WEEK 2: DAY 1 · MONDAY 

Carb Cycling and Moving Forward!

Weekly Affirmation: “I believe in the power of mindset. I am committed to transforming my mind and thoughts as I walk this journey. I choose to change my thoughts around what healthy looks like. I choose to take care of my body and mind.”

 

Happy Monday, friends! You have officially made it through your first week of living the FASTer Way! Trust me when I say that it only gets better from here. 🚀 Now that you’re one week in, I want to up the ante on your accountability. As I said last week, accountability is everything. Moving forward, I challenge you to check in and post on our Slack channel every day! Last week, I taught you about macros and CARB CYCLING. Today you will have the opportunity of practicing carb cycling. 🙌 As a refresher, let’s quickly review a couple of things that are important for today’s success:

 

Macronutrients (AKA Macros):

  • Macros are the “large” nutrients that make up everything we eat. They consist of carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Eating balanced macros is better than counting calories because doing so fuels our bodies properly and sets us up to burn fat and build lean, calorie-burning muscle. This week, we will continue tracking our macronutrients in the new app. Remember to continue practicing progress over perfection! You are learning so much and it's always important to give yourselves a little grace as you navigate the learning curve! 👌

 

Carb Cycling:

  • Carb cycling is a strategic variation of carbohydrate intake that burns fat while properly supporting our hormones. We cycle our carb intake by eating a low amount of carbs on some days (called “Low Carb Days” on Monday and Tuesday every week) and eating higher amounts of healthy carbohydrates on other days (called “Regular Macro Days" on Wednesday - Sunday). Through carb cycling, we see fat loss, increased energy levels and improvements to overall body composition! Here is a nice surprise: You are encouraged to increase your healthy fat intake on low carb day! There may even be days in which you double your regular fat intake. With the reduction of carbs, fat will serve as your fuel and your energy source on low carb days. That is why eating more fat than usual is important when carb cycling. 

  • In our program, we aim to keep our NET carbs less than 50 grams. TOTAL CARBS - FIBER = NET CARBS. Your app is automatically set to its appropriate goals on low carb days, as well as regular macro days. You do not need to adjust anything. See my example image below. Notice how my protein is close to my goal, my fats are heavily increased and my fiber is subtracted from my total carbs. If you are male, pregnant or nursing, your NET carbs will be 75g-100g. There are also certain health situations in which we may need to set your NET carbs higher. Please reach out if you’re concerned with low carb days.

 

Today I want you to focus on eating low-carb, fiber-rich foods that are high in healthy fats and protein. 

 

TODAY’S ACTION ITEMS:

  • If you haven't watched our carb cycling training (Prep Week Day 3), please go back and watch today. It is important for you to understand carb cycling and why we use it as one of our strategies. 💯

  • Today we will start to track our macros and post a screenshot in our #macros SLACK channel. In your app, go to your Nutrition Tab > Macro Goals (More >). See the sample screenshot below. Or you can post your rings at the top of your daily nutrition tracker. You should be tracking your macros every day this week and posting them in the #macros channel. I will review everyone and give them feedback, daily. I can only hold you accountable if you allow me to do so! 

  • Try participating in the HIIT workout that you can find in the app under the Today Tab.

  • Check out the macro cheat sheets for a list of healthy fat ideas under the Resources tab in your app. 

I posted a screenshot of my sample low carb day - check out the breakdown below.

 

  • My protein is close to my goal (within 10g). I always want you close to your protein goal, regardless of whether it is a regular macro day or a low carb day. Remember, PROTEIN IS KING! Consuming enough protein is important in order to preserve and build lean muscle tissue. Within 10g of your goal (higher or lower) is perfectly acceptable.

  •  My NET carbs are 41g. My fiber is 19g. Fortunately, our new app takes the guesswork out of calculating net carbs for you! It automatically calculates your NET carbs (Total carbs minus your fiber). As long as your NET carbs ring on the upper left hand corner reflects less than 50g (75g-100g for men, nursing or pregnant women), you are good!

  • My fats increase on low carb days because fats are my primary fuel source. When I set up my goals in my new app, it automatically calculated my fat goal to be at 102g. I ate 96g (within 10g of my goal). Do not be afraid of healthy fats on low carb days. 

 

It may seem like a lot to remember right now because it’s so new, but before long, it’ll happen like clockwork for you! We introduce the program strategically so you don’t get overwhelmed. As always, this is a LEARNING experience! Give yourself grace. You have plenty of time to get it right. After all, all you have is time!