The carb addict's diet

I know what you're thinking.she is gonna say it's no carbs, Keto, paleo, blah blah blah. but no, you're wrong. this diet is training my body to burn fat instead of sugars and carbs and I have lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks. yes, I said 15! this post is going to go through all of the things I do in this diet and provide an overview of what a typical week looks like.

Faster way to fat loss is the name of this way of eating and although it has a hefty signup fee of $199 per 6 weeks it's a pretty easy to concept to get used to.

Psa: this is not a restrictive diet. it is a healthy lifestyle change to ultimately reach weight loss goals and change your eating for the better.

here's what I do!

-intermittent fasting

-carb cycling

-tracking macros

-meal planning

-exercise

intermittent fasting- I use a 16/8 hour ratio of eating. so I usually start eating at 12 and stop eating at 8. what does this do? well there are two states your body can be in, fed or fasted. any time your body is in the fed state, it is digesting food. This makes it hard to burn fat due to insulin levels. in a normal day your body can take 8-12 hours to digest food, but when digestion is finished your body can reach those hard to get fat stores. once it gets to them it can start burning those so the 12 hour+ fasting window is key!

benefits of I.F.

-increased insulin sensitivity

-reduced insulin resistance

-cellular repair

-increased human growth hormone

-enhanced hormone function

-increased metabolism by 3.6-14%

-weight loss

-fat loss

-reduced inflammation

Carb cycling- this is where I intentionally switch up my carb intake per day on a weekly schedule. we all know carbs are the way to a woman's heart and the reason it is easy for me to do this diet and stick with it. the best part of this diet is that I feel like I can eat the carbs I love. I also have been learning to portion and have variation instead of eating my beloved carbs for every meal. bye bye Panera Mac n cheese... am I right? long term restriction of carbs and/or calories, whether using a restrictive diet or a specified way of eating can lower metabolic rate and negatively affect hormone levels. this is a big reason why people can't stick with things like this and stop seeing results after a short period of time. it also deprives your body of vital nutrients, leaving energy levels low and cravings high. this is like a diet on repeat. you restrict calories, it only works for a short time until you plateau and it lowers the metabolism further, so you restrict even more and it lowers everything even further which is extremely unhealthy and not a realistic lifestyle change!

what does it do? it allows you to deplete your body's glycogen stores which are our primary source of fuel. when the glycogen runs out your body has to burn fat as it's next energy source. it also increases thyroid output and helps control hunger.

how do I do it? I track my macros and on certain days I eat just under 50 grams of carbs, a normal amount of carbs, and 25% decrease in them on other days. this will be explained in further detail later.

benefits of C.C.

-increased fat loss

-higher energy levels

-better body composition

-improved insulin levels

tracking macros- I use the app myfitnesspal to track my macros. with the premium version (9.99/month) I can make it macro focused which in turn makes it a little easier to meal plan. the app will ask you your weight, how active you are, and how much you want to lose and generate your normal macro goals per day on its own. macros are basically the macronutrients you are supposed to have in a day in a layout of 50% carbs, 30% fat, 20% protein. you want to try and meet them all with what you eat in a day. with the fasting it's usually 2 meals and maybe a snack depending on the day.

weekly macro schedule/how to meal plan:

m,T- 50g carbs or less & regular macros

W,R,Sat- regular macro %

F,Sun-25% less macros

--you can calculate this by taking your daily goals in grams multiplied by .25 and subtract the answer from the original number.

for example- 180g x .25 = 45g so 180g-45= 135g

meal planning- with this diet, you are changing your lifestyle so try to drink water or coffee and kick the pop/alcohol and only eat natural things. a good rule to go by is things that have a mother or come from the ground with a couple exceptions in moderation. I usually meal plan on Sundays and track my whole next week in my app. so that helps with making sure everything fits nicely together and have my grocery list for Sunday or Monday.

combine this with the exercise schedule for optimum results and toning/muscle building. the exercise schedule is built to compliment the macro schedule.

exercise schedule:

m,T- cardio, keep heart rate up for 30-45 minutes

w,r- strength training body with exceptions of legs. split between two days for 30-45 min

sat-strength training leg day, intense 45-60 min

f, sun- active recovery day, no workouts and if you absolutely want to, keep heart rate under 120 for 30 min

just remember:

-the scale does not mean you are not seeing results especially if you are gaining muscle mass. try measuring inches every 2 weeks or taking progress photos

-you do not have to do the exercises, you can add those in whenever you feel comfortable

-this is a lifestyle change, it make take time to get used to

-this is not a restrictive diet, so if you want to cheat or have an event where you can't follow it to a t. don't stress, its a day you can get back so go enjoy!

-if you have any questions, just ask

here's how I lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks and how I changed my lifestyle for the better

xoxo Natalie

#gymday