Welcome tjlosing...I think personally the carb cycling works really well--I love it! Last year I lost 12 pounds and many inches overall, and looked the best I have in a long time. However....in early fall I started eating by tracking how I feel rather than weighing myself on a regular basis, and things really got out of control. So I am back on track, and have not ever tried to lose over the holidays (for the last 30 years), but this year is different. Am doing the carb cycling thing and feeling fantastic! Come join along!

Thanks for the welcome. I have been planning my low days & normal days. As a planner & detailed person I need to know exactly which direction i'm going. Thnx again

Hi LCanita -- awesome post -- just curious if you could define the 10x rule for Calories?

Do I mention a 10X rule somewhere in this incredibly long thread? It's been years...

But no, I can't define it.

Hmmmm, but what IS the 10X Rule? Inquiring minds want to know...

Will have to try this. I know butter is out for me. I put weight ON with it. And, low on the mayo. Olive oil no prob. Each body is so different and you have to fine tune the eating.

Hi all!

I am new to the board, new because this thread pulled me in. I read 38 pages of posts yesterday. I also started a carbdown cycle yesterday as I read.

I am very excited I posted in the intro section. I've been stalled on Atkins since August 2010. This thread and all of you who have contributed to it have given me much hope! Thank you!

Hi Jenn and welcome! I simply love carb cycling. I have also just incorporated heavy weights (for me) and intervals into my exercise routine and feeling way better. Check out the most recent entries in my journal, and be sure to start your own so we can celebrate your success with you! Best to you...

Weekly summary for cactusrose Monday February 14, 2011:

Weight: 147, down -2.5 pounds this week, -9.5 pounds since Dec 12 2010
Inches: -1.75 inch this week, -18.25 inches total since Dec 12 2010
Body fat: -2.7% since mid December

Plan: Carb Cycling--Carb up on workout days (3 days per week which are days off work), carb down the remainder of the week (on work days). Doing progressively heavier weight training or running intervals for my workouts. Intermittent fasting also, attempting minimum 14-16 hours as allowable at work, usually 16-18 hours when at home.


Weight and inches coming off slowly. I am trying to concentrate on how I feel and how I feel about myself, which is much better each week.

I feel more compact. My smaller jeans are fitting better. If I put my hands on my hips, my love handles feel smaller.

My legs feel more solid. They don't feel so jiggly when I walk, so I seem to carry myself differently, walk with more confidence somehow.

Feeling stronger from the weight training. Feeling more energetic when I exercise.

Because I feel better about myself, I seem to want to take better care of myself, like I have changed my outlook on what I want to eat and how much. I used to mindlessly eat sweets/salty snacks/high fat foods, some how trying to fill an empty void perhaps? Now those things don't pull me towards them on a daily basis. It seems like they don't even cross my mind anymore as something I want or need.

Picture day today. I am trending inches and pictures this time instead of just scale numbers. Really only trending pictures monthly for myself. Will post a new picture here every three months.

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I have completed two days of carbdown at this point.

Day one: 1308 cals/26 carbs. I'd intended to do the fat fast, so my overall fat for the day was 86%

Day two: 1612/20 carbs. Fat percentage 79%.

I had planned on only having a single hamburger patty for dinner last night, but I was so ravenous I took a second, which bumped my cals higher.

This brings me to my next question... as I've only read in about 40 pages of this thread, I am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of how many calories I should be shooting for at my age/weight/height? I am 36/5ft3/220. I would assume this is a process of trial and error, but if anyone who is, or started close to my stats could weigh in, it would be useful! My loose starting goal was to aim for 1300-1500 <25 carbs during carbdown, then 1800-2000 < 80 on carbup days.

I didn't start on a down cycle because I'd been indulgent days prior. Not off-plan, but I had wine, low-carb desserts and grapes.

Today, my plan is to eat more meat. I didn't meet the minimum protein requirement on Sunday and only barely hit it yesterday. I plan to accomplish this by eating less nuts.

FWIW, I am down 3 pounds this morning

I know I am deep into ketosis because my breath is nasty.

