My most recent group (and last of the year!) of Lean Body Boot Camp clients are starting week 3 this week, and have 14 days of nutrition changes – both in their macronutrients, and their timing – under their belt.  Not to mention, two weeks of challenging new workouts.

One of the big changes we make with nutrition on to your macronutrient splits, or how many carbs, protein, and fat grams you’re eating on a daily basis. Another is the timing at which they’re eating them (your meal structure.)

However, in week one, we follow what I call a ‘carb depletion week,’ where we take carbs fairly low. Not extremely low, but low enough to see some good changes take place.

Many of us are used to eating higher carb, sometimes higher sugar diets. And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with eating carbohydrates, how much and when we’re eating them plays a huge part in how lean we are.

What else plays a big part? How long we’ve been eating a high carb diet.

Unless you’re already super lean and have amazing insulin sensitivity, typically, eating a diet higher in carbohydrates for an extended period of time, can cause one to become somewhat insulin resistant – or at least not be as insulin sensitive as they could.

This plays a big role in fat loss, because when you’re not insulin sensitive, your body’s natural response is likely to store extra carbs as fat, rather than being used for fuel and muscle glycogen.

Insulin, when managed properly in the body, is a very anabolic hormone, meaning it will help you get lean by building muscle and burning fat. But when it’s not managed properly, it’s turned into a fat storing hormone.

One of the easiest ways to become insulin resistant is by over consuming carbohydrates for an extended period of time.

So, what happens in our “carb depletion week” in LBB is we take our carbs down, reduce those diet-related spikes in insulin and blood sugar.

Now in week 3, my clients are utilizing carb cycling – with both higher carbs on certain days and lower carbs on other days, in order to continue seeing progress, while sustaining metabolism and workout performance. Carbs are NOT bad and will not make you fat. It’s how much and when we’re eating them that’s important.

However, in general, some guidelines to keep that insulin sensitivity in check for them include:

• Eating high fiber foods – and LOTS of veggies
• Eating protein with every single meal
• Eating antioxidant rich berries
• Stay within macros and follow proper nutrient timing protocol for carbohydrates
• Train efficiently and hard
• Choose whole foods the majority of the time

Best wishes! XO
Paige