If you've never heard of "carb cycling", it's pre-defined increases and decreases in your carbohydrate consumption.  With carb cycling, there is also often a deviation in your calories too.  

Why would a person even want to carb cycle?  Carbs can be great for increasing muscle growth and creating a scenario that is more anabolic (growth).  The issue we see in our nation is that we tend to never cycle OFF the carbs and people stay in that anabolic state due to the prolonged, repeated spiking of insulin.  

The goal of carb cycling is to replenish glycogen stores (stored fuel in your muscles) and temporarily spike insulin to preserve muscle.  Then, a lower-carb period is used to burn fat.  Because both cycles are short, it can help those that are having roadblocks with weight loss/fat loss. 

Something to consider is that this is for fat loss.  Fat loss doesn't always mean weight loss.  Don't judge the success of carb cycling solely based on your weight scale but using body measurements, body fat percentage, strength gains, etc.  The point is, is that it's possible to gain weight doing this, but get leaner, look/feel better in your clothes, and feel a lot better.  

I want to go through 3 steps of a carb cycle period for those looking to lose body fat.  This isn't the only way to do it but the way I have used in the past.  If you're looking to lose fat, I would challenge you to do the following for 30 days. 

In other words, if you’re in a vegetative state useless to all those that rely on you, BMR is the amount of calories you need to stay breathing. Eating at or below your BMR may allow you to lose weight, but it’s also a recipe for fatigue, hormonal imbalances, cognitive decline, and even weight gain, as your body will hold onto any excess for fear of missing out.  I see this on repeat from the boomers and Gen-Xers that have eaten just enough to not feel hungry, creating a lifetime of under eating.  Is it surprising there are so many hormones, thyroid, and weight issues?  

The easiest way to find your TDEE is to go to www.tdeecalculator.net.

On the TDEE calculator page, it will also give you recommended macronutrient breakdowns.  Ignore those for our purposes. 

You are actually NOT going to use your TDEE as your target.  Thank goodness, right?  You're going to base our total calories on a deficit of that TDEE number.  I will say that it's still probably more than most are used to eating, so get your mind wrapped around eating more.

For example, I am 44 years old, 181 lbs, 6’ tall, and I exercise 6-7 days per week.  My TDEE is 3,000 calories.

You’re going to take your TDEE calculation and create a deficit from it.  From that deficit, you’re going to create your macronutrient targets.  

Through this, you will be cycling your carb and fat intake but your protein intake will remain the same.  You will be cycling between higher carb days and lower carb days as well as adjusting your calories based on which type of day it is.  

You will be following a 3:1 ratio of low carb days to high carb days.  With that said, here’s how to create your calorie targets.

On LOW CARB days, you need to be in a 25% deficit of your TDEE.  

On HIGH CARB days, you need to be in a 10% deficit of your TDEE.

For example, my TDEE is 3,000 calories. 

On a LOW CARB day, I need to set my total calories at 25% less than my TDEE of 3,000. 

3,000 x 0.25 = 750. 

3,000 - 750 = 2250 calories (total calorie target for low carb days).  

On my HIGH CARB day, I need to set my total calories at 10% less than my TDEE.  3,000 x 0.10 = 300.  3,000 - 300 = 2700 calories.  

LOW CARB calories = 2250.

HIGH CARB calories = 2700.

Now that you have your calorie targets, you have to create your macronutrient targets. 

The constant in the equation every day is your protein target.  You're going to target 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of body weight.  If you weigh 180 pounds like me, you will target 180 grams of protein each day.  I told you that you will probably be eating a lot more than you're used to.

LOW CARB Days:  At most, 20% of your total calories will come from carbs.  

Using my numbers, my low carb total calories are 2250. 

20% of those calories = 450 calories (2250 x 0.20). 

Each gram of carb = 4 calories. 

450 calories from carbs, divided by 4 calories = 112.5 (113 rounded up) grams of carbs on my LOW CARB Days.  

180 grams of protein = 720 calories from protein (4 calories per gram of protein)

113 grams of carbs = 452 calories from carbs (4 calories per gram of carbs)

The rest is fat calories.  Every gram of fat is 9 calories. 

2250 total calories - 720 calories from protein - 452 calories from carbs = 1078 calories left for fat.  1078/9 = 120 grams of fat.  

LOW CARB Day Macros = 

180 grams of protein

113 grams of carbs

120 grams of fat  

HIGH CARB Days: 50% of your calories will come from carbs.  Remember, protein stays the same. 

Using my numbers, my high-carb total calories is 2700. 

50% of those calories = 1350 calories from carbs. 

Each gram of carb = 4 calories. 

1350 calories from carbs, divided by 4 calories = 338 grams of carbs (rounded up) for my HIGH CARB Days.  

180 grams of protein = 720 calories from protein (4 calories per gram of protein).

338 grams of carbs = 1352 calories from carbs (4 calories per gram of carbs).

The remaining is fat.  2700 (total calories) - 720 (protein calories) - 1352 (carb calories) = 628 remaining calories for fat.  628 divided by 9 = 70 grams of fat.

HIGH CARB Day Macros = 

180 grams of protein

338 grams of carbs

70 grams of fat

 
Hitting targets like this is going to take planning.  You may be rejoicing that you get to have LOTS of carbs.  The issue you're going to run into is keeping your fat low.  Most think they can binge on chips and cookies, but due to the oils in most snack foods, those types of foods will blow up the fat bucket.

Have fun with it and let me know how it goes if you decide to try it.