I came across this term carb-cycling quite recently and was wondering if anyone could advise on whether it is a good method of dieting and whether it can help you lose weight? I've read this link https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/carb-cycling-101 but the science still seems a bit confusing.


Has anyone tried this before or can advice?

Dieting is pretty simple.
Get a weighing machine and weigh urself everyday.

Eat less & exercise more to see 0.5kg drop per week. If it doesn't happen then eat lesser & exercise more.

🤔 I don't think its always so simple man lol

Yes. It works.

More easy to follow, compared to Keto diet etc.

Whats so hard?

To exercise or to eat less?

lose weight is very general.
find out you want to lose water or lose fat or lose muscles.

Oh okay great! Ya Keto looks really hard to follow.

Both.. but also to lose the right kind weight and not plateau the weight loss

I think many people seriously misinformed about carb.

You don't need any special diet/program like keto, carb cycling, fasted cardio, lemon juice diet, or whatever.

It's all about calories in vs calories out.

Tell me whats so hard to exercise or eat less?

Say your maintenance is 2,000kcal per day. You eat 1,700kcal. If you've eaten 2,000kcal then exercise more. Cardio for 2hrs so that you can burn like 200-300kcal.

If you don't lose weight then you must've counted wrong calorie consumed, over estimate the kcal u burnt (you believe the treadmill says u burnt 500kcal? Seriously?), or as most ppl do they don't count in the snacks they eat (cheat).

These are the ppl who cannot lose weight
- misinformed. No idea what they doing. Not willing to listen. Read too much craps / studies / research / marketing gimmicks.
- always look for shortcut or magic program/diet.
- lazy ass who think they go to the gym then body goes into auto-burn mode. Never work hard enough.
- overeating
- trust so much on BS machine like those treadmill or fat detector
- no discipline. mentally weak to continue.

Why people think by reducing carb works?

Because whenever u are on carb-restriction diet. Your body will lose water weight. That's glycogen = energy. So whenever you're on those diet, you will lose weight fast for the first 2-weeks and then slowly reduce or plateau depending on how u diet/burn thereafter.

Many ppl mentally & physically weak at this point so what they do? They eat like mad carb-rich food and gained alot of water-weight back. So there goes CARB being labelled as the enemy.

good point

Looking more to lose fat and retain muscle mass

Then do a slight deficit as i said earlier. You guys have to be realistic. You think the weight u lose in first few weeks is fat? Not even close.

Just lose 0.5kg a week. Don't have to follow sh!tty diet, don't have to worry cannot eat this and that, mentally & physically healthy although will feels weaker at deficit, no risk of losing tons of muscle, less stress, sleeps well, and many more benefits.

Try follow those diet and tell me how long you can stand. Does it benefit you in the long run? Congratulations if you get better body but most ppl gets fatter at the end due to crash diet.

Don't exercise too hard & put stress in your body. Eating less already give some stress mentally & physically. If you add hard exercise will give you even more stress, that's why some people couldn't do it.

My simple observation, if your lips dry most of the day mean you have stress your body too much. It should be approach slowly, without you realizing it. Eat normal but cut the portion, exercise easy to burn fat. Remember, your goal is to lose weight not to become body builder

to retain your muscle mass, need to get more protein.
it helps on muscles recovery faster after workout.

don't do too much cardio, you'll lose fat but also will lose your muscle.

So your method would be output > input in order to this 0.5kg a week? That I should exercise more (would you say cardio exercises?) than I am putting into my body, food-wise

Interesting input! Will observe if my lips are dry most of the day to monitor the stress on my body

Do you have any protein recommendations? Especially supplement wise, to help in muscle recovery

This is not my method. This is how your body works. Science.

Consumed food is energy. You do activity uses energy. Extra energy not used will store as fat. Simple as that.

You eat 2,000kcal but used only 1,800kcal. You gain fat (200kcal will store as fat).

You eat 1,500kcal but uses 1,800kcal. You lose fat (your body will tap to your body fat as energy).

Easiest and sustainable way of losing fat is slowly change your diet and routine.

1. Cut down all snacks. If still not losing then.
2. Cut down all sugary drinks. If still not losing then.
3. Cut down eating portion. If still not losing then.
4. Cut down one meal of the day.

In short, eat less but not go crazy like totally starve yourself. Go stage by stage.

If you feel like sh!t and crave for food. Don't torture yourself. Eat but in small portion. Throw in cardio to burn those energy consumed. Take the stairs instead of using elevator. Go window shopping at night (walk as much as you possibly can). Go hiking or swimming in the weekend.

Not saying those diet doesn't work. It requires mentally strong ppl. I can tell you straight more than 95% will fail. Or maybe 99%. IDK.

p/s : kinda free these days so can comment alot.

If you are already fit. Short high intensity interval help prolong fat burning after exercise too. This way, you will not put yourself into too much stress while still maintaining your muscle growth hormone

Ah I see. Thanks for all the advice!

Currently I've:

1. Cut down all snacks - have never been a snacking person
2. Cut down all sugary drinks - don't really drink much sugary drinks to begin with

Gonna work on cutting down my eating portion and possibly increase my cardio activity

Thanks! Have been tailoring my exercise to focus more on HIIT type of training now. Hope to see results soon!

Usually you need to find balance with exercise. Too much will make you craving for more energy. Good luck to you..

Yes, thank you! I'm also trying to keep my exercise at different intensities/routines so my body won't get too used to anything.