Carb Cycling 101

[HalleluYAH]

Most people who post in the fat loss forum have seen my carb cycling thread here: Carbohydrate Cycling; Fix for Fat Loss Plateau? I have noticed some O/T discussions here in the Nutrition subforum, and so I have posted what I call Carb Cycling 101 below. For those who are considering a carb cycling/timed carb diet, this should help get you started.

Keep in mind there is no 100% right or wrong way to design your cycle. Creating your cycle with two low/no carb days back-to-back is ideal for rapid fat loss becuase the less insulin present, the more fat your body will oxidize for energy. If, on the other hand you are trying to maintain/gain lean mass while burning fat using carb cycling, and you do not like, or can not tolerate having back to back low/no carb days, there are many different ways to utilize a carb cycling/timed carb diet.

It is also important to make certain your will be replenshing glycogen post WO (expecially after weight training). And thus, heavy training days (such as legs, back, chest) should be done on high-carb days. You may also find that lifting in the AM after a high carb day works well, then eat carbs in the two meals following the AM training sessison and then switch to protein and fat for the remainder of the day. This is a variation of carb-cycling/timed carb diet for that particular day. There are other factors involved, btu I am trying to keep this simple.

I have tried many different cycle vairations of low,no,high days. These provided the most rapid fat loss. I have also tried (and currently using) a carb cycling/timed card pseduo diet by eating carbs in my first 3-4 meals, and then fats and protein only for the remainin 2-3 meals. Here is some basic information on the subject. I also like the way Iron Addict (Wes) explains his theories on the subject. Links to his website and my carb cycling thread are listed below. I have also included a post I made on my carb cycling thread (listed below) entitled Carb Cycling 101 to get you started...

My Carb Cycling/Timed-Carb Diet Thread: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=457715
Another nice viewpoint on TCD from Iron Addict (Wes):
http://www.ironaddicts.com/More%20timed%20carb.html &
http://www.ironaddicts.com/timed%20carb.html?t=1761

Carb Cycling 101

Use this calculator to figure what your daily caloric intake needs will be based on your goal (i.e maintenance, weight loss, rapid weight loss). http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Next, take this daily kcal amount, and plug into this calculator http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nut...calculator.htm to determine macronutrient (carb, protein, fats) needed to hit these totals.

As for the macro ratios to use, some basic suggestions would look like this:


No-Carb Day
15% of kcals from Carbs
45% of kcals from Protein
40% of kcals from fats


Low-Carb Day
30% of kcals from Carbs
45% of kcals from Protein
25% of kcals from fats


High-Carb Day
45% of kcals from Carbs
40% of kcals from Protein
15% of kcals from fats


Keep in mind the following:
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of carbs = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories


Example: For bodybuilder whose maintenance level is 3,000 kcals and is looking to lose weight slowly to ensure minimal muscle loss. His target daily kcal intake is approximately 2,500 kcals per day...


Hi-Carb Day: (2700 Calories)
40% Protein x 2700 Calories = 1080 calroies from protein (approx 270g)
45% Carbs x 2700 Calrories = 1215 calories from carbs (approx 303g)
15% Fats x 2700 Calories = 405 calories from fats (approx 45g)

**Hi-Carb Note: Allow for a few extra total calories because of hi-carb intake and the fact that you do not want to sacrafice any protein intake**


Low-Carb Day: (2500 Calories)
45% Protein x 2500 Calories = 1125calories from protein (approx 280g)
30% Carbs x 2500 Calories = 750 calories from carbs (approx 185g)
25% Fats x 2500 Calories = 500 calories from fats (approx 55g)


No-Carb Days: (2500 Calories)
45% Protein x 2500 Calories = 1125 calories from protein (approx 280g)
15% Carbs x 2500 Calories = 375 calories from carbs (94g)
40% Fats x 2500 Calories = 1000 calories from fats (approx 111g)


The next step will be choosing the right foods in each of these groups to hit the desired totals. Not all carbs, fats and protein are created the same. I recommend researchign insulin sensitivity also for anyone who is not familiar with the importance of creating this within your body.


Here are some good choices in each macro:

Carbs:
Sweet Potatos/Yams
Long Grain Rice
Oatmeal (I prefer rolled oats)
100% Whole Wheat Bread (if you need bread this is the best choice. darker the better)
Beans/Legumes
Granny Smith Apples
Melon (very alkaline; helps keep ph lower)
Trace carbs found in dairy products.

