The Benefits of Carb Cycling

Simultaneous muscle growth and fat loss has been a source of great interest in the fitness industry – from vague “turn fat into muscle” statements to bulking and cutting controversies. Nevertheless, without a doubt it can be said that muscle growth and fat loss requires two opposite conditions; respectively anabolic energy surplus and catabolic energy deficit. 

Our bodies break down and synthesize various molecules (including muscle-building proteins and body-fat building fatty acids) every day, and the source of our calories can tip the scales in either direction. 

All calories aren’t created equal and the differences in metabolism of protein, carbs and fats can’t be ignored. Notably the energy surplus/deficit from carbohydrates plays a major role in muscle growth/fat-loss due to their effect on the release of the storage hormone, insulin. Despite what diet culture has to say about carbs, they are essential for so many reasons. Here's how carb cycling can benefit you and your goals. Jump to:

• What is carb cycling?
• The benefits of carb cycling
• How to carb cycle
• Carb cycling nutrition

 

What is Carb Cycling?

Carb cycling is simply a nutritional strategy where the amount of consumed carbohydrate varies on a daily or weekly basis. It’s not a diet programme with strictly defined guidelines but a loose concept advocating days of low, medium and high carbohydrate intakes. 

Lack of strict definition can be a little confusing as you will see people referring to “carb cycling” when using keto-genic diets (less than 50g of carbs a day) with weekly carbohydrate re-feeds as well as simply throwing in extra carbs post-workout on training days. 

Putting the terminology aside you might be wondering why so much attention is paid to carbohydrates? The ultimate fate of carbs is a breakdown to glucose and absorption to the blood-stream, raising the blood-sugar level. This elevation stimulates the release of insulin from the pancreas, which signals the peripheral tissues to absorb glucose, thus reducing blood-sugar levels.¹ However the release of insulin affects a much wider range of metabolic processes, some of which have been shown in the table below.

Looking at these few points you can see that insulin puts your body in storage mode, where both fat and muscle cells get a fair share of stock. Keeping carbs high 24/7 allows insulin secretion to shuttle nutrients wherever it can and your physique will likely be quite a bit less lean, which is great if the goal is a serious bulk, but not so great if you’re wanting to do a cut. That’s where carb-cycling benefits can come to play.

 

The Benefits of Carb Cycling 

1. Lean Muscle Mass Growth/Retention

Carb-cycling can be used for both fat-loss and weight gain. The major difference is the number of low-carb days, giving either a net value of calorie deficit or calorie surplus.²

By adding a few low carb days during your mass gain programme, you give your body a chance to trim down on some body-fat (due to reduced lipogenesis and increased fatty-acids break-down) you might be putting on. 

On the opposite side, by adding a few high carb days during your fat loss programme, you create an anabolic environment; possibly gaining some muscle and definitely holding onto more mass (due to increased amino acids uptake, increased protein synthesis and reduced protein breakdown). 

In both of the scenarios, over a week’s time you will be simultaneously losing fat and gaining/retaining muscle. 

 

2. Endocrine Stimulation

It’s been well documented that long periods of low carb intake can decrease the thyroid hormone levels (T3), leading to a reduction in Basal Metabolic Rate (number of calories burnt at rest) which makes it difficult to overcome fat-loss plateaus.³ Planned, high-carb days will bump up the T3 production, up-regulating your metabolism and allowing you to shred even more body-fat.⁴

What’s more, low carb intake (30% of calories coming from carbs) has been shown to decrease the free testosterone to cortisol ratio following intensive training in as short as three days. By throwing in higher carb days here and there, you’ll be able to raise the anabolic-testosterone to catabolic-cortisol ratio and welcome back the gains.⁵

Carbohydrate over-feeding can also raise leptin levels – the ‘satiety hormone’ which is produced at the lower rate in response to shrunken fat-cells (fat loss). Obviously being less hungry for few days after a high carb day will help you to stick to your cut.⁶

Similarly, having a good mood following a higher carb day may be helpful in both training motivation and diet adherence. Insulin may help with that by making the tryptophan; pre-cursor of ‘good mood’ neurotransmitter (serotonin) more readily available for the brain.¹

 

3. Glycogen Super-Compensation

A few days of low carbs combined with hard training can significantly reduce the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles. This increases the production of an enzyme called glycogen synthase, which works extra hard to turn every little glucose it can into glycogen (which is stored in muscles and liver).⁷

Once you’ve raised your carb intake, it’ll take a while for the body to recognise that there is enough glucose around for the enzyme to take it easy. Meanwhile your muscles will soak up carbs like a sponge, storing glycogen above its normal capacity- meaning fuller, harder and bigger muscles. Sure, this effect may not be permanent but timed right it makes a dramatic difference when it comes to taking the clothes off for a stage or photo-shoot.Read up on why carbs aren't the enemy here:

 

How to Carb Cycle? – Diet Guideline

As previously mentioned, there are no strict guidelines on how to carb cycle. On top of this, the terms “low”, “medium” and “high” carb are very subjective. For some 400g of carbs might be considered medium, whereas for others it might be sky-high, depending not only on body-weight but also the physical activity levels and basal metabolic rate. 

The major thing to keep in mind is that the ratio of higher to lower carb days in a week needs to be adjusted based on your goal. For example, for fat-loss the majority of the days should be low carb; for mass-gain the majority of the days should be higher carb; and for maintenance ratio of higher to lower carb days should be roughly 50:50. 

Below you can find a table detailing my carb-cycling recommendations, which take into account a typical 4-day training split. 

The actual carbohydrate intake will need to be adjusted depending on your nutritional needs, as an example (in the brackets) you’ll find some reference values for the carbohydrate intake per kilogram of bodyweight.

 

Carb Cycling Nutrition

What foods are good for carb cycling? Even on your high carb days, choose healthy, whole grain sources of carbs and not refined sugars. 

Low Carb Foods

• Chicken 
• Salmon 
• Beef 
• Pork 
• Whey protein 
• Avocado 
• Nuts 
• Seeds 
• Asparagus 
• Broccoli 
• Cauliflower 
• Brussels Sprouts 
• Eggs 
• Tofu 

Check out our low-carb veggies guide below:

Medium Carb Foods

• Milk 
• Yogurt 
• Beans 
• Legumes 
• Quinoa 
• Corn 
• Vegetable juice 
• Tomatoes 
• Peanut Butter 
• Blackberries 
• Raspberries 
• Blueberries 
• Cheese 

 

High Carb Foods

• Raisins
• Whole grain bread 
• Oats/porridge
• Pasta 
• Rice 
• Potatoes 
• Apples 
• Bananas

Try out our creamy Cajun chicken pasta for a high-carb, high-protein meal...

 

Take Home Message

To summarise, carbohydrate cycling can be yet another nutritional strategy for achieving a balanced diet for muscle gain, fat loss or simply weight maintenance- but remember it's not the only strategy and everybody is physiologically different when it comes to diet and progress.