Category: Low Carb Diet

Lowering one’s total caloric intake below one’s daily caloric needs is how fat loss and indeed total weight loss occurs. However, people do all sorts of crazy diets in order to achieve a lower number on the scale, whether or not it’s sustainable or even healthy to do.

Some folks choose to go the low carb route to lose weight, without any sort of regard for any lost muscle mass, or how they’ll transition into eating carbohydrates again once the fat is lost.

One method to help preserves muscle mass is to eat a meal with a high amount of carbs, immediately when done with a workout and then be low carb the rest of the day. This is carb backloading and an effective method for shredding belly fat.

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How to Back Load Carbs for Fat Loss

Many people have tried a low carbohydrate diet in order to lose fat and it of course works. However, it is also difficult to maintain for many, and frankly kind of impractical in the long term.

As a result, variations of the low carb plan have been thought up to help mitigate the difficulties of the diet, while maintaining the great results that are achieved from manipulating carb intake.

One method that I’ve already outline on the blog, is carbohydrate cycling. This is simply switching from lower carb days to higher carb days in order to restore glycogen stores in the muscles, so you don’t always feel depleted and weak on a low carbohydrate diet plan.

Another famous method, is the carb backloading method. With this, you are low carb for every meal of the day, except the post-workout meal. The carbohydrate intake will be higher or lower for this meal based on the type of workout done that day.

So, if one were to lift weights as a part of the workout. A higher carb meal would be allowed. Some folks if only doing cardio, just do a regular ultra low carb day, but I think a moderate carb meal wouldn’t be detrimental if taken within the confines of a caloric deficit.

Could you eat any type of carbs during this meal? Technically, yes. However, it’s much better for the plan and health in general if this meal is non-processed carbohydrates and drawn instead from a source of vegetables, legumes, or something like rice.

The great advantage of back loading carbs is that it allows for more strength during workouts and more stamina to make it through those difficult times at the gym.

Being on a strict low carb diet without any cycling or back loading can be draining and one’s physical output can diminish. This post-workout meal refeeds the muscles and makes it easier to get through the next time at the gym.

Also, there is the added psychological benefit of having one meal a day, in which you can actually consume carbs and not have to be so strict and militant about things.

Following a low carb diet can have many pitfalls, but the good news is that it can be easily modified in order to make things easier to stick to, both physically and psychologically. Sometimes, the fastest fat loss will be on the diet’s that are the easiest to stick to for bikini season and beyond.

Going to the gym on a regular basis is only one aspect of getting into shape, building muscle, or just simply losing fat…and it’s not even the most important one! That title belongs to what you eat when you’re not in the gym. Yep, you can either screw up everything, stagnate, or just not reach the levels that you’d like to by eating too much, too little, or the wrong things entirely.

Not to fear though, diet doesn’t have to be awful and complicated to get through. Relatively rapid results can be had when the right plan is followed and carried out over a certain time period. One such method that I’ve used to lose fat is carbohydrate cycling. Now, this isn’t your prototypical ‘carb starve’ diet, but it is damn effective.

What is Carb Cycling?

Essentially, carb cycling is manipulating one’s carbohydrate intake, in such a way as to spur fat loss. This is done by ‘cycling’ in between lower carb days and then having a high carb re-feed day.

You see, our muscles run off of glycogen, and as we workout our glycogen stores become depleted. When on a standard low carb diet, we can lose muscle mass and not have the energy at time to push through our workouts because of this.

To counteract this, we can introduce a higher carbohydrate day, to help refuel our glycogen stores without having any of it be retained as fat. Thus, we start to burn our fat storage, keep as much muscle mass as possible, and don’t have to completely swear off carbs for the rest of our diet.

What this looks like in practice is to follow a 2-3 day low carb diet and then up the carbs on the third or fourth day (depending on which cycle you follow).

