Ep. 55 3 Steps to Start Cycling Carbs with Keto

If you’re on keto but miss carbs, it’s time to consider cycling in carbs with keto. Learn how to get started in 3 simple steps in this post. 

I’m excited to announce that my 12-week coaching program, The Clean Keto Carb Cycling Blueprint is open for the next cohort.

This program is for women who want to bring back carbs to lose body fat, prevent stalls, become metabolically flexible, and achieve food freedom. Learn more about how you can join the next cohort HERE.

Today I am going to talk about how you can get started with Carb Cycling. I’m going to outline the 3 simple steps you need to take to get started. 

Let’s get into it!

Step #1- Determine Your Reason For Cycling Carbs With Keto

The first thing you need to decide before you start cycling carbs back is why do you want to bring back carbs?

Your reason will determine the next steps so it’s important for you to choose that first.

Inside The CKCC Blueprint, I outline 10 different Carb Cycling Protocols. I know that seems like a lot but a few of them are one-off protocols for traveling, cheat days, etc.

As far as the normal protocols go, here are the reasons to cycle carbs with keto:

1. Fat Loss

       ▪️ You want to lose more body fat (not just weight)

2. Weaning off of Keto

       ▪️ You had results with keto but are ready to bring back carbs and don’t want to gain the weight you want

3. Maintenance

       ▪️ You’ve reached your goal weight and want to eat more carbs

4. Adrenals & Stress

       ▪️ You have adrenal issues, high cortisol, or HPA dysfunction

5. Menopause

       ▪️ You want to manage your menopause symptoms or lose menopause belly fat

6. Period Cycle Syncing

       ▪️ You want easier periods, fewer cravings, less PMS or PMDD

7. For Performance

       ▪️ You want to increase muscle growth or have more energy to lift heavier weights or improve endurance

8. Seasonally

       ▪️ You want to cycle carbs seasonally or follow a cyclical keto way of eating so you don’t become glucose intolerant

9. Travel

       ▪️ You want to cycle carbs while traveling so you can joy all foods while on vacation

10. Treat yourself days

        ▪️ You want to take a day off and eat whatever you want, without guilt or fat gain 

These are all the protocols that I teach inside The CKCC Blueprint. Which reason resonates most with you? If there are a few that stick out, pick the one that is the biggest priority for you right now.

For example, if you want to lose fat but you also have adrenal issues, you would want to work on your adrenals first because you won’t be able to lose fat if your cortisol is high and your body is in constant flight-or-fight.

The hormone issues are always going to take precedence over the fat loss, performance, or seasonal cycling. 

So, it’s time for you to choose your reason. Did you get it? Great! Now you can move on to the next step, which is Choosing Your Schedule.

Step #2-Choose Your Schedule

After you’ve chosen your reason for cycling carbs with keto, it’s time to make your schedule.

This step is easy because your reason determines your schedule. Inside The CKCC Blueprint, each Protocol comes with a guide that outlines the exact schedule you need to follow, but for now, here are your options.

• Daily- you cycle carbs throughout the day, titrating them up or down according to your reason
• Weekly- you cycle carbs throughout the week. Some days are keto days and others are carb days 
• Monthly- you can cycle carbs throughout the month based on your period 
• Seasonally- you can cycle carbs for months at a time and then take breaks to do keto or vice versa
• Temporarily- you can cycle carbs during travel, breaking a stall or one-off cheat days 

Most of my clients cycle carbs weekly, but there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to carb cycling with keto.

Again, I go into the schedules in detail inside the CKCC Blueprint so make sure you go to eatbefitexplore.com/carbcycling to learn more about the program and sign up before the next cohort starts.

Step #3- Calculate Your Macros

The final step to cycling carbs with keto is going to be to calculate your macros. 

When it comes to macros, you will need to track them for at least a month or so when you start carb cycling, especially if you come from a keto diet and you haven’t eaten carbs in a long time.

Once you get used to the number of carbs you need to be successful, you won’t need to track anymore.

As far as macros go, you will need to calculate two sets of macros:

1. Macros for your Clean Keto Days
2. Macros for your Clean Carb Days 

CCD or Clean Carb Days are the terms I use inside the CKCC Blueprint for your higher carb days.

When it comes to carb cycling, you still need to be mindful about what KIND of carbs you consume. Choosing healthier, whole foods carbs is going to get you closer to your goals than choosing refined, processed carbs will. 

Macros are covered in detail inside the CKCC Blueprint and I show you, step-by-step how to calculate them for both your clean keto and clean carb  days, but here is a general overview for someone who wants to use carb cycling with keto to lose body fat:

CKD: 10%

CCD: 30%

When it comes to protein I always have my clients eat their Ideal Body Weight in grams of protein each day.

Fat is always the remaining calories. We don’t focus on fat so much inside the program, as long as the fat is not too high on the Clean Carb Days.

Macros can be confusing, which is why I simplify them inside the CKCC Blueprint and make it really easy for you to plug and play with an easy system I created.

There you have it! The 3 Steps to Start Cycling Carbs with Keto:

1. Determine your reason for cycling carbs
2. Choose your schedule for cycling carbs
3. Calculate your macros for both CKD and CCD

If you want to get started with this, I invite you to join the next cohort for the 12-week Clean Keto Blueprint Coaching Program.

This program is for women who have tried keto and a low-carb diet and aren't getting the results they want or they miss carbs.

They want to introduce carbs back into their diets without gaining weight, feeling sluggish, bloated, or guilty.

What is The Clean Keto Carb Cycling Blueprint?

The CKCC Blueprint is broken down into 3-Phases to help you lose body fat, prevent stalls, become metabolically flexible, and achieve food freedom.

Phase 1: Adapt In this phase, you’ll discover why you need to be fat-adapted and you will follow a 4-week, Fast-Fat-Adaption Protocol to get your body fat adapted quickly to get your body ready for cycling carbs.

Phase 2: Cycle In this phase, you will create your personalized Carb Cycling Protocol based on the reason you chose. You’ll know what to eat, how much to eat, and how to test carbs for your body.

Phase 3: Adjust & Align In this phase, you’ll adjust your protocol, know how to tweak your macros, break any weight loss stalls that happen and align your mindset for long-term success.

Plus, when you join before our cohort starts, you’ll get access to these bonuses:

Phase 1&2 Food Lists- so you know exactly what you can or can’t eat during each phase

Private Support Group: so you can stay on track and consistent with your protocol and get the support you need when you need it.

Fast Fat Adaptation and Carb Cycling Meal Plans- I also provide you with sample meal plans so you’re not trying to figure out how to put meals together or fuss with trying to find recipes

By the end of the program you will be:

Fat Adapted- so that your body knows how to use fat for fuel

Create Your Perfect Carb Cycling Protocol- so that you can bring back healthy carbs in a way that helps you reach your goals

Train Your Body to be Metabolically Flexible- So that your body can switch from burning fat to glucose efficiently

 Achieve Food Freedom- You’ll finally have food freedom and no longer “fear” eating carbs

I only have 20 spots available for this cohort so if you are ready to bring back carbs, go to eatbefitexplore.com/carbcycling to learn more about the program and how you can get started.

I’m looking forward to seeing you inside the next cohort!