How’s your week going so far? Today was pretty good for me, but the next couple days are going to be jam-packed with class assignments, paper writing & studying. Ah well, it is what it is right..
FITNESS
Great workouts today! I worked legs with my trainerthis afternoon then did Spin followed by Vino Vinyasa this evening. The Vino Vinyasa event was put on by Lululemon at the Old Town Scottsdale W Hotel. We did Yoga pool side, surrounded by Palm trees, listening to the sound of waterfalls. And yes there were space heaters to keep us warm. Afterwards we headed over to the outdoor bar for a glass of wine. A friend & I spent the next hour chatting next to a fire. It was a great evening 
Tomorrow I’m off weights, but will be doing two rather opposite activities.. first there’s Flow Yoga in the morning, then in the evening I’m taking my first MMA/Muay Thia class. There’s a training facility near my house which is actually pretty well-known, and I’m taking one of their beginner classes. I’m excited. Tell you all about it tomorrow!
NUTRITION
Carb-Cycling for Fat Loss
I’ve mentioned “cutting” and carb-cycling quite a bit, but I realized I haven’t really explained the reasoning, process and benefits behind it. Carb-cycling is an effective, short-term, way to drop, or “cut”, body fat. It’s a pretty standard technique for fitness/figure/bodybuilders prepping for a competition, but it can also be useful for people just looking to break that weight loss plateau. Carb-cycling takes advantage of the fact that your body wants to burn carbs first. So when you restrict them it turns to other sources of fuel, like fat, to continue fueling you throughout the day. The high-carb/”carb-up” day is essential though, because it allows your body to refuel and keep your metabolism going strong. Severe carb-cycling is only a short-term dieting/plateau-breaking tactic because you don’t want your body to start burning muscle. You can also adjust your cycle to work best for your needs adjusting the number of low & high carb days. So basically there is no one right way to do it, but I’ll talk about a pretty common method.
To carb-cycle you have a mix of low, medium & high, just low & medium, or just low & high carb days. A low day may be 30 g, medium day 80g and high day 130-150g. When I was cutting fat to compete I did a 3-low, 1-high cycle. So I did 3 days in a row of 30g carb days, then a “carb-up” day at 130g. This worked wonderfully for me and I saw changes pretty quickly. Again, there are all sorts of strategies, but generally you will want to keep your protein high everyday. I was eating at least 200 g of protein a day, and although that may seem like a lot, it’s actually really easy when you’re eating that few carbs (30 g is equivalent to about 3 cups of spinach). You will also want to be sure to push the H20 like crazy.. I’m talking at least a gallon a day (again, this gets pretty easy with low carbs.)
Here are a couple screen shots of my Food Diary while I was cycling (I’m sorry the graphs are so hard to read 
and never mind the ‘dessert’ title, just a filler):
Low Carb..
High Carb..
But alas, Cardio is an equally important part of Carb-Cycling for fat loss. You will need to become best friends with your treadmill and any & all other pieces of cardio equipment. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is your best bet for fat loss (a post will be dedicated to the why behind this in the near future), so you’ll want to do at least 3 HIIT sessions a week plus a couple Steady State Cardio sessions (find an example plan here from Scott’s Training Systems).
Any who, hope that makes a little sense It is a little funny that this topic came after one on oatmeal, haha.. but oatmeal was a critical component of my high-carb days after all!
And onto the Meal..
A few highlights from the last couple days:
Orange Breakfasts
Today, as predicted after writing yesterday’s post, I had to have oatmeal for breakfast! I ended up with 1/2 Vanilla Nut Teeccino + 1/2 Vanilla Biscotti Coffee, Overnight Pumpkin Protein Oats topped with 1 tbsp Coconut Butter..
Yesterday was equally orange. I enjoyed Kabocha Protein Cheesecake Ice Cream topped with 1/4 c Kashi Go Lean..
Yesterday lunch might become a new favorite!.. A fantastic Quesadilla. I’ve reported how much I love Tahini Hummus as a substitute for cheese so I knew I would love Mae’s Humnut Sauce. I used a Whole Wheat Low-Carb tortilla, smeared on Humnut Sauce (2 tbsp Tahini Hummus + 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast) and topped it with Savory Tofu and 1/2 Avocado. Yum!
PB Cravings
I wasn’t won over by Jay Robb Protein Powder but this bar was pretty good. I’d prefer if his photo wasn’t on the wrapper, it creeps me out for some reason..
I’ve had a craving for Sweet Potato and Peanut Butter for a while now, and I finally fulfilled it today. To make the PB go further, and to add protein, I mixed 1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt with 1/2 scoop Peanut Butter Protein Powder and 1 tbsp creamy Peanut Butter, then topped it with a sprinkle of Cinnamon. So good!
Dinner was a new mix. Acorn squash stuffed with Cottage Cheese mixed with 2 tbsp Tahini Hummus & 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast, and Tofu BBQ Shreds. It doesn’t look like much, but it was a great combination!
FUN
Best Organic Chocolate for Valentine’s Day
I’ll be blogging for Blog Your Heart Out Day – Find out more about the campaign here!
We’re almost through the week! So I’m curious.. Have you ever tried Carb-cycling? Did you have good results?
Make it a fantastic Thursday!
Fun Links
Thanks for the carb cycling info. I enjoy reading about diets, eating patterns, etc. It’s interesting how the body responds to shifts in macronutrient intake.
Now I’m gonna go click on that kabocha cheesecake!