 

Carb Cycling Example Schedule

So, for instance if you’re doing a three day low-carb cycle:

Sunday: Low Carb

Monday: Low Carb

Tuesday: Low Carb

Wednesday: High Carb Refeed

From there, you would repeat the cycle.

This method can be further modified by adding a moderate carb day. When using carb cycling in the past, I like to throw in the moderate day because I can get pretty cranky on low carb days. With the cycle posted above, I would up the carbs a bit on Tuesday.

Generally, on low carbohydrate days, I’d keep the grams of carbs between 75-100.

On medium days, I’d bump that up to 130-150. This depended on my mood/energy levels.

On the higher carb refeed days, I’d bump it up even higher BUT still keeping it in a caloric deficit. To do this, I’d swap out some protein for foods like potatoes and/or rice. It still fit in my caloric intake and my word, is it amazing to get that high carb meal(s) in.

The workout on the high carb refeed days would always involve both weights and cardio. I’d go heavy on the weight session and try to have a sprinting or high intensity cardio workout of some kind. My big carbohydrate meal would follow this workout to really refeed the worked muscles.

Generally, on the second or third consecutive low carb days, I would do a longer and slower cardio workout. This would generally be walking on the treadmill with some incline for around 45-60 minutes.

I always kept it light, as I was already in caloric deficit with the diet, and didn’t want to overdo it each day…especially with that heavy work day just ahead.

Does Carb Cycling Burn Belly and Thigh Fat?

Yes. For many people, including me, cycling carbohydrates stimulates fat loss as well as any other dietary method. I lost fat really quickly on a carb cycling diet, using whatever variation I came up with. My body just happens to really respond to lowering the carbs in my diet.

Now, would I follow this diet over the long term? Nope. It’s too restrictive to my lifestyle, but it works amazingly well to get shredded up in a shorter period of time.

I always used it over a 6-8 week span and then slowly added carbs back in, while maintaining the caloric deficit (if I had more fat to lose), or keeping the calories at my baseline to keep from gaining fat.

Too many folks, just throw too many carbs back into the diet too fast following a carb cycle or other low carbohydrate diet, and can gain weight back because of it.

It’s an excellent little tool to use for rapid fat loss in a shorter time frame.

 

Further Workout Program to Use with Carb Cycling

Cardio exercise is a staple in my life, for health, regardless if I am trying to lose fat or not. That can take the form of walking or the stationary bike, usually.

However, when I really want to get lean. I always go back to using Visual Impact Cardio.

VI Cardio is an downloadable ebook program from fitness trainer, Rusty Moore. This is a program that I have come to love (and kind of hate, at times) because it can be such an intense calorie burning experience and something that really challenges me.

There are three 12 week levels from beginner to advanced. Each of these workout gets progressively more difficult and switches up between the longer steady state exercises and the shorter and more intense varieties.

All you have to do is follow the plan, make slight adjustments if need be, and keep your calories in line…and the belly fat will melt away.

It’s cool, if you already have a training protocol. You can still follow that and of course get results. This is something that you can step right into and give a try, to help try and breakup a plateau in results.

So, if you want an entire plan laid out for you, step by step. Go ahead and check out Visual Impact Cardio., using my link.

I do receive a commission, if you choose to buy. However, it doesn’t cost you any extra. Plus, there’s a 60 day money back guarantee. So, try it out and if it doesn’t suit you, get a refund.

This is a program that I actually use and have done so for many years now. It works! It’s very affordable and you can get started right away.

So, you’re on your first day, week, or just thinking about starting a low carb diet. There’s plenty of fat to lose, but you start to wonder how long the process will take. Is it going to be a long haul? How much time will pass before you can start to see weight loss results? In this post, we will take that question on, and see how to approach low carb diets to ensure a successful body transformation.

 

 

How Long Will it Take to Lose Fat on Low Carb?

To answer this question, we have to define what we’re talking about here.

How long until we begin losing weight on a lowered carbohydrate diet? It can happen in one day. It might be a few ounces, but that is technically a ‘loss’.

