You may or may not have heard of carb cycling to lose weight. Carb cycling was brought to light mainly via bodybuilders that are cutting for a competition as they often adopt a carb cycling approach to shed the pounds faster.
Carbohydrates are a vital source of energy for the body and provide the body and brain with all-important glucose for energy and concentration.
Carb cycling allows you to continue to enjoy eating carbohydrates while shedding lots of that stubborn body fat, the genius in carb cycling is that it promotes the burning of body fat as opposed to burning muscle tissue.
Lets squash those rumors…
If you indulge in excess carbohydrate consumption the body will store the excess as fat, this is where people take it too far and get worried that carbs are the enemy, when they aren’t at all: it’s eating too many of them that causes problems. Too many carbs in your diet can contribute to fat deposits in the adipose tissue of your body, but they wont hurt if incorporated into a diet properly, in fact they can help you lose fat. The best times to consume carbohydrates are pre-workout, post-workout and first thing in the morning so your body is constantly sponging them up.
Carbs are not the enemy and your body needs them for fuel. So now we have established that carbs are not going to make you fat if consumed correctly we can delve more into the carb cycling method for fat loss.
Cycle those carbs!
Therefore, the matter of carbs being cleared as NOT being the enemy, we need to establish what carb cycling is and why it is effective. Everyone does carb cycling differently but many people choose to have three very low or zero carb days followed by two higher carb days to aid in muscular recovery, and replenish those all important glycogen stores. It is also important to keep your carb choices CLEAN such as sweet potatoes, basmati rice and quinoa to name but a few.
Your carb cycle should be worked out with a trainer or professional based on your individual needs. Carb cycling is also based around eating 6 small meals a day with an accompanying exercise regime.
Carb cycling can ignite the metabolism and cause it to burn at an accelerated rate, then, when you go back to your low/zero carbs days, you are still burning at an accelerated rate, and as you wont have any excess calories to burn for fuel, your body will turn to its fat stores.
How High & Low Carb Days work
High Carb Days:
• Carbs will stimulate an insulin response in your body that helps shuttle protein and nutrients to your muscles
• Your glycogen stores will be replenished
• You will feel full of energy and ALIVE!
Low Carb Days:
• Fat loss will greatly improve by fooling your body into burning more fat for fuel rather than the sugar from carbohydrates it would normally get.
• Your body will become more receptive to insulin.
Carb cycling is one of weight-loss’s nutritional secret weapons! It can effectively assist you in converting your body into a muscle-building, fat-BLITZING machine.