In this post about carb cycling, I will discuss
- Carb Cycling: Getting to Know Your Macronutrients
- Why Carbs Matter for Weight Loss and Fat Loss
- Carb Cycling Is Better Than a Low-Carb Diet
- Why Carb Cycling Works
- How to Create A Carb Cycling Meal Plan
- Carb Cycling Diet Examples
- How to Figure Out Your Macros
- Carb Cycling Calculations
- How Many Meals to Eat a Day When Carb Cycling
- Tips to Make Carb Cycling Easier and More Effective
Carb cycling is a part of most nutrition plans written by fitness and nutrition professionals, even if the term is not specifically used. Like most diets, carb cycling is a form of calorie restriction. The foremost principle of weight loss is you need to expend more calories than you consume to see the scale drop.
When dietitians, nutritionists or personal trainers talk about carb cycling, they refer to the manipulation of the amounts of the body’s 3 macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. We determine the amounts of each based on your bodyweight, body fat-to-muscle ratio, and the frequency and intensity of your workouts.
Carb Cycling: Getting to Know Your Macronutrients
Macronutrients, or macros, are the building blocks of the foods we eat. (Micronutrients are the vitamins and minerals.) Macronutrients are classified as carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Let’s dive into each one.
What are Carbohydrates?
The components of carbohydrates are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. In their original form, most carbohydrates come from plants.
There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex.
Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates
Simple carbohydrates break down quickly in the body due to their lack of fibre. They raise our blood sugar rapidly, forcing the pancreas to make more insulin.
Complex carbohydrates are a healthier option and more suitable for weight loss diets due to their fibre content which slows the rise in blood sugar.
Complex carbohydrates to include in your diet
When thinking about carb cycling, it’s important to add healthy, complex carbohydrates to your meals. Here are some of the best ones to eat.
- Organic starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, squashes and yams.
- Gluten free grains such as rice, oats, buckwheat and quinoa.
- Low GI fruits such as berries, apples and kiwis.
Squash is a healthy carbohydrate that you can include in your carb cycling diet plan. Photo by Kim Daniels/Unsplash.
What is Protein?
Protein is made from complex macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur, and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids. These amino acids are broken down in the digestive system. Your body uses them for the essential growth and repair of tissues, and as a secondary energy source.
Animal sources are referred to as ‘complete proteins’ (meaning they contain all 20-22 amino acids). Plant sources are ‘incomplete’ as they do not contain all the amino acids.
Healthy Protein Choices
To get the most out of your protein, choose wisely. These are the proteins that I recommend my clients add to their diet.
- Organic, lean cuts of meat
- Wild caught fish.
- Pasture raised eggs
- Organic, full fat dairy
- Beans, pulse legumes
- Whey and Vegan protein powders
What is Dietary Fat?
Fats consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Dietary fat supplies us with essential fatty acids (known as linoleic and linolenic acid) that can’t be made by the body.
Fat is vital in our diets. It aids the absorption of certain vitamins, helps brain development and protects our organs. It’s also the body’s second-most-preferred source of energy.
Healthy Fats to Eat
It is important to avoid trans fatty acids and hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats. These can all have negative effects on health.
Healthy fat choices include:
- Avocado
- Coconut oil
- Pasture raised butter
- Nuts and nut butter
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Why Carbs Matter for Weight Loss and Fat Loss
When looking at any kind of diet for weight loss, choosing foods that have the most ‘bang for your buck’ (the most nutrient dense foods) is of utmost importance. When calories are restricted, the quality of those calories are essential. This isn’t just true for weight loss. It also matters for energy, stress levels, good sleep, and beautiful hair, skin and nails. Choose single-ingredient, unprocessed foods that are organic and in season.
Carbohydrate intake is usually the first variable changed when dieting for fat loss. Reducing carbs can cause a drop in weight for a number of reasons.
- It automatically reduces calories
- It limits the amount of processed foods consumed
- It’s effective if a client is showing signs of insulin resistance
What Happens In Your Body When You Eat Carbs?
When you eat any type of carbohydrate, your blood sugar rises, followed by the release of insulin from the pancreas.
The insulin is released to enable the sugar (energy) to get into the muscle cells. Insulin literally ‘unlocks’ the cells to enable energy in.
Insulin resistance is the body’s inability to handle carbs efficiently, when blood sugar is raised too quickly. Too often, the body is unable to handle the amount of energy being produced, it is unable to ‘get in’ to fuel the cells, and therefore is stored as fat.
