What Is Carb Cycling? A Guide to Optimizing Your Diet

Hello Ziddis! We have been overfed with so much information about what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat but not enough about how to customise it according to our lifestyle. That is where we lack. Because fitness is not one size fits all, we need to start understanding that one diet plan is not supposed to suit us all with varied needs and activity levels. So dive a bit deeper into this concept, and we will try to understand Carb Cycling!

What Is Carb Cycling?

We have enough research to show that carb is not our enemy entirely and being Indian, our staple food does involve a lot of carbs. Knowing how to form a diet strategy that alternates between high-carb days and low-carb days is how we can try to make sure our energy is expended in a more optimised manner.

If you have a very active day ahead which involves working out and a lot of physical activity throughout the day it requires you to fuel up well. Consuming more carbs helps you fuel up and recover from a tedious day. On your rest days or comparatively low activity days, you could cut your carb intake because your body neither needs it nor will be able to burn it efficiently. You could have a low-carb day because otherwise, you could feel more lethargic throughout the day.

Carb Cycling Benefits

Carb cycling is gaining more fandom and is especially getting popular among athletes and bodybuilders because it validates our need for carbs at the same time helps us cut those without committing to either side. They offers several benefits, such as:

• Fat Loss during low-activity or rest days too.
• Flexible dieting option by not needing to commit to a specific diet style
• Improve performance during high-activity days
• Helps us understand the needs of our body
• Preserves muscle mass
• Helps improve metabolism
• Helps in maintaining weight
• Can be used in either the gaining, sculpting or maintaining phase of your fitness journey.

How to Have a Carb Cycling Diet?

There is no need to worry or get intimidated by the idea of carb cycling. It is not as complicated as it may seem. To start carb cycling, follow these steps:

• Understand what your goals are. If you would want to focus on weight loss, muscle gain or performance enhancement, understanding your goal is important to strategize your diet. 
• Plan which days to allot for high carb intake and which for low carb intake. 
• For high-carb days stock up on whole grains, vegetables and legumes.
• For low-carb days focus on having more proteins and probiotic food.
• Keep a check on how many macronutrients you consume regularly.
• Stick to your plans and reduce cheat days
• Stay hydrated throughout this diet plan. 

Carb Cycling for Weight Loss

You can effectively use carb cycling for all your fitness goals but most of all for maintaining weight or you can use carb cycling for weight loss.. Because of its potential to create calorie deficit on low-activity days, carb cycling for weight loss is sustainable and effective. Here is a mock of how you could plan your carb cycling week for weight loss:

Day	Activity	Macros Weightage	Cycle
Monday	High Activity	50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat	High Carb Cycle
Wednesday	Low Activity	20% carbs, 60% protein, 20% fat	Low Carb Cycle
Friday	Moderate Activity	40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat	Moderate Carb Cycle

Secret Sauce: If you want to build your body without gaining unnecessary weight, you can ace your low-carb days by having more oats protein and bodybuilding supplements. 

Carb Cycling Meal Plan

Making a meal out of your carb cycling schedule is not a big task. Here’s an example of a carb-cycling meal plan:

High-Carb Day:

• Breakfast: Oats with banana, peanut butter and honey
• Lunch: Grilled chicken with brown rice and steamed vegetables
• Snack: Apple with peanut butter or sweet potato
• Dinner: Rotis with chicken curry/ fish curry or paneer curry

Low-Carb Day:

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs or omelette with mushroom and spinach
• Lunch: Paneer salad and grilled vegetables
• Snack: Handful of nuts or a boiled egg
• Dinner: Grilled chicken or paneer tacos with salsa

Carb Cycling Calculator

Now we come to the very last section. How can you calculate your carbs during your carb cycling? For this, you could download an app that detects the calories by scanning labels or sharing the name of the food item you are having. Some apps also take into consideration your step counts and the calories you lost in your exercise routine to adjust how many more calories you need for the day. This could be helpful and precise.

Takeaway

We often miss out on the point of diets is to make sure our body gets what it actually needs. Neither more nor less. Carb cycling is here to remind you just that. By identifying your goals your work is half done. Rest is based on understanding your activities and habits. Carb cycling functions on the phenomenon that one must consume only how much they need.

So give this a shot and see for yourself if this is your cup of tea. Till then stay fit and stay happy!

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/health-wellness/carb-cycling-diet-weight-loss-benefits-8385312/