Protein:
Tuna (drained well)
Salmon
Chicken (skinless)
Turkey
Lean Beef/Steak
Whey
Cottage Cheese/Caseinate
Skim Milk
Peanuts

Fats:
Sesamin/Sesam Seed Extract
Flax Seed/Oil
Fish Oil
Hempseed
EV Olive Oil
Natural Peanut Butter
Walnuts
Cashews
Almonds
Pecans

Fibrous Greens: (fiber is very useful in shielding carbs from being idgested. is also useful in aiding satiety; i.e. "feeling full".
Spinach (raw)
Broccoli
Basically anything dark green, save cucumbers (water) and avacoados (fats).


Note: There are many other choices which would fit in the above. This is just a base list.

[TexAss]

EDIT: Nice post Hal, thanks.


Wonder how hard of a time I'll have trying this as a vegetarian... I'll have to look into it.

[HalleluYAH]

2nd calculator link is same as the first

Edit: Fixed.

Thanks for the heads up.

[SupremeDan]

sticky

[Soymilkproducer]

Hal, can you help me out with this? I want to carb cycle but I'd like to designate the weekends as my high-carb days. So what's the best way to work around this?

Mon - low
Tues - low
Wed - no
Thurs - no
Fri - low
Sat - high
Sun - high

Does this look good? I put low-carb days on monday and friday to ease into and out of the no-carb days in the mid-week. Is there a better way? I'm of course trying to lose fat while build muscle. Also, the weekends are when I will get my best workouts, but I will still do moderate weighlifting during the weekdays. Thanks for any advice.

[HalleluYAH]

Hal, can you help me out with this? I want to carb cycle but I'd like to designate the weekends as my high-carb days. So what's the best way to work around this?

Mon - low
Tues - low
Wed - no
Thurs - no
Fri - low
Sat - high
Sun - high

Does this look good? I put low-carb days on monday and friday to ease into and out of the no-carb days in the mid-week. Is there a better way? I'm of course trying to lose fat while build muscle. Also, the weekends are when I will get my best workouts, but I will still do moderate weighlifting during the weekdays. Thanks for any advice.

Your proposed cycle would be fine IMO. Now we need to get your workout split to coincide with your carb cycle. How many days per week are you planing on training with weights? any cardio in the mix? What time of day will you be working out?

One thing is for certain, your heavy weight training days will need to be from Fri PM thru Monday AM based on the proposed cycle.

[HalleluYAH]

SesaBump

[sawastea]

Nicely done.

[BUGIE]

Hi Hall,

Firstly reps for such a great post.

I've been reading this thread and trying to sift through the Carbohydrate Cycling; Fix for Fat Loss Plateau? thread trying to find more information about carb cycling to help me build a routine. Can i ask you a couple of questions regarding the routines.

1. Is there any problem switching from hi carb straight to no carb days (or should you aim to try and have a low carb day in between)
2. Above you say that you should keep high carb days for when you train back, chest, legs but is there a maximum number of high carb days you have in a week (i presume the less the better)
3. should days when you're not training be a no carb day?
4. Is carb cycling something you should do for a small period of time (until you break your plateau) or is it possible to stay on it indefinately

I'll continue sifting through the forum looking for information but would appreciate it if you can help me with the above.

Thanks,

Chris

[AngelOfMusic]

make this a sticky...great post! very useful

[HalleluYAH]

Carb Cycling 102

In Carb Cycling 101 (above) we gathered the information needed to design our macronutrient (carbds, protein, fats) totals for no, low and high carb days. We also now have an incompete, starter list of the "approved" list of foods we can use to hit these macro totals.

Now, we need to deisgn a weekly carb "cycle" of no, low and high carbs days, designed around our weekly exercise regimen. This is where it becomes important to "time" our carb intake, or "limit" it to the times when our body actually needs the glucose.

