Having low energy, feeling tired or unfocused, struggling through crappy workouts, and feeling downright hungry is a common complaint from some of our clients who are on lower calories and choose to carb cycle.

Sure, being in a caloric deficit can have its low points, but feeling terrible for days and days on end is a sign that something in your diet isn’t working. Remember: The best diet is one you can actually stick to!

The first question, then, is this: Are you sure you’re really up for carb cycling? Our article Do I Need to Do Carb Cycling? can help you figure it out.

But if you know you want to carb cycle, here’s how to trouble shoot the diet if if your stomach is growling on lower-carb days.

Are your high-carb days… too low-carb? 

Our first question for you: Are you actually tracking your carbs and macros and measuring your portions? Or are you guesstimating your macros or just kinda eyeballing them?

Because it’s really common for people who aren’t tracking their carbs to actually keep their carbs too low on medium and high-carb days. When this happens, you don’t have enough carbs stored up to get through their low-carb days without feeling like crap.

Remember: carb-cycling is not “low-carb” or “no-carb” dieting.

On high-carb days, you should be eating 200, 250, maybe even upwards of 300 g of carbs, depending on your body type, goals, and the personalized macros you have calculated in our V Shred App for IOS or Android.

If you are eating enough on your high-carb days, that should be enough to keep you feeling pretty good on lower-carb days.

If you believe that your macro calculations are correct and are certain you are eating enough, here are a few other tips to get past those hunger pains.

• Take a look at your meals. Make sure you are eating plenty of fiber-rich foods that are high satiety.
• Ensure you are eating enough protein. Aiming for .8-1 g per day is a great target when dieting.
• Drink some water, tea, coffee, BCAAs, a protein shake, or other diet-friendly beverages.
• Distract yourself: Go on a walk, phone a friend, hit the gym. Anything but sitting around feeling hungry!
• Supplement with a quality thermogenic like BURN EVOLVED, which contains ingredients that can help suppress your appetite and lessen occasional cravings.
• Get support from other members in our Facebook community for men or women. It’s always nice to vent to someone that understands. Many of our clients can relate to hunger pains and may have some suggestions you haven’t considered.

Still Hungry?

Many people try to use carb cycling as a shortcut to weight loss, but they’re not ready for how demanding and challenging it is. Especially if you don’t have one of our expert nutritionists guiding you!

This is why we only recommend it to people who have finished one of our full 90-day workout plans and have a solid grasp of their nutrition.

If you just had a lightning strike moment, then it’s time to explore some other options.

The macro calculator on our V Shred app for IOS or Android also has a “balanced diet” option. Adjust your settings and see if eating the same amount of carbs daily does the trick!

And if you’re totally lost, we can help you! V Shred has a team of dietitians and personal trainers who are writing thousands of custom nutrition plans every single day, and they can make one for you, too.

Get your personalized meal plan here or reach out at coaching@vshred.com, and we’ll get you set up with a meal plan that will help you reach your goals and leave you feeling satisfied!

The post Low-Carb Days Are A Struggle. What Do I Do? appeared first on V Shred.