Aaron,
Look under the "exercise" forum within this LC forum and look under the heading "CKD/Body Opus." They do the carb loading once every few weeks in order to reset the body and build muscle (similar to your friend), and it's primarily done by active exercisers and bodybuilders, and it's so strict and binding that I've never thought of doing this, but it seems to work well, not to mention giving you something to look forward to.

As for myself, I give myself permission to eat a tiny bit of carbs if I am eating out and something is extraordinarily good--this past weekend I allowed myself a half of a freshly baked roll with fresh butter, and even if I did gain weight from it (which I didn't), I wouldn't regret it.

I AM too scared to do a whole day of carb loading, but perhaps a meal or two every once in a while is harmless, even beneficial.