Carb Cycling For Vegans: A Guide To Fueling Your Body

Carb cycling is a planned alteration of your carbohydrate intake to maximise their utility. Carb cycling is possible for vegans, but it can be more challenging due to a more limited selection of foods. Carbohydrates are macronutrients and are one of the body's main sources of energy. Carb cycling is used to lose weight, build muscle or maintain physical performance while dieting. The number of carbohydrates consumed depends on the individual's goal. Carb cycling is a new approach to dieting and hormone balancing, and more research is needed to understand its long-term effects.

High-carb days: eat carbs, skip fat

High-carb days are meant to help you recover and restore your energy levels, so you can perform high-intensity workouts. On these days, you should be eating a higher amount of carbs and a lower amount of fat.

On high-carb days, you should be eating 2 to 2.5 grams of carbs for every pound of your body weight. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be eating 300 grams of carbohydrates on your highest day.

On high-carb days, it is important to stick to healthy sources of carbohydrates such as:

• Sweet potatoes
• Potatoes
• Rice
• Beans
• Quinoa
• Rice cakes
• Oats
• Vegetables

It is also recommended to eat protein with every meal to ensure you stay full and build lean muscle. Good sources of protein for vegans include tofu, tempeh, beans, and chickpeas.

It is important to note that high-carb days are not an excuse to eat sugary or ultra-refined carbs such as chips, tortillas, or white bread. These types of carbs are unlikely to help with weight loss.

Additionally, while it is important to eat more carbs on high-carb days, you should still be mindful of your overall calorie intake and not overeat.

• Breakfast: Soya yoghurt with blueberries and cucumber sticks
• Lunch: Pan-fried tofu with stir-fried mixed vegetables (spinach, mangetout, and courgette)
• Dinner: Veggie burger patty with a side of sweet potato and quinoa
• Snacks: Mixed nuts and seeds, avocado, or a vegan protein bar

Remember to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated, especially if you are increasing your physical activity on high-carb days.

Low-carb days: eat protein and fat, skip carbs

On low-carb days, the focus is on consuming protein and healthy fats while limiting carbohydrate intake. This approach is based on the idea that reducing carbohydrate intake can lead to weight loss and improve health markers. While it is a challenge to follow a low-carb diet as a vegan, it is certainly possible and can be achieved through careful planning and the inclusion of specific foods.

When following a low-carb vegan diet, it is essential to ensure adequate protein intake. This is because protein is crucial for satiety, muscle building, and achieving your fitness goals. Tofu, tempeh, and seitan are excellent sources of protein and are also low in carbohydrates. Additionally, nuts and seeds, such as almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and pumpkin seeds, are good options as they are high in protein and healthy fats while being low in carbs.

Another important consideration for low-carb days is increasing your intake of healthy fats. Avocados and olives are excellent choices as they are low in carbs and provide healthy monounsaturated fats. You can also include fatty fruits like avocados and olives, which are incredibly healthy and provide essential fats.

It is worth noting that vegetables are an important component of low-carb days. Non-starchy vegetables like tomatoes, onions, broccoli, peppers, courgettes, cauliflower, and leafy greens are low in carbs and can be consumed freely. They provide essential nutrients and fibre while keeping your carb intake in check.

While it may seem challenging to find suitable foods for low-carb days on a vegan diet, there are plenty of options to choose from. It is important to focus on whole, unprocessed, and fresh foods to more easily manage your carbohydrate intake.

• Pan-fried tofu with mixed nuts and seeds
• Smashed cucumber and edamame
• Avocado spinach smoothie
• Zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles) with tofu
• Tofu scramble
• Tempeh stir-fry with cashew nuts and vegetables

Calculate your recommended intake

Carb cycling is a planned alteration of your carbohydrate intake to maximise their utility. Carbohydrates are macronutrients and act as the body's main source of energy. Carb cycling is used to lose weight, build muscle or maintain physical performance while dieting.

There is no set amount for how many grams of carbohydrates you’re allowed on higher or lower carb days because your recommended carb intake will depend on your physical activity. However, there are some formulas that can be used as a starting point to calculate your recommended intake.

