Rich Gaspari reveals the best weapon against accumulated body fat.

In a recent Instagram post, eight-time Mr. Olympia contender Rich Gaspari shared the most effective ways to strip body fat, a strategy he has relied on for both himself and his clients for years: carb cycling. He even claims it is effective on people with “stubborn” metabolisms.

"One of the best ways to lose body fat is what I call carb cycling. This is where you drop your carbs, and I do it for around three days, three to four days with clients, and did it for myself, and really tried to deplete glycogen."

All you need to do is drastically lower your carbohydrate intake for the next three to four days while simultaneously increasing protein intake substantially. The approach stated that women need to reduce carbs to 60–80 grams per day, while men need to reduce intake to roughly 100–110 grams during the reduction phase.

According to the inaugural Arnold Classic winner, low-carb intake coupled with cardiovascular training and cardio sessions depletes glycogen stores. Once that's done, the body then uses up all the stored fat for energy. After three to four days of cutting carbs, he recommends introducing a high-carb day as the next step.

The sudden increase will rebuild glycogen stores, improving performance and preventing metabolic slowdown caused by extended dieting. To ensure no one gets it wrong, Gaspari even shared how he recommends introducing the carbs when his clients are close to competition.

Instead of keeping carbs extremely low, he gradually raises them in the final week before a show, adding around 50 grams each day. This approach works when someone isn't losing any weight after several weeks of strict dieting and training. Instead of cutting calories further, a “refeed meal” comes to the rescue.

"I don't know, they can eat a hamburger or french fries, crack that they eat, and they actually the next day will lose weight. This is because it's like counteracting the body's metabolism, and it's actually, you're slowing down, and then you add this like cheat meal, and it'll actually speed up the metabolism."

Hence, carb cycling is an effective strategy for maintaining steady fat loss after weeks of strict dieting. Although Gaspari explained it perfectly, is there really any truth to it?

Benefits of Carb Cycling

Some of the biggest benefits of carb cycling, as per MedicalNewsToday, involve helping manage training performance in athletes. A study shows that alternating periods of low and high-carb intake can improve athletic performance. This happens because in the cycle, the body becomes used to exercising in high-energy states from eating carbohydrates, and low-energy states when it's not.

Another 2024 study emphasized that carb cycling can improve body composition and is an effective weight loss option. However, it can only be achieved if a high-intensity exercise follows the diet. A 2023 paper also noted the same result.

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Written by

Ruwa Javed

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil