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Carb Back-Loading
Eat like a pig. Get shredded. The carb back-loading diet could provide the holy grail to packing on mass and losing fat.
327 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2012
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405 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 12, 2014
The entire carb backloading principle is based upon the 'glycemic' index which is now known to be a very inaccurate way to describe the amount of insulin released in response to protein/ carb ingestion. On the other hand I would recommend intermittent fasting which might give you better results.
January 28, 2015
A very very very comprehensive and well researched guide.
On the plus side you can eat what you want for dinner every day and just need have breakfast and lunch within certain parameters (although avoiding breakfast altogether is ideal).
The author recommends training in the evening 5-6pm as the optimum time and the book gives a planned eating programme based on this. He does however provide alternate schedules for people who need to train at other times of day. I myself have to train first thing in the morning.
I think the book is a great resource and the author certainly makes sense of the science and I do not understand enough to disagree with this at a scientific level.
One thing that I do not like is that most of the high carb evening meals are centered around junkish food, or at least food normally not considered to be healthy. While this is very appealing, even if if helps me lose fat and put on muscle, I would rather eat a "healthy carb" if there is such a thing. Personally I feel that rice or potatoes would be healthier than ice cream. While this may be only in my own mind and not in fact true, I would like to have seen even a page on some healthier or more natural alternatives to bread and Ice Cream.
Overall I would recommend this book and it gets five stars for being so clear, giving such a huge amount of information and also for the amount of scientific research that has gone in to it.
On the plus side you can eat what you want for dinner every day and just need have breakfast and lunch within certain parameters (although avoiding breakfast altogether is ideal).
The author recommends training in the evening 5-6pm as the optimum time and the book gives a planned eating programme based on this. He does however provide alternate schedules for people who need to train at other times of day. I myself have to train first thing in the morning.
I think the book is a great resource and the author certainly makes sense of the science and I do not understand enough to disagree with this at a scientific level.
One thing that I do not like is that most of the high carb evening meals are centered around junkish food, or at least food normally not considered to be healthy. While this is very appealing, even if if helps me lose fat and put on muscle, I would rather eat a "healthy carb" if there is such a thing. Personally I feel that rice or potatoes would be healthier than ice cream. While this may be only in my own mind and not in fact true, I would like to have seen even a page on some healthier or more natural alternatives to bread and Ice Cream.
Overall I would recommend this book and it gets five stars for being so clear, giving such a huge amount of information and also for the amount of scientific research that has gone in to it.
July 18, 2014
Carbs, and more especially their consumption at night, have long been vilified by the fitness community. Anyone training to gain an appreciable amount of muscle however knows the catch 22 encountered when limiting carb intake. Conventional wisdom preaches higher carbs at the start of the day; a truism which Kiefer argues is counterproductive because our body is more biologically attuned to burning fat at this time. A constant influx of calories advocated by the frequent meal camp is not only unnecessarily inconvenient, but mounting evidence suggests is a great way to develop insulin resistance over time. Kiefer instead outlines an approach more aligned with the body’s circadian rhythms concentrating most of the day’s calories and carbs around the post workout and evening meals.
Trialling this for a couple of weeks I noticed that I was able to eat A LOT more carbs than I was used to eating (500g a night) and experienced no fat gain with more muscle fullness. Carb-a-phobes and clean eating freaks will shit themselves at Kiefer’s recommendations to base their carb choices around donuts, pastries, white rice and bread, but he does allay the cry-babies’ fears with a tempered clean alternative. 4/5
Trialling this for a couple of weeks I noticed that I was able to eat A LOT more carbs than I was used to eating (500g a night) and experienced no fat gain with more muscle fullness. Carb-a-phobes and clean eating freaks will shit themselves at Kiefer’s recommendations to base their carb choices around donuts, pastries, white rice and bread, but he does allay the cry-babies’ fears with a tempered clean alternative. 4/5
December 6, 2014
I confess I only read the "cliffs notes" pages the author provides, but only because I learned through them that the author does NOT recommend his program either for endurance athletes or for Crossfit, both of which describe me.
February 6, 2013
This thing is so well-researched that it is mind-boggling. Has more references than most dissertations. Love it.
March 31, 2014
The book is excellent in explaining all of the mechanisms exploited in the diet to the tiniest detail. Might appear to be overwhelming for an average user. Anyone who buys the book, has access to the "members only" section of the Athlete.io forums, where a lot of subjects are discussed amongst people who are already experienced CBL-ers or just amateurs.
Perhaps the only downside to this book is that it is already outdated in certain segments and Carb Back-Loading 2.0 should be out some time soon.
Another potential minus: it's PDF only, so it lacks a lot of standard ebook format features (e.g. doesn't look nice when loaded into a Kindle device).
Perhaps the only downside to this book is that it is already outdated in certain segments and Carb Back-Loading 2.0 should be out some time soon.
Another potential minus: it's PDF only, so it lacks a lot of standard ebook format features (e.g. doesn't look nice when loaded into a Kindle device).
June 11, 2014
It's pretty fiddly. Hard to say overall and I don't have enough deep nutrition knowledge to properly analyze it. My main useful takeaway was the importance of post-lifting trash carbs. My default eating is paleo-style and thus low-carb (~50 grams a day), but my lifts have been going up since the change.
June 10, 2016
This is an excellent book/ guide to nutrition and fitness. He answers all those questions on what to eat and when in detail. A great second book to Carb-Nite, for when you are ready for more.. Or need more energy or are trying to kick-butt in the gym while eating low carb.
This isn't a one time read. I will reference this book many times.
This isn't a one time read. I will reference this book many times.
September 6, 2013
It's over 300 pages long, but a quick read. He throws a lot of chemistry and physiology at you, but he uses to make interesting points. I'm incorporating some of his ideas into my own diet/training philosophy now.
November 1, 2014
A tightly written, well researched book. You've got to be serious about your training to follow this program.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews