Are any of you carb cycling and IF?

[RanchMom]

Hello, I do not post here often but have really enjoyed reading through the posts over the years. I would appreciate any thoughts/feedback. I have recently started to carb cycle along with intermittent fasting. Have any of you tried to do so while doing Cathe (almost) exclusively? If so would you please be willing to share your thoughts on rotations? I currently am striving to do 50g carbs or less two days a week with HIIT, 3 regular carb/macro days in conjunction with lifting, and 2 rest days.

 

[skatch]

I follow Carb Nite by John Keifer. I've cut back quite a bit on Cathe workouts. I do weights with Cathe and use a spin bike for HIIT (30 sec all out, 3 min rest X5), usually one day before carb nite and one day after carb nite, and WALKING!! I would do sprints instead of a spin bike, but I have bad plantar fasciitis. I find Cathe a bit too much cardio focused, even her weight routines seem more like cardio workouts, not enough rest to lower the heart rate in between exercises. I also do fewer endurance reps, more heavy sets. Here is an article about cardio if you are interested. women-not-run I usually do a fast between supper and breakfast, longer on weekends.

 

[Debinmi]

I started 16-18 hour intermittent fasting 4x/week about three weeks ago as recommended by Dr Mercola (he recommends daily intermittent fasting however). And my primary care provider is a big advocate of intermittent fasting. I may experiment with Mercola's "keto-fast" protocol once I read his latest book, or maybe not. He also recommends carb cycling, which I just started implementing. I don't consider myself "keto" but do eat much lower carb than I used to eat (usually ^50-150 g/day now , which is more in-line with Primal eating than keto).). Eliminating most grains, vegetable oils & sugar has helped with weight loss, digestive & gastrointestinal issues, knee pain, & has reduced general inflammation. I am currently on Meso 2 of Cathe's STS, alternating with one day of steady state cardio (step, walking, biking), one day of a hiit or interval, and usually one kickbox workout (sometimes substituting lawn work/gardening as it is that time of year ). My rest days are sometimes complete rest, sometimes I include a stretch or short yoga, a walk or low intensity bike ride. I have had no issues with fatigue, nor have I experienced increased appetite that some people say they experienced with STS. The intermittent fasting is pretty easy for me due to having been lower carb for almost two years now & believe my metabolism is very flexible (being able to utilize fat or glucose for energy) as I can workout easily while fasted as long as I'm well hydrated. HTH, Deb

 

[RanchMom]

Yes, much thanks to the both of you. The 6 week program I subscribed to is Faster Way to Fat Loss. It promotes a 16:8 split. I can easily get to 15 hours but that last hour is very difficult for me. I have really appreciated learning about macros vs calories. I too had eaten so low carb for several years that the 50g of net carbs (Carbs-Fiber) two times a week isn't a challenge for me. The program then has 3 regular macro days and two days of 25% less macros across the board. The later two days are a struggle for me because for years I have eaten my calories in protein vs carbs. I hope that makes sense.

I am on the fence for continuing this program for one more month. It is pricey at $99 but I believe could use a little more help with my macros. I just love Cathe and her workouts. I don't have STS. I have all programs from RWH-current +XTrain and would far prefer to use her HIIT and lifting videos as opposed to self directed paper workouts. Perhaps I should look into Dr Mercola's book. I am sure that there are lots of books available. I just don't want to get sidetracked. take care!

 

[Debinmi]

I have used MyFitnessPal, KetoDietApp, and Cronometer ( the free versions) to help track macros. I don't recommend one over the other as they all have their +/-, but I do use one or another periodically to keep me on track. I usually average 20/20/60, with the excdption of carb-up days. The Faster Way to Weight Loss looks interesting & similiar (but more structued) than my informal carb-cycling... have you had success with it?

 

[RanchMom]

Debinimi, Yes I have. I have lost 1.5 inches in my waist. I hold my weight in the hips and thighs so I am not surprised that this area of my body hasn't gone down yet. But, I feel so much better. I am sleeping well and truly trying to focus on eating the right foods at the right time. In fact I have a hard time eating enough food on my regular macro days because I am so accustomed to restricting myself (and getting no where because of it).

I do like the structure of faster way to fat loss but just really prefer Cathe's workouts. I might need to consider subscribing to her online streaming to get access to the past weight programs.

 

[Debinmi]

Congrats on the inches down .... supposedly abdominal fat loss is the nasty visceral fat being reduced and that's healthy ... so something is definitely working for you. I initially found weight loss to be effortless when I first went lower carb, but then hit a platuea, and increased my workouts hoping that would help. It hasnt; I feel better & more fit, but the scale hasnt moved much. I have begun to lose weight again with the intermittent fasting though. And I moved my main meal/calorie intake to lunch, after the fast. I've contemplated lowering carbs to keto range (<50 g), but hesitate to do so as you really have to track carbs carefully and even be careful of your vegetables if you don't fill up on greens daily. I'm reading Diane Sanfilippo's "Keto Quick Start" & she thinks the reason people platuea is due to unhealthy vegetable oils still in their diets - that's not my situation. Mercola believes it's the need to carb-cycle, instead of staying low carb all the time as he speculates that affects the thyroid negatively. So that's why I'm starting to add in additional healthy carbs on a couple of days. But like you, I find this a little hard. So it's an experiment. I wish you continued success

 

[Ivy]

Great information from all of you. As you get older it truly is a process to find out what works best for you.