1. CarbCarbCarbCarb Back-LoadingBack-LoadingBack-LoadingBack-Loading BookBookBookBook ReviewReviewReviewReview
posted on May 29, 2012
written by sean hyson
I previously mentioned that I have been working on an e-book that reviews allallallall thethethethe bestbestbestbest fitnessfitnessfitnessfitness
andandandand nutritionnutritionnutritionnutrition programsprogramsprogramsprograms that have come out in the past few years. I am happy to say that we are
razor close to the release date. I know many of you have had your hopes up for a while and are
tired of waiting, and I apologize. But when you see this book and all the work that went into it,
you’ll know why it was delayed.
AndAndAndAnd itititit’’’’ssss alsoalsoalsoalso FREE,FREE,FREE,FREE, so quit complaining!
Last time I gave you a glimpse at the book, I posted my review of The Renegade Diet, and since I
get so many questions about Carb Back-loading, I’ll give you another sneak peek with the
Back-loading review below. Note that I make a few references to Kiefer’s other book, The Carb
Nite Solution, which really helps you understand the science of Back-loading better. My e-book
includes a thorough review of Carb Nite as well, so when you read it, your understanding of
Back-loading should be more complete.
Hope this helps answers your questions.
CarbCarbCarbCarb Back-loadingBack-loadingBack-loadingBack-loading
It’s a fitness magazine editor’s dream: tell people they can eat all the bad food they want and gain
muscle while losing fat simultaneously. That’s essentially the promise Kiefer makes with Carb
Back-loading (and the reason I’ve given him various assignments for Men’s Fitness and
Muscle&Fitness). Again, he delivers. Unlike The Carb Nite Solution, his primary fat-loss protocol,
Carb Back-loading is suited to people who lift weights and are lookinglookinglookinglooking totototo bulkbulkbulkbulk upupupup whilewhilewhilewhile stayingstayingstayingstaying
leanleanleanlean.... The main principle behind it violates one of the major guidelines nutritionists have been
pushing for years—eat most of your carbs in the morning and taper them throughout the day. In
this protocol, you’ll “back-load” your carbs, eating the bulk of them at night.
AboutAboutAboutAbout TheTheTheThe AuthorAuthorAuthorAuthor
His real name is John Kiefer, but he prefers to use his last name alone. If you think that’s a right
reserved only for a rock star, I agree with you, and fortunately for him, Kiefer is just that. I’ve
never met a guy who was so consumed with research. HeHeHeHe reviewedreviewedreviewedreviewed overoveroverover 20,00020,00020,00020,000 articlesarticlesarticlesarticles fromfromfromfrom
scientificscientificscientificscientific journalsjournalsjournalsjournals totototo formformformform hishishishis opinions.opinions.opinions.opinions.This is really saying something, since he makes his
living marketing fitness to the mainstream, which doesn’t care about hard science. More
importantly, Kiefer wants to interpret that research correctly, so he reads studies in their entirety
and analyzes how they were conducted, on what population they were done, and whether the
methods used were valid. He has a highly analytical mind, so it’s not surprising that hehehehe’’’’ssss alsoalsoalsoalso aaaa
physicistphysicistphysicistphysicist andandandand writeswriteswriteswrites software.software.software.software. From Kiefer’s website, carbnite.com:
“Physicists develop a large number of skills during their work, the most important of which is the

2. ability to gather, decipher, and form a theory to describe a mind-boggling number of facts. Perhaps
even more important: physicists need to find the answer simply because the problem exists.”
With his egghead background, you might expect Kiefer to write a book that’s insufferably
scientific, beating you over the head with jargon and formulas. Thankfully, he doesn’t, and as I’ve
found over the years, the smarter the expert is, the more simply he can explain his ideas. Kiefer
also matches his research library with an equally impressive record of practical experience, having
worked with several clients of all fitness levels and with all kinds of goals for more than 15 years.
Does Back-loading work for women? Look at Julia Ladewski’s progress. She’s a powerlifter,
strength coach, and busy mom.
HowHowHowHow ToToToTo DoDoDoDo ItItItIt
1. DepleteDepleteDepleteDeplete carbs.carbs.carbs.carbs. Consume no more than 30 grams of carbs per day for five to 10 days. This is
optional, but depleting carbs first will heighten your sensitivity to them and allow them to be
better stored in your muscles.
