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Being a strong woman.
In my older teenage years I really got into fitness.
I loved being active and working out as a kid and throughout my life in general, but after high school I really turned it up a notch.
I wanted to be lean and muscular, not just active.
My hero growing up was(is) Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider games.
She’s fit, muscular and sexy, totally capable of handling herself. And I thought that was just the coolest thing.
Since I had always wanted to be like that, I wanted to figure out how.
I was active in martial arts since I was 10 years old, so why wasn’t I building the kind of muscle that I wanted?
I ate right, and when I lost weight I didn’t seem to have a lot of real musculature afterwards.
I didn’t want to look cute or soft, I wanted muscle tone that would make me more physically capable.
My dad and sister were both very supportive of my diet and exercise and often would workout with me or diet with me to form a support system.
This was so important to me achieving my goals because I was not alone, and they could help keep me accountable.
My dad was always looking for ways to keep in the best shape possible, not only for himself but so that he would be safe while doing his job as a Fireman.
I remember an afternoon at home, he had told me that he had stumbled across this website that said that eating carbs can actually help you get AMAZING results with your training.
Say WHAT?
(This post is about the diet and fitness plan, Carb Back-loading and The Carb nite Solution by physicist John Kiefer. This post is written about the potential benefits, my review from trying it for myself, and the reviews and facts from others. Always consult your health professional before trying out any diet or exercise regimen. This post also contains affiliate links. Read my disclaimer here for more info.)
Before I get right into it, let me stop for a second and say this:
This program requires weight training.
That is the first and only thing that you really need to know and be dedicated to before I tell you anymore.
If you are not an athlete, someone who works out consistently, or someone who goes to the gym/weight-lifts at home, then it will not give you the results that others, or myself, got.
I’m ready, what is this program?
You’re ready.
If you are SUPER dedicated to changing your body and the way that you build muscle, you can do this.
If you want in on the secret that helped me personally go from 118lbs with hardly any muscle, to 140lbs and an awesome amount of healthy, lean muscle that I am very proud of.
Here it is.
What is Carb Back-loading?
Carb back-loading and The Carb-night solution, is a diet and exercise program designed by physicist, John Kiefer. The way that it works is that you eat your carbs mostly at night, you workout hard, and you get A LOT of protein in. But that’s not all. This diet program helps you not only add muscle, but also burn fat.
This diet focuses on the time of day you are eating rather than just what you are eating. Carb back-loading is a very science driven program, and goes into the working design of your metabolism, insulin levels, and how to eat during the day to get the benefits you want, from the way your body works naturally.
“Time of day influences everything from peak alertness to insulin sensitivity.
But time-of-day can be used to make everything — food, training, cardio — more anabolic with greater fat burning.” -John Kiefer
Is it safe?
The information in Kiefer’s books and on his website is scientific information, and there are a lot of people who have testified to the programs results and benefits. Both my dad and myself have done this program and had awesome results from it. But as always, you should always consult your Doctor or Physician before trying any exercise or diet program.
Carb nite solution: The Carb Nite Solution is Kiefer’s program for keeping up your fitness, getting rid of fat while keeping your muscle. This program is the one that I think most women do, and this is the one that I did. You don’t eat sugary, carby food every night, just a couple of times a week, and women or men looking to trim down while still building muscle can benefit from this greatly.
Carb back-loading: Carb back-loading is the more intense version of the Carb Nite solution, designed with weight loss and extreme muscle-building in mind. You are eating a lot of carbs and a lot of protein, mostly at night, and your workout need to be high intensity weight training. This has some really awesome results when done correctly. Before attempting this, I would highly recommend that you read his website, and read his book before attempting this diet or exercise program.
What happens when you are NOT eating carbs.
Your body needs carbs.
When you don’t eat carbs and stick to a low-fat, low-calorie diet your body can go into “starvation mode”. It thinks that you are getting insufficient amounts food and that there is none coming. Where does your body start taking energy from when it isn’t getting it from your food? It will take it from fat first, but then it will start to take it from your muscles. To counteract this, you need to be eating carbs after your workouts. This will give your body something to replenish itself with, as well as add to your muscle gains.
- About 2.5% of the population — people who are ultra-endurance athletes, and a few other outliers — will thrive when eating incredibly high amounts of carbs. (We’re talking ≥ 70% of their total calories).
What will my results be?
That is 100% dependent on your effort and diligence.
No workout program works unless you do. So stick to the guidelines, keep a record of your results and keep in mind how you are feeling everyday to make sure you are staying mentally and physically well.
And as always, do your best.
Why this program is good for women.
This is a program that I have tried and personally know has worked for me. I also know how HARD it is for women to gain healthy muscle mass and keep the weight off. We as women, have a hard time losing weight. That’s just how our bodies are designed. (This article at Athlete io talks directly to women about carb backloading, for some extra information, for my fellow strong women out there.)
We don’t have the ability to eat a ton of food and not have to worry about gaining whatever weight we might have lost, right back on. Knowing this, and living through this, I can say that knowing the biological information of how our bodies work to lose weight, and gain muscle, has helped tremendously in getting in the shape that I am now.
This program works for everyone, men and women. Results will vary because everyone is different, not everything works for everyone. But the reason I wanted to address this directly to women is because I know it worked for me.
As always, make sure to consult your health care professional before changing your diet, or trying out any exercise program.
Be careful, do your best, and have an awesome, healthy day.
author of a Natural Endeavor