Carbohydrate rotation diet. Diet BUTCH

Recently, athletes and professional actors, when in need of losing weight, have increasingly begun to turn to the so-called carbohydrate alternation diet. It is also called the BEACH diet (protein-carbohydrate alternation). The main role in this diet is given to constant manipulation of the amount of carbohydrates consumed. Let's say you give yourself two months to lose weight. You divide this period into four-day cycles. The first and second days of this cycle are low-carb, with protein intake at 3-4 grams per kilogram of weight, while carbohydrate intake is 0.5 grams. The third day is high-carbohydrate, carbohydrate consumption can be 5-6 grams per kilogram of weight, while protein intake can be reduced to 1-1.5 grams. The fourth day is moderate: protein consumption - 2-2.5 grams per kilogram of weight, carbohydrates - 2-3 grams.

How does a protein-carbohydrate diet affect your body during these four days?

During the first two low-carb days, the body almost completely depletes its glycogen stores. In parallel with this, the consumption of new “fuel”, that is, fat, begins to cover energy costs. And after almost complete depletion of glycogen reserves, by the end of the second low-carb day, the process of using fat as an energy source reaches its maximum. However, in no case should you continue such a diet, since the body, which has received severe stress as a result of carbohydrate depletion, can “switch” to emergency operation mode and begin to save fats as an anti-stress “cushion”, and will use the least valuable substances from its point of view to cover energy costs , namely muscle cells, i.e. the same muscle mass that gives elasticity to the body and good appearance to the skin.
To prevent this from happening, a high-carbohydrate day is provided. On this day, you dramatically increase your carbohydrate intake while maintaining the same calorie intake. To achieve this, you cut back on your protein intake and keep your fat intake to a minimum. Having received such carbohydrate therapy, the body will certainly “get confused”, that is, it will continue to use fats as energy, while simultaneously storing glycogen in the muscles and liver. But it is almost impossible to replenish glycogen reserves in one day, so carbohydrates are consumed on the 4th day of the cycle, but more moderately. After these four days the cycle repeats.

In this case, body weight changes as follows: in the first two days of carbohydrate depletion you can lose 0.5-1 kg, and even on the third day, when you eat a lot of carbohydrates, this process continues. By the evening of the fourth - morning of the fifth day, a significant part of the lost weight returns, but do not be upset. The fact is that the carbohydrates you ate led to water retention in the body (1 gram of carbohydrates binds 4 grams of water) and the newly gained grams are not fat at all. By the morning of the sixth day (the second day of the second microcycle), you will weigh the same as you weighed before the start of carbohydrate loading.

Benefits of a Carbohydrate Rotation Diet
First of all, such a diet allows you to “boost” your metabolism as quickly as possible, and no adaptation to any specific calorie content occurs. In addition, you constantly maintain a fairly high physical tone and can carry out intense physical training from time to time.

Regularly “throwing” carbohydrates into the diet prevents the body from using muscles as fuel, which is extremely important, because excessive loss of muscle mass results in a “asleep” metabolism, as a result of which you seem to stop eating completely and still do not lose weight.

Another advantage of the carbohydrate alternation diet is that it allows you to maintain high mental tone. When you go on a diet and know that you will be deprived of certain foods for two or three months, you are terrified. It's a completely different matter when you simply plan your menu and eat certain foods on certain days.