2. ScheduleScheduleScheduleSchedule youryouryouryour weightweightweightweight trainingtrainingtrainingtraining inininin thethethethe afternoonafternoonafternoonafternoon orororor eveningeveningeveningevening (if this isn’t an option for you, I’ll
explain what morning trainees can do below). When you wake up in the morning, you can have
coffee with or without heavy whipping cream, but if you choose to eat breakfast, you must not
consume carbs.
3. EveryEveryEveryEvery mealmealmealmeal fromfromfromfrom thisthisthisthis pointpointpointpoint forwardforwardforwardforward
untiluntiluntiluntil afterafterafterafter youyouyouyou traintraintraintrain willwillwillwill comprisecomprisecomprisecomprise
proteinproteinproteinprotein andandandand fatfatfatfat sourcessourcessourcessources (green vegetables
are ok, too). The sources are yours to
choose, and it’s hard to go wrong. Bacon,
whole eggs, sausage, and cheeseburgers
are all fine. Keep your carb intake very
low until after your workout Kiefer has
written meal plans where a tomato is
allowed at lunch, plus any incidental carbs
you pick up from veggies or nuts and
seeds.
4. AfterAfterAfterAfter lifting,lifting,lifting,lifting, whichwhichwhichwhich shouldshouldshouldshould ideallyideallyideallyideally fallfallfallfall
betweenbetweenbetweenbetween threethreethreethree andandandand sixsixsixsix p.m.,p.m.,p.m.,p.m., havehavehavehave aaaa post-workoutpost-workoutpost-workoutpost-workout mealmealmealmeal of protein and carbs. Kiefer suggests a
protein shake with rilose or dextrose powder (simple sugars), which digest very quickly, but says
that sugary fruits like a mango or three ripe bananas can work as well. YouYouYouYou needneedneedneed aboutaboutaboutabout 30303030––––50505050
gramsgramsgramsgrams ofofofof carbscarbscarbscarbs andandandand 20202020––––40404040 gramsgramsgramsgrams protein.protein.protein.protein. The same supplements Kiefer recommends on the
Carb Nite program apply here as well—Blend H and leucine are perfect after the workout. While
Blend H is formulated to allow you to get an insulin spike without ingesting carbs, combining it
with carbs for Back-loading intensifies the insulin response, setting the stage for greater muscle
gains. (Remember, too, that Carb Nite’s purpose was to prevent muscle loss, and Carb
Back-loading is aimed at maximizing growth without fat gain.) You can also add five grams of
creatine to the shake for an even greater effect.
5. AboutAboutAboutAbout anananan hourhourhourhour afterafterafterafter youryouryouryour post-workoutpost-workoutpost-workoutpost-workout meal,meal,meal,meal, beginbeginbeginbegin eatingeatingeatingeating carbscarbscarbscarbs ravenously.ravenously.ravenously.ravenously. I’ve seen
specific meal plans that Kiefer has written for his clients, and the instructions actually state,

3. “Splurge and don’t worry about anything.” What more do you need to hear? Eat like he
recommends on a Carb Nite—burgers, pizza, and ice cream. Just be sure to get some protein in
with each meal (this is where protein shakes comes in handy). While you won’t count calories or
grams on this program either, Kiefer still recommends getting about a gram of protein per pound
of body weight. He also says it’s not uncommon for people to eat up to 400 grams of carbs in an
evening and still lose body fat.
6. TheTheTheThe nextnextnextnext morning,morning,morning,morning, evaluateevaluateevaluateevaluate yourselfyourselfyourselfyourself inininin thethethethe mirror.mirror.mirror.mirror. If you look lean and hard, you’re on the
right track. If you look soft and bloated, you overdid it with carbs and should be a bit more
conservative the next night. That’s really how he judges progress—a simple mirror test.