Insulin Sensitivity vs. Insulin Resistance:

It is important to realize that your body will retrain itself to use stored adipose (fat) for energy in the prolonged absence of insulin. Insulin is produced in repsonse to raised levels of blood sugar. The more "sugary" a food you eat, the more insulin you body produces in repsonse. There is one additional factor involved, and that is the topic of insulin sensitivity vs. insulin resistance. Training your body to become more sensitive to insulin means you will produce less and less in repsonse to food, and protein/carb uptake into your muscles will be much easier. Not only will lower insulin levels aid in glycogen/protein resynthesis, it will trigeer you body to produce the fat burning hormones and enzymes,and thus your body will urn to fat for energy versus glucose. The following link is a must read on this subject: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magaz...urningdiet.htm

That said, we now have a base understanding on how our body works, and how to manipulate our body to choose fat for energy. Another interesting note is your body will begin to spare glycogen when turngin to fat, and this is great news for bodybuilders becuase yor body will only use stores glycgen in the lover and muscles during high-intensity exercise. Post WO is when we will need to replenish our glycogen stores and eat our carbs...

Post Workout:
We should always have at least .1 gram of carbs per lb of lean bodyweight post weight training, regardless of the time of day. Here is an example:

200lb bodybuilder with 20% Bodyfat...

200lbs x 20% BF = 160lbs lean bodymass (LBM)
160lbs LBM x 1.0 = a minimum of 160g of carb post WO

This is your "window of opportunity" to replenish your intra-muscular glycogen stores, which not only store energy for future workouts, but also give your muscle that "full" look. Here is another must read on this particular subject: http://abcbodybuilding.com/windowofopportunity.php

Here is a quote for a personal trainer I highly respect called Iron Addict (Wes), who outlined this in an easy to understand way...

Taken from this link: [url=http://www.ironaddicts.com/timed%20carb.html?t=1761]

"Post-workout, and it’s time to replenish the carb-stores in the muscles you just worked. As the vast majority of you already know, immediately after a hard weight training session there is a “window of opportunity” in the muscle cell when insulin sensitivity is very high and the body is most receptive to nutrient uptake. So…..you slam down 65-100 grams of fast liquid carbs (malto-dextrin, dextrose, and yes, even sucrose will work). About 10 minutes later follow it up with a 65-100 gram whey protein drink. As soon as you are hungry again, you can eat a small “regular” meal with a 40/30/30 protein/carb/fat profile to “top off the tank” of glycogen stores in the muscle. Then, you are back to zero or trace amounts of carbs until the next workout.

You then repeat the this format for a maximum of five days, and then have a 1-2 day carb-up. On days that you don’t train, you don’t eat any carbs except for a green salad or two. You do not have to run these no carb to carb days for the full five days and for many of you, having a lower ratio of no carb Vs. carb days will be advantageous. Also you do NOT have to do the carb days back-to back. You may do a couple of no carb days, followed by one or more carb days. This is determined on YOUR metabolism and how fast you want to drop the bodyfat."

Rest of the Week:

On non-training days, that is when we should put the emphasis on avoiding carbs during our last 2-3 meals and stick with fats and protein only. There are many variations to this, including avoiding carbs all week except post WO on training days, followed by a weekly "refeed" or "carb-up" day. You combine this with having "no-carb" days on non-weight training days. (These are the same principles I have tried to follow when doing full on carb cycling.)

Example: (200lb bodybuilder; 20% BF having carbs Post WO only)
Monday - No Exercise - No-Carb Day
Tuesday - Chest - Front Delts, Tris - No-Carbs Pre WO, 160g carbs post WO
Wednesday - Back, Rear Delts, Bis - No-Carbs Pre WO, 160g carbs post WO
Thursday - AM Cardio - No-Carbs
Note: you will want to perform cardio at low intesnity, say 60% max heart rate to prevent your body from turning to glycogen for energy.)
Friday - Legs - No-Carbs Pre WO, 200g carbs post WO
(legs are large muscles so increase carb intake some.)
Saturday - No-Exercise - Carb Refeed Day 250-300g complex carbs.
Have a cheat meal if you need one )
Sunday - No Exercise - No-Carb Day

Note: If you are having carbs on non-training days, you will NOT need 1 gram oer lbs of lean bodyweight post WO. Lessen this amount in accordance with how many carbs you eat at other times.

[dfm85]

Great post, reps.

[mivi320]

Very nice post!

Good work!

[HalleluYAH]

A good question from my other carb cycling thread...

Is it best to eat 2-3 servings of fibrous vegetables on no-carb days? I heard this.

One of the most effective aspects of fiber when dieting, is fiber's carb shileding properties. IMHO it would be beneficial to eat fiber along with cottage cheese or other protein/fat sources that have trace amounts of carbs in them. This may, in fact, eliminate any effects on blood sugar and thus will negate the potential effect these trace carbs, albeit minimal, would have had.

