What is Carb Cycling?

Hitting a fat loss plateau is mega frustrating, and figuring out ways to combat a stall in progress can sometimes cause a mega headache. I am very proud of how far I have been able to come since incorporating more weight training and less cardio into my exercise regimen, as well as since following a macro-measuring lifestyle. But plateaus don’t discriminate, and they can come at any point when our bodies have become too comfortable with our routines.

In six weeks I leave to Europe for 12 days, and to be honest, my level of physical activity and the amount of calories I’ll be in taking will be the least of my trip priorities.

So, I am almost “prepping” for it, like one would prep for a competition (but not as extreme.) My goals for the next six weeks leading up to the trip revolve around sticking to a consistent workout plan, and consuming in a stable and healthy caloric deficiency, in order to see the most results right before my fitness hiatus.

This way, I don’t feel like I am ‘cheating’ as I inhale a Nutella creme brulée in Paris (yes such things exist).

BUT

My fat loss plan has somewhat hit a halt; I am not gaining weight, but my progress in terms of lean muscle development and fat loss has hit a little speed bump. SO how to tackle this teeny obstacle?

Carb Cycling

I have never tried carb cycling before, and so after a lot of researching and educating myself, I decided it is worth a try.

 What is carb cycling?

Carb cycling is not complicated, but it does acquire an informed approach in order to get the most of out of the benefits that carb cycling brings. I suggest researching all that carb cycling entails, but in essence carb cycling is designed to mix days with a higher carbohydrate intake in combination with days of a lower carbohydrate intake.

So in short: some days you eat lower in carbs, while you choose other days to eat higher carbs in effort to ‘shock’ your body, allowing the fat burning process to start up again.

Hitting a fat loss plateau is the result of your body becoming too accustomed to a consistent diet plan or exercise routine. Challenging your body and allowing your body to be ‘shaken up’ will result in it working harder to burn the stubborn fat that refused to go during a steady program for a prolonged period of time.

I plan on doing 2-3 days of a moderate carb intake, which means I will be consuming an appropriate amount of carbs that will provide me with enough energy during my workout and throughout the day. Following these moderate days, I will incorporate lower carb days, about 40 grams less then my moderate days. Then after my low carb day comes my higher carb day, where I plan to intake about 40 grams more carbs then what my moderate carb days entail.

Hopefully a few weeks of carb cycling will help me climb out of this small hole of not seeing progress. Carb cycling may not be for everyone, which is why it is important to know your body and understand what carb cycling is in its entirety, I order to decide if it can benefit you on your fitness journey. I will definitely make sure to continue to update the process, and include more information on carb cycling as I continue to learn myself! Carb cycling may not be for everyone, which is why it is important to know your body and understand what carb cycling in its entirety, to decide if it can benefit you on your fitness journey.

Fitness and health is all about continuously trying to find ways we can better ourselves and challenge ourselves, and discovering new methods in order to reach a goal is always exciting!

More to come with carb cycling, but for now I sign off-

XO, Adri