As you get leaner and leaner, you may find that you lose weight too quickly on the 3:1 carbohydrate cycling plan (no kidding!) As you learned in earlier sections, it’s not a wise idea to lose more than 1.5 to 2.0 lbs of body weight per week. If you lose more than two pounds per week, you are much more likely to be losing Lean Body Mass with the fat.

If you lose lean mass or drop weight too quickly, you should adjust your high to low day ratio by increasing your carbohydrates (and calories) overall or by keeping your low days the same and adding more high days. You can do three low carbohydrate days followed by two or three high carbohydrate days. Taking two or three high days after three low days will not only help reduce muscle loss, it may allow you to gain small amounts of muscle as you lose body fat. It’s not uncommon for my clients to lose 18-24 pounds of fat in three months, while gaining three to four pounds of muscle in the same period while using the is technique.

It’s very difficult to put down one single example of 3:1 carbohydrate cycling as I’ve described it here and have it apply to everyone. A little bit of experimentation and fine tuning will be necessary to discover what amount of carbohydrate works best for your high and low days. It’s absolutely essential for these types of advanced diets to be customized.

On average, women would consume about 90-130 grams of carbohydrates on low days and about 200 to 250 grams of carbohydrates on high days. Men would consume 150-200 grams of carbohydrates on low days and 300-400 grams of carbohydrates on high days. Here are examples of what "typical" high-low cycles would look like on a fat loss program for the average person:

Men/2200 calories/3 days low carbs: Men/2700 calories/1 day high carbs

Protein 45% = 990 calories = 247 g Protein 30% = 810 calories = 202 g Carbs 30% = 660 calories = 165 g Carbs 50% = 1350 calories = 337 g Fats 25% = 550 calories = 61 g Fats 20% = 540 calories = 60 g

Women/1400 calories/3 days low carbs: Women/1800 cal/1 day high carbs

Protein 45% = 630 calories = 157 g

Protein 30% = 810 calories = 135 g

Carbs 30% = 420 calories = 105 g

Carbs 50% = 900 calories = 225 g

Fats 25% = 350 calories = 39 g

Fats 20% = 360 calories = 40 g

These are just averages, as every person is different. The only way to determine how many grams of carbohydrates are right for you is to experiment until you find your "optimal level" and the results start coming.

On your low carbohydrate days, eat protein and starchy carbohydrate in your early day meals (meals one through three), then in your late day meals (meals three to six) eat protein with only fibrous carbohydrates like green vegetables and salad – no starchy carbohydrates! On your high days, you can eat starchy carbohydrates with every meal (and if you’re going to have a "cheat day" make it on a high day).

So that’s it! I’ve absolutely emptied out my brain and revealed my most mega-effective secrets to maximum fat loss. These are some very powerful techniques, but remember; carbohydrate cutting taken to the extreme will do more harm than good. Never cut your carbohydrates out completely and never stay on low carbohydrates for a long period of time. It's usually not wise to go to extremes in anything and this is as true for dieting as with anything else in life: Moderation is the key.