*Disclaimer: results may vary.

The FASTer Way to Fat Loss isn’t just built on intermittent fasting, strategic workouts, and whole food nutrition, it’s also built on carb cycling. Carb cycling is a variation of carb intake throughout the week, which is a powerful way to burn fat!

The purpose of low carb days.

Each day in our carb cycle has a purpose. On low carb days, our goal is to deplete our glycogen stores so that our bodies burn fat for fuel. When we eat carbs, our bodies turn those carbs into glycogen. When we eat fats, our bodies store those fats as body fat or triglycerides. During a sprint or a heavy lifting workout, the first place our bodies go for fuel is our glycogen stores. Once it has used up the glycogen stores, we’ll actually reach into our fat stores for energy. This is exactly where we want our bodies to go! 

Doing back-to-back low carb days will ensure our glycogen levels are low, so our bodies use those stores up quickly and can start burning fat. 

Workouts for low carb days. 

Our low carb day workouts consist of speed-burst work paired with low-intensity cardio. This will require our bodies to exhaust our glycogen stores and start burning fat throughout our speed-burst training.  We will then continue to burn fat throughout the cardio portion of the workout, and for hours (up to 48!) after the workout is complete! 

It’s best to do both your speed-burst training and low-intensity cardio while fasted, and to break your fast shortly after finishing, if possible. If it’s not possible, don’t worry! Just do your best with your schedule and you’ll still see incredible results.

During speed-burst training you need to push yourself. You want to get into those fat stores quickly, so work hard during this part of your workout. During your low-intensity cardio, you should be able to carry on a conversation. It’s important you stay in a lower heart-rate zone for this portion of your workout to maintain fat burning.  

How we do low carb days. 

On low carb days we consume less than 50 net grams of carbs (net carbs are carbs minus fiber in a given food). These carbs come from complex carbs found in vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. We do our best to avoid starchy carbs that lack any real nutrients, since we are working towards feeling our best and fueling our bodies well. In the FASTer Way we eat our carbs in an 8-hour eating window as part of our intermittent fasting. There are days where we will have some discretionary calories based on our workouts and cycle for the week. During those days, we can eat carbs from any source we choose… hello, donuts! 

Low carb days can be a bit challenging because they don’t allow for as much room as our higher carb days. They require a bit more thinking, but can easily be carried out once you’ve gotten a good handle on the macros in what you normally eat. This is exactly why each and every FASTer Way to Fat Loss client has a coach and supportive community!

If you’re ready to leave the confusion and frustration behind, then join me for the next round of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss! Learn the the cutting-edge strategies taking the health and fitness industry by storm—and learn how to do them correctly so you can finally see the results you want!