Carb Cycling

What is carb cycling and its effects in weight loss

Carb cycling is a very strict diet used by serious athletes and bodybuilders who want to drop body fat, get more muscle mass, or store more carbs for long-haul events like a marathon. It’s becoming more popular with people who want to kick-start weight loss, even though a lot of the weight you may lose would come from water. The main reason for getting popularity is its effect on weight loss which is actually a water loss in the beginning and fat loss if followed correctly. It never causes muscle loss which is nightmare for most of us. But the irony is many people are going through muscle losses due to lack of knowledge or so called BRO-Science methods of non qualified trainers.

Importance of carbs

Your body needs carbs to work the way it should. Carbs, proteins, and fats are how it gets its energy, measured in calories. But 1 gram of carbs or proteins has only 4 calories, while 1 gram of fats has 9 calories. Experts generally recommend that you get 50% to 55% of your daily calories from carbs, 10% to 15% from proteins, and less than 28% from fats. Therefore we can say carbs are the biggest source of energy for us.

Most of the carbohydrates in the foods you eat are digested and broken down into glucose before entering the bloodstream. Glucose in the blood is taken up into your body’s cells and used to produce a fuel molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) through a series of complex processes known as cellular respiration. Cells can then use ATP to power a variety of metabolic tasks. Most cells in the body can produce ATP from several sources, including dietary carbohydrates and fats. But if you are consuming a diet with a mix of these nutrients, most of your body’s cells will prefer to use carbs as their primary energy source. Hence,

RESTRICTING CARBOHYDRATES PERMANENTLY IS NOT AN OPTION 

And that’s why we need the process of Carb Cycling

Principles of Carb Cycling

Carb cycling involves going back and forth between high-carb days and low-carb days. There may even be “no-carb” days.

You would usually have a high-carb day when you plan on exercising hard. On those days, your body needs more fuel, so you might eat 2 to 2.5 grams of carbs for every pound of your body weight.

You eat fewer carbs on days when you’re less active. On low-carb days, you might eat .5 grams of carbs for every pound of body weight. You may include a "no-carb" day, when you have fewer than 30 grams of carbs for the entire day.

Another option is to follow a plan where you spend 3 days eating a low amount of carbs: about 100-125 grams each day. Then, you spend 2 days eating a high amount of carbs (175-275 grams) on days you are more active. 

How Does Carb Cycling work?

1. For Weight loss

The purpose of low carb days is to promote body fat utilization by improving insulin sensitivity. Insulin is a hormone used to absorb energy from carbohydrates. By temporarily reducing carbohydrate intake, we can help our bodies become more sensitive to the function of insulin.

High carb days are used to refuel your muscles, boost metabolism, enhance athletic performance, and improve appetite-regulating hormones like leptin and ghrelin. Leptin signals our brain when we feel full after eating while ghrelin is the hormone that signals hunger.

Like all eating plans, carb cycling requires periodic re-evaluation and adjustment to ensure that it is still providing the intended health benefits. Consulting with your physician or nutritionist to create an individualized plan is ideal.

2. For Storing Carbs (Carb Loading)

You must be thinking what is the need to store carbs as there are misconceptions that “Carbs will make you fat.” but carb isn’t a villain as its considered, its already stated above Carbohydrates are the main source of energy and are required by marathon runners or other athletes performing such long-haul events. During intense, continuous endurance exercise, their muscles will become depleted of glycogen after about 90 minutes. Carb loading is meant to store extra glycogen that your muscles can tap into once the normal stores are used up. 

Is it for everyone?

Carb cycling can work most people if used properly and for short periods of time. However, this is not a healthy diet for some people, such as those with diabetes or heart disease, people with eating disorders, or for pregnant or nursing women.

For someone struggling with prediabetes or diabetes, talking to your doctor about adjusting your carbohydrate intake may provide additional health benefits. That said, it's important to be careful about making sudden changes to your carbohydrate intake if you are taking certain medications for diabetes (like insulin).

Additionally, on low carb days, some people experience unpleasant side effects, such as fatigue, carb cravings, bloating, irritability, constipation, and sleep issues.

Because the program requires strict adherence, it may not be the best way to develop day-to-day healthy eating habits or work for people who prefer moderation. However, some gravitate to carb cycling precisely because it can feel like a middle ground between low and high carb diets, allowing the occasional high carb meals while reaping the benefits low carb eating has to offer.

Contact a licensed nutrition expert or registered dietitian who is familiar with carb cycling to see if this approach is right for you.