Fiber shields the starchy carbohydrates in food and slows the rapid attack of digestive enzymes. This slows the release of sugar molecules into the bloodstream. Thus, when you eat fiber along with your carbs, this will lower the overall effects the carbs have on potential fat gain.

Fibrous carbs in an of themselves, will have a much lower GI (glycemic index) and II (insulin index) scores and make excellent choices. It is important to understand this when making meal choices. All carbs are NOT equal and it is important to make the right choices at the right times. A fibrous carb or a carb + fiber would be an excellent choice during the day on a "refeed" day to maintain a steady insulin/glucagon hormone balance. Also, post WO, a more rapidly digested carb would be the better choice. Followed up with a fibrous carb + protein meal..

Below is a list of fiber sources. For carb cycling, it will depend on which type of cycle you are using for which sources you should select in any given no, low and high carb day... For example, on a no-carb day, you will need to stick with fibrous greens.

Insoluble Sources:
Whole-wheat products
Wheat oat
Corn bran
Flax seed
Vegetables such as green beans, cauliflowers and potato skins
Fruit skins and root vegetable skins

Soluble Sources:
Oat/Oat bran
Dried beans and peas
Nuts
Barley
Flax seed
Fruits such as oranges and apples
Vegetables such as carrots
Psyllium husk

NOTE: Both soluble and insoluble pass through the body undigested. Furthermore insoluble fiber passes through your body largely intact.

[SkinnyFat]

Very informative thread,

Good job HalleluYAH

[TexAss]

I found this article over at T-nation:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783

It is very informative and also follows a very similar pattern to Hal's carb cycling 101/102.

[HalleluYAH]

I found this article over at T-nation:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783

It is very informative and also follows a very similar pattern to Hal's carb cycling 101/102.

Nice link Mozel.

[Rachel_n_SD]

soooo,
say you were working fullbody on tues, th,sat..

what would a sample cycle look like??

[HalleluYAH]

soooo,
say you were working fullbody on tues, th,sat..

what would a sample cycle look like??

Depends on your whether or not your current diet is continuing to yield results. If the answer is no, based on your currents stats/goals listed in your sig, you might try the following cycle:

Mon - NoCarbs
Tue - NoCarbs pre WO, 110g post workout
Wed - NoCarbs
Thu - NoCarbs pre WO, 110g post workout
Fri - NoCarbs
Sat - High Carb "Refeed" day w/180g carbs
Sun - NoCarbs

NOTE: Keep in mind is very important that you do not drop daily kcals total too, so make sure to get plenty of good fats. Avacados, tree nuts, natty PB, olive oil and fish oil make good choices.

[HalleluYAH]

Halleluyah, I like the idea of using all your carbs for post workout. What about having some oats or something before and then the rest after? I have a real hard time lifting if I don't get at least 20 grams of some carbs in me an hour before. Just wondering your thoughts on that. thanks...

actually, studies suggest that ingesting a pre WO carb/protein shake can increase overall muscle glycogen/protien synthesis. So, by all means, having a complex carb source and protin shake pre WO can have a very positive effect... Here's the study for your reference:

Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise.

Tipton KD, Rasmussen BB, Miller SL, Wolf SE, Owens-Stovall SK, Petrini BE, Wolfe RR.

Department of Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77550, USA. ktipton@utmb.edu

The present study was designed to determine whether consumption of an oral essential amino acid-carbohydrate supplement (EAC) before exercise results in a greater anabolic response than supplementation after resistance exercise. Six healthy human subjects participated in two trials in random order, PRE (EAC consumed immediately before exercise), and POST (EAC consumed immediately after exercise). A primed, continuous infusion of L-[ring-(2)H(5)]phenylalanine, femoral arteriovenous catheterization, and muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were used to determine phenylalanine concentrations, enrichments, and net uptake across the leg. Blood and muscle phenylalanine concentrations were increased by approximately 130% after drink consumption in both trials. Amino acid delivery to the leg was increased during exercise and remained elevated for the 2 h after exercise in both trials. Delivery of amino acids (amino acid concentration times blood flow) was significantly greater in PRE than in POST during the exercise bout and in the 1st h after exercise (P < 0.05). Total net phenylalanine uptake across the leg was greater (P = 0.0002) during PRE (209 +/- 42 mg) than during POST (81 +/- 19). Phenylalanine disappearance rate, an indicator of muscle protein synthesis from blood amino acids, increased after EAC consumption in both trials. These results indicate that the response of net muscle protein synthesis to consumption of an EAC solution immediately before resistance exercise is greater than that when the solution is consumed after exercise, primarily because of an increase in muscle protein synthesis as a result of increased delivery of amino acids to the leg.