But, Not All Carbs Are Bad
And not all carbs are created equally, either. Refined, processed carbs (white bread, donuts, cookies,) raise blood sugar very quickly. These should not be consumed on a regular basis.
Carbohydrates such as sweet potato, oats, squashes and whole grains can be eaten as part of a healthy diet and have some great nutritional benefits.
Whole grains are good carbs that can be included in your carb cycling diet plan. Photo by Wesual Click/Unsplash.
Carb Cycling Is Better Than a Low-Carb Diet
There is no doubt a low-carbohydrate diet can be a great quick fix for some, and the resulting weight loss can give a much needed boost to health, self esteem and insulin sensitivity.
However, most on a low-carbohydrate diet will start to plateau. And, not including carbohydrates in your diet can cause negative effects, such as raised cortisol (the stress hormone), lowered thyroid function and poor mood and energy levels.
Carb cycling, on the other hand, has many benefits. It can be successful for both the general population and the professional bodybuilder!
Why Carb Cycling Works
Carb cycling is an effective way to lose weight and fat for most people. Here are the top reasons why.
Makes transitioning from low-carb to a moderate-carb diet better for your body
Carb cycling reintroduces carbohydrates to the body at a slower rate, which is important for insulin sensitivity.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach
Body weight and workout intensity are used to calculate your macros (and therefore your calories). So, it is highly personalised, which is essential for weight loss results.
Higher carb foods can contain higher levels of micronutrients
You’ll get higher levels of vitamins and minerals in some carbohydrates than proteins and fats such as B vitamins, magnesium and and beta carotene.
It can prevent muscle loss
Carb cycling can prevent catabolism (muscle loss), and even increase muscle growth. This is important when trying to build muscle and increase metabolism, because muscle mass burns more calories than fat mass.
Helps breakthrough a weight-loss plateau
Adding carbohydrates to the diet can upregulate thyroid function and provide more energy for hard training sessions.
Lack of food variety can hinder weight loss
Being bored with your food choices is an underestimated player in weight loss success. Carb cycling allows you to reintroduce different foods and meal plans.
It’s flexible
Carb cycling isn’t a strict diet plan. It allows you to plan for when times when you may eat off track, such as dining out, holidays and vacation.
Carbs can be good for stress and sleep
Carbohydrates upregulate the neurotransmitters that control your feel good hormones (serotonin and dopamine). This in turn can help you get a great night’s sleep and result in more weight loss.
How to Create A Carb Cycling Meal Plan
In the majority of diets, ‘low carb’ is considered to be an intake of under 50g of carbohydrates a day. But what is considered high carb can vary greatly, and what is high carb for one person may be low carb for another. This is dependent of a variety of factors including:
- Bodyweight
- Body composition (muscle mass to fat ratio)
- Level of insulin resistance / insulin sensitivity
- Amount of inflammation in the body
- Stress levels
- Genetic make up
- Hormone balance
- Training frequency and intensity
Carb Cycling Diet Examples
In this carb cycling example, let’s look at 3 different levels of carbohydrate intake: a high carb day, a mid carb day and a low carb day.
The more weight you have to lose, the less insulin sensitive you will be. This means your body will be more likely to store carbohydrates as fat rather than muscle. If you have over 20lbs to lose, start out with 1-2 high carb days a week. Those who are leaner and wish to build more muscle can handle more frequent high carb days, and would benefit from 2-3 a week.
3 Days of Strength Training, 2 Days of Cardio
For example, let’s say you strength train 3 times a week in the gym, and on 2 days a week you do cardio for 25-35 minutes.
On your 2 most intense strength training days (perhaps your full body workouts or leg day), you will raise your carbohydrate intake, keep protein at mid range, and have little to no fat. This is your high carb day.
This will help increase muscle growth and provide energy for your workouts. On the 3rd strength training day (your lighter day) you would consume a medium carbohydrate intake, a little more protein and a little more fat (mid carb day).
The other days would be your 4 low carb days, keeping insulin levels low and enabling your body to use fat as a fuel source.
How to Figure Out Your Macros
To establish your own macronutrient goals, we need three pieces of information
- The frequency and intensity of your strength training
- Your body weight
- Your somatotype
Somatotypes are a classification of 3 body types in relation to bone size and muscularity. They are detailed here to help you ascertain yours:
Ectomorph: Generally lean, a smaller frame and thinner limbs. Has a faster metabolism. Your goal is usually to gain muscle instead of losing fat. Ectomorphs should choose 3 high carb days, 3 medium carb days, and 1 low carb day a week.
