Have you ever heard of a new diet that helps you lose weight and build muscle without restricting carbs? Well – we’re talking about – “Carb Backloading”.
Carb Backloading is a nutritional method that has gained great popularity in recent years.
Many people think that it is possible to lose weight only by restricting carbohydrate intake and avoiding fast food or processed foods, etc. – you may have come across popular diets urging you to avoid this type of food such as keto and Atkins.
All of these diets have one thing in common: They force you to drastically slash the number of Carbohydrates you eat in order to achieve weight loss success.
You might be excited to hear this, but honestly, these diets can only work in the short term.
Because based on the opinions of many people – they have found it difficult – if not impossible at times – to stick to this type of diets in the long term.
* Let’s get started knowing … more about:
* How Do Carbohydrates Work In Your Body? * What Exactly Is Carb Backloading?
* How Does Carb Backloading work? * Could Carb Backloading be Very Beneficial for Some People – and Should You Try It?
* Carb Backloading Meal Plan – All You Need To Know …
* Finally, The Keto Diet and Carb Backloading Strategy.
How Do Carbohydrates Work In Your Body?
Before understanding how carb backloading works, we first need to get a quick overview of what carbohydrates are and how they work in the body.
In short, carbohydrates are foods that are converted into glucose after digestion.
Carbs are the main source of energy in the body and are especially important to the brain – which cannot easily use other energy sources (such as proteins or fats).
Did you know???
Carbohydrates are large biological molecules that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms in specific ratios.
* Read on to find out how it works …
Any time you eat various foods that contain carbohydrates, they are digested and converted into glucose before entering the bloodstream, thus raising your blood sugar levels.
Then the body’s cells absorb glucose from the bloodstream and use it to produce partial fuel (ATP), through a series of complex processes known as cellular respiration.
The body’s cells can then use ATP to run a variety of metabolic tasks.
Know that most cells in the body can produce ATP from various sources, including dietary fats and carbohydrates.
But if you are eating a diet that contains a different blend of these nutrients, most of the body cells prefer to use carbohydrates as the body’s primary source of energy.
What Exactly Is Carb Backloading?
The idea behind Carb Backloading is very simple – eat few or no carbs for breakfast and lunch – keep in mind that you should get the bulk of your calories from healthy fats.
And in the evening meal, you can eat more carbohydrates, especially after intense workouts.
This eating method works synergistically with the body’s sensitivity to insulin. As John Kiefer thinks, the creator of Carb Backloading.
Research shows that insulin sensitivity peaks in the morning, meaning that you don’t have to worry about the number of large carbohydrates you eat during the evening.
Note: The new approach to the Carb backloading diet suggests that the number of carbohydrates you eat isn’t really that important.
Because your body will tolerate nutrient-dense carbohydrates better in the evening.
Also, the stored glycogen levels will be lower and the body prefers to fill the glycogen stores and thus will not lead to a fat storage condition.
How Does Carb Backloading work?
Carb Backloading can be viewed as a “strategic timing” for carbohydrate intake.
Because this diet puts great emphasis on the proper timing of hormonal function. Usually, when you sleep, your body is burning fats while it releases growth hormones.
Upon waking up, the goal of a carb backloading is to stay in a state known as ketosis (the fat-burning state). [Strong Evidence]
Scientifically proven in many studies and research that this helps in improving the metabolism of oxidized fats, and controlling hunger, and this can be achieved by eating a large amount of fats and only a moderate proportion of proteins throughout the day.
* More details…
For breakfast, choose a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein meal, such as a breakfast plate of bacon, eggs and cheese.
If you try to skip breakfast completely, the better – since this is an essential part of intermittent fasting, it has many benefits beyond this diet plan.
In this case, try to drink enough water, coffee or tea for the first part of the day.
Note: Coffee can help you burn fat to start producing ketones early in the day.
* For lunch, you can do the same … Just remember that you should keep your carbohydrate low by choosing keto-friendly meals like – cauliflower with pesto – and salmon with rice.
You can get dietary fiber from natural sources like nuts, seeds, and non-starchy vegetables.
Note: As for the proportion of the carbohydrates that we eat, most of the calories that come from them will come after exercise.
Basically, the principle of “post-exercise” is important, because this is the time when your body is most likely to store glycogen in muscle instead of fat.
Can Carb Backloading be Good for You – and Should You Try it?
* Just like other diets, carb backloading comes with many potential health benefits.
1. Improve body energy and mental clarity
Many people report an increase in mental focus and physical energy after starting the carbohydrate backloading strategy. Because with enough fat, your brain can use ketones for energy.
