Carb Cycling for Weight Loss & Muscle Gain

Carb cycling is modifying your consumption of carbohydrates over a certain period. It could support your weight reduction objectives while assisting with fat loss or maintaining physical performance.

Table of Contents

Carb Cycling: What Is It?

For professional athletes and bodybuilders who wish to lose body fat, gain muscle mass, or store more carbohydrates for long-distance training like a marathon, carb cycling is an extremely stringent diet. Even though a large portion of the weight you may lose would come from water, it’s growing in popularity among those looking to start losing weight.

The human body needs carbohydrates to operate correctly. It obtains its energy in the form of calories from lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. However, one gram of fat has nine calories, whereas one gram of carbohydrates or proteins only contains four. Less than 30% of your daily calories should come from fats, 10% to 15% from proteins, and 50% to 55% from carbohydrates, according to experts.

Certain carbohydrates are better for you than others. They are found naturally in plant-based foods such as grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables as well as dairy products. They are also included as sugars or starches in processed meals.

Your body requires glucose, which is produced when carbohydrates are broken down, as fuel. You may have greater energy and experience fewer cravings for carbohydrates if you quit using them to power your body.

Carb cycling is a technique that alternates between days with high and low carbohydrate intake. Some days may even be “no-carb.”

When you want to work out vigorously, you often have a high-carb day. You may consume 2 to 2.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight on those days since your body requires additional fuel.

On days when you’re not as active, you consume less carbohydrates. You may eat on low-carb days. For every pound of body weight, 5 grams of carbohydrates are needed. A “no-carb” day is one in which you consume less than 30 grams of carbohydrates during the day.

Another approach is to stick to a diet that calls for consuming just 100–125 grams of carbohydrates each day for three days. Following that, you eat a lot of carbs (175-275 grammes) for two days on days when you are more active.

The Mechanism of Carb Cycling:

Your pancreas produces more insulin, a hormone that transports glucose into cells, when you consume carbohydrate-containing foods your blood sugar rises. There, the glucose is either stored for later use, transformed into fat, or transformed into energy.

Your pancreas tells your cells to release glucagon, which is stored glucose when they absorb blood sugar. This back-and-forth ensures that your body is getting the proper quantity of sugar.

However, eating a lot of carbohydrates might cause your body to produce too much insulin. Weight gain and an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes can result from that.

Your body may be able to burn fat rather than carbohydrates and muscle when you take brief breaks to cycle your carbohydrate intake. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that high-carb days might cause weight gain if you aren’t engaging in rigorous training or a lot of activity when carb cycling.

Although the long-term consequences of carb cycling are not well studied, it is typically safe to engage in for a brief period. Maintain a nutritious diet to regulate your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.

The Science Underlying Carb Cycling:

Carb cycling is a comparatively new nutritional approach.

The biological processes underlying the manipulation of carbohydrates are the main foundation of the discipline.

Carb-cycling diets have not been the subject of much controlled research.

The goal of carb cycling is to balance your body’s calorie or glucose requirements. For instance, it gives you carbs during your workout or on days when you train hard.

The days with lots of carbohydrates allow your body to restore its muscular glycogen stores, which may improve performance and reduce muscle breakdown.

The hormones leptin and ghrelin, which control hunger and weight, may also operate better during periods of strategic high carbohydrate intake.

According to reports, the low-carb days cause your body to shift to an energy system that is mostly focused on fat, which may enhance metabolic flexibility and your body’s capacity to burn fat as fuel over time.

The control of insulin is another important aspect of carb cycling.

Insulin sensitivity, a critical health indicator, may be improved by low-carb days and carbohydrate targeting during exercise.

Theoretically, this strategy may reinforce the advantages that carbs offer.

Because there isn’t enough direct study on carb cycling, even though the mechanics underlying it support its usage, caution is still advised. To determine if carb cycling is safe and effective, a large number of further clinical investigations involving human subjects are required.

