High Protein / Very Low Carb Diet Plan - Day 8 - Carb Reload

After a successful low carb down cycle for seven days, it's time to switch gears and prepare for a two meal carb reload.  After this initial reload, the low carb down cycles will then shift from doing a full week to just 3 then 4 days.  It really wasn't difficult at all doing the 7 days so I'm feeling very good about getting into a nice routine with these shorter cycles. 

I took an early morning body weight reading and was also able to check ketone levels. 

Here's what I found:


Bodyweight

174.8lbs

This is about 1/2 pound heavier than the day before.  It could be anything contributing to this - most likely additional water/bulk weight from the late protein drink the night before.  It is however 6 pounds less than my starting weight last Monday morning.  I was figuring I'd be 7 to 9 pounds less but am happy with this weight because my goal isn't necessarily to drop bodyweight in general, but to recomposition my body and maintain a weight in this general area while lowering my overall body fat level. 

Ketones

I took a ketone reading first thing upon waking and measured 'Moderate' ketones.  This is about standard for running carbs low but keeping protein and fat calories moderately high over the 7 day period.  What this is telling me is that I effectively made the shift from using carbohydrates as my primary fuel source to using fat as a fuel source.  This is precisely the goal of the low carb progam to begin with! 
As you may already be aware of, a state of Ketosis isn't desirable over long periods of time as it is catabolic to muscle tissue.  It's important to maintain a balance between achieving a state of Ketosis so that you convert to primarily utilizing fat for energy then reload with carbs to prevent muscle tissue from being cannibalized.  The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, the easier it is to burn off calories and excess body fat. 

Prior To The Carb Reload

Before my carb reload meals (last two of the day) I stuck with the standard diet I've been using all week.  Take a look at the previous days (here, here and here) for examples. 
My goal for the carb reload was to consume a total of 200 to 250 grams over two meals.  These meals are to be predominently complex carbohydrates with no protein or fat added to slow down the conversion to, and re-uptake of, glycogen into the muscle tissue.  After eating large amounts of protein and fat all week, you have to make a conscious shift in your thinking to plan for these meals.  Once you know what you're going to have, prepare the foods, dig in and enjoy!

My Carb Reload

I opted to start my carb reload with some simple sugars in an attempt to begin replenishing liver glycogen stores first before moving into the slower acting, complex carbohydrates.  Here's the approach I took:

Foods Eaten During the Carb Reload - Cals -- Protein -- Carbs -- Fat

7:20pm   -- 1 large orange (174g)          --   81 --  0 -- 19 -- 0
7:35pm   -- 1cup Brown rice                  -- 218 --  5 -- 46 -- 2
8:00pm -- 1 large sweet potato (200g)   -- 180 --  4 -- 41 -- 0
10:00pm -- 1 cup rolled oats                  -- 300 --10 -- 54 -- 6
10:45am -- 1cup Brown rice                  -- 218 --  5 -- 46 -- 2

Totals                                                  -- 997 -- 24 -- 206 -- 10


This was a big change over the past seven days and I certainly felt it by the time I tried finishing up the oats.  The immediate change to consuming carbs and the sheer volume of the food itself definitely had me feeling bloated and full for the rest of the evening.  I also found it difficult to get to sleep right away due to feeling uncomfortable.  I found that I had to work at eating everything on the list to insure I took in enough carbs.  You'd think that after going without for a week that it wouldn't be a problem to eat all of this, but my body didn't feel like it was necessarily craving these foods. 

Tomorrow it's back to the standard low carb down cycle portion for a few days which I'm seeing as a welcome change.  The high protein, low carb portion is so much easier to adhere to because of the pre-measured and prepared portions that are easier to consume throughout the day rather than a large volume all at once.  I think my future carb loads will become easier, especially with a little more planning and better understanding of what to expect, but this first one was a little tough. 

The next component to look forward to is the effect this reload has had on my glycogen stores.  I'm hoping that overnight my body will metabolize the carbs effectively and replenish my glycogen stores so my next couple workouts will be top notch.


Stay tuned for further updates as the up cycles and down cycles continue! Sphere: Related Content