On low-carb days, the recommended amount of carbohydrates is calculated by multiplying your body weight (in pounds) by 0.3 for women and by 0.5 for men. For example, a woman weighing 132 pounds should aim for 39.6g of carbohydrates on low-carb days.

On high-carb days, the recommended amount of carbohydrates is calculated by multiplying your body weight (in pounds) by 1.2 for women and by 1.4 for men. Using the same example, this woman should consume 158.4g of carbohydrates on high-carb days.

It is important to note that these formulas are just a starting point and may need to be adjusted based on individual factors such as age, activity level, training intensity, and gender. Additionally, carb cycling should be combined with physical exercise on high-carb days to maximise its effectiveness.

While carb cycling can be a useful strategy, it is important to ensure that you are still consuming enough carbohydrates to meet your energy needs, especially if you are physically active. Carbohydrates are essential for productive and sustainable workouts and help restore glucose and glycogen levels, preventing fatigue. Therefore, it is crucial to calculate your recommended intake and adjust it as needed to ensure you are getting sufficient carbohydrates.

Eat protein with every meal

Carb cycling is a planned alteration of your carbohydrate intake to maximise their utility. While it is a popular strategy to cut out carbs to lose weight, and then maximise protein to gain muscle, carbs are important for sustainable workouts and restoring glucose and glycogen levels.

When carb cycling, it is important to eat protein with every meal to ensure you stay full, build lean muscle, and reach your goals. This is true for everyone, but especially for those on a vegan diet, as it can be more challenging to find sufficient protein sources.

• Find protein sources that you enjoy eating, and eat a lot of them.
• Try to stick to unprocessed foods, and eat foods that only include one ingredient to avoid processed options.
• Be mindful of which protein sources you choose on lower carb days and higher carb days. For example, meat sources often have fat, but the protein content is usually higher, making it easier to balance macronutrient ratios while carb cycling.
• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and pulses to ensure you get all the essential amino acids.
• Base your diet on whole food, unprocessed foods.
• Consume at least 5% of your calories from protein. This is easy, as many plant foods contain way more – for example, oats have 16%.
• Eat protein-rich breakfasts, such as oatmeal, sprouts, moong cheelas, and whole-grain meals.
• Include lentils and pulses in your lunch, such as rajma, moong dal, urad dal, and masoor dal.
• Eat nuts and seeds regularly, as they are a good source of protein, vitamins, and antioxidants.
• Include 2-3 servings of fruits and vegetables, such as spinach, bok choy, mustard greens, mushrooms, green peas, corn, broccoli, and berries.
• For vegans, try peanut butter, tofu, spirulina, and nutritional yeast.

Remember, it is not important to get all essential amino acids in every single meal. It is more important to have them across the day, which is easy on a plant-based diet full of natural produce.

Choose healthy carbohydrates

Carb cycling is a planned alteration of your carbohydrate intake to maximise their utility. Carbohydrates are your body's main energy source, so they are a key part of any diet. However, the quality of carbohydrates is very important.

When choosing carbohydrates, opt for complex carbohydrates such as whole fruits, whole grains, starchy vegetables, and legumes. These foods are rich in fibre and protein, which slows down digestion and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. They also help regulate blood sugar spikes. Examples of complex carbohydrates include:

• Oats
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat
• Millet
• Barley
• Spelt
• Winter squashes
• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Corn
• Peas
• Lentils
• Chickpeas
• Beans
• Edamame

It is also important to include non-starchy vegetables in your diet, as they are naturally low in calories and provide many health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, healthy weight management, and stable GI health. Examples of non-starchy vegetables include:

• Broccoli
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Peppers
• Cauliflower
• Courgettes
• Cucumber

When choosing carbohydrates, it is best to avoid highly processed or refined foods, as they tend to increase blood sugar levels, lack nutrients, and may contain added sugars. Examples of processed carbohydrates to limit include:

• Refined grains (white bread, white rice)
• Sweets
• Juices
• Crackers
• Pretzels
• Pasta

In addition to choosing healthy carbohydrates, it is important to ensure you are getting enough protein. This is especially important on a vegan diet, where protein sources may be more limited. Include a variety of protein sources in your diet, such as tofu, tempeh, beans, and nuts.

Frequently asked questions