lol... Thanks for the compliment. That pic was taken a few lbs heavier. I need to update it.

I agree with you about not switching too fast. Of course, for me with Atkins, it messed me up so it was best for me to make changes and get off of it, but I know that basic LC works for me if I do it like I should. And now for me the hardest part is ahead... maintaining the loss! So that's when I started looking at the carb cycling. I see a lot of positives in it if I will do it correctly, and I know how careful and disciplined I am when it comes to my eating and working out, so I am feeling good about it.

I did order a used copy of Jay Robb's The Fat Burning Diet Book from Amazon today, so I'm sure I'll find some good tips and ideas in that to help me along as well.

not familiar with that book, but i recommend trying any new plan you want to try for a month as seeing if your body composition has changed in a direction towards your goals. if not, one should try something they know has worked or try something else.

Three more days into the "plan" and I'm still happy with it. A couple more weeks and I should know for sure.

My wife and I have been on the low-carb diet for several months. I have lost 70 pounds and she has lost about 40. But our weight loss has slowed. Hers seems to have halted. We're going to try doing carb-cycling in March to see what happens. I have spent about 60 hours reading up on these diets with little luck figuring out where to set the target for high days since we are not ripped and do not do heavy weight training. If you want to follow our progress, check out my blog:

http://lowcarbohydrate.blogspot.com/

Thanks. I look forward to your comments.

BigDaddyD

I don't think many of the carb cycling programs are good for people who don't do intense exercise on a regular basis (sprinting, weights, cycling, etc). Diets like CKD's, UD 2.0, Natural Hormonal Enchancement, and others that involve depletion of glycogen and periodic "refeeds" are dependent on each other. You need to really deplete the glycogen in the muscle (causes more fat burning) then for a period you can replete it to allow for continued success in the intense training.

Having a couple "carb based" meals a week would certainly be acceptable for those who exercise with more moderate intensities like moderate cardio, walking, or those who just have a job where the are up moving around constantly. You won't need the "carb orgies" that some of these diets involve to get the benifits from them. A couple bowl of oats or some pasta a couple time a week won't kill your progress. If anything it will give you a mental break from only fats and protein and help you stick with the diet. I don't know if it will offer any hormonal benifits exactly, but it is worth some experimentation given both of you progress. Good luck in the future and congrats for you success thus far.

I have lost about 85 pounds and her about 70. We started out with Protein Power (like Atkins but more emphasis on protein intake). But after month 3, the weight loss slowed down. After another 3 months, we began experimenting a little with carb cycling. The following describes the weight loss strategy that my wife and I are currently following.

Two Week Carb Cycling (11 down -3 up):

1. Every other weekend, allow unlimited carbs 3 days in a row (Friday through Sunday).
2. Remaining days in 2 week cycle are to follow low-carb ketogenic diet (like Atkins or Protein Power).
3. Record Weekly weight and measurements on Friday mornings.
4. No cheat days except family birthdays and significant vacations.
5. Cycle start and ends are not set in stone. They may be occasionally moved to Accommodate special occasions.
6. Continue until reaching goal. If monthly weight-loss is less than 5 pounds, consider adjusting or trying another diet strategy.

Typically during my 3 days of carb up, I gain between 3 and 10 pounds. This weight then comes off very fast once I begin my carb down. I think that the fluctuations are due primarily to water retention. So, if you try carb cycling, don't freak out over the rapid weight gain following your first up cycle. Try to step back and look at your long term weight changes or simply focus on your waste and hips measurements.

Results with Various Strategies:

Loosely following a diet of under 45 net carbs daily for 6 months resulted in an average weekly weight loss of 2.3 pounds per week or 0.78% of total body weight. The rate of weight loss slowed over time. So, if only looking at the last 2 of 6 months, the average weekly loss was 0.7 pounds or 0.25% of total body weight).

5-2 carb cycling (5 days under 45 net carbs, 2 days over 190*) for 5 weeks resulted in an average weekly loss of 0.4 pounds or 0.15% of total body weight.

11-3 carb cycling (11 days under 45 net carbs, 3 days over 190*) for 7 weeks resulted in an average weekly loss of 0.66 pounds or 0.24% of total body weight.

So far, it seems obvious that the 5-2 cycling (taking every weekend off from your low-carb diet) does not work nearly as good as low carb every day. However, the 11-3 cycling (taking a slightly longer weekend off every other week) seems to work almost as well as low-carb every day. Keep in mind that the leaner I get, the harder it is to lose weight. So, my 0.66 pounds per week might be the same or greater than what I would have lost had I taken no carb-up days. Hopefully some of my fellow low-carb bloggers willfollow suit so that we can compare results.

It is still not apparent whether or not the carb-up days will result in increased metabolism. Regardless, even if cycling does not impact metabolism, it is comforting to have some weekends off of the diet and not feel like my will power is broken.

*For me, carb up days seem to usually wind up somewhere between 300 and 400 net carbs per day.

Follow my progress on my blog: http://lowcarbohydrate.blogspot.com/

I think there is a bit of confusion around our carb-cycling experiments.

