Carb cycling

[B3]

How do I carb cycle when I am having a mix of medium, high and low carbohydrates together in my meals per day? I don’t separate them.

[Heybales]

Do you mean carb cycling in the sense of a weight lifting program?

That means different amounts of carbs on different days in the week timed with workouts, not through the day.

That's used for lifting programs after all the major tweaks have been done that will show the most progress, and slower progress is seen from dealing with this minor type of thing.

What do you mean by medium, high, or low carbs?

Glycemic index?

Or just the amount per meal?

[B3]

In my meals I have a variety of carbohydrates according to the glycemic index. I am not on any programs, I just want to get rid of my flabby body. 

[cathm]

I carb cycle using this weekly schedule: 2 low carb days, 1 high carb day, 3 low carb days, 1 high carb day. 

The rationale behind carb cycling is that when your body receives limited carbs, it relies on fat as the primary fuel source, which can be helpful for weight management, body fat losses, and boosting carb storage when carbs are reintroduced.  The idea is that by being strategic about when and how you eat carbs (your body's preferred fuel source for exercise), you can more efficiently power your workouts and achieve better results in terms of both performance and body composition.

[Heybales · Accepted solution]

---

@B3 wrote:

In my meals I have a variety of carbohydrates according to the glycemic index. I am not on any programs, I just want to get rid of my flabby body. 

---

Then carb cycling is not useful to that goal - it does nothing magical to get rid of body fat.

To get rid of extra body fat you have to eat less than you burn (deficit, diet, ect) - end of story.

Anything else is just about what helps you to adhere to that objective.

Avoid any sites or people that are saying otherwise.

But in other topic you said you are healthy weight already, so a diet likely not a good idea unless you have just a few pounds to lose and not be underweight.

[B3]

I have all my high, low, and medium carbs mixed in together every day. I like your schedule because it is a good way for you to stay healthy, Do you think mine is okay for me or if I need improvements?

[SebWotan]

Based on this thread and other thread, I have a feeling you are going into advanced stuff for advanced body-lifter without managing the basics. Maybe you should take a step back and try to keep it simpler ? 

[B3]

Okay, how do I keep it simpler?

[SebWotan]

Your goal is to reduce fat. You are not overweight, so to reduce fat you need to gain muscles (otherwise you will lost muscles). To do this, you need to start simply gaining muscles and gain weight, enough that you can do a cut diet. 

So you need to start lifting weights, there are programs out there: 5x5, beginning strength. Pick one and follow it for one month, just to start building going to the gym to lift weights as an habit. Once this is done, you can start looking into diet and changing your macros for muscle construction. 

You need to take it one step at a time and be patient, this will take time .

[Heybales]

Another way to keep it simple - don't worry about this carb cycling.

If what you are eating happens to make you more hungry or tired 1-2 hrs after eating it - then perhaps too many carbs, or too many eaten first, or not enough fiber, or not enough protein or fat.

This is going to be an experiment of 1 - you.

So get a notebook and make notes if there are problems, then backtrack to what you ate to see if any tweaks to improve things.

Some people like eating dessert first, and then eat their protein and fat and fiber.

Perhaps not shocking - some get tired after eating that meal that way.

But merely moving around when you eat the items can make a difference - carbs hitting an empty stomach first for some may be pretty bad. May not be for you.

Test and note.

Perhaps it's the size of the meal - some people can eat many small meals during the day just fine - others that causes insulin to go up and down constantly and resulting low blood sugar - they'd do better with no snacks and fewer meals.

This all can help with fat in the sense it can help you from over-eating, which is what will add fat when not desired.

Also - don't be fearful of what you may think strength training means - you can probably do a fair bit with body weight movements for awhile. That will help.