While the name of this particular weight loss method may make you think of bicycling your way to smaller jeans, that isn’t exactly what the cycling diet is. It actually involves alternating between higher carb and lower carb days (for a period of at least 12 weeks for maximum results) in order to achieve weight loss success. Like any other diet that exists, though, it has some pros and cons.
The Pros
Several people who have tried the cycling diet have enjoyed weight loss success. One of the reasons may be because it allows you to still eat some of your favorite carbs without worrying as much what it will do to your waistline because you can’t have them every day. This also eases your angst on days that you cannot have them because you know you can in 24 hours or less.
The Cons
One of the biggest drawbacks to this sort of diet is that a lot of the weight you lose (at least initially) is water weight, which is typical on any diet that restricts carbs. Also, your weight will likely fluctuate tremendously from one day to the next with the scale rising on days after you eat more carbs and falling after days that you don’t.
Additionally, the constant attention that you have to pay to the carbs that you eat may make you more obsessed with your diet than ever. After all, you’ll spend a lot of time calculating how many grams you need to (or can) eat, keeping food on your mind all day long.
The Bottom Line
Is the cycling diet going to work for you? Only you know that for sure. If it sounds like something that interests you and that you could adhere to, give it a try. However, if you’d rather not think about food (and carbs in particular) 24/7, this probably isn’t the diet for you.