Is carb cycling an effective way to reduce weight?

According to the mechanics underlying it, carb cycling may help people lose weight.

The idea behind carb cycling is that it can assist your body burn fat for energy while still allowing you to perform well in sports.

A calorie deficit—that is, eating less than your body burns over an extended period of time—is the primary mechanism behind weight reduction, as it is with any diet.

You are going to undoubtedly lose weight if you come together with a shortage of calories with a carb-cycling diet.

However, novices may find it challenging to follow the strategy due to the complexity of carb cycling.

On the other hand, carb cycling may be more flexible for a lot of folks. For certain people, this may increase adherence and long-term success.

Carb cycling to improve athletic performance and muscular growth:

A lot of individuals think that carb cycling can help with athletic performance and muscular growth.

Performance may be enhanced by the targeted carb intake and frequent high-carb periods.

Carbohydrate consumption during exercise may also help with glycogen replacement, nutrition delivery, and recuperation.

This might encourage the development of muscle. However, another study indicates that if protein consumption is enough, carbohydrates are not required to develop muscle.

These mechanisms make theoretical sense, but to give an evidence-based response, an actual study comparing carb cycling to other diets is required.

Furthermore, not all studies back up the claim that “carb loading” enhances muscle development or athletic performance.

In general, there isn’t enough information to be certain.

Advantages of carbohydrate cycling:

According to Patton, carb cycling can be a useful training method for serious athletes such as triathletes and marathoners.

Why? In the realm of athletic performance, carbohydrates are equivalent to energy. Carbohydrates are converted to glucose, or blood sugar, via your digestive system. Glucose is absorbed by your body and used as fuel to power muscles.

How Carb Cycling Is Done:

Some factors, such as your general health and your activity objectives, will influence your carb cycling strategy. An example week is as follows:

Day 1 (intense workout): 170-270 grams of carbohydrates
Day 2 (mild workout): 100–130 grams of carbs.
Day 3 (high-intensity): 175-275 grams of carbs
Day 4 (light-intensity): 100-125 grams of carbs
Day 5 (high-intensity): 175-275 grams of carbs

What foods are safe to eat during carb cycling?

According to Patton, carb cycling follows the same general guideline as consuming healthy carbohydrates and avoiding unhealthy ones. Eat more complex, nutrient-dense carbohydrates to help stabilize blood sugar levels and maintain energy.

Good carbs are slow to digest and include a lot of fiber. Additionally, they are often unprocessed, which means that natural elements are still present.

Good carbohydrates may be found in the following foods:

whole grain carbohydrates.
oatmeal.
Skin-on sweet and white potatoes.
Fruit.
legumes, including split peas, lentils, and beans.
vegetables.

Generally speaking, highly processed foods that are likewise poor in fiber include bad carbohydrates. Items classified as “bad carbs” typically contain sugar and/or white flour. (For instance, white bread, sugary cereal, cakes, and cookies are foods to stay away from.)

How to calculate the number of carbohydrates:

You can measure your daily food consumption and calculate calories with a variety of fitness-tracking gadgets.

Or utilize one of the many apps that are accessible on the internet. Cronometer™, MyFitnessPal™, and Lose It!™ are useful, according to Patton.

Carb cycling: is it safe?

After reducing your intake of carbohydrates for a few days, you may have:

Issues with sleep
Fatigue
Constipation
Bloating
Mood problems

This is known as “carb flu,” and it often passes quickly. Electrolyte and water consumption can be beneficial.

Because carb cycling is so intense, it is not appropriate for everyone. Never try it if your circumstances are:

Breastfeeding or pregnant underweight.

If you are unsure, speak with your doctor before starting.

Tips for Carb Cycling Meals:

The following advice will help you choose the optimal carbohydrates to consume:

Choose fruit and veggies with high fiber content.
yogurt, cheese, and low-fat milk.
Be sure to stock up on legumes, such as peas, lentils, and beans.
Consume a lot of whole grains.
Limit highly processed meals, added sugars, and refined carbohydrates.