[Rachel_n_SD]

Depends on your whether or not your current diet is continuing to yield results. If the answer is no, based on your currents stats/goals listed in your sig, you might try the following cycle:

Mon - NoCarbs
Tue - NoCarbs pre WO, 110g post workout
Wed - NoCarbs
Thu - NoCarbs pre WO, 110g post workout
Fri - NoCarbs
Sat - High Carb "Refeed" day w/180g carbs
Sun - NoCarbs

NOTE: Keep in mind is very important that you do not drop daily kcals total too, so make sure to get plenty of good fats. Avacados, tree nuts, natty PB, olive oil and fish oil make good choices.

thanks 4 the input. yeah, im pretty much maintaining now, im weighing 128 lbs right now...i want to clarify, you mention 110 g post WO, is that all in one sitting, or the two meals following the workout?
so, in my situation this is kind of more of a TKD? also, when u say no carbs, im assuming i would still include non-starchy veggies, right?

[HalleluYAH]

thanks 4 the input. yeah, im pretty much maintaining now, im weighing 128 lbs right now...i want to clarify, you mention 110 g post WO, is that all in one sitting, or the two meals following the workout?

I would eat 35g immediatley post WO in a more simple sugar form, then have another 50g about 1 hr later. eat the remaining carbs about 1 hr after that.

so, in my situation this is kind of more of a TKD?

Indeed. TKD and Carb Cycling are half brothers IMO!

also, when u say no carbs, im assuming i would still include non-starchy veggies, right?

Correct, on no-carb days I always eat 1/2 cup raw spinach with 2-3 meals.

[Rachel_n_SD]

k, thats sounds pretty easy to do, thanks for all the help.
one more question-should i be upping my calories a little bit while eating low carb(using olive oil or some other healthy fat, of course) right now im eating 1800 a day, my maintenance is supposedly around 2000-2300 depending which calculator i use. im only trying to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, since i dont have very much to lose. ive heard alot of people say that you require more calories when eating low-carb.

[Rachel_n_SD]

k, thats sounds pretty easy to do, thanks for all the help.
one more question-should i be upping my calories a little bit while eating low carb(using olive oil or some other healthy fat, of course) right now im eating 1800 a day, my maintenance is supposedly around 2000-2300 depending which calculator i use. im only trying to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, since i dont have very much to lose. ive heard alot of people say that you require more calories when eating low-carb.

oh yeah, i lied, one more question:
would fruit be an acceptable/favorable source of higher GI carb post workout?

[HalleluYAH]

k, thats sounds pretty easy to do, thanks for all the help.
one more question-should i be upping my calories a little bit while eating low carb(using olive oil or some other healthy fat, of course) right now im eating 1800 a day, my maintenance is supposedly around 2000-2300 depending which calculator i use. im only trying to lose 1-1.5 lbs per week, since i dont have very much to lose. ive heard alot of people say that you require more calories when eating low-carb.

IMHO, raising kcal totals on a no-carb day is not necessary. Just making sure daily kcals don't drop too low on no-carb days is challenging enough.

[HalleluYAH]

oh yeah, i lied, one more question:
would fruit be an acceptable/favorable source of higher GI carb post workout?

for some reason fructose, the sugar in fruits, is more prone to replenish liver glycogen stores versus muscle glycogen. So, to answer your question, it will depend on how deep you dipped into your stored glycogen during the workout. If it is a legs day, you may very well use both muscle and liver glycogen making it a great idea to have both fructose and another simple sugar (such as dextrose, maltodextrin or even sucrose) immediatley post WO.

[Rachel_n_SD]

cool, thanks for all the input, im gonna try the cycle you mentioned and see how it goes

[HalleluYAH]

cool, thanks for all the input, im gonna try the cycle you mentioned and see how it goes

Wonderful. I pray it works well for you. Will you keep me posted?

[Rachel_n_SD]

Wonderful. I pray it works well for you. Will you keep me posted?

most definitely

[HalleluYAH]

most definitely