Some people believe that alternating high carbohydrate days with low days will help them lose weight, are they right?
Nutrition trends come and go in waves. First, we were afraid of eating too much fat. Then the conversation began to change, and we started demonizing carbohydrates.
In a way, our fear of carbohydrates makes sense. Carbohydrates make up a large portion of the calories you consume a day, and eating too much of the not-so-good things, like sugary drinks, white bread, and cookies, can be problematic if you’re looking to lose weight or just be more. healthy.
Therefore, you can choose to eliminate carbohydrates entirely, but that kind of restriction is not entirely necessary. Eating the right kind of carbohydrates, like oatmeal and brown rice, provides your body with the fuel it needs not only for your workouts but also for the day in general. That is why some people opt for a strategy called cycles of carbohydrates, which means alternating with high intake of carbohydrates and low intake of days with carbohydrates.
“The cycles of carbohydrates are a way to help dieters to feel that they are not dieting and even, in some cases, misbehave, ” says nutrition consultant Men’s Health, Alan Aragon. This does not mean that on days with low carbohydrate consumption you will get a special effect that will help you burn fat, but it could help you continue with your diet in the long term, he adds.
But does this approach do anything for your long-term excess weight? Even more important, is it better than just cutting calories overall? Here is the guide for beginners on cycles of carbohydrates and how to find out if it’s right for you.
What are carbohydrate cycles?
The cycles of carbohydrates consist eat a lot one day to the next lower the amount and so on the rest of the week.
The reasoning behind this is pretty solid: You get the benefits of a high- carb diet on training days and the benefits of consuming less when you’re not as active.
When you exercise, your body uses carbohydrate stores for energy, so naturally, days with high carbohydrates would align with days of training, when the body can best use that fuel. This can be quite good, because that extra boost can help you train harder, for longer, burning more calories. On your rest days, you can lower your carbohydrates, to reduce the amount of empty calories, so you don’t feel so restricted the rest of the week.
So let’s say you weigh 80 kilos and need to eat 4 grams of carbohydrates (g) for every kilo of bodyweight on your high carbohydrate days. If you are training on a Monday, this means you should eat 320g. The next day, you could reduce the amount to 2 grams per kilo, which could be about 160 g.
With that being said, there is actually no set amount of how many carbs you are allowed to eat on high or low carb days. It largely depends on the types of workouts and how often you do them. To As with most diets, there are a variety of “recommendations” to cycles of carbohydrates on the Internet; however, your intake of these should be designed based on your needs and goals.
4 things you should know before trying carbohydrate cycles
The cycles of carbohydrates requires a little more planning than most people would like, because you need to weigh, measure and count grams. Use an app like My Fitness Pal can help make it easier, but if you appreciate the flexibility in your diet, the cycles of carbohydrates may be too strict for you.
That said, if you love have guidelines or “rules” to follow the cycles of carbohydrate may be worth it.
Here are some things to keep in mind.
1 / KNOW HOW MANY CALORIES YOU NEED
Set the amount of calories you should eat daily. A general approach: if you want to lose weight, multiply your body weight by 20. That is the amount of calories you should eat each day. Weight maintenance? Multiply by 24. And if you want to gain weight, multiply by 30.
2 / BALANCE YOUR MACROS
Divide these calories between your main macronutrients: carbohydrates , proteins and fats. The carbohydrate and protein provide 4 calories per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram.
In addition to your carbohydrate cycle , try to consume approximately 2g of protein for every kilo of your body weight. Make up for the rest with healthy fats.
For this reason, on the days of high carbohydrate consumption , you should increase these and their calories, maintaining the same amount of protein and fat. On the other hand, on the days of lower carbohydrate consumption , you will drastically reduce calories, and at the same time keep protein and fat the same. Remember, it’s about eating less calories, but about? Feeling? as if you actually ate the same.
3 / DO NOT REMOVE THE FIBER
When you eat less carbohydrates, be sure to keep the fiber. Low carb days are not an excuse to dump broccoli and apples. Focus primarily on eliminating added sugar and other refined carbohydrates, such as muffins and bagels, from your diet. Eat fiber and vegetables rich in nutrients, fruits, beans, oats, quinoa and other quality grains.
4. EAT ENOUGH, EVEN ON LOW CARBOHYDRATE DAYS
Your brain works on carbohydrates, or more specifically, glucose from sugar. And when there are none, your body has to work using other sources, like protein, which can be bad news if you’re looking to build and maintain lean muscle. This is why it is so important to eat more than 130g of carbohydrates on “low carb ” days. It feeds the brain to perform well at work.
Dr. Chris Mohr is the owner of Mohr Results. He has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in nutrition from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Massachusetts, respectively. He earned his doctorate in exercise physiology from the University of Pittsburgh and was previously a sports nutrition consultant for the Cincinnati Bengals and the University of Massachusetts Athletic Program.