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• January 15, 2021
• Nutrition
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Intermittent Carbing

Standard dietary practices  result in poor health and quality of life. Most people eat too much food. Too much food overburdens and inflames our anatomy and physiology. This results in a long list of consequences:

• obesity
• type 2 diabetes
• neuropathy
• increased risk of certain cancers
• sleep apnea
• increased risk of cardiovascular disease
• joint pain and physical disability
• reduced confidence
• etc.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) or Time Restricted Feeding is an alternative to standard dietary practices. It involves extended periods of fasting (no food for sixteen hours or more) and shortened periods of feeding. Intermittent Fasting (at least in its less extreme forms) is unique amongst dietary control methods as it is both effective AND sustainable. Three reasons make this possible:

1. Fasting periods facilitate many important metabolic processes. This includes fat burning, autophagy (the replacement of old, damaged cells with new cells) and improved glucose/carbohydrate metabolism.
2. Time restricted feeding periods limit calories but still result in fullness (it is difficult cram a volume of food, normally spread throughout the day, into a few hours). People are more likely to stick with a diet if it results in fullness at least once per day.
3. IF can be very simple and convenient as dieters often do not have to modify food choices or count calories.

However, for hard-training athletes and physical activity fiends, prolonged fasting and time restricted feeding is not ideal. These individuals rely on maximal protein synthesis to build muscle and recover from intense workouts. Maximal, muscle protein synthesis (MMPS) requires a high daily intake of protein divided into frequently ingested meals. IF and MMPS seem irreconcilable.

Intermittent Carbing (IC) is the compromise. Intermittent Carbing maintains the most powerful benefits of traditional IF while accommodating MMPS. This has been made possible through the creation of a system that alternates between a Carb Fast and a Carb Feast.

The Carb Fast is a period of time that generally occurs during sleep and throughout the working day. During the Carb Fast carbohydrates are totally (or almost totally) eliminated while protein intake is maintained according to MMPS guidelines. A diet which features a protein backbone is beneficial for several reasons.

1. Beyond its ability to grow muscle and facilitate recovery, protein causes less insulin release. Less insulin may be part of the reason extended carbohydrate deprivation (the Carb Fast lasts twenty one hours – including time sleeping) allows glucose metabolism to recover. Metabolic “recovery” means the tendency toward glucose intolerance (a root cause of body-fat gain and other unhealthy consequences) has been reversed and the body becomes ready or “primed” for an influx of carbohydrates.
2. Protein reduces appetite while small amounts of carbohydrates can increase it.
3. Protein is more “thermogenic” than carbs or fats. Up to thirty percent of consumed protein calories are lost as heat. In comparison, only five to ten percent of consumed carbohydrates are lost as heat (three percent or less for fats)².

The Carb Feast is a period of time that generally occurs at night. During the Carb Feast, as you have probably guessed, carbohydrates are targeted. While its overconsumption is one of the chief causes of disease, carbohydrates are essential for optimal performance (especially for anaerobic activities) and muscle growth. Its inclusion at nighttime makes sense for these reasons:

1. As mentioned above, after twenty one hours on a “Carb Fast” the body is “primed” for glucose intake.
2. Packing what is essentially your whole-day requirement for carbohydrates into three hours ensures fullness. Fullness at the end of the day is deeply satisfying and is the key to making a diet sustainable.
3. Evidence presented by the study³ referenced below suggests that the notion “carbs at night make you fat” is probably baseless.

How To Begin Intermittent Carbing

STEP ONE

Create your Carb Fast periods by calculating your requirements for MMPS. According to popular research¹, MMPS requires the daily ingestion of 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight. Divide and spread your daily protein allotment over four meals.

Here is a sample menu for someone who requires 160 grams of protein:

NOTE: MMPS requirements should be met in the absence of carbs (except for those found in vegetables).

6:00 AM – chicken, cheese and vegetable omelet, 2 cups coffee

11:00 AM – chicken breast

3:oo PM – salmon filet and salad, 1 cup coffee

7:00 PM – 2 to 3 cups vegetables, two hamburger patties

STEP TWO

It is 9:00 PM. Your body has gone twenty-one hours without substantial carbohydrates (assuming you went to bed at 12:00 am). Your body is primed for an influx glucose. Time to dedicate the final three hours of the day to a Carb Feast! Feast tolerance varies according to goal, bodyweight, metabolism and activity levels. Most physical activity fiends will want to vary their carbohydrate intake between 1.25 and 3 grams per kg of bodyweight. Let both the direction and rate of results refine your Feast.

Here is a sample menu for someone targeting 100 grams of carbohydrates:

9:00 PM – 2 cups strawberries and whipped cream, 100 grams semi sweet chocolate, 500 ml beer

This reality should be reinforced – A diet is MUCH easier to sustain if you go to bed with a belly full of carbs as opposed to going to bed with a belly full of cravings.

Intermittent Carbing is infinitely more suitable for hard training athletes than orthodox Intermittent Fasting. Recovery and growth needs are met through a consistent supply of amino acids while restrictions on carbohydrates facilitate metabolic function and body fat control. This dietary guidelines revealed above are actually sustainable. The IC System is the ultimate foundation of ambitious lifestyles.

REFERENCES

1. Schoenfeld B., Aragon A. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. Journal of Internal Society of Sports Nutrition. 2018
2. Westerterp KR. Diet induced thermogenesis. Metab (Lond). 2004 Aug 18; 1(1):5.
3. Sigal Sofer, Abraham Eliraz, Sara Kaplan, Hillary Voet, Gershon Fink, Tzadok Kima, Zecharia Madar. Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner. Obesity. 2011 Oct 19