Learn to Cycle Carbohydrates and Lose Weight More Easily

People don't get fat by eating carbohydrates. The root cause of obesity is excess calories.

For example, in some poor countries in Africa, people's food source mainly consists of high-carbohydrate staple foods, and they generally cannot afford meat. However, Africans are generally very thin.

The "Fitness Nutrition Book" points out that the best way to lose weight is to learn to cycle carbohydrates: burn fat on low-carb days and promote metabolism on high-carb days.

This type of diet was initially popular among elite athletes as a way to replace carbohydrates with their training plans. Simply put it is:

Low-carbohydrate day: Generally, carbohydrate intake is required to be very low. The ideal recommendation is no more than 50g of carbohydrates per day.

High-carbohydrate day: You can eat unlimited amounts of carbohydrates, but the extra calories must also be produced by carbohydrates, and the intake of fat must still be strictly controlled.

For example, you can eat rice and steamed buns, but Western pastries and desserts are not allowed, because the fat content in them is usually very high.

What Are the Advantages of Carb Cycling?

1. Low carbohydrate itself is beneficial to short-term fat loss. In the early stage of a low-carb diet, fat loss is indeed greater, but a continued low-carb diet will bring many "side effects", and carbohydrate cycling can avoid these negative effects.

2. On the high-carbohydrate days of the carbohydrate cycle, there is no need to worry about excessive carbohydrate intake, because the excessive carbohydrate intake at this time will only become excessive storage of muscle glycogen, which will be stored in the muscle cells and will not change. into fat. In the process of losing weight, you can eat more with confidence in stages, which is very beneficial to maintaining a good mentality when losing weight.

When bodybuilders prepare for competitions and recharge their carbohydrates, the muscle glycogen-filling phase requires the athletes to continuously consume high carbohydrates. However, research and practice have proven that this will not cause athletes to significantly increase fat.

Several other classic studies have found that under a normal carbohydrate diet, a sudden intake of 500g of carbohydrates at one time will not increase the weight, or will only increase a trace amount of fat of 2 to 9g.

3. There are no "side effects" of continuing low carbs. For example, fatigue, mood swings, reduced exercise ability, etc. Carbohydrate cycling can balance and improve these "side effects".

Carbohydrate Cycling to Lose Weight, What Exactly Should You Eat?

Generally speaking, it is a cycle of 3 low-carb days and 2 high-carb days, and you only need to make a caloric deficit on the low-carb days (500kcal/d is recommended), and you can have a caloric surplus on the high-carb days.

However, before using carbohydrate cycling to lose weight, you should pay attention to the following points:

1. The design of the carbohydrate cycle can be very flexible, but the low-carb day should not be too long, generally no more than 3 days.

2. Carbohydrate cycling for weight loss, whether on low-carb days or high-carbohydrate days, requires a low-fat diet. The fat content should not exceed 30% of total calories on low-carb days, and should not exceed 25% of total calories on high-carb days.

3. In terms of protein, whether it is a low-carbohydrate day or a high-carb day, the protein intake is recommended to at least meet the protein intake requirements of people who want to lose fat. The recommended intake is 2~2.2g/kg per day, for example, for a person weighing 50kg For people, the intake is about 100g per day. The protein intake on low-carb days can be appropriately increased on this basis.

4. On low-carbohydrate days, carbohydrates in vegetables, milk, and yogurt are not included in the total carbohydrate intake.

Eat low-carb vegetables such as leafy greens, eggplant, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, cauliflower and avocado. You should also eat plenty of protein as well as healthy fats like olive oil, nuts, and fatty fish.

5. On high-carbohydrate days, you can have unlimited carbohydrate intake, but you must be careful not to overeat. At any meal, you should stop eating when you are basically full.

Skip refined, sugary foods and eat whole foods like sweet potatoes, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, brown rice, fruit, and quinoa. These starches are high in fiber and have more complex carbohydrate structures, requiring the body to burn more energy to break them down. Choose lean protein sources such as chicken, eggs, fish, nuts, beans, and soy products.

Finally, although fat will not increase on the high-carbohydrate days of the carbohydrate cycle, weight will definitely increase because the body increases glycogen and water. So we need to be mentally prepared for this healthy weight gain.

6. Carbohydrate cycling for weight loss is best combined with exercise, ensuring 30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day. In addition, under the premise of ensuring safety, it is recommended to add a small amount of high-intensity exercise on low-carb days.

What Are the Disadvantages of Carb Cycling?

1. Carbohydrates may be too much

The carb cycling diet isn't easy, and some believe it's only suitable for elite endurance athletes, not anyone trying to lose weight.

Because you have to calculate and track your caloric intake of carbs, protein, and fat. If you don't track your carb intake carefully, you can get off track.

2. May develop an unhealthy relationship with food

Some research suggests that while carbohydrate cycling may be feasible in the short term, maintaining this type of diet may be problematic in the long term.

According to a 2021 Frontiers in Psychiatry article, like any restrictive diet, this diet may lead to healthy eating disorders:

On low-carb days, you may find yourself craving high-carb foods throughout the day, leading to overeating when high-carb days come around.

3. Not safe for some people

Carbohydrate cycling is not recommended for people with diabetes or hypoglycemia who require a stable source of glucose in the blood.

Additionally, limiting nutritious carbohydrate-rich foods, such as fortified cereals, may pose health problems, especially in women of childbearing age who are typically low in iron and folate, which may lead to constipation if fiber intake is insufficient.