Most often, the term "carb-cycling" refers to alternating carb-intake to improve weight training results. For body building, you want short cycles. Body builders' cycles are fairly short with carb-up days usually coinciding with their heavy lifting. They might for example do one day high-carb, one ultra-low, one low then start over. The carb-up days are often called "re-feeds". This method seems to work for them in that it allows for burning small amounts of fat while providing nutrients for workouts. But, these short cycles are really designed for those who are doing heavy workouts and have very little body fat to begin with.

I am more interested in longer carb-cycles intended for rapid weight loss. The theory is that while on a low-carb diet that mixing in days of high carb intake will prevent the body from adjusting and becoming accustomed to a steady low input of carbohydrates. It seems that the body adjusts to some extent to any steady intake of nutrients. So, we want to shake it up a bit and "keep the body guessing". I'm not shooting for a "re-feed" but rather a "carb-shock". Short cycles like those used for body building do not allow enough time for heavy ketosis to kick in. Therefore, longer cycles are used. I tried 5 days down and 2 days up (basically low-carb on weekdays only) but found it only allowed me to be in ketosis for a couple of days at best. I still lost weight, just not as quickly as I had hoped for. Now, I have increased the length to 11 days down and 3 days up. This allows me to stay in ketosis longer. And, my overall weight loss so far has been roughly the same as doing low-carb everyday.

It should be noted that while I have had positive results, the verdict is still out on whether or not this strategy is better than low-carb everyday. The only way we will know for sure would be if more people try it and share their results. PJ over at The Divine Low Carb has just begun a similar experiment using a 14 day cycle. Her strategy is a bit more complex than mine. Keep an eye on her results...

My Blog: http://lowcarbohydrate.blogspot.com/

I haven't done a specific carb up plan, but I have been low carbing for about 45 days now. I started on Atkins, and then moved to Carb Addicts when I found it fit better with my life (being able to eat dinner with my family). Anyway, I was in a rut and one day I just gave in to my craving for a Starbucks Frappucino. I gave myself the day off and ate what I wanted - until I was satisfied but not stuffed and not a carb binge- including popcorn at a movie. I lost 1.5lbs that day!

Unscientific, but I have since found that the occasional "day off" helps me kick start my body.

This sounds really interesting!! I'm going to look into it more.

You still are going to need to lift weights (and lift heavy during some periods)to see the true benefits of carb cycling. Being opposed to weight training but wanting to get in shape and have low body fat % without ruining your metabolism is like being opposed to money but wanting to get rich.

DH just handed me a book called the "Anabolic Diet" by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale.

I don't know about it personally for me.....I have blood sugar issues.....and I find even brown rice will set me off craving more sugar....and then it's a very slippery slope downhill for me. So I feel better just staying low carb...period. Maybe I'll have one day of a week of having berries for dessert.....I don't know......


http://www.metabolicdiet.com/promo/as_abr.htm

I to have diabetes, and have been stuck at 157-158 for 12 months, I haven't a clue what I am doing wrong, I don't think I am eating to much, I am not eating more than 30 carbs a day. I can't eat any high carb stuff without ending up with high BS, and I'm stuck,can anyone give me some advice on what I could do..Debbie, O could u send the message to my Journal, thanks..

I didn't know I was doing a 'carb cycle' but had a few days of higher carbs and was so shocked to see the scale move again after a long stall!

I'm putting together a carb- and calorie-cycling plan to start in a couple of weeks. I'd appreciate any tips and and experience people have gained since this thread began in Aught Six. I'm not planning to starting any kind of exercise regimen at this time.

I've been doing under 20g carbs, about 70% fat, and unrestricted total calories (comes out to 1200 to 1700 in practice) since early January. I lost five pounds in the first ten days, and have yo-yo'd up and down that same range since then (most of the time near the low end).

Thanks for any input (excluding exhortations to exercise)!

I recognize and respect the systems for true "carb-cyclers" out there and the potential benefits of weight lifting, but I want to share my experience with those of you who are just looking for a little added help with weight loss. I use the term carb-cycle for myself lightly, because I follow a very informal approach and it works for me.

I followed the Atkins plan a few years back and found out how well the body responds to a high carb meal or two totally by accident after indulging on pizza one day and losing weight. It's been a few years since and I have recently started the South Beach plan. I did everything as I was supposed to during Phase 1 and for about 2 weeks into Phase 2 (a month total). This got me to the point where I had regulated my blood sugar levels and had control over my eating/cravings. Now what I am doing is alternating between a few days of normal South Beach Phase 2, 1 day where I allow myself to go off the wagon, and then the next day I fast during the day and eat a sensible dinner. I am not counting calories or sticking to a set amount of days for each stage. I basically do the SB program the way it is meant to be done for a set amount of weight that I want to lose, then I allow myself to beef up what I'm eating for a day. I don't go crazy...I eat one meal out at a restaurant, or have whole grain pasta, or sometimes even a real desert. (Be careful with the desert - you have to be able to handle your sugar cravings after and not go off the deep end). Just pay attention to your body and adjust the timing of how and when you switch from carb to low-carb depending on how it responds. Every time I do a cycle of this, I see an immediate drop in weight much faster than doing SB alone. Hope this helps for those of you who are curious...it doesn't have to be an exact science. Just switch things up every now and then and trick your metabolism.