What is carb. cycling for?

[sherlock]

Hi all. I have a good bit of fat left to lose (I am about 28%) and have been reading some good articles on carb. cycling. I am looking to try something as I have been doing keto. stuff for the last year or so with good results, but the results have slowed down over the last few months.

Thus I would like to try carb. cycling. However I am confused. One school says:

1. carb. cycling is great for fat loss. Most articles actually say that.

Then there are the ones that say:

2. carb. cycling is not for those who have a significant amount of fat to lose. Rather it is for staying lean while getting bigger.

Anyone know if it is indeed okay to use for fat loss?

Thanks

[Memo]

if low carbs high protein is not working anymore, maybe you can post your diet so we can tweak it out...

[daande]

If you are doing a keto diet but if you are still eating more calories than your maintenance calories you will not lose weight.

[Talo]

if low carbs high protein is not working anymore, maybe you can post your diet so we can tweak it out...


Agree.

How many calories are you taking in ?
How often to you cheat ?
How long have you been on this diet ? ( you said months ? )
How much cardio are you doing ?

Something like the Paleo is another option.

[sherlock]

Hi all; thanks for the info. I'll give my stats to make things more precise. I am 5'8, 242 lbs., roughly 28% bf. Goal: to lose as much fat as possible efficiantly while still maintaining strength and LBM.

I have been eating fairly keto. since Jan. 08, except for a 6 week stint of doing the Zone, which helped drop some weight, but I think a lot was LBM as I got weaker on the program, looked flatter, and generally felt crappy.

The eating on average has bee in 4-6 week stints of 1800-2000 cal. a day from Mon.-Sat. with a 45/45-47/8-10 split of fat, protien and carbs. On Sunday I would have a 18-20 hour carb. load however I think sometimes I did this improperly as I ate some junk as well (no point in fibbing about my mistakes). Cheat days were on these days and on very special occasions (i.e. my sons birthday, my birthday, etc...)' these days worked out to be every 2.5-3 months. Also last May I had a a week of junk eating.

Training wise, I lift heavy 3x a week (Starr's 5x5, Pavel's 80/20, those kind of programs). I usually finish these workouts off with HIIT (i.e. usually a tabata). On another 2-3 days I would do some metcon work and some more HIIT. I would always give myself 1 rest day. I also have sporadic days of bjj training and conditioning.

The one thing I noticed is when I stopped running (for it's possible cataboloc effect) the fat loss slowed right down. I am now going to reintroduce running and see what happens.

Any hints would be greatly appreciated; thank you so much.

P.S.-carb cycling; ya or nay for fat loss?

Thanks

[baza]

I do carb cycling. Depending on your rations I believe you may lose fat a bit slower compared to other diets, but preserve and possibly add muscle.
On top of that you don't feel/look flat as you are getting more carbs compared to other diets.

[rickyboy36]

Carb cycling is very good at keeping you lean..well at least less bloated.Using this method wisely,you become less carb RESISTANT and therefore take them up easier..hence less spillover in the gut(its this spill over that makes us look fat).If you keep them low on days you dont train,it helps regulate your cells and increases there THRESHOLD so that when you reintroduce them on training day(especailly PWO),they will absorb the carbs like a sponge.Of course after time though your threshold will diminish.A good way of getting back insulin sensitivity is by dieting again and cutting carbs and using slow digesting ones found in vegetables.If you follow a keto diet with zero carbs...your sensitivity will be even higher.