Unanswered Carb cycling - Still Used?

[jamesm11]

Is carb cycling still a thing? I followed LeanGains back in 2008-2011ish, but the indusry has come a long way since then.

I was keto since April and lost about 20lbs, but my lifts and cardio suffer from the lack of carbs. Also, I feel flat due to depleted glycogen. I feel great on keto, but it's limiting my exercise and due to my job, I travel a lot and have a lot of client dinners.

I'm thinking of doing carb cycling to break my plateau and allow me to focus more on my lifts. I think a 3 day split is the norm? Push/pull/legs? High carb on lifting days, low carb on rest/cardio days?

 

[ValiantThor08]

I carb cycle like this. My base diet is ketogenic. For dinner though on days in lift I allow myself a simple carb meal. Some days I just eat fat and protein even after lifting. Some nights after lifting for dinner I'll have a lot of carbs and protein. I do it because I enjoy carbs sometimes, and i also enjoy how my body and blood sugar is with a ketogenic base.

 

[jamesm11]

Good to know. I don't plan on going crazy if I i introduce carbs, but want to eat some fruit, potatoes, and rice again. I still plan to track calories.

Keto definitely works, but it is really restrictive after 3+ months and I don't like asking for substitutions at client dinners and cocktail hours, because it brings on questions and comments from people.

Though, almost everyone in my profession is obese and doesn't focus on diet or exercise.

 

[Resolve10]

I taper my carb intake by workout volume and daily activity levels.

I think you’d do great adding some in, especially like the things you listed (fruits potatoes etc).

Your workouts should be more productive and it should be less restrictive.

Start slow, add some in, then build some more in based on how it treats you.

 

[LeanEngineer]

I taper my carb intake by workout volume and daily activity levels.

I think you’d do great adding some in, especially like the things you listed (fruits potatoes etc).

Your workouts should be more productive and it should be less restrictive.

Start slow, add some in, then build some more in based on how it treats you.

Can't agree more with this. Always good to change things up, add in some more and analyze the results to see if it's working for you personally or not.

 

[AntM1564]

I have carb cycled for years and love it.

I follow a modified version of this:

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/carb-cycling-codex