Carb Cycling

[Rugby88]

Try and keep things simple as possible at the start and once you learn how your body reacts - I now know I can go a good 5-6 days on ultra low carb and then carb up within a few hours on a Saturday morning.

You may find you need to have a carb up every 3 days - or extend your carb up to include all of saturday + sunday morning etc....

To be honest what I would do is try and keep carbs low, fat high and protein high Mon-Friday and then carb up on Saturday (dont go crazy) and then maybe some carbs sunday morning for breakfast then back on low carb.

 

[BrisVegasGhost]

How long do you guys normally run your carb cycles.
Would you run it for say 6 weeks or until you are happy with the way your looking?
And how has your fat loss been on average per week?
Cheers

 

[Rugby88]

How long do you guys normally run your carb cycles.
Would you run it for say 6 weeks or until you are happy with the way your looking?
And how has your fat loss been on average per week?
Cheers

Last time I really focused in and was dieting hard - I prob ran it for maybe 12-14 weeks - I went from 105kg to at my lowest around 91kgs but normally sat around 94-95kg - best I have ever ever ever looked....

 

[BrisVegasGhost]

Did u feel flat and deflated when you first started? Or are you getting your energy from your fats to keep u going?
Also after your carb load up day did you gain much weight and did your muscles look fuller?
I was reading on here somewhere that every gram of carbs you have you will hold 4 grams of water?
So if this is true you will hold a bit more weight around your high carb days?

 

[0ni]

If you're getting good results then changing your diet would be illogical
Kick it off with a 2-3 week keto run, personally. This allows your body to get adapted to no carbs. Your body will stop producing many of the enzymes needed to break down carbs by then and your brain will be used to running on ketones

You'll feel flat at first, your body will be burning glycogen for fuel until you're keto adapted. I stay pretty full through the week unless I extend my keto run. Ephedrine makes me flat though, so I try to limit it

You'll weight more after a carb-up yeah. The trick is to eat enough carbs to refill glycogen but not so much that "the cup runneth over". This takes a lot of trial and error really. I find limiting my carb intake to 3 hours helps with this. It's simply not enough time to do a lot of damage unless you're doing really dumb shit. So obviously, save the bucket of ice cream until you're leaner and cut out sugars. I look my best 36-48 hours after a carb up

 

[Big Mick]

How long do you guys normally run your carb cycles.
Would you run it for say 6 weeks or until you are happy with the way your looking?
And how has your fat loss been on average per week?
Cheers

Did u feel flat and deflated when you first started? Or are you getting your energy from your fats to keep u going?
Also after your carb load up day did you gain much weight and did your muscles look fuller?
I was reading on here somewhere that every gram of carbs you have you will hold 4 grams of water?
So if this is true you will hold a bit more weight around your high carb days?

Again I would read Carb Nite explains it in simple language and easy to read. Also gives you almost of stuff to eat and not eat and exactly how to time your carb intake , whole book can be read in one evening of you are a good reader.

 

[BrisVegasGhost]

Well I have kept my carbs pretty low this week, well lower then normal anyhow.
My low days were around 50 grams and my higher days have been around 150 to 180grams.
I have been doing 2 low and one high and kept my fats higher on the low days. Chicken drumsticks with the skin on are my fav now!
So from about 6 weeks ago since I cut out sugars and booze I am down 2 kg, my belt notch has gone in x2

My strength hasn't gone down, up a little if anything and more definition is starting to show and I don't have the stomach bloat as much

 

[0ni]

Nice work bro, that's amazing progress

 

[Rugby88]

Well I have kept my carbs pretty low this week, well lower then normal anyhow.
My low days were around 50 grams and my higher days have been around 150 to 180grams.
I have been doing 2 low and one high and kept my fats higher on the low days. Chicken drumsticks with the skin on are my fav now!
So from about 6 weeks ago since I cut out sugars and booze I am down 2 kg, my belt notch has gone in x2

My strength hasn't gone down, up a little if anything and more definition is starting to show and I don't have the stomach bloat as much

Good stuff mate!

 

[BrisVegasGhost]

My carb cycling is going reasonably well.

My waist has really shrunk and a bit of size has come off my legs. My chest shoulders area look full still but they are more defined.

