Читать книгу Cycling Nutrition: Carb Cycle Super Cheat Sheet to Rapid Weight Loss: A 7 Day by Day Carb Cycle Plan To Your Superior Cycling Nutrition (Bonus : 7 Top Carb Cycle Recipes Included) - Samantha Michaels - Страница 5

Chapter 1: What Is Your Carb Cycle?

Carbs and Dieting

Diet and weight loss are a goal that many people strive for. Diet fads have ranged from calorie counting, to staying away from all types of processed foods, and even to eating just fatty foods alone. While most of these weight loss programs are explained by complex scientific facts and studies, there are those that definitely rely on the simple fact that weight loss can be achieved by burning off more calories than we consume. This line of thinking has given way to a number of highly successful diet plans, most of which require a person to control his or her carbohydrate intake.

While carbohydrates are said to be the body’s main source of energy, they are also the main source of calories. It is said that for every 1gram of carbohydrates, the body takes in 4 calories. If you go by the idea that less calories means higher chances of weight loss, then you will agree that taking in fewer carbohydrates will help you achieve your weight loss goal. Although this may be true and may have proven to be successful in some cases, there are drawbacks that keep many others from being successful with the same programs.

Loss of carbohydrates means depriving the body of its main source of energy. Thus, many people who eliminate carbohydrates from their daily diet often experience sluggishness, weakness, and even crankiness. Don’t blame a person who is on a diet if he or she is showing these symptoms. Chances are, they have chosen to decrease their intake of carbohydrates as much as possible because they have been told that carbohydrates pack the most calories.

However, carbohydrates are also very essential for one’s nutrition. When the body carries out a certain task, it makes use primarily of the calories that come from carbohydrates. Ideally, when the body runs out of carbohydrates to burn for energy, it should use up stored body fat before the proteins which are harder to burn.

The problem with this is that the body reacts to the changes that we make it undergo. Loss of carbohydrates as the primary source of energy for the body sends signals to the brain that the body is being deprived. The result is a feeling of hunger and a need to take in more amounts of food. This is why many people who go on diets will find it hard to stick to their diet plans. Regardless of how much determination they have, the body will automatically send hunger signals to the brain, leading to bouts of binge eating. Another way of how the body reacts is through its metabolic function.

Carbohydrates and Metabolism

Metabolism is the process in which the body burns down calories in order to use them as energy. We mentioned earlier that the main source of calories is carbohydrates, followed by proteins, and then fat. Although all of these nutrients are sources of energy, metabolism is most affected by a person’s carbohydrate intake.

When carbohydrates are present in the body, there is a feeling of fullness which leads to a faster rate of metabolism. The simple reason for this is because the body knows that there is a great supply of energy to use up, and therefore it is not afraid of burning off as much calories as possible. However, when the supply of carbohydrates begin to decrease, the body feels deprived and empty, and it will begin to slow down its metabolic process. This is a natural reaction that allows the body to have energy on reserve for any activity that it may have to undergo.

Now, when a person’s metabolism slows down, calorie break down is much slower and therefore, more of these calories are left unused. When the person then gives in to the feeling of hunger and eats more than what the diet required, he or she will definitely gain weight as a result.

The main idea that people have to keep in mind is that the amount of calories you take should also be equal to or at least close to the amount of calories that the body burns. By burning off these calories, only very little will be stored in the body as fat or unwanted additional weight. Anyone who has been on the weight loss wagon will know that exercise is the primary way to burn calories. The more energy you use up, the more calories you burn. Additionally, the body also burns calories for its functions and processes.

Scientific studies show that when a person consumes carbohydrates, the body releases a hormone known as insulin. Insulin helps the cells to utilize blood sugars so that they can also be converted into energy. If these sugars are not converted into energy and used up, they are then stored in the body as fat. This fact alone shows just how important carbohydrates are as part of an individual’s diet. Again however, the problem is when the body is unable to burn the calories that are being provided by these essential carbohydrates. This is why carbohydrate intake should be managed so that its benefits can be acquired, but also so that it does not provide any unwanted negative effects.

