Viewing entries tagged
carb cycling

Carb Cycling For Women

Download our FREE 5-Day Sample Meal Plan Below!-10.png

You’ve seen it all over social media, you’ve heard about it through conversations with friends, and more than likely you’ve seen the results and effects. Dieting and restricting carbs are hot in the nutrition and fitness industry. But today we’re proposing a new option: carb cycling for women.

Although there are a small handful of people that have been able to maintain the inches lost with long-term carb restriction, almost all would agree that the lifestyle is just not sustainable. Nor are the results. And while some testimonials have shown that you can drop initial weight when cutting carbohydrates significantly, most end up gaining that weight right back, and what’s even worse? The scales go up even more than the day they started, and now they have potentially ruined their metabolism also.

The Impact of Carb Restriction for Women

For women, this is extremely sensitive as it affects female hormones. A keto diet is commonly looked at as a stressor for our bodies as it is often putting it in starvation mode, especially if it is not done correctly or under proper monitoring. We need a good amount of carbs along with other key macronutrients such as fats and protein in order to sustain healthy hormone levels. It’s the last thing you’ll want to do if weight loss and wellness are your goal!

Sustainable Carb Cycling for Women

Through the FASTer Way we’ve adapted a lifestyle that is not only safe to do when practiced correctly, but sustainable long-term! And you will get the much-deserved results you’ve been longing for. 

This strategy is called carb cycling. With this concept, you’ll receive the same weight-loss benefits but will maintain energy and reduce brain fog—which is a common side effect of carb depletion. 

Although the goal of a low-carbohydrate lifestyle is to train your body to use fat as its preferred choice of fuel, in doing so some end up cutting their caloric intake to an extreme—without even realizing it. Through the FASTer Way, we prefer to work with science by cycling our carbs strategically to utilize the benefits but keep overall health in mind. We focus on whole-food nutrition, not expensive products filled with questionable ingredients.

We know that carb cycling is highly effective when optimizing fat loss through increased thyroid output and controlled hunger. We’ll alter between high carb days and low carb days but still feed our body the right amounts; thus ensuring fat loss, higher energy levels, and improvement to overall body composition. 

So our bodies now safely rely on fat as the primary fuel source, but we consume a healthy amount of carbs to refill those carb storage containers on our higher carb days. By eating fewer carbs on certain days, your body turns to fat for energy instead of the sugary and starchy foods it usually consumes.

The FASTer Way

We do this by implementing our intermittent fasting schedule, mixed with a HIIT protocol on specific days and strength training on others.  We advise our clients in the FASTer Way to consume nutritious, dense, whole foods and CARBOHYDRATES in a way that benefits our goals and all are included in the meal plan that we give clients weekly. We’ve taken the brain work out of it to make it a simpler solution for you!

We’ll also guide you through tracking not just your carbs, but also fats and proteins so you become aware of how much your body needs to thrive. And because each body is different, we’ll help you set your macro intake to match your desired goals.

Here’s the bottom line: carbs are not the enemy. By using this carb cycling method our clients have less frustration, better long-term success, happier hormone levels, and more energy to power through those workouts to achieve results in performance and body composition.

Here’s a bonus pro-tip: prioritize and consume tons of leafy greens because FIBER matters! There are many benefits to greens (like being calorie-free), but your plate will also be fuller and you’ll feel satisfied longer.

Ready for more inspiration? Check out Leslie’s incredible story!

blog image-13.png

“It took me a bit to build up the nerve to send these in. I started my first round of the FASTer Way on Dec. 31. I was floored at my results! I lost 30.5 inches overall during my first round! I feel so much better!!! I started to feel comfortable in my own skin again, I’ve learned to fuel my body properly and, oh my word, how my mental clarity has improved. I decided to share because for many months I followed @amandatress on Instagram and would see the before and afters and think, these look too good to be true! But guess what, this is my new lifestyle! It was not too good to be true, it was a blessing!!! Thank you so much for your passion to empower others!”*

*Results may vary from person to person.

Let’s start working toward YOUR after.  




5 Benefits of Combining Intermittent Fasting and Carb Cycling

Download our FREE 5-Day Sample Meal Plan Below!-11.png

Throughout time there have been some pretty incredible dynamic duos:

  • Eggs and bacon

  • The beach and a fruity drink

  • Chandler Bing and Joey Tribbiani

  • Pumpkin spice and, well—everything

Thousands of FASTer Way clients would all agree to add another to the list: intermittent fasting and carb cycling!

Intermittent Fasting 

Not only does this power-punched duo come with a significant impact on your health, but research has shown it can aid in weight loss, which will leave you feeling more radiant than Rachel and Monica!

