Carb Cycling

[VanillaBean_21]

I am thinking about doing this for a couple of weeks or so. Can one of you ladies give me an idea of what I should eat on those days? Like a meal Plan? Should my calories be lower on these days? How low should I go with my carbs?

Heather

[imperfectly_lou]

Any particular reason Heather? Carb cycling is more of a fat loss tool than anything else and I really don't think it would be necessary in your case.

[Ravenous_T]

The last thing you need to worry about is cycling your carbs. Work on getting your cals up. The more complexity you give your diet, the harder it's going to be to eat more cals.

I'm with Lou on this one - why do you want to cycle carbs?

[Emma-Leigh]

I am thinking about doing this for a couple of weeks or so. Can one of you ladies give me an idea of what I should eat on those days? Like a meal Plan? Should my calories be lower on these days? How low should I go with my carbs?

Heather
Hmmm... Any reason why?

I agree that it is probably not the best option for you. Although you CAN gain mass on a carb cycling diet (and you can gain well), it is a lot harder and you have to increase your frequency of high carb days... eg: Instead of a normal cycle of low, no, high, low, no, high... You would have to do something like: high, low, high, no, high, low, high, no.

And I'd imagine you would feel uncomfortable with the high carb days - meaning you would not get in all the carbies you would need - which means you would likely loose weight and rapidly.

I really think you should focus on getting your eating correct first - both in terms of getting more carbs and getting enough calories in general.

[Emma-Leigh]

ps: Carb cycling is also ment to be done with minimal/limited cardio... Which I can not imagine you would be happy with! ;)

[Ravenous_T]

Depends on the person in regards to the gaining mass and/or weight. Some people, such as myself, just do better on a lower carb, or carb cycling diet. I've put on more lean mass and lost more bodyfat than ever once I lowered my carbs. I also feel much more alert, and have more energy. But like I said, it totally depends on the individual.

Any rapid weight loss at the start is usually due to glycogen depletion and water loss - unless the person is obese or quite overweight and are not used to a calorie deficit. All about cals in, cals out, so as long as they are at an appropriate level, the overall fat loss is not going to be that different from someone who is dieting on higher carb.





Hmmm... Any reason why?

I agree that it is probably not the best option for you. Although you CAN gain mass on a carb cycling diet (and you can gain well), it is a lot harder and you have to increase your frequency of high carb days... eg: Instead of a normal cycle of low, no, high, low, no, high... You would have to do something like: high, low, high, no, high, low, high, no.

And I'd imagine you would feel uncomfortable with the high carb days - meaning you would not get in all the carbies you would need - which means you would likely loose weight and rapidly.

I really think you should focus on getting your eating correct first - both in terms of getting more carbs and getting enough calories in general.

[Emma-Leigh]

Depends on the person in regards to the gaining mass and/or weight. Some people, such as myself, just do better on a lower carb, or carb cycling diet.
Yes - I agree that some people do better on different diets, it depends on a whole heap of things such as your physiological state, your activity level and, importantly, your psychological relationship with food.... But how your body responds (in terms of if you gain or lose weight) depends most of all on your overall calorie intake over time.

For someone like Heather - someone who has issues with calories in general (and who is still a little 'carb-a-phobic') - who is young, very active in her daily life and does a lot of cardio, then a typical carb cycling diet will probably not going to be a good idea. It would particularly be a challange for her to gain lean mass as I imagine she would not be comfortable with the higher carb days and these would be needed to get her body into a calorific surplus for muscle gains.... In addition, the low/no carb days would then leave her drained and tired!


Any rapid weight loss at the start is usually due to glycogen depletion and water loss - unless the person is obese or quite overweight and are not used to a calorie deficit.
Agreed. Infact - any weight loss, even if the person IS overweight or not used to a calorie deficiency, will initially be glycogen (well - unless the person is already glycogen depleted). Until glycogen stores are markedly decreased the body is not going to liberate huge quantities of stored fats full stop.