What Is the Carb Cycle?

Now that we know how important it is to manage one’s intake of carbohydrates instead of just eliminating them from one’s diet altogether, it is important to know how exactly these carbohydrates can be controlled. This is where the carb cycle comes in.

In its simplest sense, the carb cycle refers to a cycle or a period of time where there are low carbohydrate days, as well as high carbohydrate days. Some people prefer to prolong the period of low carbohydrate days, say 5 days, and then follow it up with 1 or 2 high carbohydrate days. Fitness expert Chris Powell recommends that there be a high carbohydrate day, followed by 2 low carbohydrate days, then followed by another high carbohydrate day. This cycle continues, and while it still allows you to eat your much-loved carbs, it also promises weight loss by as early as one week into the program.

Why Carb Cycling?

The idea behind carb cycling is to trick the body into always thinking that there is an ample supply of carbohydrates in the body. As discussed earlier, this will give a feeling of fullness, and will also release the desired levels of insulin as well as a proper rate of metabolism. What all of this entails can be listed in three things:

1. Boost in metabolism

2. Fuelling your body

3. Stabilizing blood sugar levels to reduce cravings

These benefits of carb cycling is what makes all that fat burning possible, even without depriving the body of the essential carbohydrates.

Chris Powell further explains that it takes at least a week before the body is fully pulled in to the system, so the first week is also the most crucial during the carb cycle diet. However, these first 7 days are also enough to regulate your body so that it is able to burn fat naturally as well as to shed off those extra pounds.

Ideally, a person should start with a high carb day, followed by 2 low carb days, then followed by another high carb day, then another 2 low carb days. Counting this off in a week will total 6 days all in all, which leaves us with a 7^th day remaining. This is where the beauty of the carb cycle diet really lies in. On this seventh day, you are actually allowed to eat anything you want, be it low carbs or high carbs. This cheat day will make sure that the body is not deprived. After all, no diet can fully be sustained if the body feels deprived.

The Cheat Day

Let’s discuss the cheat day and its 4 simple rules. This is one of the most important aspects of carb cycling because it satisfies your emotional and psychological need. After all, the diet will have you controlling what you eat, and after a certain period of time, it could leave you feeling unsatisfied and even depressed because you can no longer eat the foods that you love.

Cheat day works in two ways: the first is that it satisfies your cravings as it lets you eat your favourite foods, the second is because it actually tricks your body into thinking that there is a lot of calories to be burned so that it speeds up metabolism. In effect, even if you are taking up all these extra calories, your body will actually react and make you burn even more calories especially if the cheat day is followed by your low carb day.

Experts in carb cycling say that you can eat up to 1,000 calories more during your cheat day. This can translate to your favourite fried chicken, your decadent desserts and pastries, or almost anything you could want to eat. Some may think that the limit of a thousand calories will actually not be enough, but this is already a lot. What you can do to prepare for this, and to make sure that you stay within this limit and make the best of it is for you to list down the foods that you crave for during the week or during your low carb and high carb days. List the foods along with their corresponding calorie count, and you will be surprised to see just how many of these foods you will be able to eat on your cheat day.

A second rule when it comes to cheat day is to never cheat during dinner. You can eat to your heart’s content on breakfast, lunch, and during your snacks, but never do so at night because this is what is known as the red zone. This red zone, between 6:00 and 12:00 at night to be more specific, is the time when the body tends to crave for more food. You may start off thinking that you will just have a bite or two of your favourite foods, but before you know it, your extra thousand calories can turn into two thousand or even three thousand calories. These binge eating moments can throw off your metabolism too much, especially since you will not be using them up for the rest of the day.

The cheat day’s third rule is to simply do your cheating on the table. This may sound silly, but many people actually eat a lot more when they simply sit in their cars and go through drive thru’s, or when they are doing their eating in front of their television or computer screens. Eating off the table makes people think less of what they eat, so they tend to consume more calories than they should. Also, eating at the table allows you to savour those special cheat meals so it works better psychologically and emotionally as well.