Carb Cycling Plan – The Ultimate Lean Gains Solution

Carb Cycling Plan – The Ultimate Lean Gains Solution

When it comes to not only burning fat, but actually gaining lean muscle mass in the process, a lot of people tend to find themselves avoiding all fats like the plague, including healthy fats such as polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats.

When it comes to fat loss and lean gains, however, studies have found that carbohydrates actually play a much bigger role in fat loss and lean muscle growth than many people may have realized. Of course we know that low-carb, or zero-carb diet plans such as the Atkins diet are very beneficial for when it comes to fat loss, but despite this, it is sadly not a very enjoyable type of diet to follow. Depriving your body of carbohydrates for prolonged periods of time can leave you feeling tired, lethargic, unwell, struggling with a headache, and unmotivated, meaning that your training will suffer. Besides which, you’re not only looking to burn fat, but to also build lean muscle in the process, so what do you do?

Well, you could do what hundreds of thousands of other people all over the world have tried, with great success, and follow a carb cycling plan. Here’s a more in-depth look.

What is a carb cycling plan? – Basically a carb cycling plan will require individuals to cycle their daily carbohydrate consumption, so that on some days they’re having a lot of carbs, on other days they’re having a moderate amount of carbs, and on other days they’re having virtually no carbs in the slightest. So for example, it could look something like this:

Day 1 – 200 g of carbs

Day 2 – 150 g of carbs

Day 3 – 100 g of carbs

Day 4 – 50g of carbs

Day 4 – 125g of carbs

Day 6 – 150g of carbs

Day 7 – 175 g of carbs

Where should the carbohydrates come from? – When following a carb cycling plan, it’s important that you not only consume the right quantities of carbohydrates, but that you also consume the right sources of carbohydrates in the process.

As mentioned on this bodybuilding blog, for example, you should avoid simple carbohydrates like sugars and candy, and should instead focus on healthy complex carbs including:

– Brown rice

– Potatoes

– Whole wheat pasta

– Whole wheat bread

– Oatmeal

– Legumes

– Root vegetables

What happens when you hit a plateau? – When you hit a plateau, and you will hit one at some point on a carb cycling plan, it is then time to make changes to your diet. The trick is to shock your system, which means that you will need to reduce the amount of carbohydrates that you consume. Reduce the amount of carbs you consume each day by 30 grams for a couple of weeks, and then, on the following week, you will follow what is known as zero carb days. Basically, rather than having low carb days, you will instead have zero carb days, between 1 and 3 days in a row. That means that for those 3 days, you will have no carbs at all – zero! The good news, however, is that following zero carb days, you get to “carb up” as it were and will have very high carb days in which you replenish glycogen stores in your muscles. Afterwards, you can tailor make your daily carb intakes, making sure you continue to cycle them and keep them low.

Carb cycling plan meals – Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s now take a look at a few sample meal plans, which you can tweak slightly based upon your own personal preferences.

Low carb day:

Meal 1:

2 poached eggs

Handful of smoked salmon

Meal 2:

Handful of mixed berries

1 protein shake

Meal 3:

4 oz grilled chicken

One cup of mixed salad with low/no sugar dressing

Meal 4:

1 small Natural Yoghurt

Handful of nuts

Meal 5:

Grilled sirloin steak

1 cup of steamed cauliflower

Medium carb day:

Meal 1:

2 scrambled eggs

1 slice of ezekial bread

2 grilled tomatoes

Meal 2:

1 small apple

1 handful of walnuts

Meal 3:

1 grilled chicken breast

Half a wholemeal pita bread

Handful of mixed leaves

Meal 4:

1 protein shake

Meal 5:

Grilled salmon fillet

1 cup of wilted spinach

Half a cup of brown rice of Quinoa

High carb day:

Meal 1:

1 cup of oatmeal

1 handful of mixed berries and nuts

Meal 2:

1 protein shake

1 handful of mixed berries

Meal 3:

One turkey salad sandwich on wholemeal bread

Meal 4:

1 apple

1 spoonful of almond butter (natural)

Meal 5:

One grilled chicken breast

One baked sweet potato

One cup of mixed veggies

Zero carb day:

Meal 1:

2 scrambled eggs

1 cup of spinach

1 serving of smoked salmon

Meal 2:

pot of sugar-free jelly/jam

50g of double cream

Meal 3:

Grilled chicken breast

Mixed salad leaves

Sugar-free dessing

Meal 4:

1 tablespoon of peanut butter

1 celery stick

Meal 5:

1 grilled sirloin steak

1 cup of wilted spinach

1 serving of broccoli and cauliflower puree

*Drink plenty of water, avoid fruit juices, and be careful of milk and sugar in tea and coffee.

Have you ever tried carb cycling?

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