Carbs(Carbohydrate) Cycling why or why not?

First and foremost when people always talk about carbohydrates, they usually link it as the number one source of fat because if we don't use it up it will store as fats so people will normally have very little or no carbs over long periods of time which is a misconception ! Low-carbs or no carbs actually will affect your overall strength levels and your energy levels will drop tremendously so it is not the best way to lose fat and maintain your muscular mass. Our bodies is made in a way that it needs carbs to function at its best. So there will be alternatives for sure like what i'm going to talk now.

Firstly benefits of carb-cycling thats what people want to know the most so : To better help shed those body fat and maintaining muscle mass and also help to keep you sane , strength and endurance in check because if there is no carbs over a long period it can make you go nuts ! ( No energy ). 

So you must be wondering what on earth is Carbs Cycling? It is actually very simple , it is actually a zig-zag like pattern where you cycle between :
High carb day > Medium Carb > Low/no Carb days.
Carb cycling helps by giving your body the fuel/energy so that your body will be able to increase your metabolism to be able to create a calorie deficit to help increase fat loss. SO we rotate between high, medium and low/no carb days. 

For example there are many ways to setup the pattern you want so , eg; 2 low > 1 medium > 1 high than repeat . How you want it to be should be according to the individuals desired outcome.

Where should you place your different carb level days on different days?
Easy , you should place high-carb days especially on the heaviest training days eg; HIT training / intense weight training( We use alot of energy/fuel for it ). And vice versa for low/medium carb days.  

Likewise we still need to get our macronutrient in-check so below is a scale and also take note ! To break down your meals to 5-7 meals to achieve a better metabolic rate throughout the day to achieve maximum results !


High carb day -
The high carb day is established using the same method, only this time, increasing your protein and carbohydrate intake while decreasing your fats. To determine the grams of protein and carbohydrates, a woman will multiply her weight by 1.4 and a man by 1.7. Fat grams are found by multiplying 0.3 by a woman's weight and 0.6 by a man's weight. These totals will reflect the number of nutrient dense calories you can consume on this day
You'll want to focus the majority of these calories right around the training period since this is when your body needs them the most. Plus by doing so, you'll find that the rest of the day stays quite similar in terms of meal planning to your low carbohydrate days.


Medium/Low carb day -
To achieve maximum results, you must calculate the ratio of carbs to fat and proteins. Your protein intake is higher during the low-carb phase. A woman will multiply her current body by 1.2; men will multiple his weight by 1.5. This number reflects the grams of protein required per day; multiple this total by 4 for your number of calories consumed by protein sources. To calculate your grams of fat, a woman will multiple her weight by 0.5 and a male by 0.8. This total number times 9 will reflect your calorie consumption. Find carbohydrates by multiplying a woman's weight by 0.6 and a man's by 0.9. This total multiplied by 4 will reflect total calories consumed through carbohydrates. Add the three totals to determine your daily caloric intake during this cycle.

No Carb day -
The no carb day is the simplest, yet most physically and mentally challenging day. It is exactly what it says it is, quite literally, no carbohydrates. You will get some carbs from the greens you eat, but not enough to affect your results.
Be aware that low and no days aren't exactly going to be easy, but you're going to get great results if you can push through them. Some people tolerate low carbs better than others. Only you will be able to discern if you are going too low for you to function properly throughout your day.



Scale:
The recommendations below are standard but can be adjusted to fit your goals. You can take the ratios given and increase them to make them fit your goals. Multiply your bodyweight by the numbers provided below OR by your own set number to figure how many grams of protein, carbs, and fats you will take in each day. Calories for 1 gram of protein & carb is 4 and 1 gram fats is 9 . You can use my calculations table at my first topic of this page !
Carbohydrate Cycling Program Macronutrient Recommendations
Men:
DayProteinCarbohydratesFat
High Carb1.7g1.7g0.6g
Low Carb1.5g0.9g0.8g
No Carb
0
** All recommendations shown in grams per pound of bodyweight
Women:
DayProteinCarbohydratesFat
High Carb1.4g1.4g0.3g
Low Carb1.2g0.6g0.5g
No Carb
0
** All recommendations shown in grams per pound of bodyweight
Credits to http://www.cutandjacked.com

Questions? Leave me a comment or tweet me at @samoliverL

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