Why do I need to carb load while in Ketosis?

[GinNJuice]

Ok, I assume that this question has been asked before, but when doing a search on carb loading, I get a lot of info that doesn't apply to my question.

I have been in Ketosis for about 3 weeks straight. I don't have a cheat day. I train 4-5 days a week without any cardio.

I don't really want to do very many cheat days, cause I'm afraid that I'll just up and quit my diet...... and I don't want to come out of ketosis.

My question is: Do I need a carb loading day? Why, and how often?


Thanks for your replies.

 

[Millie]

carb-ups help raise your leptin levels. when you diet, your leptin levels gradually fall, and this causes fat loss to slow down.

try searching for leptin.

 

[GinNJuice]

Thanks for the reply Millie..... I did a search on leptin and got some info.

..... So, you're saying that if I carb up a day or two a week, I'll lose more fat than if I just stay in ketosis for a given amout of time?

 

[JJFigure]

You also need carbs to replenish your liver and muscle glycogen. Just think about people on the Atkins diet - do they look muscular? No. High fat/high protein diets work for athletes, but only if you incorporate carb loads.

Here are a couple books and their respective websites you can go to to get more info:

Natural Hormonal Enhancement - www.extique.com
The Anabolic Diet (Re-engineered as the Metabolic Diet) - www.metabolicdiet.com.

Metabolicdiet.com gives you enough info you don't necessarily have to buy anything. I'm sure there are more sites/books, but these are the ones I used when researching my diet approach. Good luck!

 

[Millie]

Thanks for the reply Millie..... I did a search on leptin and got some info.

..... So, you're saying that if I carb up a day or two a week, I'll lose more fat than if I just stay in ketosis for a given amout of time?

the frequency of the carb ups depends on how lean you are - the leaner you get the more frequent they should be. also during carb up days, you should lower you fat intake to 10-15% of total calories.

so yeah, if you do them right, then they will help you lose more fat, because you will be manipulating your leptin, you will be replenishing glycogen which will help you train harder, and then there are all the psychological benefits too

 

[GinNJuice]

I'm about 12% BF right now.... I don't know what the frequency is for that amout, but I guess I'll just try once a week and see how I feel.

 

[Millie]

at 12% bf, once a week sounds right. just remember to go high carb and low fat. calories should be 20-50% above maintenance, depending on the length of the carb up. adding ALA or r-ALA would be very beneficial.

this is the very short version of how carb ups should be done
i suggest you read up some more on this, especially Par Deus' articles on leptin on his web site.

 

[SOEX]

GinNJuice, you're body will tell you when you need a carb load. Normally your mood will get very sour (more than normal while dieting). You'll have very little energy and lack motivation.

Also, you'll feel like the fat loss has stopped or slowed. Which may be the case. With the loss of leptin (since it controls a lot of important hormones while dieting) you're body is going to start conserving fat and losing muscle.

Basically it's the same idea as when working out. Shock the body when you hit a wall. Change up your workout pattern is the same as changing up your dieting pattern. I went 1 month with no carbs, lost a lot of fat, then did one refeed, and lost a ton of fat the next month.

I just did a refeed yesterday, and I look a little bloated right now, but it'll drop soon enough. I'm probably between 12-15% and I'm going to do a refeed 1 time per 2 weeks.

Also, remember that refeeds are NOT cheat days. Don't go out eating crap. When I refeed I eat a lot of carbs, but 0 fats. I still keep my protein up (not as high though). Go to the store with stuff planned out that you're going to eat, buy only that and ration it. It's easy to try to just go overboard after dieting that long. Also, plan it for days that you're going to work out hard, and that you'll be busy. It'll keep your mind slightly off the food that way. Be prepared, becuase after a month of dieting, your veins are gonna look GOOOOOOOOOD. I was freaking people out yesterday.

 

[3Vandoo]

carb loading should be at 10gr of carbs per kg of bodyweight. and 1gr of protein by lbs of bodyweight. NO fat or small small mini amount of fat during the carbs up.