I will keep this up for another 3 weeks then I am having a mega pizza blow out with a few wild turkeys! gobble gobble

 

[jj80]

I found my strength dropped hugely just 5-6 days into a 0 carb diet. On day 10 now, carb up tomorrow then carb backloading.

I feel a bit below par most of the time and don't have a lot of mental energy

 

[0ni]

I found my strength dropped hugely just 5-6 days into a 0 carb diet. On day 10 now, carb up tomorrow then carb backloading.

I feel a bit below par most of the time and don't have a lot of mental energy

Maybe hold off on the daily backloads until around week 6
I don't think you're fully keto adapted yet

 

[jj80]

Maybe hold off on the daily backloads until around week 6
I don't think you're fully keto adapted yet

Got some keto stix no ketones in urine yet after 10 days.

Probably going to give this diet the flick soon, but will see how I feel with semi-regular backloading.

 

[0ni]

Got some keto stix no ketones in urine yet after 10 days.

Probably going to give this diet the flick soon, but will see how I feel with semi-regular backloading.

Yeah, I'd wait until you're actually keto adapted before you cast judgements on it
Have the carb up, keep it real food though, no sugars
Then see where you are on the 11th the morning of your next carb up

 

[Bazza20]

Some people just don't do well on low/no carb. I know I'm one.

 

[jj80]

Oni it's CBL so I'll be backloading every workout, most likely 5 times a week. Idea with CBL is keep it simple carbs (as much as you can). Reason he gives in the book is that if insulin is spiked quickly in the PM it settles down by bedtime and doesnt interfere with hormone production (growth or test, I forget which one). If you have complex carbs it interferes. I'll be keeping the refeeds pretty low to begin with, I read second hand that he advised on a forum to start with 0.75grams(carbs)/lb of bodyweight. So around 160 grams of carbs for me.

Yeah Baz I read you hated ket after 6 months or something. I figured CBL might be a bit different given it prescribes almost daily refeeds.

 

[0ni]

Oni it's CBL so I'll be backloading every workout, most likely 5 times a week. Idea with CBL is keep it simple carbs (as much as you can). Reason he gives in the book is that if insulin is spiked quickly in the PM it settles down by bedtime and doesnt interfere with hormone production (growth or test, I forget which one). If you have complex carbs it interferes. I'll be keeping the refeeds pretty low to begin with, I read second hand that he advised on a forum to start with 0.75grams(carbs)/lb of bodyweight. So around 160 grams of carbs for me.

Yeah Baz I read you hated ket after 6 months or something. I figured CBL might be a bit different given it prescribes almost daily refeeds.

What time of the day do you train?

 

[jj80]

3-5pm these days.

 

[0ni]

3-5pm these days.

I think eating sugar as your carb-up would be a bad idea here.
You'll be slightly dehydrated post training, then you eat a load of sugar and get a big hit of insulin. But you're dehydrated, then go to sleep and dehydrate more, it's just going to sit in your small intestine all night and the insulin spike will not go down- great recipe for the beetus

I think potatoes would be a better option, plus 160 you get to eat a kilo of them. Or 14 tim-tams...

Pretty sure that starches refill muscle glycogen better than sugars as well. I'll need to look this up. Don't worry about this insulin/gh pulse broscience. Focus on making yourself insulin sensitive instead, if this makes sense. Keifer constantly contradicts himself in the entire book lol.

 

[Bazza20]

Oni it's CBL so I'll be backloading every workout, most likely 5 times a week. Idea with CBL is keep it simple carbs (as much as you can). Reason he gives in the book is that if insulin is spiked quickly in the PM it settles down by bedtime and doesnt interfere with hormone production (growth or test, I forget which one). If you have complex carbs it interferes. I'll be keeping the refeeds pretty low to begin with, I read second hand that he advised on a forum to start with 0.75grams(carbs)/lb of bodyweight. So around 160 grams of carbs for me.

Yeah Baz I read you hated ket after 6 months or something. I figured CBL might be a bit different given it prescribes almost daily refeeds.

I've had a muck around doing 1 or 2 low carb/low calorie days each week of late( to try and combat some of the Christmas blow out ) and seem ok but won't be doing more than that, it just messes everything up for me.