I experienced success using the Radical Diet to drop a fair amount of weight. I have now transitioned back to a more traditional version of the AD, still with the intent to lose more fat.
I am now making progress with just a single, very large carb-up meal just once a week.
I understand the benefits and the importance of the carb-up, but what I’m wondering is, would there be any gain – given my reduced calories – from a weekly “cheat” meal that was still low-carb?
I would receive some of the benefits of a refeed, but spend longer in fat-burning mode.
While I can’t unleash all the technical mumbo jumbo, I can say that you’re better off with at least a full day carb up. I’m currently doing the second half of the day on Saturday and full day on Sunday.
Check out Jen Heath’s article on the AD, and the discussion threads, some good info in there. Somewhere along the way reading that, I realized the carb ups were essential to the overall success, assisted in the fat burning, and keep you anabolic.
I was afraid of the carbs as well, and was following Thib’s suggestion of .75g/lb carb up once every 10 days. That left me feeling foggy and much lower on energy throughout the week. (and desperately craving carbs) Since bumping up my carb intake, I have been dropping more fat and inches.
Take the plunge and carb up. The key is making sure your’e abiding by the 30g per day rule during the week and keeping your total calories below maintenance during week.