Mesomorph: Athletic looking with a medium sized frame. Stays reasonably lean and muscular without too much effort. Your goal is usually to optimize body composition (increase muscle/decrease fat). Mesomorphs should choose 2 high carb days, 2 medium carb days and 3 low carb days a week.
Endomorph: a larger frame and heavier set. A slower metabolism, you are usually trying to decrease body fat. Endomorphs should choose 1 high carb day, 1 mid carb, and 5 low carb days a week.
Carb Cycling Calculations
These are the calculations I recommend for determining your low, medium, and high carb days.
High Carb Day
- Carbohydrate: 1.4 g per lb of bodyweight
- Protein: 1.4g per lb of bodyweight
- Fat: under 30g
Medium Carb Day
- Carbohydrate: 0.8g per lb of bodyweight
- Protein: 1.5 g per lb of bodyweight
- Fat: 0.3g per lb of bodyweight
Low Carb Day
- Carbohydrate: Approx 50g carbs coming from non starchy vegetables only
- Protein: 1.4g per lb of bodyweight
- Fat: 0.5g per lb of bodyweight
An Example: Carb Cycling for Women
Let’s put this into practice for a 125lb female Mesomorph, whose priority is looking to drop fat whilst maintaining muscle size.
Her base calories are 1,625 a day. She workouts 5 times a week and is reasonably active. She trains with a high intensity 3 times a week, and does 2 x 35 minute Metabolic Conditioning workouts a week.
Her carb cycling breakdown for the week might look like this:
High Carb Day (2 Days a Week)
Carbohydrate: 175g
Protein: 175g
Fat: 20g
Medium Carb Day (2 Days a Week)
Carbohydrate: 100g
Protein: 187.5g
Fat: 37.5g
Low Carb Day (3 Days a Week)
Carbohydrate: 50g
Protein: 200g
Fat: 62.5g
Meal planning is important for a successful carb cycling diet. Photo by Ello/Unsplash.
How Many Meals to Eat a Day When Carb Cycling
The nature of carb cycling lends itself to eating smaller meals more frequently. You may find that 5 small meals are easier to digest, especially on your high carbohydrate days.
A neglected (but effective) aspect of carb cycling is known as ‘nutrient timing’. This is the placing of the carbs at specific times (usually focussed around the workout) for the body to be able to use them most effectively.
To utilize nutrient timing, eat the majority of your carbohydrates in the two meals after you workout. This could mean adding oats into your post workout shake, and then having another serving of low GI carbs (such as sweet potato) in the next full meal post workout.
Keep fats low in these two meals so your body can use the carbs to full muscle building effect. With this format, the meals furthest away from your workout will consist mostly of protein and fats.
Meal Plan for a 125lb Female Mesomorph
Below is a suggested meal plan for our 125lb female mesomorph on a high-carb day with training mid morning.
Breakfast: 40g Protein / 10g Fat
2 large scrambled eggs, 4 slices of turkey bacon with steamed spinach
Post Workout Smoothie: 35g Protein / 75g Carb
2 scoops protein powder, ½ cup oats and a small banana
Lunch: 35g Protein / 75g Carb
3.7oz grilled chicken breast, 1.25 cups sweet potato with a leafy green salad
Mid Afternoon Snack: 30g Protein
1 serving 0% fat greek yoghurt with 0.5 scoop protein powder
Dinner: 35g Protein / 10g Fat
5oz Rump steak, steamed broccoli, green beans and 1 teaspoon butter
There is some math involved, but once you have your individualised calculations you have a very effective guideline to work to.
Tips to Make Carb Cycling Easier and More Effective
- Use single ingredient foods in their natural state. This will help to separate and calculate your amounts of protein, fats and carbs
- Food preparation is key. Plan and prepare your meals in advance.
- Use a calorie tracking app on your smartphone. My Fitness Pal is easy to use, has an enormous database of foods and you can even scan the barcodes of the foods you eat.
- No change on the scale? Remember that muscle weighs more than fat, which is why you may not see the drop in body weight you expected. Track your progress by taking weekly photos in your sportswear and note improvements in the gym and in mood and positivity too.
Need More Support On This Topic?
Download My Metabolic Health Shopping Guide Today!
This guide will teach you how to shop for blood sugar-balancing, and metabolism-boosting foods that will help you feel your best all of the time.