The Contemporary Man Magazine june 2018

Carb cycling allows you to take advantage of the specific metabolic processes that take
place in your body. Eating carbs has an effect on a few different hormones, and these
hormones affect how we lose fat.
Insulin
Carbs have the biggest effect on the release of insulin. The more carbs we consume, the
more insulin gets released. Insulin is good in the sense it helps your body send nutrients
where it needs them the most. But chronically elevated levels of insulin can make you
insulin resistant and increase your body’s storage of fat.
Intense exercise makes you more sensitive to insulin, meaning that when you consume
carbs around workouts, your body will be better able to utilize them for energy rather
than fat storage.This is why high-carb days fall on the same days as your intense
workouts.
When you aren’t training hard, however, your body doesn’t need the extra energy, so
carb cycling utilizes low-carb days to help promote the burning of stored energy (aka
fat).
Leptin
Leptin is known as the hunger hormone. It gets released during periods of over-feeding
to let us know that we’re full and don’t need to eat anymore. An increased caloric intake
promotes the secretion of leptin, also causing it to speed up our metabolism.
Chronic overeating, however, can make you resistant to the effects of leptin. Instead of
getting the feeling of being satisfied, the signals don’t get to your brain so you keep
overeating.
Under-eating, like when you’re trying to lose weight, also affects leptin. The more you
diet, the less leptin you produce. And the less leptin you produce, the hungrier you feel.
Carb cycling works to keep leptin levels in check because it alternates periods of overfeeding
(high-carb days) with under-feeding (low-carb days). This helps keeps leptin
secretion at optimal levels.