Calorie and Carb Cycling For Fun and Fat Loss
It can be really tough to continue on a diet when you're not seeing results on the scale or in the mirror. Dieting can leave feeling hungry, groggy, and cranky. Most people diet by giving up the foods they love, so they end up feeling deprived and are just itching to scarf down some of their favorite foods. Obviously all of this is counterproductive to sticking to your diet plan.
The good news is that there is a quick and easy way to make a "diet" so much easier to stick to. The reason you'll stick to it is because you'll see results. The reason it's easy is because you'll still get to eat the foods you love.
The thing that a lot of people don't realize is that dieting can actually slow down your metabolism and end up making it harder to lose the fat you're trying to shed. But, the fact that remains is that in order to burn fat you have to create a calorie deficit. That means you have to burn more calories in a day than you take in by eating.
The problem is that if you keep your calories too low for too long your body will scream out "I'm starving" and start shutting down your metabolism to keep as much of the fat as it can to keep you alive during the impending starvation period. This is just a natural physical response. There's nothing you can do about it. Or, is there?
The great news is that you can trick your body into never realizes your in a calorie deficit. This allows you to keep your fat burning furnace stoked at max capacity, quietly shedding that unwanted body fat. You see, it takes some time for your body to realize that you're starving it by not taking in enough calories. So, if you sneak in a day every once in a while where your calories are not in deficit, then you're body will never know you're on a diet. And, the bonus is that you'll be able to eat some of those foods you love on those days where you're taking in higher calories.
On the days you're forcing a calorie deficit by eating less, your body will still be burning fat because the deficit is there and the body knows that it needs to burn some of your stored body fat for energy for that day. This is easy for the body to do when it's not in starvation mode because it's not worried about any crash, so it sees fat in plenty supply as easy to burn fuel.
On the days you're not in a calorie deficit, your body will say "Whew, that was close. I thought I was going to starve for a minute, but now we're cool. I'll keep that furnace going."
So, the quick and easy plan is to figure out your daily caloric needs. This is your basal metabolic caloric expenditure (big fancy term for how many calories your body naturally burns without doing any additional exercise in a day). Then add in the amount of calories you burn per day exercising (yes, exercising is still a great idea to really kick the fat burning into high gear). Then subtract 20% from the total to put yourself into a calorie deficit. 20% is a safe deficit that will still allow you to eat ample amounts of food to not be hungry, but still force your body to burn some stored fat for energy. Any more and you may put your body into a tailspin. Any less and you may not be burning enough fat to see results.
You should only take in the low calorie amount each day for about 3 consecutive days. Then the fun begins. The next day gets to be a regular day.
On the 4th day, take in your caloric need based on your basal metabolic expenditure plus your calories burned in exercise. This shouldn't be a total free-for-all day where you take in 1000 calories more than you need, but it will allow for a little more room to enjoy those foods you love.
Then on day 5 you start back at the beginning with 3 consecutive days of lower calories. Just keep this cycling going and you'll see amazing results quicker than you can imagine.
A quick tip for lowering your calories for the day without ending up hungry is to cut out the junk carbs. These are white bread, french fries, ice cream, basically anything that's been highly processed and is starchy. Each gram of carbs naturally contains more calories than a gram of protein. So, if you cut out the carbs and replace them with protein (which is more filling) you'll still fill up, but consume much fewer calories doing so.
It's not a bad idea to get your carbs during the morning to keep your energy level up and then taper them off throughout the day - ideally not taking in any starchy carbs at all in the evening before bed. On your low calorie days be sure to focus your carb intake on whole grains and unprocessed whole foods like baked potatoes (sweet potatoes if you can do them).
The good news is that there is a quick and easy way to make a "diet" so much easier to stick to. The reason you'll stick to it is because you'll see results. The reason it's easy is because you'll still get to eat the foods you love.
The thing that a lot of people don't realize is that dieting can actually slow down your metabolism and end up making it harder to lose the fat you're trying to shed. But, the fact that remains is that in order to burn fat you have to create a calorie deficit. That means you have to burn more calories in a day than you take in by eating.
The problem is that if you keep your calories too low for too long your body will scream out "I'm starving" and start shutting down your metabolism to keep as much of the fat as it can to keep you alive during the impending starvation period. This is just a natural physical response. There's nothing you can do about it. Or, is there?
The great news is that you can trick your body into never realizes your in a calorie deficit. This allows you to keep your fat burning furnace stoked at max capacity, quietly shedding that unwanted body fat. You see, it takes some time for your body to realize that you're starving it by not taking in enough calories. So, if you sneak in a day every once in a while where your calories are not in deficit, then you're body will never know you're on a diet. And, the bonus is that you'll be able to eat some of those foods you love on those days where you're taking in higher calories.
On the days you're forcing a calorie deficit by eating less, your body will still be burning fat because the deficit is there and the body knows that it needs to burn some of your stored body fat for energy for that day. This is easy for the body to do when it's not in starvation mode because it's not worried about any crash, so it sees fat in plenty supply as easy to burn fuel.
On the days you're not in a calorie deficit, your body will say "Whew, that was close. I thought I was going to starve for a minute, but now we're cool. I'll keep that furnace going."
So, the quick and easy plan is to figure out your daily caloric needs. This is your basal metabolic caloric expenditure (big fancy term for how many calories your body naturally burns without doing any additional exercise in a day). Then add in the amount of calories you burn per day exercising (yes, exercising is still a great idea to really kick the fat burning into high gear). Then subtract 20% from the total to put yourself into a calorie deficit. 20% is a safe deficit that will still allow you to eat ample amounts of food to not be hungry, but still force your body to burn some stored fat for energy. Any more and you may put your body into a tailspin. Any less and you may not be burning enough fat to see results.
You should only take in the low calorie amount each day for about 3 consecutive days. Then the fun begins. The next day gets to be a regular day.
On the 4th day, take in your caloric need based on your basal metabolic expenditure plus your calories burned in exercise. This shouldn't be a total free-for-all day where you take in 1000 calories more than you need, but it will allow for a little more room to enjoy those foods you love.
Then on day 5 you start back at the beginning with 3 consecutive days of lower calories. Just keep this cycling going and you'll see amazing results quicker than you can imagine.
A quick tip for lowering your calories for the day without ending up hungry is to cut out the junk carbs. These are white bread, french fries, ice cream, basically anything that's been highly processed and is starchy. Each gram of carbs naturally contains more calories than a gram of protein. So, if you cut out the carbs and replace them with protein (which is more filling) you'll still fill up, but consume much fewer calories doing so.
It's not a bad idea to get your carbs during the morning to keep your energy level up and then taper them off throughout the day - ideally not taking in any starchy carbs at all in the evening before bed. On your low calorie days be sure to focus your carb intake on whole grains and unprocessed whole foods like baked potatoes (sweet potatoes if you can do them).
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