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Carb Cycling To Get Lean Fast
Posted by: Ron
Vince Gironda has always advocated carb cycling to get you in the best shape in the shortest amount of time.
Use carb cycling methodically and consistently
There was a reason movie studios would send their actors to Vince when they needed them to get in shape in a hurry. He had the reputation to get a “soft” looking actor lean and solid within a few days, especially if they had prior experience working out.
The main thing Vince used after prescribing his cleansing protocol was carb cycling. Once their digestive system was cleaned up and improved, they were able to benefit from methodically eating carbohydrates.
Your body has a certain capacity to store energy in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is the preferred source of immediate energy for your body. Consuming carbohydrates beyond that capacity will force your body to store the energy for future use (read: fat.). Consuming too little amount of carbohydrates has its own downfall, lethargy, low libido, headaches, irritability. When you’re doing daily chores and mild exercise, like walking, your body will burn fat for energy. When you increase the intensity of your exercises, your body will reach into stored glycogen for energy.
The main premise of carb cycling is to manipulate the amount of glycogen available. You want to make sure you have enough for when you need it yet you never consume more energy than your body can store in your liver and muscles at one time. Staying within the safe range tells your body that it’s ok to dip into stored energy (fat) for daily activities.
Depending on your own unique metabolism, capacity to store glycogen, lifestyle, diet and exercise, you could deplete your glycogen stores in as little as three days or as many as seven. You want to be sure that you never reach extremely low levels of glycogen or a glycogen deficit as your body immediate reaches for protein in your muscles to satisfy its need for energy. Protein is much faster to turn into glycogen if your body needs it now. I doubt there’s a need for me to get into what catabolizing hard earned muscle tissue will do to your physique so I’ll spare you.
What is the process of carb cycling?
Carb cycling is quite simple with only a handful of steps:
- Avoid eating carbohydrates all together, anywhere from 3 to 7 days. Your daily carb intake should be no more than 30 grams. No fruits or veggies
- Eat only protein sources and fat (no fruits except for a handful of berries a day)
- When you start feeling more tired, foggy, agitated and irritable, you’re running low on glycogen. That’s your body’s sign to load up on carbohydrates
- Have one meal high in carbohydrates (no limit except that it’s only one meal)
- Repeat steps 1 through 4
I’d be lying if I told you there’s a set number of days between carb meals. It depends entirely on how you use up the stored glycogen from one day to the next. What has worked well for the majority of my clients and me is having that meal every 4 days. I had clients who had great success with a large carb meal once a week. They would set Saturday night’s dinner aside for the carb meal and they’d go low carb the rest of the week.
Your mileage may vary so you’ll need to experiment and more importantly pay attention to the signals from your body.
Do this carb cycling protocol for a few weeks and come back to report your experience for everyone.
For more information on checkout Vince Gironda - The Iron Guru
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