Stress hormones such as norepinephrine and cortisol are designed to provide the body with energy.
Usually, when we are in a lower state in terms of calories and carbohydrates these hormones are at their highest levels.
But if you eat a breakfast that contains a lot of carbohydrates, you stop the action of these hormones and you will not get the energy and mental clarity.
2. Helps reduce cravings
Carb Backloading allows you to be less restrictive in the evening, so it’s okay to eat junk food every now and then as long as you stay low on carbs throughout the day.
3. Improve fat burning
Carb Backloading encourages you to shed stored fat during the day and get more out of the hormonal function – by staying in ketosis throughout the day.
4. Promote better sleep
By eating a large amount of carbohydrates in the evening. This will help keep cortisol and other stress hormones low and stimulate the production of more serotonin.
Serotonin helps you feel calm and happy and is a precursor to the sleep hormone melatonin.
5. No need to count calories or macronutrients
The advantage of Carb Backloading is its low focus on counting and tracking calories and macronutrients. Although the author of the book states that this is important, it is not a critical component of the protocol.
For some people, the Carb Backloading Protocol is easy and stress-free and can help improve body composition in the process.
* So, is carb backloading a good idea to try?
If you have ever followed the keto diet or have some simple information about it, you may notice that there are some common principles between Carb Backloading and the keto diet.
If you struggle to gain muscle on the keto diet, Carb Backloading can also help you boost muscle mass and strength and improve athletic performance.
Traditional Carb Backloading
* Carb backloading is easily explained in the three steps.
The first phase requires: limit carbohydrate intake as much as possible – reduce carbohydrate intake to 30 grams per day for 10 days.
The second stage: Kiefer recommends eating large amounts of carbohydrates and protein on the tenth day, especially after the evening exercise.
The third stage Try to repeat the program…
On training days, you can repeat the process of eating large amounts of carbohydrates after training in the afternoon or evening.
On non-training days – rest day, reduce your carbohydrate intake in a similar manner to the first ten days of the program.
The Keto Diet and Carb Backloading Strategy
When it comes to a low-carb diet like keto, many people find it difficult to gain muscle mass.
For example, bodybuilders and weightlifters find they need more carbohydrates to maintain strength during high-intensity workouts.
However, you should keep in mind that if the amount of carbohydrates you eat is too high, you may find yourself kicked out of ketosis.
* Will the calories and carbohydrates get you out of ketosis?
The answer is yes, you will be temporarily out of ketosis. Because when you eat a meal rich in carbohydrates, your body makes a lot of insulin, so your body will stop producing ketones that help you burn fat for energy.
However, since you restrict your intake of calories and carbohydrates for the next 23-24 hours, your insulin will decrease and stay low for a long time (especially during the day) – and your body will start again to produce ketones and burn more stored fat for fuel again.
A carb backloading strategy can work in conjunction with a keto diet and you can remain in ketosis as long as you try to limit your carbohydrate intake throughout the day.
Also, remember that if you are eating evening carbohydrates according to the Carb Backloading Dietary Protocol, try to stay within the recommended amount of carbs on the keto diet.
If you train in the evening and only eat carbohydrates in the post-exercise period, remember that throughout the day your body is in a fat-burning state, while you are still receiving the benefits of muscle mass.
Simple Carb Backloading Meal Plan
Your carb backloading meal plan is based on getting your exercise out at 5 PM and going to bed at 11 PM.
- Breakfast – 8:00 am
- It is preferable to eat a delicious dish of Turkey sausage frittata.
- Lunch – 12:00 pm
- Lemon balsamic chicken, sauteed spinach and tomatoes in coconut oil.
- Snack – 3:00 pm
- Handful walnuts and 1/2 banana.
- Post Workout Snack – 6:00 pm
- 2 small baked sweet potatoes with grass-fed butter.
- Dinner – 7:00 pm
- Butternut squash and parsnip soup, 1 piece honey-baked salmon, cauliflower fried rice.
- Dessert –
- Protein shake
Many people find that the Carb Backloading Meal Plan can be relaxing and easy to get used to, and thus it is a good idea to follow a diet like Carb Backloading to stick to it in the long run.
The final recommendation for Carb Backloading
If you are interested in carb backloading, we recommend that you do more research and see if this is something you might really want to try.
* Frankly, carb backloading is a pseudoscientific concept – but its strategy may be better than your current nutritional strategy.
There is little research supporting the effectiveness of carb backloading, while carb backloading appears to be good in theory.