Carb Up Days: Keto Diet's Secret Weapon

A carb up day on keto is a period of time, usually a day, where a person on a ketogenic diet intentionally consumes more carbohydrates than usual. This practice is also known as carb loading, carb refeeding, or cyclical ketosis. Carb ups are not recommended for beginners, as they can kick the body out of ketosis, and may lead to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, when done correctly, carb ups can be beneficial for breaking a weight loss stall, improving hormonal balance, enhancing muscle growth, and increasing energy expenditure.

Carb ups can help with weight loss

Additionally, carb ups can aid in muscle growth and improved exercise performance. This is because our muscles need glucose, and a carb up can replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles. This can lead to better workouts and increased muscle mass, which in turn can help with weight loss.

It's important to note that carb ups are not suitable for everyone, especially beginners to keto. They should be done in a controlled manner, ensuring a return to keto immediately after, and should be implemented only once your body has adapted to burning fat as its primary fuel source.

Carb ups can improve hormonal balance

Carb ups can be beneficial for improving hormonal balance, especially for women, who seem to be more affected by weight loss.

Dramatic changes to your diet, such as the keto diet, can lead to hormonal changes that may influence your menstrual cycle. Weight loss, in particular, can cause a drop in estrogen levels, which can lead to irregular or absent periods. This is known as amenorrhea and can be a side effect of the keto diet, as reported by 45% of female participants in one study.

Carb ups can help improve hormonal balance by positively affecting your hormones after long periods of dieting. However, it is important to note that carb ups are not recommended for beginners to the keto diet. It is suggested that you first get used to the ketogenic diet and what it feels like to be in ketosis before intentionally kicking yourself out of it. Additionally, carb ups should be paired with an exercise routine to enhance athletic performance.

Maintaining a calorie deficit for an extended period can be taxing on the body, and after a few months of dieting, you may experience side effects such as temporary hair loss, fatigue, and unstable moods. This may be a sign that you need to increase your calorie intake for a week and consider integrating a carb up day into your diet. By doing carb ups properly—not cheating, returning to keto immediately after, working out, and tracking macros and calories—you can achieve great long-term results in terms of body composition and hormonal balance.

The best way to know if carb ups will work for you is to try it out and see how your body reacts. It is important to note that carb ups might not work for everyone on a ketogenic diet, and you must become fat-adapted first before experimenting with carb refeeds.

Carb ups can enhance muscle growth

Carb ups can be an effective strategy for enhancing muscle growth, particularly for bodybuilders and athletes engaging in regular high-intensity exercise. This strategy involves a cyclical ketogenic diet, where periods of ketosis are interspersed with intentional carbohydrate loading.

Carb ups, also known as "carb loading" or "carb refeeding," involve a short period, typically one day, of increased carbohydrate consumption. This practice is undertaken with the understanding that it will temporarily interrupt ketosis. Carb ups are not recommended for beginners but can be beneficial for those with a solid workout routine already adapted to burning fat as the primary fuel source.

The benefits of carb ups for muscle growth are twofold. Firstly, they help replenish glycogen stores in muscles, which can be depleted during extended periods of carbohydrate restriction, such as ketogenic diets. Glycogen is a complex sugar molecule that serves as an energy source for the body, and its depletion can lead to muscle protein breakdown for energy. By refuelling with carbs, the body can rely less on protein and muscle breakdown to meet its energy needs.

Secondly, carb ups can enhance muscle growth by boosting the anabolic power of insulin. Insulin is an anabolic hormone that helps shuttle nutrients into cells, creating conditions that promote muscle growth. While chronically high insulin levels are unhealthy, transient increases can boost muscle growth and exercise recovery.

To optimise muscle growth, the timing of carb ups is crucial. They should be coordinated with workout routines to ensure glycogen depletion occurs just before the carb up, allowing the carb refeed to enhance performance in subsequent workouts. Additionally, it is important to return to a ketogenic diet soon after the carb up to avoid prolonged interruption of ketosis.

In summary, carb ups can be a valuable tool for enhancing muscle growth, especially for individuals engaging in high-intensity exercise. When properly timed and controlled, carb ups can help replenish glycogen stores, boost insulin's anabolic effects, and ultimately improve workout performance and muscle growth.

Carb ups can increase energy expenditure

Carb ups can be an effective strategy for keto dieters. Carb ups, or cyclical ketosis, is when you eat more carbs for a short period, usually one day, but it could be as short as one meal or as long as two days. This practice is not recommended for beginners, but for those who have already mastered the standard ketogenic diet and have a solid workout routine.

Additionally, carb ups can be beneficial for building muscle. Our muscles need glucose, and one complaint about keto is that there is sometimes a small amount of muscle mass loss. Carb ups can help replenish glycogen stores in the muscles, which can improve exercise performance and allow you to train harder. This can lead to increased energy expenditure as you will be able to perform more intense workouts.

Finally, carb ups can make the keto diet easier to stick to in the long term. The keto diet is associated with various health benefits, but it can be challenging to maintain due to the restriction of many healthy, carb-rich foods. By incorporating carb ups, you can make the diet more sustainable and increase your chances of long-term success. This can ultimately lead to increased energy expenditure as you will be able to maintain an active lifestyle.

Carb ups can be done in a few different ways

Cyclical Ketogenic Diet

This involves adhering to a standard ketogenic diet protocol 5–6 days per week, followed by 1–2 days of higher carb consumption. During the ketogenic diet phase, it is recommended to do at least two medium-to-high-intensity workouts a week and one high-intensity, glycogen-depleting workout the day before carbohydrate refeeding.

Targeted Ketogenic Diet

This is almost the same as the standard ketogenic diet, but with targeted carbohydrate intake. About 30 minutes before training, ingest 25-50 grams of simple carbohydrates.

Two-Week Cycles

This involves eating keto for 10-12 days and doing a carb-up on the second weekend.

Occasional Carb Ups

Eat keto all the time and do an occasional carb-up when you feel the need, whether that's once a week, once a month, or every few months.

One Day Per Week

Have higher (healthy) carbs as part of your keto meal plan for one day per week. This is not recommended more than once a week, as you will spend more time out of ketosis than in it.

Carb Cycling

This involves cutting carbs on certain days of the week while increasing intake on others. A typical week is divided between 4–6 days of lower carb intake and 1–3 days of higher intake. Carb cycling doesn't reduce overall carb intake drastically enough to reach ketosis.

One Carb-Up Meal

Having a single meal that is higher in carbs will generally be easier to manage, especially if you have it in the evening and sleep through the short-term side effects. Alternatively, have your carb-up meal right before your workout to replenish glycogen stores, which will likely lead to better performance.

It's important to note that carb ups are not recommended for beginners. You should only consider doing carb ups once your body has adapted to burning fat as its primary fuel source, which usually takes at least 4-6 weeks.

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