Have you heard of carb cycling? Carb cycling strategically uses low-carb days and high-carb days to fuel your body, improve your overall metabolism, and keep hormones functioning optimally.
Carb cycling involves going back and forth between high-carb and low-carb days or meals.
Low-carb days are meant to deplete the body’s glycogen stores so that the body is forced to burn fat for fuel. When we eat carbs, our bodies turn those carbs into glycogen. When we eat fats, our bodies store those fats as body fat or triglycerides.
The body first gets fuel from the glycogen stores. Then, once it has burned up the glycogen stores, the body taps into fat stores for energy.
Typically, low-carb days are meant to be lower-intensity workouts.
BUT…
If your goal is weight loss, you could throw in a quick high-intensity or heavy lifting workout. Your body needs more quick energy for these speed-workouts so if the glycogen stores are already depleted, it will go right to the fats stores.
Why Carb Cycle
Carb cycling can help prevent fat loss plateaus and to keep your metabolism working effectively. Carb cycling clients tend to lose fat, not just weight, and see actual body composition changes.
The science is primarily based on the biological mechanisms behind carbohydrate manipulation. Carb cycling tries to match the body’s need for calories or glucose.
The high-carb days are in place to refuel muscle glycogen, which may improve performance and reduce muscle breakdown. Strategic high-carb periods may also improve the function of the weight- and appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.
The low-carb days are meant to deplete glycogen stores so that the body burns fat for fuel. When we eat carbs, our bodies turn those carbs into glycogen. When we eat fats, our bodies store those fats as body fat or triglycerides. During a sprint or a heavy lifting workout, the first place our bodies go for fuel is our glycogen stores. Once it has used up the glycogen stores, we’ll actually reach into our fat stores for energy. This is exactly where we want our bodies to go!
Another big component of carb cycling is the manipulation of insulin. The low-carb days and targeting of carbs around the workout may improve insulin sensitivity, a vital marker of health.
Interested in learning more about how carb cycling could help in weight loss?
Grab my Carb Cycling Guide Ebook.
Comment below and let me know if you have tried carb cycling and how did it work for you?
