Everything You Need To Know About Carb Cycle Diets

Perhaps one of the most little-known fat loss techniques on the planet, a carb cycle diet, also known as carbohydrate cycling, is one of the most powerful tools in anyones fat loss arsenal. Top bodybuilders and fitness models have used this secret to get to staggeringly low levels of body fat for years, and now it’s time to bring it to the masses.

While this technique has been used primarily by professionals in the fitness industry, there’s absolutely no reason why it can’t be used by anyone in the fight against the pounds. That said, there is a right way and wrong way to cycle your carbs. I’m going to tell you the right way.

What benefits does carb cycling bring to the table?

•  Helps you break through a plateau. Sometimes, after a long period of training with very little variation, your body stops adapting to exercise. By cycling your carbs, you give your body the jolt needed to break through your plateau.

• Helps fight off cravings. Knowing that you have a higher amount of carbs coming to you in the future helps you stay on track with your diet by not cheating. It’s like always having a light at the end of the tunnel.

• Is one of the only ways to get to single-digit levels of body fat.

• Restores the hormones that regulate your metabolism, appetite, and the starvation mode while on a reduced-calorie diet.

It should be noted that carb cycle diets only work while you’re in a calorie deficit. That is, eating fewer calories per day than you need to maintain your bodyweight. If you’re cycling your carbs and eating in excess of your maintenance level then you will not lose weight.

The Best Carb Cycling Diet

This guy's clearly got carb cycling down...

The Real trick with carb cycling is to alternate periods of low carbohydrate consumption with a period of high carbohydrate consumption. In my experience, the most successful version of the carb cycle diet is 3 low-carb days followed by one “high” carb day. This looks something like this:

Day 1 – Low Carb (50-100 carbs)

Day 2 – Low Carb (50-100 carbs)

Day 3 – Low Carb (50-100 carbs)

Day 4 – High Carb (1-1.5 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight)

Simply repeat this 4 day cycle, and watch the pounds fall off. You can optionally raise your protein intake on days 1-3 if you don’t want to have a reduction in total daily calories. However, you may see better results with a slight reduction in calories.

I haven’t posted exact values of carbs to be eaten per day because it’s a little different for everybody. There’s no way I can accurately tell you the perfect amount of carbs for you on every given day in a short post like this. Your best bet would be to take a look at a program that has a customized diet plan just for you. Kyle Leon explains the importance of a customized diet in this video:

[By the way, Kyle’s own workout and nutritional program can be found here. It is completely customizable to you - unlike nearly every other program on the net.]

I should note that it’s best not to be on a carb cycle diet for longer than a few weeks. Beyond that period of time, you’ll be doing more damage than good to your fat loss results as your metabolism will be struggling. Remember, carbs aren’t bad! They’re necessary as a preferred fuel source by your body, but that’s another article…