Performing Keto Cycle Diet
Do you want to lose weight considerably? If so, you would have heard about the keto cycle diet from someone you know or the internet.
It’s a trendy weight loss plan that works well by reducing your carb intake.
In 2018, the ketogenic diet market global value was approx 9.7 billion USD, as per reports.
If you struggle with eating fewer carbs in a day, the keto cycle diet would be more convenient. It’s less restrictive and lets you attain the benefits of the ketogenic lifestyle with more freedom of carb intake.
Usually, people on the keto diet consume 50 gms or less of carbs in a day and eat a high amount of fats and protein.
However, it isn’t considered sustainable and healthy if you follow it for longer. That’s where the keto cycle diet comes to the rescue.
You have to follow the keto diet and then take one or more days off in the keto cycling diet. The idea behind the keto cycling diet is to make the keto diet more convenient to follow.
It will keep you going since you look forward to eating carbs soon. Let’s get more information on the keto diet in this article.
What is the keto cycle diet?
To know about the keto cycle diet, you should first understand the keto diet. It refers to high fat and very low carb diet.
Your body burns fat for energy rather than blood sugar or glucose during this diet as your carb intake is reduced drastically.
The keto cycle diet occurs when you go in and out of the keto diet weekly. You can also call it the carb cycle diet, where you normalize your carb intake for 1-2 days and follow the keto diet for the remaining days of that week.
During this diet, you would eat very few carbs and loads of quality fats for 4-6 days and then you eat more carbs (approx 150 gms) for the remaining day.
You can also call it a carb refeeding day where your carb intake increases. After that, you can again go to the ‘fewer carb intake’ phase of the keto cycle diet.
Some people consider the cyclical keto diet better than the keto diet for weight loss, boosting strength and muscle. It even shows increased exercise performance.
How does Keto Cycling Work?
The keto cycle diet doesn’t come with an exact guideline to follow. Some people prefer following a 5-6 days keto diet plan and then taking a day or two off.
Meanwhile, some prefer to follow it 10-12 days before 3-4 days off.
How does Keto Cycling Work
The recommendation is not to take more than 1-2 days off from the keto diet plan. The reason is that your body will start storing fat again and it would take longer to return to ketosis if that happens.
Another suggestion is not to go for a full-grown carb binge on your carb refeeding days. Instead, you can stick to healthy carbs that have low sugar levels.
Also, you should start with vigorous exercise the following day after your ‘carb refeeding’ day. It will help you burn the glycogen so that you can again get into the ketosis phase of burning fat.
Benefits of Keto Cycle Diet
As the keto cycle diet is new, there aren’t enough relevant studies to understand its benefits. However, some of the main noticeable advantages include:
Muscle gain:
Although the standard keto diet plan leads to muscle growth, the cyclical keto diet is said to be more effective.
The insulin allows glucose and amino acids into your muscle cells to regulate muscle growth during the diet.
This process decreases protein breakdown and increases protein synthesis in the muscle tissue.
Performance boasting for athletes:
The keto cycle diet is beneficial for athletes. The reason is that athletes see the benefits of regular high-carb intake before training sessions.
They see more performance improvements compared to those who follow the standard keto diet.
Reduced keto diet side effects:
The keto diet comes with side effects known as the keto flu. Such effects may have symptoms like fatigue, nausea, headaches, weakness, constipation, irritability, and difficulties in sleeping.
When you perform carb cycling through the keto cycle diet, it will decrease these symptoms since you will be performing carbs intake for 1-2 days.
Addition of fibers
Some people may complain of suffering from constipation when performing the keto diet. It’s because they wouldn’t get enough fiber when taking fewer carbs and high fat.
Performing the keto cycle diet rather than the standard keto diet would enable you to consume more fiber.
Easier to stick to:
Sticking to the cyclical keto diet is easier compared to the regular keto. The keto diet helps in weight loss and reduces heart disease risks.
The cyclical ketogenic diet allows you days where you can increase your carb intake, which makes it easier to stick to.
How to Perform Keto Cycling Properly?
To start your keto cycle diet, consider 20-50 grams of carbs intake per day. You should consume most calories from healthy fat foods such as MCT oil, nut butter, avocados, eggs and high-quality protein sources, including salmon or grass-fed beef.
How to Perform Keto Cycling Properly
Follow this for 5-6 days, then increase your carb intake up to 150 gms, through which your body can replenish its glycogen stores.
After the refeeding days, return to your keto diet with intermittent fasting. A recommended intermittent fasting method is fasting for 16 hours of the day.
You can also perform high-intensity workouts before continuing the keto diet again.
What To Eat During Keto Cycling?
Type of food that you can eat during the keto cyclical diet includes:
What To Eat During Keto Cycling
- Fish: Trout, tuna, mackerel, and salmon
- Meat: Ham, red meat, bacon, chicken, turkey, sausage, and steak
- Nuts/Seeds: Flaxseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, etc
- Butter: Heavy cream and grass-fed butter
- Eggs: Omega-3 or pastured whole eggs
- Oils: Avocado oil and extra virgin oil
- Vegetables: Avocados, tomatoes, onions, peppers, green veggies, etc
- Condiments: pepper, salt, spices, and herbs
- Cheese: unprocessed cheese including goat, cheddar, cream, or mozzarella
Food To Avoid During Keto Cycling:
You should reduce or avoid consuming certain food items throughout your keto cycle diet plan. The list includes:
Keto Cycle Diet – Food To Avoid During Keto Cycling
- Grains/starches: rice, cereal, pasta, wheat-based products, etc.
- Sugar: Fruit juice, soda, smoothies, ice cream, cake, candy, etc.
- Legumes/beans: Kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, etc.
- Fruit: All fruits, except for certain berries such as strawberries
- Low fat/diet food: Salad dressings, low-fat mayonnaise, condiments, etc.
- Condiments/sauces: Honey mustang, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc.
Who Should Avoid Keto Cycle Diet?
Be careful or try to avoid the cyclical keto diet if you are:
- Pregnant
- Nursing
- Having type 1 & type 2 diabetes
- Having kidney problems
Conclusion
Are you following the keto diet plans and need a break from strict restrictions without affecting your diet? The simple solution for you is the keto-cycle diet.
While it allows you to follow the keto diet, it also enables you to take a day or two off from such restrictions.
You can eat more carbs than the usual keto diet plan in those days. If sticking to the standard keto diet is difficult for you, this diet will help and also show incredible results.
Although there isn’t much research data on its effectiveness, you can still take a week’s try at it and see the results for yourself.