Cycle your carbs, lose fat

Eating Clean is ultimately the best way to lose weight and MAINTAIN the weight loss, but you may still hit that dreaded plateau.

Carb Cycling is all about restoring your fat-burning hormone levels. Leptin is a hormone that keeps your metabolic rate up and hunger down.

Many fad diets like Atkins and South Beach, are low carb. Going very low on carbs forces the body to turn body fat for fuel, however, staying on a low carb diet for too long can cause your leptin levels to drop. When leptin drops, so does your metabolism, and your hunger increases. By alternating periods of low carbs with higher carb intake, you can prevent drops in leptin levels, which keeps your metabolism steady and prevents your hunger from getting out of control. High carb days also bring muscle benefits because carbs stimulate insulin realease, which refills the glycogen stores in muscles to promote growth.

There's actually a psychological impact to eating this way. Unlike traditional low carb diets, which encourage low carb intake as a lifestyle, carb cycling doesn't restrict you from what your body needs for optimal function. All carbohydrates are broken down into glucose, which is the brain's fuel source (this is why you feel foggy and tired on low carb diets) but just because carbs are the easiest way for the body to get glucose doesn't mean that they're the only way. In fact, if you could turn off your brain's insistent begging for carbs, you could subsist quite nicely without them and you lose weight. This is the beauty of carb cycling. Knowing that you'll be able to eat carbs again in a few days, makes getting through the low carb days much more manageable.

LOW CARB: YOUR BODY WEIGHT (LBS) DIVIDED BY 2 = ________GRAMS OF CARBS

HIGH CARB: YOUR BODY WEIGHT (LBS) X 2 - 3 = ________GRAMS OF CARBS

MODERATE CARB: YOUR BODY WEIGHT (LBS) = _________GRAMS OF CARBS

*On Low Carb days EAT MORE FIBROUS VEGETABLES (aparagus, broccoli, cucumbers, cabbage, celery, leafy greens, squash, bell pepers) EAT MORE HEALTHY FATS (salmon, tuna, peanut butter, nuts, seeds, avocados, vinaigrettes, red meats) and EAT LESS STARCHY CARBS

*On High Carb days EAT MORE STARCHY CARBS (brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, beans, white potatoes, tomato sauces) EAT MORE SIMPLE CARBS (fruit). EAT LESS FIBROUS VEGETABLES AND HEALTHY FATS.

*On Moderate Carb days EAT CLEAN (lean protein, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats). EAT LESS REFINED CARBS, PROCESSED FOOD AND DRINK.

Here's how you do it:

SUNDAY-Low Carb
Monday-Low Carb
Tuesday-Low Carb
Wednesday-HIGH Carb
Thursday-Moderate Carb
Friday-Moderate Carb
Saturday-Moderate Carb

Print this out and use as a quick reference. I want to hear your feedback. Of course you still need to exercise! The plan's effectiveness stems from its ability to reboot your metabolism into fat loss mode without turning you into a cookie-craving maniac. The fat loss benefits have long been a best kept secret among fitness models and body builders, but carb cycling can be used by anyone.