Carb Cycling 101........

Losing weight is simple. Most people know that burning more calories than we consume will lead to a decrease in scale weight. Just about anybody who tries it will be rewarded with moderate, short-term success.

Here's something fun to think about: Next time you're in your gym — or any place where people who care about their appearance tend to gather — take a close look at the ones who, in your estimation, need to lose some fat. Now try to figure out how many of them are currently enjoying the moderate, short-term success of eating less and exercising more. Chances are, at least a few of them are 10 to 20 pounds lighter than they were a few months ago. And still clearly overweight.

So those of us in search of more than "moderate" success need a better way to lose a lot of fat without sacrificing muscle, or to stay lean while adding size and building strength.

Which brings us to carb cycling......

Most of us eat pretty much the same way every day — similar foods, similar amounts, similar timing. Other than post-workout shakes and cheat meals here and there, it would be hard to distinguish one day from another in terms of macronutrients and calories.
Here's the idea behind carb cycling: "By fluctuating macronutrients on a daily basis, we can ensure that performance and muscle building can be optimized on the days when it's most important, while burning fat on the other days."

This applies to virtually everyone who trains hard, from gym rats to competitive lifters and bodybuilders to athletes in just about any sport that's more physically demanding than a spelling bee. There are always training days that take more out of you than others. If you never vary your daily calories or macros, you end up overfeeding yourself on the days you're either resting or training light, and perhaps eating too little on the days you train the hardest. For most of us, the damage goes one direction: We eat to support our hardest workouts, meaning we overeat on the other days. Intentionally or not, a lot of us are in a perpetual bulking cycle. Over time, we end up with excess body fat, which many of us try to take off all at once during a cutting phase.

Carb cycling, when you get it right, gives you the best of both worlds and the worst of neither. You fuel your body on the brutal training days that would ordinarily suck the life out of you, but treat your body as if it's in a cutting phase on the days you don't need excess energy.

"High days," in which you're giving your body all the carbs it can handle, refill your glycogen stores and promote an anabolic environment.

"Medium days" allow you to maintain your glycogen levels with fewer total calories. You'll have enough carbs to fuel your workout and prevent tissue breakdown, but not enough to be highly anabolic.

"Low days" are ideal for the days you do cardio only, or don't train at all. Your body, with its low insulin levels, will be primed for burning fat. With fewer carbs, you'll be eating more fat, which benefits hormone production and helps keep your body sensitive to insulin on the medium and high days.

That's the general idea. Here are some specifics:

MEN
High day
Carbs: 2-3 grams per pound of body weight
Protein: 1-1.25 grams per pound of body weight
Fat: as little as possible

Low and Moderate days
Carbs: 0.5-1.5 grams per pound of body weight
Protein: 1.25-1.5 grams per pound of body weight
Fat: 0.15-0.35 grams per pound of body weight

WOMEN
High Day
Carbs: 0.9-1.0 grams per pound of body weight
Protein: 0.75 grams per pound of body weight
Fat: as little as possible

Low and Moderate days
Carbs: 0.2-0.5 grams per pound of body weight
Protein: 0.9-1.0 grams per pound of body weight
Fat: 0.1-0.2 grams per pound of body weight

Focus on What Matters.......
Just looking at the basics, your first thought might be, "That looks really fucking complicated."
It's not as difficult as you may think. Try to stay as close to the numbers as you can but don't stress over it. There aren't any foods that are exactly what you want to the Kcal and the ones that would be are highly processed and we want to stay away from those.

So how do you know if it's working? Take pictures every 2 weeks the same way and you'll be able to see for yourself that it is in fact working.

One last thing to mention is the numbers given here are ranges so you'll have to play with them a bit to get it exact but with a little time and tweaking you'll discover the numbers that are right for your body.