The Simple Diet of Carb Cycling With Intermittent Fasting For Efficient Weight Loss

May 15, 2018

Many people might wonder how it's possible to eat what you want while still achieving and maintaining your weight loss goals, and one of the most effective ways involves fasting.

Fasting is nothing more than adopting a schedule in which you only eat during predetermined windows of time. The idea is that you can eat whatever you want within the feeding window, but no calories at all during the fasting hours.

Fasting works by activating genes in your body that force your cells to work harder to burn calories since the fasting periods replicate a low-food environment. This is meant as a survival mechanism, but an intermittent fasting diet is designed to take advantage of the natural mechanism for the betterment of your physique.
 

Intermittent Fasting(IF) is the method of combining the concept of fasting with eating “windows”. For example, the 16/8 method introduces a fasting period of 16 hours followed by 8 hours of an eating “window” to get all the calories you need for the day. Fasting time is completely set by you and this technique promises maximal fat loss while maintaining your muscle structure thus keeping you fit.

One thing that is great about IF in terms of its convenience as a diet plan is that you don't have to worry about catering to any special dietary restrictions. In other words, you can still eat all the things you love, as long as you only eat during your feeding windows. Since you won't have to worry about eating outside of those windows, you can focus more intently on other things and even get more done.

You might be afraid to start a diet like this for fear of going hungry, and you certainly will be faced with the feeling of hunger for quite a bit. This is especially true when you first start the system, but it gets easier after a few weeks. Your body just needs to acclimate to the feeling of not eating for an extended period of time. Those who are committed to the lifestyle eventually find it to be second nature and completely adequate for their nutritional and hunger needs.
 

Carb cycling is perhaps the best way to make an IF diet as effective as possible. Many people eat carbs as a primary part of their diet, and while that is fine, it can be difficult to lose weight under such a diet, even when fasting is taken into account. However, carb cycling helps keep your body in a constant state of active metabolism, and it prevents your body from stagnating.

Here’s the structure of carb cycling explained:

• Set 3 days of the week as low-carb days, 3 days as moderate-carb and 1 day as high-carb. You can set any days of the week or shift them to fit your other plans.

• On low-carb days try to consume less than 0.5 gr of carbs per pound of your weight.

• On mod-carb days try to consume between 0.5-1 gr of carbs per pound of your weight.

• On the high-carb day try to consume at least 2 gr of carbs per pound of your weight.
   

Don’t forget to eat at least 1 gr of protein per pound of your weight each day and also stay hydrated and well rested. If you ever feel like you stopped losing fat, try reducing the amount of moderate-carb days and turn them into low-carb days. Also, shorten your eating “windows." For the best effect try implementing leafy greens, eggs, lean meat and low-fat cheese to your diet. Try to avoid grilled or modified products and excessive sugar.

As you learn to listen to your body and what it asks for, you can cater your meals during your feeding times to optimally fit your life.

Spread the word of this diet for others to see if you feel it could help them, and leave your experiences for others to read as well.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation with your doctor. Your health is important to us!