When to carb up?

[booey]

I'm currently cutting up, and have been keeping my carbs relatively low. The only time I have a high carb meal is when I cheat, which is only once a week. Other than that, my carbs are pretty damn low!! When is a good idea to start carbing up and doing that whole thing? I'm not preparing for a show or anything, but I am looking to get into the low body fat %. If I had to venture an educated guess, I'm probably at 10-11% right now. Do you I need to wait until I'm lower? Also, on that note, what are the advantages of doing carb-up days? Is it just to look fuller?

[bluetwistedsteel]

I think you get a bit of a "metabolism re-set" when you have a high carb day. I do it once per week where I'll go from my normal 80-100 grams to 500 grams for the day. It's nice!

[makavelli]

Originally Posted by bluetwistedsteel

I think you get a bit of a "metabolism re-set" when you have a high carb day. I do it once per week where I'll go from my normal 80-100 grams to 500 grams for the day. It's nice!

Right. Carbing up helps a lot while dieting. It's important to refill your glycogen stores periodically in order to keep training intensity high, not to mention the psychological boost it provides. How often one carbs up depends on several factors. The main one that I look at while preparing people for shows or photo shoots is how well they handle carbs. I've had guys that could only carb up every 2-3 weeks, while others every few days. I would say to carb up once a week where you're at and go from there.

[SBT]

Originally Posted by makavelli

Right. Carbing up helps a lot while dieting. It's important to refill your glycogen stores periodically in order to keep training intensity high, not to mention the psychological boost it provides. How often one carbs up depends on several factors. The main one that I look at while preparing people for shows or photo shoots is how well they handle carbs. I've had guys that could only carb up every 2-3 weeks, while others every few days. I would say to carb up once a week where you're at and go from there.

x 2!!!

A actually played with this a lot my last cut, and noticed that the leaner I got the more carbs and more frequently I could handle a carb up

[makavelli]

Originally Posted by SBT

x 2!!!

A actually played with this a lot my last cut, and noticed that the leaner I got the more carbs and more frequently I could handle a carb up

Yeah that usually happens for a variety of reasons, but the most significant being adding more muscle mass and the correlating increase in metabolism that comes with new muscle. Thus one can eat more carbs without an additional fat gain.

[SBT]

Originally Posted by makavelli

Yeah that usually happens for a variety of reasons, but the most significant being adding more muscle mass and the correlating increase in metabolism that comes with new muscle. Thus one can eat more carbs without an additional fat gain.

Yes EXACTLY!! My metabolism was so stoked after that I was actually able to ease up on the cardio too

Its amazing what diet alone can do!

[makavelli]

Originally Posted by SBT

Yes EXACTLY!! My metabolism was so stoked after that I was actually able to ease up on the cardio too

Its amazing what diet alone can do!

Yeah! It's nice to cruise into shows, instead of starve into them.

[mr sinister]

this is the first time i have ever heard of carbing up,i always have a full day once sometimes twice a week but have never heard the term carbing up..can somebody explain more what it does and why to do it
thanks

[ricorico]

When on a low carb diet for a period of time (or any one diet), you body will adjust to attain homeostasis. So lets say its a low carb diet, you body will go into store mode....once you cheat or carb up, your body notices the extra cals and carbs and send out a signal saying "the starvation is over" and in turn your thyroid becomes more active , speeding up your metabolism, so when you go back to the low carb, your in prime fat burining mode


maybe my explaination of ones reason to carb load will explain the purposes....but yea, like makevelli said, theres also a huge psycological boost and increase in moral when you feed yourself during a low carb diet...for two reasons, you get to eat the food you enjoy AND the increase in blood sugar (fuel for your body) can provide a 'boost' for your brain and body...you might even find you can think more clearly

[mr sinister]

Originally Posted by ricorico

When on a low carb diet for a period of time (or any one diet), you body will adjust to attain homeostasis. So lets say its a low carb diet, you body will go into store mode....once you cheat or carb up, your body notices the extra cals and carbs and send out a signal saying "the starvation is over" and in turn your thyroid becomes more active , speeding up your metabolism, so when you go back to the low carb, your in prime fat burining mode


maybe my explaination of ones reason to carb load will explain the purposes....but yea, like makevelli said, theres also a huge psycological boost and increase in moral when you feed yourself during a low carb diet...for two reasons, you get to eat the food you enjoy AND the increase in blood sugar (fuel for your body) can provide a 'boost' for your brain and body...you might even find you can think more clearly

thanks