Following a carbohydrate-restrictive diet like the low-carb, high-fat keto diet isn't the only way to burn fat and lose weight. If you aren't about the low-carb life, and are unsure on how to lose fat, I'd like to introduce you to an eating method called carb cycling. As the name implies, carb cycling is a pattern of eating where you cycle the amount of carbs you eat in a given day, and by doing so, you can lose weight and have a leaner body composition.
Disclaimer: Being a Precision Nutrition coach isn't the same as being a registered dietitian. I cannot diagnose medical conditions, prescribe diets or supplements to treat medical and clinical conditions, or symptoms of any of these conditions. I am able to encourage you to eat healthy, provide strategies to improve eating habits, and share resources from recognized nutrition organizations like Precision Nutrition.
If you are looking to make any drastic changes to your diet, please consult your physician and a registered dietitian.
Carb cycling may sound complicated, but it's actually a pretty simple concept. Carb cycling refers to eating more carbs on certain days and fewer carbs on other days. You can also do a mini-cycle in a day by eating more carbs when you're active and a smaller amount of carbs when you aren't active.
The focus is on carbs instead of fat and protein because carbohydrate intake is the most variable of the three macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat). In the Precision Nutrition certification manual, John Berardi, PhD, CSCS, wrote, "Fluctuating them can have a large impact on many important hormones (namely insulin, glucagon, thyroid, and leptin)."
By changing the amount of carbs you eat in a day, you can continue to lose fat without the adverse effects of long-term carb restriction.
Before changing the amount of carbs you're eating, it's important to know whether or not carb cycling is the best option for you. Here are groups of people who can benefit from carb cycling:
Now that you know who can benefit from carb cycling, it's time to learn how to carb cycle.
When carb cycling, there's no need to weigh your food or track your caloric intake; you should know how many calories you need in a day to function at your best. Essentially, all you need to do is increase your carb intake on days where you're expending more energy and decrease your carb intake on days where your energy expenditure is low.