One more thing I wanted to ask you experienced carb cyclers: is being cold normal? I could not seem to get warm yesterday, despite how showers, baking, layering clothes and blankets, etc.

Hmmm... I am always cold no matter what so it's hard to say! Let me look up some info about the calories, etc. Will have to get back to you after work tomorrow as I was up at 0400, it is now 2100 and I just turned in to a pumpkin. Just cannot focus.

Oooooh, congrats on the 3 pounds down!

how much do you carb up/down each time? how many days do you stay on each?

For most of the month of March, I was stalled out. Kicking the same 2 lbs. up and down the field for about 3 weeks. I had been a very slow loser anyway - barely a pound a week with VLC eating. And by VLC, I mean no cheating. I had jettisoned SF treats, I ate healthy real foods, had plenty of fat, did not eat too many calories, had servings of leafy veg every day. So it was very frustrating! Induction hadn't brought much weight loss at all, either. I am not a scientist, but I credit this problem to going low carb right after a long stint on low calorie - My metabolism was very confused.

I found this thread and decided to give carb cycling a spin. It hasn't been magical, but it has been very helpful in terms of keeping things moving. I started at the beginning of April. I was sitting at 156. Like the original poster, I was not up for gaining a bunch of weight on carb up, and after just one moderate carb/moderate calorie day, I had jumped up almost 2 lbs. I gave it one more day, then backed right down to VLC. Unlike some people on this thread, I didn't start losing again - and in fact gained - up until day 4. Then down 2 lbs. The next three days brought me down another 2.2 lbs. So I lost 2.2 lbs in 9 days. For many people, this is small potatoes, but for me, it was excellent progress.

I have continued to do this and have lost about 2 lbs with every cycle. I have never gone more than 3 days carb up because I gain so much - I must be very sensitive to carbs. My typical cycle is as follows:

Carb up day 1 - Gain 1.5-2 lbs
Carb up day 2 - Same or minor gain
Carb down day 1 - Same or minor gain
Carb down day 2 - Same or minor gain
Carb down day 3 - Same or minor gain
Carb down day 4 - Lose all weight gained on carb up
Carb down day 5 - Lose 2 additional lbs.
Carb down day 6 - Minor loss - usually under .5 lb
Carb down day 7-8-9 - Same or minor gain (I usually schedule another carb up at this point.)

I have never gone wild with the carbs or calories. I haven't touched a trigger food like ice cream, popcorn, or pasta. But I have been, at times, a little more lenient with treats than the original poster. One weekend, I was carbing up and ended up at a picnic where I ate a ham sandwich. It didn't make an iota of difference except that I was freaking out. ("Holy crap, I am eating BREAD! BREAD! Heavens no!!!")

It's been almost 2 months, and I have lost 10 lbs. I had a lot of bad dieting days this month, so I am sure I could have lost a couple more. (In the month of April, I lost 6 lbs.)

The only drawback, for me, is that I still fear that eating even the most modest amounts of forbidden foods will send me spiraling out of control. The cravings have been manageable, though, and I actually look forward to my VLC days quite a bit. I spend most of my time eating VLC. The carb up days are nice because I get to have some things I miss and be more lenient during social engagements.

I'd recommend this to anyone whose metabolism is out of whack from endless dieting - or anyone who is doing everything right but has stalled out for a few weeks.

Thanks for this thread! It has been an amazing help.

Emilyedna....how many additional carbs do you add though on carb up?? I notice that I too keep kicking around the same 2 pounds. It is annoying to say the least and disheartening at its worst.

veglover, I don't rigidly count carbs, but I estimate that I am getting about 50-100 on carb ups. I eat Induction type menus most of the time though, which means I am getting 20 or under most days.

I discovered this on accident before even hearing about cycling. I went on a trip but tried to stay true to my diet. I ended up doing okay but having some treats during the weekend - a beer, a crab cake, a piece of french bread. I was thinking it would derail me completely. Although I came home 3 lbs heavier, I ended up losing 5 lbs in the next two days. I had just carb cycled without realizing it. Now I do it on purpose!