBS?
You should time your carbs according to how active your day is. This means your higher carb days should fall onto your most intense training days, while your lowest carb days should fall on your rest days. This will allow the carbs you consume to be used as a source of energy for your most intense workouts.
If you are not planning on exercise there is less need for carbs during that particular day. This is why your training schedule can be crucial to your carb-cycling.
Top 4 Benefits of Carb-Cycling
There are many health benefits to cycling carbs, including:
Burns Fat – Carb-cycling helps you burn fat by forcing your body to use fat as energy on low carb days, while also helping you regulate the hormones leptin and ghrelin. These hormones control your appetite, with leptin controlling satiety and ghrelin signaling hunger .
Improves Insulin Sensitivity – When you cycle your carbs you manipulate insulin response and improve insulin sensitivity, especially in those with type 2 diabetes. When you cycle your carbs back and forth, your body sees an increase in the body’s metabolic rate and glycogen. When you follow this up with a medium/low carb day, your insulin levels drop. Then, following this, you go into a low/no carb day, and your insulin levels drop again as you consume more protein and fats to make up for the loss of carbs. This reduces your body’s overall insulin resistance.
Higher Performance – Because you will be doing your training on high carb days you will be supplying your body with enough fuel to power through your workout. When you consume high carbs, you maintain a higher level of glycogen which then improves exercise performance. When you have higher levels of glycogen you have the energy to go further in the gym, pushing your muscles further and gaining lean muscle mass.
Better Cholesterol – Cycling carbs have been linked to lower levels of LDL, this is the bad cholesterol and higher HDL, the good cholesterol [11, 12].
IS CARB-CYCLING RIGHT FOR YOU?
Are wanting to lose weight? Gain muscle? Maintain your already healthy lifestyle?
If you answered yes, then carb-cycling is perfect for you. It is the perfect diet because it is easily adjustable to your goals. If you are new to carb-cycling and want to get all the benefits, while hitting your goals faster than ever, let me know! Sign up here and we will get you set up on a personalized meal plan!