CARB UP DAY!!!
"Carb up day", "Vacation Day", "Cheat Day"...they're all a HUGE part of making this long term and a huge part of your success. We could dive into how each of them are actually a little bit different, but let's keep it simple.
Why Carb up?
Maintain muscle tissue (don't burn up muscle, thus destroying metabolism)
Sanity
"Shock" your body (body adapts quickly...even to good things)
Fuel workouts
Disadvantage of Carb up...won't completely eliminate CRAVINGS. Remember that one of the BIGGEST reasons the "Advanced Plan" is so powerful is because it eliminates cravings after your 14 day "Detox" period (note: this "detox" is in reference to sugar, not all the other toxins that we still need to detox with using "Daily Detox").
With that being said....the "Advanced Plan" was not originally designed for people that perform the types of workouts we perform. We are TRUELY "Burst Train"...so our metabolism skyrockets for hours and hours after the workout. We are burning fuel more efficiently and building muscle. In order to fuel this, we need some levels of glycogen in our system. We accomplish this with our "Carb up meals/days".
Warning: You MUST detox from sugar before allowing any carb up meals! Otherwise you are back at Day 1!!
Depending on your goals...there are a few ways to go about this. Keep in mind that if we are glycogen loading with full days of carb ups then your body fat will decrease a bit slower, but your workouts and performance will be better.
If your goal is performance based, you don't have a lot of body fat to lose (5% or less) then this is one of the best ways to lay this out. Eat clean (Advanced plan) Sunday through Friday afternoon....eat a piece of fruit prior to your Friday workout (if it's in the morning eat your fruit, then you're still sugarless until the afternoon) in order to prepare your liver for this carb spike. Then Friday evening through Saturday night is your "carb up block". This is where we fit in some of our vacation meal that we enjoy. Don't even think about the food, give your mind a break from it and realize this is a TACTICAL move in order for you to be fueled up for another weeks workouts and still destroying body fat. Some athletes can use another carb up meal on Wednesday before their workout if they're feeling sluggish...BUT this must be a complex carb (sweet potato).
If your goal is mostly weight loss and body fat killing....you will follow the same schedule, however it's 1 (2 at the very most) carb up meals...not days. These should be good carbs.
From my own experience...I remember on day 6, EVERYTHING that was a carb sounded good to me! I wanted pancakes, southwestern egg rolls from Chili's, Chips and salsa...I was obviously running on fumes with the glycogen. Without a max mind and good people around me...I would have caved. But day 8...I was full of life again. On day 15 was my scheduled carb up meal....it didn't even sound good to me. In fact I ate less than 1/2 of my meal. However...for the next 36 hours or so following that vacation meal...I had some minor cravings.
The benefits of carbing up or giving yourself a vacation day/meal heavily outweigh the disadvantage of cravings. You can beat cravings with a strong PURPOSE and commitment to what you are getting accomplished and FREQUENT snacking!
Send me this weeks meal plans! Feel free to post recipes, meal plans, etc on here using the Comments link.
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