All about cals in, cals out, so as long as they are at an appropriate level, the overall fat loss is not going to be that different from someone who is dieting on higher carb.Yup - in terms of weight loss, as long as protein intake is sufficient (maintain muscle mass etc) and you are continuing weight training (and as long as the intensity is not altered by the lack of carbs), and as long as you are getting enough EFAs (for health) then it basically comes down to calories... Although in terms of HEALTH there are better ways to approach things than a no carb diet. :)

[Ravenous_T]

Yes - I agree that some people do better on different diets, it depends on a whole heap of things such as your physiological state, your activity level and, importantly, your psychological relationship with food.... But how your body responds (in terms of if you gain or lose weight) depends most of all on your overall calorie intake over time.

I agree.

Just wanted to note that people that have issues with insulin sensitivity often do well on a lower carb diet. Activity level does play a role, but I do know for a fact that I am at my best when carbs are lower - and I am quite active.



For someone like Heather - someone who has issues with calories in general (and who is still a little 'carb-a-phobic') - who is young, very active in her daily life and does a lot of cardio, then a typical carb cycling diet will probably not going to be a good idea. It would particularly be a challange for her to gain lean mass as I imagine she would not be comfortable with the higher carb days and these would be needed to get her body into a calorific surplus for muscle gains.... In addition, the low/no carb days would then leave her drained and tired!


Just wanted to note that I DO NOT thinking that Heather should be carb cycling under any circumstances. She needs to get her cals up right now - and adding unessasary complexities to her diet that will probable cause her to eat even less is a horrendous idea.

I do not agree that lower carb days would always leave someone tired. It depends on a number of circumstances and how well the person tolerates low carb. Many actually feel better on the lower days, and have issues with the higher.






Agreed. Infact - any weight loss, even if the person IS overweight or not used to a calorie deficiency, will initially be glycogen (well - unless the person is already glycogen depleted). Until glycogen stores are markedly decreased the body is not going to liberate huge quantities of stored fats full stop.

Yup - in terms of weight loss, as long as protein intake is sufficient (maintain muscle mass etc) and you are continuing weight training (and as long as the intensity is not altered by the lack of carbs), and as long as you are getting enough EFAs (for health) then it basically comes down to calories... Although in terms of HEALTH there are better ways to approach things than a no carb diet. :)

No, of course not. I should clarify further on this with the addition that people who are very overweight can lose greater amounts of fat in the beginning, compared to someone that is marginally overweight, or just has a few lbs to lose. Of course, this isn't always set in stone, and the overweight person is generally going to lose more water/glycogen mass because of a larger size.

I'm not personally a fan of no carb. Not only is it physically impossible to ingest foods that are entirely carb free, but I often find that people who take the low carb route tend to go a little haywire and taking things to the extreme by cutting out very beneficial fiberous veggies, nuts, and certain fruits. An extremely low carb diet is good for the first stages of CKD, but after that there has to be fiber and veggies introduced for it to remain healthy. I generally do 50g of carbs on non-lifting days, and around 150g on lifting days, with one carb up day a week. I've never felt better in terms of energy and strength levels.

[mommykuce]

I am another person who does better on lower carb days. I am very sensitive to starchy carbs, and even a few years ago I couldn't have any pasta without my levels going haywire. I would get horrible headaches and dizzy. But I was also under the care of a physician and a nutritionist who specialized in cases like mine. My body has gotten better over the years (I think not eating much when I was younger really messed up my system), but I still have days where I need to watch my carb levels. But at the same time I don't recommend someone switching around their carb levels before they even figure out a healthy eating pattern and have stuck with it for some time.

[VanillaBean_21]

Emma-
I just wanted to see what it would do for my body. I won't do it now though. I'll just stick with what Im doing now. :) Thanks for the help.

[Emma-Leigh]

Emma-
I just wanted to see what it would do for my body. I won't do it now though. I'll just stick with what Im doing now. :) Thanks for the help.
Great!! Good decision Heather. :D