I’ve tried carb cycling many times in the past. Partly to drop some body fat, partly to see how my body would react to it.
It worked. I was really surprised by how my body changed. I was so miserable on my low carb days! 
I did L-M-M-H then tried L-M-H-H.
Your evening sounds like a lot of fun!
Going to check out the Blog Your Heart Out Day campaign.
I love the idea of adding the nutritional yeast to hummus. Thanks for sharing! I just love quesadillas. You can stuff them with just about anything!
Great post!
I’ve been really interested and tried it for 2 days. LOL. One high and one low but I was actually really lethargic on my high carb day! I think my body prefers protein!
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
I’m exactly the same way! At first it took a little adjusting to, but then I found myself feeling so much better. Then on high carb days I’d feel like a tired (& full) blob :p
I’ve done carb cycling before too but my question is just like a low carb diet, does it lose it’s effectiveness each time you do it? For example, the first time I did a low-carb diet, I lost lots of weight. The second time, I lost some weight but not as drastically. Every other subsequent time – nothing!
Also, I think you posted your high carb food diary for both days… I only mention this because I was curious to see if you increased your protein on your low carb day to keep you calories roughly equal…
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
I think the level of effectiveness from time to time depends on a lot of factors, including your diet in between cycling, level of activity, and variety of foods. Like any diet your body will adapt if you do it for too long. I’ve only done intense cycling once, so I’ll let you know how it goes when I prep for my next competition (I hope it works as well!).
And thanks for catching that! I just updated with the correct chart
I actually kept my protein the same for high & low days so my calories were up on high days too!
Hmm haven’t tried the carb cycling, but I wonder if it’s really a good idea during marathon training? I could see the benefit but also don’t want to constantly feel sluggish getting in my miles.
Hey Girl! I will send you a message if a few days but for now I just have to ask– where do you get peanut butter protein powder??? I LOVE me sum PB but I recall I only saw one PB protein variation online…any suggestions?? Thanks~
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
The variety I’m using is Dymatize Elite Gourmet. It’s ok. Taste great as a shake or when mixed with greek yogurt, but it does not heat well at all. If you do a search on bodybuilding.com’s store you’ll find quite a few. I’m anxious to try others but am forcing myself to finish this gigantic bucket first!
I’ve always been curious and wanting to know more about carb-cycling! sounds like to takes a while getting used to, I might be cranky with low card days but if thats what it takes short-term to lose BF etc, then count me in.
Yeah, Jay Robb…I felt the same way you did about his face on his products, it made me skepticalish, but it seems like everyone enjoys his powder.
Ok, so can ‘regular’ people use this? Meaning, you know me, and how I eat, so what are the chances that I can go 2-3 days in a row at 30g of carbs?
I liked Scott’s calendar but am not sure I could commit to all the lifting. Can yoga be substituted for lifting? If so, I’m totally in.
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
Yes, “regular” people can absolutely do this, but I would recommend easing into it. So maybe start low days at 50-80g as you slowly adjust to eating more protein and less carbs. Scott’s example is definitely a time consuming one. When just starting out, I would say at least 3 days of lifting plus a couple days of Yoga would probably show results.
Carb cycleing is really interesting! I’ve always wondered what the term “cutting” meant.
Your pizza sounds so good! I love it folded up like a quesadilla.
Have an awesome day!
Awesome article! I look forward to reading more upcoming blog posts from you. I just bought a set of
love your site, found it thru foodsofapril.com
anyway what are your thoughts on the anabolic diet for fat loss, its alot like carb cycling but higher in fat.
I have been trying it out for 10 days now.
my carbs are 30grams and the fat is almost 60% of the calories, so the protein is lower like around 100 grams.
Anyway I am just curious if you have every heard of it or tried that.
You do a refeed carb up day ever 5 days so its 5 low carb then 2 carbup days then repeat
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never tried the Anabolic Diet. I usually aim for getting around 50g of Fat a day anyway, and I seem to respond well to high Protein. Please let me know how it goes for you, I’m really curious!
Where can I find the Food Diary software you’re using to track your daily intake?
Twitter: NourishedFit
says:
There’s a link on the side bar under ‘Other Faves,’ it’s called ‘My Food Diary’
thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!
QUESTION: I’m 33, female. In the last year I have lost 60 lbs just by eating cleanly and reducing calories, but sadly, I have NOT excercised. And to be honest, it’s only out of laziness.
I still want to lose 10 or so more pounds of body fat. So….. since I am SSSSeriously out of shape, heart-wise, muscle-wise, and NO stamina (folding towels even exhausts me), how best should I approach some of these methods of exercise (HIIT, etc) and carb-cycling to jump start my body to release those last few pounds of fat?
I obviously don’t want to injure myself or over-do it, which would put be in even worse shape but I’m also realisticly aware of my body’s ‘out-of-shape-ness’.
Please give me your advice on how to jump in!
First off, Your body is AMAZING!!!!!
Second, thank you for your info on carb cycling.
Im going to use it to lose these last ten pounds and tighten my abs.
Im so excited!!!
thank you!!!!
2T
Thanks for the post! I am training for a bikini competition and just started carb cycling a few days ago. Feeling really tired and blurry on my low carb days, is this normal? Is my body just getting used to the cycle? I am doing L-M-H, repeat. I’d love some tips/advice!
I’m also blogging my experience, which you can check out at http://www.jamiemarin.blogspot.com. Thank you!!!