When you’re striving to shed excess pounds, carbs are usually the first thing that comes of the menu. The good news is that with our three-week plan, you can have your carbs and eat them too! Yes that’s right – you can still indulge in bread, pasta and your other favourite carb-laden treats and still lose weight –the key is simply to eat the right amount at the right time. Carb cycling, which is tipped as the next big thing in weight loss is not about banning food groups or counting calories, but about eating smart to achieve your diet goals.
SO WHAT IS CARB CYCLING?
As the name suggests, carb cycling involves alternating high-carbohydrate intake days with low-carbohydrate intake days to build muscle and burn fat without depriving your body of nutrients or energy. Eating in this way also helps to lower levels of the blood sugar balancing hormone insulin, which controls food cravings and weight gain and regulates the appetite hormones leptin and ghrelin as well as thyroid hormones T3 and T4, which are the master hormones of the metabolism. Carbs are an important macronutrient group so it’s a big mistake to ban them when dieting. Sure, you’ll drop pounds initially, but your weight loss will eventually plateau as your metabolism slows. Carb cycling helps to program your body to use fat as its primary energy source, preventing a metabolic slow down and helping you get the results you’re after. Experts at University Hospital in South Manchester found that following a low-carbohydrate diet two days a week helped to reduce weight and insulin levels more than a standard calorie- restriction diet. Sounds good to us, where do we sign up?
On this plan we recommend you follow two days of low- carb meals followed by one day of high-carb meals, on a day that coincides with an intense workout. This pattern should be repeated over 21 days. The idea is that by loading up on carbs on high-carb days you’ll restock glycogen reserves and your body will be primed to support an intense workout. Your high-carb day will also rev up your energy levels, speed up your metabolism and recharge your fat loss! In addition, not only will keeping your carb intake high on the days when you need it most give you more energy to nail those workouts, but timing your carb intake carefully will maximise results and prevent muscle breakdown ensuring consistent results. We’ve done the hard work for you and calculated the best kind of carbs in the right quantities needed to keep your system guessing, meaning you get the body you want without any unhealthy shortcuts.
WHICH CARBS ARE BEST?
Not all carbs are created equal. On this diet we recommend that you ban all white, re?ned carbohydrates such as white bread, potatoes and white pasta in favour of complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, porridge, quinoa, sweet potatoes, oats and rye bread. These carbohydrates are low on the glycaemic index, (a scale by which carbs are ranked for their ability to stabilise blood sugar levels). Low-GI foods don’t cause spikes in your blood sugar levels which means they keep you feeling full and slash your risk of type 2 diabetes.
Our 21-day diet plan and complementary workout is a powerful fat-fighting tool that will help you lose up to half a stone in just three weeks.
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