I think there is a bit of confusion around our carb-cycling experiments.
Most often, the term "carb-cycling" refers to alternating carb-intake to improve weight training results. For body building, you want short cycles. Body builders' cycles are fairly short with carb-up days usually coinciding with their heavy lifting. They might for example do one day high-carb, one ultra-low, one low then start over. The carb-up days are often called "re-feeds". This method seems to work for them in that it allows for burning small amounts of fat while providing nutrients for workouts. But, these short cycles are really designed for those who are doing heavy workouts and have very little body fat to begin with.
I am more interested in longer carb-cycles intended for rapid weight loss. The theory is that while on a low-carb diet that mixing in days of high carb intake will prevent the body from adjusting and becoming accustomed to a steady low input of carbohydrates. It seems that the body adjusts to some extent to any steady intake of nutrients. So, we want to shake it up a bit and "keep the body guessing". I'm not shooting for a "re-feed" but rather a "carb-shock". Short cycles like those used for body building do not allow enough time for heavy ketosis to kick in. Therefore, longer cycles are used. I tried 5 days down and 2 days up (basically low-carb on weekdays only) but found it only allowed me to be in ketosis for a couple of days at best. I still lost weight, just not as quickly as I had hoped for. Now, I have increased the length to 11 days down and 3 days up. This allows me to stay in ketosis longer. And, my overall weight loss so far has been roughly the same as doing low-carb everyday.
It should be noted that while I have had positive results, the verdict is still out on whether or not this strategy is better than low-carb everyday. The only way we will know for sure would be if more people try it and share their results. PJ over at The Divine Low Carb has just begun a similar experiment using a 14 day cycle. Her strategy is a bit more complex than mine. Keep an eye on her results...
I think there is a bit of confusion around our carb-cycling experiments.
Most often, the term "carb-cycling" refers to alternating carb-intake to improve weight training results. For body building, you want short cycles. Body builders' cycles are fairly short with carb-up days usually coinciding with their heavy lifting. They might for example do one day high-carb, one ultra-low, one low then start over. The carb-up days are often called "re-feeds". This method seems to work for them in that it allows for burning small amounts of fat while providing nutrients for workouts. But, these short cycles are really designed for those who are doing heavy workouts and have very little body fat to begin with.
I am more interested in longer carb-cycles intended for rapid weight loss. The theory is that while on a low-carb diet that mixing in days of high carb intake will prevent the body from adjusting and becoming accustomed to a steady low input of carbohydrates. It seems that the body adjusts to some extent to any steady intake of nutrients. So, we want to shake it up a bit and "keep the body guessing". I'm not shooting for a "re-feed" but rather a "carb-shock". Short cycles like those used for body building do not allow enough time for heavy ketosis to kick in. Therefore, longer cycles are used. I tried 5 days down and 2 days up (basically low-carb on weekdays only) but found it only allowed me to be in ketosis for a couple of days at best. I still lost weight, just not as quickly as I had hoped for. Now, I have increased the length to 11 days down and 3 days up. This allows me to stay in ketosis longer. And, my overall weight loss so far has been roughly the same as doing low-carb everyday.
It should be noted that while I have had positive results, the verdict is still out on whether or not this strategy is better than low-carb everyday. The only way we will know for sure would be if more people try it and share their results. PJ over at The Divine Low Carb has just begun a similar experiment using a 14 day cycle. Her strategy is a bit more complex than mine. Keep an eye on her results...