Eating a whole bunch of carbs at night and lose fat? Yeah, I was a bit skeptical too when I was reading about the ever so famous Carb Backloading. BUT, let me tell you. THIS IS ONE MY FAVORITE types of diets to follow! As you know I am a big proponent of the low carb lifestyle. After years of dieting and not achieving the body I desired, I kept searching and searching and landed on the Carb nite Solution
Although I do practice the carnivore diet right now I will implement Carb nite and or Carb Backloading from time to time depending on my training needs. So what is the deal with Carb Backloading? Eat carbs at night. What? Yeah, that’s the whole secret.
First, let’s give thanks to the man who created these wonderful diets. All I can say is John Kiefer is a genius! The great thing is that just like you and me he also has experienced being stuck in a rut. He like most was tired of the lack of results. I am sure you have been there! Well, I have been there too! You feel like you have tried everything and nothing is working. Counting macros down the tenth of the gram, vegan, vegetarian, and still nothing. You feel like you have hit a wall. So like most diets, they all work in the beginning. You lose a little fat and you look and feel amazing! A few weeks go by and you still are losing weight, THEN. The dreaded plateau. Increasing cardio and eating less is no longer happening, WAIT? WHAT? You are now thinking “What did I do wrong?” NOTHING! It’s not you, it is your body.
Your hormones are now working against you and not for you! STAY POSITIVE! Now what? You have been dieting for weeks on end and now are even more frustrated. Don’t fret! I promise there is a solution to your situation. OK, let’s get into it,
How to turn your body into a fat-burning machine – Carb Backloading
EAT YOUR CARBS AT NIGHT! I know I keep saying it, BUT it’s true! Start mobilizing body fat and stop storing it. Weeks and weeks of starving is not helping your body. You can try and be as hardcore as you’d like BUT it’s hurting your progress more than it’s helping it. I’m sure you have heard about insulin and leptin over and over again. Well, these two work hand in hand. Now Carb nite or Carb Backloading, which one should I choose? The great thing about both of these diets is that you won’t have to worry about sacrificing muscle while burning fat, YOU can do both at the same time. When I feel like I need size I will do Carb Backloading, when I want to trim down I will for sure do Carb nite. Feel free to switch them as needed,
Carb Nite
Time to get your body prepped. You will need a 10 day Re calibration period. You will need to prime your body to utilize your body fat for fuel. For 9 days you are allowed 30grams of carbs (unlike keto) where you get there 20 and then on the 10th day you have your Carb nite. This is going to take some experimentation, I know most cannot get away with eating just about anything, there is some form of control you’ll need, on the other hand, I’ve seen people eat until they unbuckle their pants and still get shredded. So what is right for you? Only you will know once you start the diet. Remember there is no calorie counting here, eat until you are comfortably full and move on.
If you have never been on a low carb diet this may be a tough 10 days, but hang in there 🙂 You can do it! Now do not get this confused with keto because this is far from it. On Carb nite or Carb Backloading, you do eat a generous amount of protein. Although I can say this, Carb nite or Carb Backloading is a great starting point if you wanted to start keto or any type of reduced carb diet. Like all diets, I would track progress weekly or bi-weekly to see if there are any changes then alter as needed,
Carb Backloading
Carb Backloading is a little different, as stated above eat fewer carbs during breakfast and lunch and shift the majority of them towards the end of the day after your workout. The theory behind Carb Backloading is using insulin production and insulin sensitivity to your advantage. Your body processes carbs differently during the day. “When you wake up in the morning you actually have a natural stress response and a natural anabolic response, that if you don’t mess with it then that stress response and that anabolic response actually will help you mobilize a lot of body fat.” – John Kiefer – Road to Ripped Podcast. AHA! There it is your first AHA moment! I can see it now, ripped on the beach and enjoying the looks and whistles. Right? Not exactly. Like Carb nite, there is going to be some level of experimentation. A general rule of thumb (Well, for me at least) is to eat until you are comfortably full. Assess weekly, whether it is measurements, weight, body fat, etc. Just make sure you are keeping some sort of journal tracking your progress. My favorite form of tracking is weighing myself once a week on the same day before consuming any food or water and after using the bathroom. Coupled with progress pics, pictures don’t lie. Remember to take your pictures in the same place, same clothes and same lighting. Convinced yet?
In Conclusion:
Does Carb nite and Carb Backloading work? Yes and well no. If you stick to the plan there is no way you should not see results. I know for me trying both these methods did work. I must say this, in the beginning, there was no particular goal I was after. If I got lean, great. If I did not that was fine too. I DO and have always trained in the morning, so the carbs at night have been very beneficial for my training. I do 100% feel and see the difference when I have carbs at night. Has it kept me leaner? 100%. Keep in mind as well, this is just one piece of the puzzle. You still need to make sure you are hydrating and of course, my favorite resting and recovering. Without rest, ideal results are nearly impossible. From my experience, if I am not getting enough sleep my training suffers tremendously. If you don’t feel particularly well in the morning, sleep in. TRUST ME it will do more for your body than training will. WELL, I hope this enlightens your journey and helps you with your decision whether or not Carb nite and or Carb Backloading is right for you! If you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to contact me here.
