Whether you’ve been bodybuilding for a long time, or you’re new to it, it doesn’t matter. Knowing the best bodybuilding diet for fat loss can make the difference between having a six pack, and adding 10 lbs back onto your physique.
But fear not friends, we’ve got a ‘sure-fire-plan’ to get you lean, and better still, keep you lean all year round. Guessed what it is yet? It’s carb cycling.
Before I let you know how this diet works, let’s discuss the elephant in the room for a second shall we? This diet, or any diet in fact, takes discipline, planning, and dedication.
So, if you’re the type to give up after the first hurdle, then sorry it’s not going to work for you. But if you’re someone who sticks to a plan, even if you don’t get it right first time, then you’re in luck, as you’ll be dropping weight before you can say “give me abs!”
Without further delay, let’s get into carb cycling and how it can benefit your fat loss goals.
Carb Cycling
Carb cycling has been around for awhile now, but not many people know how it works. Probably due to the many types of carb cycling diets out there.
There are different forms of carb cycling. Such as carb back loading, zero carb days with one refeed day, and so on.
However, we find the most sustainable, and enjoyable diet is one you can stick to. And obviously, the one you get the best results from.
Therefore, we’ll show you how the basic form of carb cycling works. In short, you’ll have one high day, one medium day, and one low (or zero) carb day.
Benefits of Carb Cycling
- It’s proven to work.
- It’s flexible so you can change it as you wish.
- You don’t have to dramatically drop your calories.
- You get to treat yourself.
- The diet is sustainable.
How To Carb Cycle Efficiently
On this diet, it’s important to not only eat according to the correct structure we’ll lay out for you, but also with the right type of foods.
There’s no point doing this diet if you’re going to eat doughnuts, you need to eat the right kind of carbs.
Not only that, there are certain rules you’ll need to apply on your high, medium, and low days. This comes down to fats, which play an important part in this diet plan.
Carb Cycling Rules:
- Low carb days – Eat more fat for energy and health.
- Medium carb days – Slightly reduce fat.
- High carb days – Go low fat on this day to improve the digestion of carbs, and prevent the unnecessary build up of fat.
Overall Diet Rules:
- Try to drink only water, coffee without milk, or green tea.
- Eat plenty of vegetables in every meal.
- Don’t skip meals.
- Get enough rest and sleep.
Best supplements to use while carb cycling:
If you really want to kick it up a gear, then you might consider using bodybuilding supplements to help you get the best results.
Supplements help by supporting your body with all the essential vitamins, minerals, and other vital ingredients in a more condensed and easy to manage way.
Most athletes take some form of supplement, and it’s for a good reason – they help to replenish, and rebuild the body.
Best Supplements For Fat Loss:
- Fat Burners – Burn fat, get shredded, and increase your body’s thermogenic effect.
- Testosterone Boosters – Feel stronger, more alert, and dominate the gym with a testosterone booster.
- Pre Workouts – Get insane muscle pumps and blast through every set without failure.
To see a full list of supplements that can help you get the most out of every diet, and fat loss plan, see our Muscle Awards section.
Here you find supplements that are specifically designed to get you results – Muscle Awards Supplements.
Carbs
As we’ve already mentioned, the success of this diet depends of cab cycling. The more you stick to this diet, the better the results you’ll see.
The types of carbs you’ll want to eat are from clean sources such as pasta, sweet potato, rice, and other healthy grains etc.
Best carbs to eat:
- Sweet potato (complex carbs)
- Brown rice (complex carbs)
- Whole Wheat bread (complex carbs)
- Quinoa (complex carbs)
- Couscous (complex carbs)
- White rice (simple carbs)
- White potato (simple carbs)
Limit White and Refined Carbs
If you can stick to complex carbohydrate over refined carbohydrates, you’ll be doing yourself a massive favor.
Not only do they stabilize your blood sugar levels, but they also reduce your insulin spike, helping you to keep your weight down even further.
However, there are times when refined carbohydrates are good for you, and that’s around a workout:
Eat Refined Carbs Around Workouts
On your high carb refeed days, this is the day you’ll be doing the most exercises. Such as squats, HIIT, or any gym session that takes the most out of you.
The reason you’ll eat refined carbohydrates on this day is to spike your insulin, and refuel your muscles and liver full of glycogen as quickly as possible.
This will prevent weight gain, and help you to recover much faster for your next workout.
Proteins
Proteins are the building block of muscles. Throughout this whole carb cycling plan, you’ll need to keep your protein intake at roughly 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight.
However, not all proteins are created equal on this plan. On your higher carb days you’ll want to stick to low fat protein sources.
On your lower carb days, you’ll want to eat proteins that have slightly more fat content.
The reason for this is; it prevents you from consuming too many calories on your high carb days, and on your lower carb days, it will promote overall hormone health, strength and recovery.
Best proteins to eat:
- Lean chicken breast (low fat)
- Turkey breast (low fat)
- Egg whites (low fat)
- Beans (low fat)
- Pork (high fat)
- Beef (high fat)
- Chicken thighs (high fat)
Fats
Fats also play an important role, and just like the rule you’ll apply with protein on your higher carb days, you’ll also use the same rule here.
For example: on your low carb days, consume more healthy fats to keep your energy high, and on your higher carb days, reduce your fat intake to prevent you from consuming too many calories.
Best fats to eat:
- Nuts
- Peanut butter
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
- Avocado
Carb Cycling Plan
Below is an example week for you to follow. You can switch it up as you see fit depending on your weekly schedule and commitments.
We’ve also included what type of workouts you should be doing depending on which carb cycling day you’re on.
Exercise split while carb cycling:
- High (on this day, perform your heaviest and hardest gym sessions)
- Medium (on this day, have a moderate to light workout)
- Low (on this day, take it off to rest, or perform very low steady state cardio)
Eating Plan
- Monday High
- Tuesday Medium
- Wednesday Low
- Thursday High
- Friday Medium
- Saturday Low
- Sunday Low
The Best Bodybuilding Diet For Fat Loss Conclusion
There you have it…a complete guide to carb cycling, which is probably the best bodybuilding diet to lose weight you’ll find.
If you follow these rules that we’ve laid out in the article, the quicker you’ll see lasting results.
Remember, if you want to kick it up a notch, you can always use a fat burner to improve your chances of getting a six pack while cutting.
For quality fat burners, see our Muscle Awards section for a detailed review of the best fat burners available.
Now it’s all in your hands, go out there and make it happen!
