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A Low-Carbohydrate Week

If you wish to achieve the desired relief of your muscles for a short time the following low-carbohydrate plan is just for you. Begin by three simple rules: cut down on fats, limit carbohydrate intake and increase protein consumption.
Avoiding fats totally is a mistake – avoid fried food, oil and butter. Choose pure protein products – chicken breasts without the skin, egg-white, powdered protein and veal.  At the same time reduce carbohydrates to suppress insulin release.  Although strongly anabolic, insulin abundance tends to increase the absorption of fats in the fat cells.
Control and reduction of carbohydrates suppresses insulin provision and is a prerequisite for burning fats. Unfortunately, when the level of carbohydrates is kept low for 3 to 5 days, the muscles deplete the glycogen in themselves and the body and, looking for another energy source, begin to use muscle tissue as fuel. To avoid this, increase protein intake and reduce carbohydrates and fats to the minimum.  Here are 7 steps through which you can maintain a low-carbohydrate diet in a way that keeps you free of fat under skin, without losing the muscles it was so hard to build.

Step 1: Less carbohydrate and no loads of fat
Forget the popular low-carb diets according to which you should aim at zero carbohydrates, while at the same time eating food rich in fats like hamburgers, whole eggs and fatty meat. The essential thing is to limit fats and carbohydrates so that pure protein sources become the most important component in you bodybuilding diet.

Step 2: Doubly increase pleasure

Cut down on carbohydrates in two ways: first, take the normal carbohydrate intake (for a 90-kilo bodybuilder it is about 500g out of the competition season) and divide it into two. That half  (250 g) will be all the carbohydrate for one day On the next day reduce the half by half – and this will be your dose for the next three days. Distribute it among the 6 meals of the day. Here is what it will look for three days:
Day 1: 250 g of carbohydrates
Days 2 and 3: 125 g of carbohydrates a day 

Step 3: Consume carbohydrates before and after training for two days
On the 4th and 5th days divide the daily carbohydrate dose from the previous day between the meals before and after training in order to prevent losing muscle mass. Avoid carbohydrates during the other four meals of the day – thus you will keep the insulin level for longer and switch on the fat burning mechanism at a higher gear.
Days 4 and 5: 125 g of carbohydrates daily (62,5 g before and 62,5g after training)

Step 4: Lower carbohydrates to the limit for two days
After you have entered the low-carbohydrate zone, press some more and get down to 75 g daily for the next 2 days.  This is the most difficult part of the plan as the glycogen level will be so low that training hard will be really a challenge.  A 90-kilo bodybuilder will have to limit himself to 75g during the next 2 days.  Take most of the dose before workout to have the strength to endure it.
As a rule if you look well on the 7th day – cleansed and muscular – take the same quantity of carbohydrates (75 g). However, if you have lost too much mass, go straight to step 5. 
Days 6 and 7: 75 g of carbohydrates daily

Step 5: Change direction for a day
Low-carb diet causes metabolic adaptation which slows calorie burning. You can stop this and cheat the body by increasing the carbohydrates to 80% of the usual out-of-season intake (400 g for a 90-kilo bodybuilder). This increase will protect your metabolism from stopping and will provide a little of the necessary fuel for training.
Day 8: 400 g of carbohydrates

Step 6: Increase protein intake
Protein remains the main nutrient which you count on to preserve your muscle mass when carbohydrate intake has been severely reduced. Its intake during the 8 days should be as follows: 
Day 1: 2,2 g for a kilo of your weight
Days  2 and 3: 2,5 g for a kilo of your weight
Days  4 and 5: 3,5 g for a kilo of your weight
Days 6 and 7: 3,8 g for a kilo of your weight
Day 8: 2,2 g for a kilo of your weight

Step 7: Repeat the 6 rules in the same order until you are cleansed
Repeat the 8-day cycle two or three times, then rest for a week. One or two cycles like this guarantee achieving pure musculature.

 

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