If you mean significant fat loss? Usually one will average around 2 lbs per week of weight loss, over a longer period of time.

However, the initial few weeks may say higher totals. This becomes especially true, when you have lots of weight to lose. So, you may see 5+ pound losses for the first week or so. More if one is seriously obese.

The caveat to all of this, is you are actually in a caloric deficit. It doesn’t matter how low your carb intake is, if you’re eating too many calories, that weight isn’t coming off.

Assuming you’re in a caloric deficit and following a plan…I’d plan on 2 lbs per week average, if we trying to lose 20+ lbs. It can go faster, but that should serve as a basline.

 

What if You’re Not Losing Fat on Low Carb?

One big problem that people often have with dieting, is they hop onto some kind of restrictive plan, but don’t actually plan anything.

They simply start eliminating carbohydrates, but don’t track calories, to ensure they will meet their targets. It’s kind of like driving around without a map, when you only vaguely know where you want to be.

The simple solution is to download a fitness tracker app on your mobile or computer, in order to have a clear path to follow, and make the process as easy as possible.

You simply type in the information it asks of you (weight, age, activity level). Then, you set it to the goal weight you want to hit. It will calculate a plan to get there (you can usually set it for 1-3 lbs per week loss).

Once that’s all set up, keep track of what you eat, and the exercise that you do. That way, you can easily keep up with your progress, the amount of carbs you’re consuming, and the total calories.

Hit the daily target and the fat will come off. Slight adjustments may be necessary along the way, as the app gives you an estimate. Though, in my experience, it is usually quite accurate.

 

Working Out for Fat Loss on Low Carb

 

Diet is the most important aspect of getting into shape. Exercise actually plays the second fiddle. If you’re not hitting your caloric deficit targets, weight loss won’t happen, even if you’re busting your butt in the gym.

Really, you can do any type of exercise and lose weight. So long as you’re in caloric deficit. It can be as simple as taking a walk. However, walking doesn’t burn too many calories (except really long walks), and doesn’t allow for much room for making mistakes in the diet.

What burns fat faster? I have found a mix of both high intensity and low intensity cardio, has gotten me the best results. (Note: I also lift weights, which helps also, but not everyone will want to do that).

Once I get my diet in order, my cardio workouts become rocket fuel to my results, and I can pretty easily surpass that 2 lb per week average. Yes, when the last 10 pounds comes into play, it’s tougher but cardio is my weapon of choice.

It also gives me more room, to make a mistake with my diet, while still keeping on track.

You can do this on your own or have a program laid out for you. Either way, just keep track of the calories you burn on the treadmill, elliptical, in the swimming pool, or wherever.

I have used for years, a cardio program called, Visual Impact Cardio. It is an ebook course, designed by fitness trainer Rusty Moore, and it works!

It’s actually 3 programs in 1. From beginner to advanced. Each phase lasts for 8 weeks. The good news is that, you might only need to do the beginner program, if you have about 20lbs or less to lose.

It’s an intense program, but it burns a lot of calories and the fat loss is fantastic. The best part is, that it lays out the entire plan for you, and explains why you’re doing the workouts in this way.

One day will be shorter and higher intensity, the next will be a mix, and then another will be a long steady state cardio day. Just follow the plan and keep your diet in check.

Doing that, will get the belly to melt away fast.

Visual Impact Cardio is an ebook program, so, it gets emailed to you for download right away. That way, you can get started immediately, and don’t need to wait around for something in the mail.

It’s currently priced at only $37. You get a 60 day money back guarantee and a full six months of workouts laid out for you. So, you can keep the fat off, and have a base of knowledge on getting in shape moving forward.

If you want a roadmap for banishing the belly fat quickly, please click the link below, to get Rusty Moore’s full breakdown of his program and why it works. I do receive a commission, if you decide to purchase, but this is the program that I use for fat loss and have for years now. So, I absolutely beleive in its results.