Meal plans as examples:

As long as they don’t consume more carbohydrates than their plan permits, those following a carb-cycling diet are free to eat whatever nutritious, well-balanced meal they choose.

The meal plans that follow are recommended for those who need 2,000 calories daily.

high-carb diet
Breakfast consists of one cup of cooked muesli with milk and one cup of 51 g of halved strawberries.
Snack: one dish (22 g) of roasted chickpeas
Lunch consists of a medium apple (61 g), half a cup of beans, one cup of raw peppers, a 6-inch wholemeal wrap, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Snack: milk or banana
Dinner consists of one dish of chicken, 100 g of mixed veggies, one cup of brown long-grain rice, and 58 g of soy sauce.

Meal plan with moderate carbs
Breakfast consists of three huge eggs, two pieces of brown bread, two thick tomato slices, two bacon slices, and butter (30.1 g).
One big apple (31 g) as a snack
Three-ounce servings of fish, three 14.8-gram broccoli florets, and half a cup of potatoes make up lunch.
One medium banana (28 g) as a snack
The supper will consist of one serving of spaghetti with pesto sauce (26.2 g).

Low-carb diet
Breakfast consists of one brown bread slice, two bacon pieces, and one 16.2-gram scrambled egg.
Snack: 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise (0.7 g) and 1 big hard-boiled egg
Lunch consists of 1 cup of diced or chopped chicken, 50 g of rocket, 1 cup of tomatoes, 1 cup of red peppers, 1 cup of onions, and 20.9 g of olive oil dressing.
Supper consists of 1 dish of couscous, 1 cup of rocket salad, 1 serving of shrimp, and 25.4 grams of salad dressing.

Summary

A diet known as “carb cycling” involves alternating days, weeks, or months of high and low carbohydrate consumption.

This diet plan could help people achieve certain fitness and health objectives, such as increasing insulin sensitivity, improving athletic performance, and losing weight.

FAQs

Does carb cycling help people lose weight?

Anecdotal research suggests that carb cycling might help people lose weight. Nevertheless, there isn’t any scientific evidence to support the idea that carb cycling is either more or less successful than other diets in helping people lose weight.

What does carb cycling look like?

Another approach is to stick to a diet that calls for consuming just 100–125 grams of carbohydrates each day for three days. Then, on days when you are more active, you consume a lot of carbohydrates (175-275 grams) for two days.

What is a suitable timetable for carb cycling?

Except for incentive meals on the seventh day, the traditional carb cycling method rotates between high- and low-carb days six times every week. However, you may want to change your setup for the week based on your fitness and health goals.

What drawbacks does carb cycling have?

Carb cycling may also have disadvantages. First of all, it might be challenging to stick to a complicated diet. Furthermore, it’s uncertain if any possible advantages will remain. Furthermore, there is little data to determine whether carb cycling is long-term safe for your health.

Is keto better than carb cycling?

If carbohydrate consumption is excessively high or too low, it can lead to abrupt rises and falls in blood sugar, particularly when refined carbohydrates are ingested. This might result in mood swings or energy changes. The “keto flu,” a transient set of symptoms that includes headache and exhaustion, can be brought on by the ketogenic diet.

What foods are high in carbohydrates?

grains including maize, barley, wheat, and rice.
Cereal, spaghetti, and bread.
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans.
Bran.

References

Cissn, R. M. M. (2022, August 4). What Is Carb Cycling, and How Does It Work? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/carb-cycling-101#how-to-do-it
DiLonardo, M. J. (2024, September 12). Carb Cycling. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/carb-cycling-overview
Fletcher, J. (2023c, October 20). How to get into ketosis faster. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324599
Clinic, C. (2024a, July 1). What Is Carb Cycling? Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-to-eat-if-youre-carb-cycling