Carb cycling is a great way to incorporate high and low carbohydrate days into your current diet to help take the pressure of “dieting” off while still giving your body the restrictions that it needs to get the job done. This strategy is meant to help people who are looking to lean out or decrease body fat while still being capable of gaining lean muscle. Typically, it is hard to do both because of the vast difference in your calorie approach but by cycling your carbs, you can make it easy.

There are a few basic rules to apply when creating your personalized carbohydrate cycling schedule.

Step 1:  Because carb cycling requires rotating your carbohydrate intake, we will need to determine what your ideal eating ratios will be for each day of the week. There are two different phases in a beginners carb cycling schedule, low and high carb phases 

i. High Carb Phases: Follow a ratio of 1.2:0.5:1.5 for protein, fat, and carbohydrates multiplied by your weight in pounds.

ii. Low Carb Phases: Follow a ratio of 1.2:0.5:0.5 for protein, fat, and carbohydates multiplied by your weight in pounds.

Here’s an example using a 130 pound individual:

                High Carb Day = 130 x (1.2:0.5:1.5) = 156 g of protein, 65 g of fat, 195 g of carbs

                Low Carb Day = 130 x (1.2:0.5:0.5) = 156 g of protein, 65 g of fat, 65 g of carbs

Step 2:  Create your carb cycling schedule by alternating days of high and low carb phases. Here is a seven day schedule that you can use. It is linked together with certain exercise days which is essential when attempting to burn fat faster.

                Monday – Low Carb + strength training

                Tuesday – High Carb + cardio

                Wednesday – Low Carb + rest

                Thursday – Low Carb + strength training

                Friday – Low Carb + cardio

                Saturday – High Carb + strength training

                Sunday – Low Carb + rest

Step 3: It should take a while for your body to get used to this schedule of eating. If you find that your results begin to slow down, try adding in one more of the high carb days to get your body really guessing. Sometimes, it also helps to stop cycling for two weeks before reintroducing it.