But let’s get down to it: what exactly are these strategies and why do you need them in my life?

Intermittent Fasting and carb cycling are two of the best ways to achieve your goals in terms of fat loss. Period. In fact, we’ve shared testimony after testimony of women who have lost inches in their mid-section, gotten stronger, and improved their health through the FASTer Way to Fat Loss—which is based on these two nutritional strategies that make up this dynamic and effective duo.

Intermittent Fasting isn’t a diet or quick fix; it’s a lifestyle that incorporates periods of eating with periods of withholding food. Although this strategy is all the buzz in the industry, it’s actually been practiced for thousands of years! 

The best part? It’s free and convenient for even the busiest of people. There are several ways to practice Intermittent Fasting, but in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss we suggest the 16/8 protocol. This means each day you will fast for 16 hours (most of which while you’re sleeping) and consume all your food for the day in an 8-hour window. 

We do not cut calories; instead, we simply eat them in a shorter window during the day, thus simplifying our lives in the process. Although this window can be flexible, most people like to start their eating window around noon and end around 8pm just before catching their favorite rerun of Friends

Carb Cycling

Remember when everyone decided to ditch carbs hoping for a quick fix? Oh wait, it’s actually happening now! But not without its downfalls. Not only do our bodies need carbs, but it may cause internal damage from removing them from our diets. Science shows that restricting carbs intensely over time can add up to a struggling metabolism. 

Carb cycling is a safer strategy that can help many frustrated clients break through plateaus. This strategy allows an intentional variation of carbohydrate intake each week with some days being higher in grams than others. In the FASTer Way, we base our macro cycle on the workouts we will be doing to maximize fat burn and energy levels. 

Fun fact: Jennifer Aniston tried to remove carbs from her diet when filming Friends, and soon after reported that she switched back over to a healthy balance of fats, proteins, and—you guessed it—CARBS! 

So does that mean we suggest enjoying donuts along with strategic planning? YES! Can we guarantee that you’ll look like Jennifer Aniston? No! 

But what we CAN say is that carb cycling can help with fat loss, higher energy levels, and improvement to overall body composition. So you’ll optimize fat loss by increasing thyroid output and controlling hunger. This will leave you jumping for joy with more excitement than Phoebe!

5 Benefits of Combining Intermittent FASTing and Carb Cycling

1. Increased Energy

Countless clients have reported an incredible increase in energy after just a couple of weeks living the FASTer Way. This is by far the most consistent side effect reported, and the one that we get the most excited about. The truth is, the world around you deserves your best self, and energy is definitely a requirement for being the best version of you!

2. Better Sleep

Perhaps one of the reasons our clients are seeing such an increase in energy is because they are sleeping better. This lifestyle positively affects hormone levels—so you sleep like a baby!

3. A Happy Gut

Good-bye bloating and discomfort, hello happy gut! FASTer Way clients tell us that after just a few days in the program they are feeling less bloating and discomfort almost across the board. Who doesn’t love a happy gut?!

4. More Time

Having all of that time in the morning, without having to worry about what to eat OR clean up means you can be more productive each day. This is a side effect that we love because as busy people, we all know the value of a few extra minutes!

5. A Better Mood

So many of our clients report far better moods after just a couple of weeks living the FASTer Way. This, again, is due to the effect of Intermittent Fasting and carb cycling on hormones. Not only that, our focus on whole-food nutrition has a big effect on feeling better—good food tends to do that! In addition, the workouts paired with these nutritional strategies can also have a positive effect on mood and anxiety levels.

“I don’t have a ton of before/after in the same clothing because, quite honestly, I was anxious to get rid of everything that was TOO big. I thought it would be too tempting to revert back if I had “safety clothes” that I held onto. But, you can ask Clay, any time I purge my clothing, I have a really tough time getting rid of anything Carolina related. I have an irrational fear someone else won’t take care of them like I do (I said it was irrational) 😂 It’s yucky outside, I’m feeling a little under the weather, and my plans today involved ONLY school work. So getting ready was not in the cards today. I just threw on this pullover and some leggings. And then I remembered my sister snapped the picture on the left a couple of years ago. And I love it because I love my sweet little niece, but man, what a difference. Not just a difference in what I look like, but a difference in how I feel, how I see myself, how I fuel my body, and how I treat myself. It’s amazing what a little guidance, a little tracking app, some macros, and some knowledge can do for you.” 

–Stephanie, FASTer Way Community Member*


*Results may vary from person to person.

When it comes to winning the weight loss battle and improving body composition, Intermittent Fasting and carb cycling are the way to go! Reward yourself with that treat after your effective workout and you are living your best life. Are you ready?