A couple months ago I started a low-carb, high fat diet. At first, I couldn't believe how many good results I had! I got shredded, had better focus, slept better (and less!), had better skin and hair, and felt much less joint pain. At first I was very strict, and even managed to reach low levels of ketosis nearly every time I measured (usually 0.6-0.9 mmol/l).
After a month or so, some of the benefits disappeared. Most importantly, my workouts and especially my runs got harder. Still, all thigns considered, I still considered my new diet to be better than the high-carb diet I had come from, all things considered.
Around the same time, I also loosened the diet a bit, adding nuts, dairy, 85%+ dark chocolate, and low carb (5-10 net) protein bars from time to time. Originally, I had pretty much just been eating meat, eggs, and vegetables. I was less often in ketosis, but not by much.
To see if it would make any difference, I decided to go "mid-carb" for a while, adding in some fruit and higher-carb protein bars. Almost immediately, I had bad hunger, a more watery appearance, and more joint pain. At the same time, my runs and workouts became easier.
I decided to go back to low carb, but got to thinking -- maybe I could have the best of both worlds carb cycling? Most days I have <100g net carbs. I'm thinking, maybe twice a week I have a carb up, say 300g.
I remember Galeniko recommended something like this, except he advised super low-calorie, basically protein only, on the non-carb days. I'm not trying to get in contest condition though, just looking for a better way to eat, long-term. Has anyone tried this sort of diet?
