BURN Fitness 101: The
Cheater’s Low-Carb Diet!
Low-Carb dieting is all the rage these days. Years ago, fat was the enemy and everything was low-fat this and fat-free that. But now what science has found as our knowledge of nutrition and our body’s metabolism has evolved is that extra sugar and simple processed carbs are actually more likely to end up as body fat than dietary fat is.
Out of this nutritional revolution and the diets devised by Atkins and others, weight-loss hopefuls have tried various levels of carbohydrate intake from virtually none, to single-carb diets, to sugar-buster diets, etc. And though many of these work well for some people, they work ONLY in the short term, since carbohydrates are actually quite important to our bodies, and carbs are SO prevalent in the American diet. They are virtually impossible to avoid. In fact excluding anything completely from your diet is very hard. Eventually, we develop seemingly insatiable cravings for the food our bodies are missing, until we finally cheat. Then it seems the flood gates open up, and the diet is out the window! There are a number of physiological reasons for this in addition to the psychological factors. Each of these factors are the topic of multiple books, so I won’t go into them here in this article… but suffice to say, staying on ANY long-term low-carb diet is VERY tough.
So what’s the DOABLE solution?
We call it “Carb Cycling”. I call it “dieting made easy”… because you feel like you’re CHEATING 3 days per week!
In general, I want my clients eating a sufficient amount of protein EVERY DAY, and a healthy intake of fats EVERY DAY, seven days per week. (Contact us at BURN Fitness Training for the amounts right for YOU). The only intake that changes is the carbohydrate intake, and for many it’s not how much, just WHAT carbs they eat. Then, in a specific pattern, they will cycle high-carb and low-carb days. Typically only 2-3 days in a row low-carb, followed by a day or two of higher carbohydrate intake.
If you are exercising 5-6 days per week, the days you take in carbs are less critical. If you have 2-3 very heavy exercise days in the week, and 3-4 lighter exercise days, have your BURN Trainer adjust your workouts and high-carb days to match up! For many people, it’s as simple as making Saturdays and Sundays higher-carb days, Mon/Tues low-carb, Wednesday higher carb, and Thurs/Fri low carb. But for carb-cycle perfection… talk to a fitness and nutrition professional.
In this fashion, you only feel “deprived” for 2-3 days at a time, so you won’t be as tempted to cheat. As long as your carb intake is moderate and controlled on your carb-allowed days, it’s a pretty “easy” way to drop fat without starving out your muscles. If you STILL have issues with portion and control after 2-3 days low carb… we’ll find you a better solution!
If you want a customized nutrition plan for lasting healthy results, come see our in-house Dietician (not a bro-science “nutritionist”), Lisa Brightman, DTR at BURN Fitness!
Low-Carb dieting is all the rage these days. Years ago, fat was the enemy and everything was low-fat this and fat-free that. But now what science has found as our knowledge of nutrition and our body’s metabolism has evolved is that extra sugar and simple processed carbs are actually more likely to end up as body fat than dietary fat is.
Out of this nutritional revolution and the diets devised by Atkins and others, weight-loss hopefuls have tried various levels of carbohydrate intake from virtually none, to single-carb diets, to sugar-buster diets, etc. And though many of these work well for some people, they work ONLY in the short term, since carbohydrates are actually quite important to our bodies, and carbs are SO prevalent in the American diet. They are virtually impossible to avoid. In fact excluding anything completely from your diet is very hard. Eventually, we develop seemingly insatiable cravings for the food our bodies are missing, until we finally cheat. Then it seems the flood gates open up, and the diet is out the window! There are a number of physiological reasons for this in addition to the psychological factors. Each of these factors are the topic of multiple books, so I won’t go into them here in this article… but suffice to say, staying on ANY long-term low-carb diet is VERY tough.
So what’s the DOABLE solution?
We call it “Carb Cycling”. I call it “dieting made easy”… because you feel like you’re CHEATING 3 days per week!
In general, I want my clients eating a sufficient amount of protein EVERY DAY, and a healthy intake of fats EVERY DAY, seven days per week. (Contact us at BURN Fitness Training for the amounts right for YOU). The only intake that changes is the carbohydrate intake, and for many it’s not how much, just WHAT carbs they eat. Then, in a specific pattern, they will cycle high-carb and low-carb days. Typically only 2-3 days in a row low-carb, followed by a day or two of higher carbohydrate intake.
If you are exercising 5-6 days per week, the days you take in carbs are less critical. If you have 2-3 very heavy exercise days in the week, and 3-4 lighter exercise days, have your BURN Trainer adjust your workouts and high-carb days to match up! For many people, it’s as simple as making Saturdays and Sundays higher-carb days, Mon/Tues low-carb, Wednesday higher carb, and Thurs/Fri low carb. But for carb-cycle perfection… talk to a fitness and nutrition professional.
In this fashion, you only feel “deprived” for 2-3 days at a time, so you won’t be as tempted to cheat. As long as your carb intake is moderate and controlled on your carb-allowed days, it’s a pretty “easy” way to drop fat without starving out your muscles. If you STILL have issues with portion and control after 2-3 days low carb… we’ll find you a better solution!
If you want a customized nutrition plan for lasting healthy results, come see our in-house Dietician (not a bro-science “nutritionist”), Lisa Brightman, DTR at BURN Fitness!