
When it comes to intermittent fasting, this dieting approach centers around timing of your meals and designates between times of fasting (not eating at all) and times when you are allowed to eat your meals. One thing to note is that carbs carry water in the body, so many individuals who start a carb-restricted diet are simply losing water weight in the beginning and not necessarily fat.

Both diets do work around manipulating carb intake and counting macros. Plus, even the low days of carb cycling are typically higher carb than a traditional keto day. This is different from carb cycling in that the keto diet requires you to restrict yourself on this very low carb count every day and does not allow any moderate or high carb days. The goal is to put the body into a state of ketosis where you are using fat for fuel. The keto diet focuses on a very-low carb intake and a very high fat intake, with protein intake at a moderate level. Is carb cycling the same as keto or intermittent fasting? Some plans feature back-to-back low-carb days followed by a high-carb day, or vice versa. Powell offers his clients five different carb cycling plans to fit their lifestyle.

Here's what a standard week of beginner's carb cycling diet looks like: Typically, the high and low carb days alternate every other day. These low-carb days aim at using fat primarily for fuel, which proponents of carb cycling diet say can potentially help improve metabolic flexibility. Low-carb days are designed for your rest days or days when you're doing light activity such as a light jog or short yoga class. The purpose of the high-carb days are to refuel muscle glycogen in hopes of improving exercise performance and assisting in recovery. High-carb days are meant to pair with your heavy workout days, like high intensity interval training sessions and weight lifting. Most of the carb cycling diet principles revolve around your exercise regimen, so this isn't something to adopt if you are inactive and sedentary most of the week since the diet aims to match the body's needs for calories and carbohydrates. The theory behind carb cycling is that it maximizes the use and benefits that carbohydrates provide. Different carb cycling calculators are available online and provide rough estimates to breaking down your macronutrient requirements for the day, although these are not considered validated tools.

Each macronutrient has a specific role in the body, and not getting enough or getting too much of any macronutrient is a concern when manipulating carbs, protein, and fat in your diet.

Protein intake remains consistent, while fat intake typically increases on lower-carb days and decreases on higher-carb days.Ĭarbohydrates are one of the macronutrients that your body needs to survive and provide energy. There is no true formal definition for carb cycling, but most carb cycling diet plans feature alternative high and low carb days. In a blog post on his Transform HQ platform, Powell claims that carb cycling can "change your body composition, build lean muscle, and transform your metabolism into a highly efficient, highly responsive fat burning machine." But is this diet really the answer to your weight loss prayers? Here's everything you need to know about carb cycling and some key tips if you do in fact decide to try it out for yourself. In addition to a strict exercise regimen, Powell used a special diet known as carb cycling with every single one of his clients to help them lose the weight. Not every contestant would lose their desired amount of weight and some often gained back what they lost throughout the process. Although Powell had quite a bit of success with many clients, the show wasn't all fun and games. Chris, with the assistance of his fitness trainer wife Heidi Powell, would coach clients and help them lose a tremendous amount of weight. Who doesn't love a transformation story? A few years ago, personal trainer and transformation specialist Chris Powell hosted the show Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition.
