Carb cycling can be an easy and effective strategy to burn fat and lose weight! So, how does it work and what pitfalls do you need to avoid?
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carb cycling
I’ve already shared a ton of information about intermittent fasting and carb cycling, which together are the foundation of my FASTer Way to Fat Loss Program. However, another key component to this unbelievably effective program is macronutrient tracking and timing. During our eating window, my clients and I follow an If It Fits Your Macros approach to nutrition. While this program is a gluten free, dairy free program,
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!
“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.
Countless women have come to the FASTer Way after being (wrongly) convinced that carbohydrates were the enemy. They drastically restricted calories, spent too much time on cardio, and eliminated carbs.
Some of these women might have seen results at first. But most of them eventually hit a major weight loss plateau and felt defeated. That’s because long-term restriction of carbohydrates and calories can lower metabolic rate and negatively affect hormone levels.
For a short period of time, a significantly restrictive diet will bring results. However, over time it will cause the metabolic rate to decrease which leads to a sudden halt in weight loss. Women then need to restrict even further to lose more, thus lowering the metabolic rate once again. Not only is this a terribly unhealthy way to live, but it is also incredibly frustrating.
Why Carb Cycling is the Better Answer
Cutting carbs can bring results… at first. Carb cycling, on the other hand, is a safer strategy that can help frustrated clients break through plateaus. A carb cycling program is an intentional variation of carbohydrate intake each week. Most carb cycling plans consist of high carb days and low carb days. In the FASTer Way, we base our cycle on the workouts we will be doing to maximize fat burn and energy levels.
Carb cycling allows for planned high carb days that increase thyroid output and help control hunger. We cycle our carbs by practicing low carb days to offset the high carb days. With this type of cycle, many of our clients continue to see fat loss, increased energy levels, and improvements to their overall body composition.
Carb Cycling Made Simple
Carb cycling improves insulin levels, helping your body to store less fat. When paired with Intermittent Fasting and effective workouts, carb cycling can help you break through those dreaded plateaus so you can truly look and feel your very best!
Here’s the thing: carb cycling isn’t expensive or difficult. It’s an amazing strategy that is actually simpler than it sounds! In the FASTer Way, we practice simple carb cycling by tracking our macros on both low and high carb days. Once we deplete our glycogen stores on low carb days and put our bodies in optimal fat-burning mode, we replenish with healthy carbs.
Our certified community coaches are on-hand to provide daily support as our clients navigate carb cycling for the first time. That’s just one of the many perks of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss! We practice the cutting-edge strategies of carb cycling, Intermittent Fasting, and macro tracking (with a focus on whole foods) to dial in our nutrition. Combined with daily workouts and easy-to-follow meal plans, the program has exactly what you need to break free from the plateau, enjoy carbs, and look and feel better than ever!
If you’re ready to wake up energized and ready to fulfill YOUR purpose, then join us today for our next round!
Download our Free 5-Day Sample Meal Plan
*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!
To say that intermittent fasting and carb cycling have changed my life would be an extreme understatement. These nutritional strategies have helped me and hundreds of my clients burn fat and increase energy in a truly amazing way.
You’ve probably heard me talk about becoming a fat burner as opposed to a sugar burner before. In fact, this is something that is slowly creeping its way into the fitness industry, as more and more research is being done on how to effectively lose fat in a healthy way. Personally, I have been doing research on this topic for the past year and a half. My Intermittent Fasting and Carb Cycling program was designed based on that research, to help women across the country become pro-fat burners as opposed to sugar burners.
For years I lived by the diet and exercise advice the fitness gurus swore by: several mini-meals throughout the day, a regular low caloric intake, and long form cardio. While I found myself in decent shape, there came a time when I hit a plateau. I couldn’t quite find my six pack, I didn’t have a ton of energy and I found myself getting sick a little too often for my liking. So, I did a little research and began experimenting with intermittent fasting and carb cycling. In addition, I changed up my workout and added in some serious strength training and HIIT.