One thing I've noticed is that I've been warmer since I started carb-cycling. I don't feel comfortable when my house is 82 degrees any longer. When I diet I tend to get cold. I think that probably reflects one's metabolism slowing down.

hey nfb,
i guess i misunderstood what you meant about eating bad things and carbage. that's why i thought you went off plan.



I don't see why it wouldn't work either. Let us know how it goes.
For some reason the longer cycles appeal to me, but that's just a personal preference.

nancy i see you are a guy now.
this hot thing is nice huh, maybe we can save on heating bills this winter

nfb02001: Check out my stats in my sig line and you can see that I had better luck with longer carb ups and shorter carb downs. I'm moving ahead now with that as my plan. The longer carb downs just didn't work for me. And, as nepeta says, longer carb ups are VERY nice! However, as always YMMV!

madp67: Thanks for the link. I've seen other information similar to that. You probably noticed, however, the MUCH higher carb limits suggested. This thread is about doing the same basic concept, except at lower carb limits.

OK. After submerging myself into all these posts, im ready to try it myself. Here is what im aiming for:

Carb Up: 5 days (or 2-3 pounds gained), 1800 cal min, 40 carbs min
Carb Down: 4 days (or no loss for 2 days), 1200 cal, 20carbs

I usually eat about 1400-1500 cal a day (have been for 3.5 months) and 20 carbs or less. 1800 seems a good start point (and still below my BMR)

Im not sure about the carb-up 2 pounds gained because my weight usually fluctuate by that much on its own (even more than that sometimes). We'll see. I'll stop carb up when I freak out . Is 40 carbs enough? Planning to eat 1800 cal is enough to make me panic a bit...

Ill weigh in tomorow and change my sig to keep you all informed.

Let me know if im starting on the right foot!!!

Beebuzz

fatburner, you don't have a journal, so I've responded to your post in MY journal.

LCanita et al - back to you.

Beebuzz: Welcome.

Only change I would make is perhaps let your carbs go a little higher on carb up. I know that is a little scary, but I think it's important that both numbers go up. (And, it's so much FUN!)

My weight barely fluctuates at all, so I decide each morning my plan for the day. You know your body best, so tweak this plan to work for you.

You don't weigh very much now, so don't expect big losses. An average of about a pound a week would be an excellent loss for you.

Yes, please keep us informed!

Built:

Heh! I decided guys get all the breaks when they lose weight, so I wanted to be a guy.

Nancy, if you're a guy now, you can stop losing weight since you're about right for your height! LOL!

Dang! Maintenance time! Woot! Where's the chocolate cake?

Just kidding.

This sounds great, I'll give it a try. I have been stuck at 200 for nearly a month now. I am low carb this week, so next Monday will be the beginning of carb up. I hope this works, I am tired of fighting these same 4-5 pounds. I don't like counting calories and keeping the fit-day updated so I'll try winging it and see if it works. If not, then I'll start using fit-day or a personal journal to keep track of my progress.

Vandi, I'm no expert, but I really think that this carb cycling thing works best with close tracking. I know that even after LCing for 5 years, when I don't pay attention, things can quickly get out of control. Right before I first started with the cycling notion, I had a day that I figured in my head to be around 1600 calories with maybe 40 carbs. Turns out it was more like 2600 calories and about 80 carbs.

On the other hand, if it works for you, go for it! We each have to find what works best for us.

I just wanted to point out to everyone (me included -- I can be pretty dense and very good at fooling myself!) that the whole point behind this carb cycling thing is to get the body revved by providing it with more food/nutrients. It's so easy once you start losing to fall into the old thinking of making the DOWN cycles waaaaaaayyyyy longer, when in fact you started losing because you were giving your body something to work with for a change.

Anita has been saying this all along. When she tried making the DOWN cycles longer, she didn't have as much luck. This is so hard to do, though. We still have it ingrained in our heads that to lose weight, we need to cut back -- lower calories, lower carbs, lower this, lower that -- even when all the evidence points to doing just the opposite.

Just something to think about. What do you think?

Yep, it's so hard, I think that if I stay carb down just one more day, I'll get a little more, but it's counterproductive, I think.

I'm back to my original plan of longer carb ups, shorter downs - I spent 9/8-9/19 all on carb up except for two days. I started carb down on Monday, 9/20, and after two days, as of this morning, I'm down one virgin pound to 147! I'm going to carb down again today, and then I'm not sure, it depends on the scale in the morning. I do know that I am definitely NOT going over 5 days on carb down. I do not think in the long run that it is helpful, as it slows me down overall. AND, the whole process is MUCH more enjoyable when more days are spent on carb up.

TWELVE POUNDS TO GOAL!!

Those are my thoughts. Anyone else?

My new plan is to do a DOWN cycle on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and then finish up the week on an UP cycle on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That's 3 days DOWN and 4 days UP. I'll try that this week and see what happens.

So tomorrow I start the UP cycle again.