The type of carbs to prioritize depends on the timing and type of exercise someone is going to be doing, White says. For example, complex carbs are typically high-fiber, which isn’t ideal if you plan on working out or going on a run soon after eating because it could lead to gastrointestinal distress. “In these cases, you would want to eat simple carbs, because they digest faster,” she says.
Who Can Benefit From Carb Cycling?
All three experts we spoke to say that those who can benefit from carb cycling the most are serious athletes—or people who work out like them.
“Carb cycling can improve performance for elite athletes who have prioritized all other aspects of training, such as sufficient total daily carbohydrates, meeting protein needs as well as total energy needs, practicing good sleep hygiene, and having a solid training and recovery program,” Dr. Wentz says. “For most amateur athletes, carb cycling won’t make much of an impact.”
She adds that serious endurance athletes are especially primed to benefit from carb cycling because they typically have multiple long training sessions a day. That means they need a quickly absorbed energy source, like simple carbohydrates, to keep them going.
“For serious athletes, who train one to five hours daily, the idea of matching carb needs with training load and intensity, referred to as nutrient periodization, is not a new concept,” Dr. Thomas says.
“The difference is that serious athletes train and compete at high training loads or intensities and need more carbohydrates than what a standard carb cycling plan might suggest,” he says.
But that carb load will lessen in the off-season or if they’re rehabbing an injury, Dr. Thomas says.
Can Carb Cycling Help You Lose Weight?
All three dietitians we spoke to say that carb cycling can help you shed pounds but only if it’s part of an overall plan to maintain a calorie deficit. If dedicating a few days a week to being low-carb is your way of resisting simple carbs high in calories, then that’s a strong start toward slimming down. But it won’t help you lose weight if you’re going carb crazy on your high-carb days.
If you have diabetes or another medical condition that affects your blood sugar levels, White says that carb cycling likely isn’t the best eating plan for you. Instead, she recommends talking to your doctor about what you are hoping to get out of carb cycling and coming up with a plan together about the best way to reach that goal, taking into account your individual health.
What to Keep in Mind If You Want to Give Carb Cycling a Try
The most important thing to consider is the nutrient value of the foods in your diet, both on low-carb days and on high-carb days. What’s going to provide your body with what it needs? Do you need fast-absorbing simple carbs to prep for a long run during your marathon training? How are you going to meet your fiber goals on days when complex carbs are on the back burner? If you have no idea what your nutrient needs are and where carbs fit in, start from scratch at eatright.org or myplate.gov.
But remember: Carb cycling and low-carbohydrate diets are completely different.
“Athletes should maintain adequate total carbohydrates and energy to support training,” Dr. Wentz says. “At the same time, some athletes train better and are able to better maintain their weight with moderate carbohydrate intake.” If you’re an athlete—or you train like one—she recommends working with a sports dietitian to figure out a detailed nutrition plan that’s best for you.
The bottom line is if you’re doing intense workouts, carb cycling may actually be a beneficial option for you. But if you’re not all that active, you aren’t going to gain a whole lot from it.