7. IfIfIfIf youyouyouyou havehavehavehave totototo traintraintraintrain inininin thethethethe morning,morning,morning,morning, scheduleschedulescheduleschedule youryouryouryour daydaydayday likelikelikelike this:this:this:this: Wake up, drink coffee, then
train. After training, have a small serving of carbs (a scoop of carb powder or two bananas) with
protein, and then eat protein and fat foods until the evening. If you trained at seven a.m., begin
eating carbs around six p.m. Because your feast is so far removed from the workout, your muscles
can’t soak up carbs as effectively, so, unfortunately, you’ll have to be more conservative with your
food choices. You can still have a few slices of pizza or a burger with fries, but beyond that, you
should stick with sweet potatoes and brown rice. Eat carbs liberally until you go to bed.
8. OnOnOnOn daysdaysdaysdays thatthatthatthat youyouyouyou dondondondon’’’’tttt liftliftliftlift weights,weights,weights,weights, limitlimitlimitlimit youryouryouryour carbscarbscarbscarbs to a single, conservative meal in the
evening. A sweet potato or some rice at dinner, or a small dessert.
Because Carb Back-loading contradicts so much of what fitness enthusiasts have been taught over
the past few decades, many are skeptical of the science behind it. The truth is, it’s pretty solid.
Kiefer grants that there are studies showing that muscle is more insulin sensitive in the morning,
but, he points out, so is fat. EatingEatingEatingEating carbscarbscarbscarbs inininin thethethethe morningmorningmorningmorning maymaymaymay causecausecausecause aaaa goodgoodgoodgood portionportionportionportion ofofofof themthemthemthem totototo
bebebebe storedstoredstoredstored inininin fatfatfatfat cells,cells,cells,cells, so he gets around this by having you fast or drink coffee, which has a way
of curbing hunger and shutting down fat cells.
Keeping carb intake low throughout the day not only keeps the body in a fat-burning state but also
amps up the sympathetic nervous system—the mode that’s responsible for the “fight or flight”
response to stress. In other words, when you go to train, you’ll be clear-headed and sharp—ready
to attack the weights as if your life depended on it. KieferKieferKieferKiefer sayssayssayssays youyouyouyou’’’’llllllll eveneveneveneven bebebebe ableableableable totototo recruitrecruitrecruitrecruit
musclemusclemusclemuscle fibersfibersfibersfibers better,better,better,better, andandandand youyouyouyou maymaymaymay seeseeseesee anananan immediateimmediateimmediateimmediate increaseincreaseincreaseincrease inininin youryouryouryour lifts.lifts.lifts.lifts. Afterward, your
muscles’ sensitivity to insulin is high because they’re damaged and need repair, but your fat cells
are less sensitive (especially if you’ve taken caffeine). So while it’s true that insulin sensitivity
lessens as the day goes on and you’re more likely to store fat if you eat carbs late in the day,
resistance training turns the tables. For this reason, CarbCarbCarbCarb Back-loadingBack-loadingBack-loadingBack-loading cancancancan’’’’tttt bebebebe practicedpracticedpracticedpracticed bybybyby
sedentarysedentarysedentarysedentary peoplepeoplepeoplepeople whowhowhowho dodododo nononono weightweightweightweight training.training.training.training.
If you’re still not convinced there’s something to this, Kiefer has plenty of testimonials for you.
NPC bodybuilder David Hewett raves about it. AndAndAndAnd eliteeliteeliteelite powerlifterspowerlifterspowerlifterspowerlifters JesseJesseJesseJesse Burdick,Burdick,Burdick,Burdick, JasonJasonJasonJason
Pegg,Pegg,Pegg,Pegg, andandandand BrianBrianBrianBrian CarrollCarrollCarrollCarroll havehavehavehave allallallall benefitedbenefitedbenefitedbenefited as well (Carroll and Burdick have even achieved
single-digit body fat percentages—a rarity for someone not competing in physique competition).

4. Elite lifter Jesse Burdick didn’t get to look like this by eating oatmeal and egg whites in the
morning.
WhatWhatWhatWhat IIII LikeLikeLikeLike AboutAboutAboutAbout ItItItIt
ItItItIt’’’’ssss fun!fun!fun!fun! Almost every day feels like a “cheat” day on this plan. You can eat all sorts of heinous
foods without worrying how they affect your waistline. And again, as with The Carb Nite Solution,
you don’t have the stress of having to count anything. If you’re the type who can’t stick with a
regimented plan, this is as good as it’s going to get for you.
