4 Weeks Out – Carb Cycling Diet

A common mistake when women begin dieting is to cut out carbs- even the good ones. If you choose the wrong carbs, or eat too many carbohydrates, then yes- carbs will cause you to store fat.

Limiting your carbohydrate intake is important if you looking for fat loss results, but some carbohydrates are needed for energy, and not all carbs are created equal.

That’s why one of my favorite advanced fat loss diet techniques for burning fat without ruining your metabolism (click here to to read 3 ways most traditional diets make you fat) is to take advantage of a carb cycling diet. 

With just 4 weeks left until my competition, I’m taking full advantage of a properly structured carb cycling diet. I used carb cycling to lose some of the stubborn baby weight after Jackson & Warren were both born (check out Beyond Baby for my specific plan) and have been using it this time to get stage ready as well…and it works!

 


Carb Cycling Diet: WHAT

Carb cycling takes the macronutrients (the proteins, fats and carbs) of your meals and manipulates them to reduce body fat to very low levels while still keeping preserving your muscle and keeping your metabolic potential high.

A lot goes into a carb cycling diet, but essentially this strategic cycling of low/high carb days is maximizing our muscle breakdown and fat storage.

Carb cycling is an alternative to traditional dieting and calorie counting that can yield great fat loss results if strictly followed. Strategically altering no-carb, low-carb and high-carb days will positively influence powerful fat burning and muscle building hormones, and it may make it psychologically easier for you to follow your fat loss, lower-carb nutrition plan knowing high-carb day is coming.

Remember that the macros that each person needs will vary on your individual body composition, but this blog post is designed to give you a general idea of how carb cycling works. (for more in depth help, click here!)

My current plan is broken into three days High Carb, Low Carb, No Carb.  

You could also set up your carb cycling diet to have just two days: a high-moderate carb day and a low-no carb day.  

The key is to figure out what works best for you. 

 


Carb Cycling Diet: WHY

Carb cycling teaches your body how to be efficient and effective at burning fat.  

When you eat carbohydrates your body releases the storage hormone insulin in order to breakdown the carbs and deliver them as fuel to your muscles.  

The problem is that excess carbs that are not stored in the muscle will be stored as fat.  

High carb days are beneficial as they help promote muscle growth and replenish the glycogen stores that fuel your muscles.  This is perfect for women who are engaging in high intensity weight training workouts (check out my bikini competition workouts here).  

On high days you’ll notice you feel more energetic and have more intensity to bring to your workouts. High carb days also work to minimize muscle break-down (catabolism) and reset the hormones leptin, cortisol and serotonin to help burn fat, boost mood and hinder cravings.

Low carb days help to minimize fat gain from the higher carb intake of the previous day and promote fat burning as well.  

On low carb days you are signaling to your body to burn fat for fuel instead of burning the carbs that it normally eats as it’s fuel for the day.  Low carb diets also improve insulin sensitivity, which is beneficial for both fat loss and muscle building. 

 


Carb Cycling Diet:  HOW

An example of a carb cycling diet plan that has worked well for myself and hundreds of one-on-one nutrition coaching clients I’ve worked with looks like this:Carb-cycling-graphic-1

 

  • Monday: No [starchy] carb       
  • Tuesday: No [starchy] carb
  • Wednesday: Low [starchy] carb
  • Thursday: Low [starchy] carb
  • Friday: No [starchy] carb
  • Saturday: High [starchy] carb
  • Sunday: Low [starchy] carb

 

 

 


 

And for those of you who are curious, here’s a look at my sample meal plan:

 

high-carb-diet

 

 

High [starchy] Carb  (Saturday) 

  • Breakfast/PWO: Oatmeal protein pancakes (protein and starch), 1/2 banana (starch)
  • Lunch: Chipotle salad bowl with: chicken (protein), brown rice (starch), fajita veggies and salsa 
  • Snack: protein bar (protein + starch)
  • Dinner: Turkey Burger (protein) with baked sweet potato (starch) and huge salad 
  • Note: Today the majority of my healthy fats came in the form of supplements 

 

 


LOW-CARB-DIET 

 

Low [starchy] Carb (Sunday) 

 

 

 


 NO-CARB-DIET

 

 

 

No [starchy] Carb (Monday)

 

 


 

Click here for more info on the 5 supplements I take daily.  


 

BFL HEADER

MORE HELP!

This technique isn’t for everyone. But if you’re looking to take your fitness and fat loss to the next level, carb cycling works! 

For optimal breakdown of macros, servings of protein, fats, and carbs at each meal, etc, join us in the BeyondFit Life Club!  

You’ll get access to lots of recipes, more carb cycling tips & tricks, AND my favorite part: expert coaching and a team of supportive and encouraging ladies ready to hold you accountable. I personally communicate with our BeyondFit Life members every day in a private group setting, and I’m happy to answer any questions you have.  

We’d LOVE to have you join us!