First Week of Carb Cycling

Jenna, my nutrition coach, recommended that I try a 2-week carb cycling plan. At first I was all, Nah, I'm good. I like my macros and after 3 months I'm finally following them consistently, but then I remembered that I pay Jenna for her expertise and I should listen to her. She made a very compelling argument - carb cycling can be beneficial for people who have varying activity levels. Some days I CrossFit and squat heavy, some days I CrossFit and run eleventy 400s and do a bajillion doubleunders, some days I tuck at Pure Barre and don't sweat at all but my fucking abs shake like I'm hooked up to one of those electrode ab shredder belts. (Those things don't work, so don't even think I'm recommending them.)

And some days, usually Wednesdays, I wake up at 4 AM to open the Pure Barre studio and check my lovely ladies into class. (Working at Pure Barre really warrants its own post, but I must say that I get really psyched to greet my 5:30/6 AM and 6:45/7:15 AM regulars.) I am always starving on Wednesdays because I'm up for at least an extra 3 hours and I can never seem to fall asleep early the night before a 4 AM wake up. So I'm hoping carb cycling works for me.

work with Jenna

On Jenna's program we get 3 baseline days, 2 low carb days, and 2 high carb days. Guys, I did my first low carb day yesterday and I got to eat 109 g of carbs. That's more carbs than I was eating on any day besides cheat day last year. Today is my first high carb day and I'm supposed to eat 218 g. I about lost my shit when I saw that number. I was genuinely afraid of it. I started to panic that all of my hard work was going to disappear. And then I had to call a timeout. I can easily eat 218 g of carbs and probably do it anytime I go out to eat with my dad. I just didn't realize how much the war on carbs has been ingrained into my mind. While I think it would probably be better if I ate these carbs equally distributed throughout the day, today I decided to eat normally and then go out for Thai food for date night. I have already planned out a dinner with approximately 1,028 calories based on existing entries in My Fitness Pal. I am actually looking forward to the look of absolute horror on Jeremy's face.

Jeremy is surprised, and I think impressed, by the amount of food that I can eat. While it's true that I have the ability to eat as much as a grown man, as proven at many a daddy/daughter dinner, I think that many guys haven't seen girls actually eat. I have a healthy appetite and I am proud of it. I did suggest that he refrain from exclaiming loudly about my food choices in public because people were thinking he was telling me I was eating too much.

Anyways, back to the carb cycling program. This week I'm going baseline, low, high, low, baseline, high to accommodate my workout schedule, a 13 hour business trip to NY, and the Super Bowl. I might keep the same schedule next week because Sunday is Valentine's Day and we're going somewhere for dinner. It's a surprise but I was told that I should dress up and the food will be good.

I was on the fence about working with a nutrition coach for over a year, wondering if it was worth the money and questioning why I couldn't do it on my own. I think the support and the ongoing feedback and modifications make it entirely worth it. I wish I had started earlier, but I am really happy with my progress thus far. I really enjoy working with Jenna because I trust her and I've been a longtime reader of her blog. If you've been stuck in a rut or feel lost about where to start, I recommend getting a coach. Some of the girls at my box use a different coach and they enjoy working with her. It's all about finding someone you are comfortable with and who will motivate and inspire you to do the work.