How necessary is a carb up day??

[PinK233]

If you're on a low carb diet, what are the benefits of a carb up day? I'm already noticing a decrease in my water weight and feeling tighter...will a carb up day cause me to become bloated? I already have a cheat meal once a week...

 

[saint808]

well for one thing it tricks the body and keeps it guessing, also you won't become bloated as long as your carbs are clean carbs... you will also feel what is called hyperglycogenation (sp?) and you will get a crapload of energy from it.

 

[110%]

a carb up meal will help regulate leptin levels and keep htem high, if they get to low the fat burning process will stop so you want to keep them high and insulin does this, so high gi carbs on a carb up day is what does the trick. yes u will get bloated, but u will also store more glycogen and feel fuller, and the bloat will go away after 1 or 2 days of dieting again.

 

[plornive]

It doesn't really matter how "clean" carbs are as long as the carbs are starch or dextrose with a little bit of fructose if you want. Well, maybe that is what "clean" means.

Count on being bloated, as this is what happens to most people. I don't think it's a bad sign --- it just may seem disheartening. Compare your weights week to week.

When I keto dieted, I became bloated after every carb-up, but I lost weight overall. Just remember to count your calories for the week and make sure there is the deficit you want.

I think it is possible to carb-up without bloating, but I think it means that the carb-up is not really complete (i.e. no supercompensation).

 

[Love Bone]

A carb up day will fill muscles more than anything so you will look and feel bigger thus the bloat feeling comparatively. Clean means little simple sugars.

 

[Creatureofnight]

I actually suggest you take in simple carbs on your carb day. Reason being they will fill glycogen stores faster.

Your body must breakdown all carbs to glucose, therefore if you sidestep this process and take in pure glucose(simple carbs) your muscles can take in more glycogen at a faster rate w/ out the liver eating away at as much of them.

Clean carbs on a refeed basically means stear away from carbs w/ alot of fat (donuts,cakes,creams).

 

[plornive]

ditto on avoiding fats like the plague during a carb-up. You don't need more than your 5-10% EFAs when you are consuming so many carbs.

 

[rez]

can u give some examples of clean carbs/high in gi?????

i had a carb load day 2 weeks ago..first time in ages...ate a whole box of cereal! plus fruit and milk (i dont eat dairy usually).

i have never been more full in my life.

it was great

 

[PinK233]

Thanks guys....how often should I carb up?? Once a week?

 

[rez]

Thanks guys....how often should I carb up?? Once a week?

throughout summer i hardly carbedup...maybe every 4-6weeks. now that winter is coming probably every 2 weeks.
depends on you bf%..if below 15% every 1-2weeks. Try it once a week..if ure putting on fat..make it 2 weeks.

just keep checking ure bf% to see whats right for u

 

[110%]

once ur bf% gets down under maybe 12 or so, i like carbing up every 4 days. and yes you want high gi carbs, because you need alot of insulin to meet the potential that glucose has on regulating insulin levels, you can find all this info in pardeus's website on his articles on leptin, if u want to read more that is.