ItItItIt worksworksworksworks fast.fast.fast.fast. Even if you don’t use Kiefer’s supplements or follow the program to the letter,
you’ll still see results quickly. My assumption is that consuming carbs at night is such a departure
for most people that the shock it provides to the body alone is enough to speed the metabolism and
see fat loss. At least that was my experience.
ItItItIt fitsfitsfitsfits perfectlyperfectlyperfectlyperfectly withwithwithwith aaaa busybusybusybusy schedule.schedule.schedule.schedule.Even though I just stated that it’s a departure for most
people, Carb Back-loading is at the same time just a few steps removed from most people’s
ingrained habits. (They just happen to be crucialsteps.) Most of us tend not to wake up feeling
hungry, but we eat breakfast anyway because everything we’ve read says we should. Or maybe we
drink coffee and skip it like Kiefer says to but we start eating carbs much earlier in the day than
we ought to. Because we work from nine to five, we typically only get a meal at lunch and then
tend to eat most of our calories at dinner or afterward when we have free time after work.
Now imagine if we just fasted or ate protein
and fat in the morning, kept carbs to a
minimum, trained at night, and made a point
of carbing up after the workout. ItItItIt’’’’ssss aaaa mattermattermattermatter
ofofofof makingmakingmakingmaking aaaa fewfewfewfew gentlegentlegentlegentle tweakstweakstweakstweaks totototo aaaa routineroutineroutineroutine
wewewewe’’’’rererere alreadyalreadyalreadyalready comfortablecomfortablecomfortablecomfortable with.with.with.with. That’s a lot
easier than trying to adopt a more standard
fitness diet where you’re eating five small,
well-balanced, and “clean” meals throughout
the day, beginning with a large carb-laden
breakfast.
WhatWhatWhatWhat ToToToTo ConsiderConsiderConsiderConsider
LikeLikeLikeLike thethethethe CarbCarbCarbCarb NiteNiteNiteNite plan,plan,plan,plan, itititit maymaymaymay notnotnotnot bebebebe healthyhealthyhealthyhealthy long-term.long-term.long-term.long-term. I can picture the pundits at the
American Dietetic Association looking aghast at Kiefer’s meal plans. As anyone familiar with
bodybuilding diets knows, there’s a distinction that needs to be made between losing fat healthily
and just losing it. There’s a difference between performance nutrition and health nutrition.
Eating sugar- and fat-rich foods can certainly aggravate blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but
if your body fat is going down, one can make the argument that you’re still improving health.
While I think Kiefer’s general tenet of consuming carbs at night is a great guideline to follow for
the rest of one’s life, extreme feedings of junk foods shouldn’t be maintained for long periods.
That’s just common sense, and Kiefer doesn’t argue it. If you’re concerned about eating too much
junk food, stay instead with cleaner carbs like grains and potatoes.
ItItItIt’’’’ssss hardhardhardhard totototo gaugegaugegaugegauge progressprogressprogressprogress withoutwithoutwithoutwithout counting.counting.counting.counting. The big advantage to counting calories and
macros over the course of a diet is that it gives you some basic measure of how much you’re
consuming, and you get a sense of how each kind of nutrient affects you. While Kiefer has rightly

5. pointed out that caloriecaloriecaloriecalorie needsneedsneedsneeds fluctuatefluctuatefluctuatefluctuate dailydailydailydaily basedbasedbasedbased onononon aaaa numbernumbernumbernumber ofofofof processesprocessesprocessesprocesses inininin thethethethe body,body,body,body, not
counting anything can be like flying blind—especially if you’re a beginning dieter who’s not very
in tune with his body or has no concept of how much he’s really eating. If you find you’re not
gaining weight or getting leaner, you may want to start estimating how much protein and carbs
you’re taking in and adjust accordingly.
OnOnOnOn AAAA PersonalPersonalPersonalPersonal NoteNoteNoteNote
I’ve had great success with Carb
Back-loading, and have turned many
others on to it who have also done
well. We all looked and felt better
within a week’s time. The scale goes
up yet you look leaner in the mirror.
Energy during workouts is never a
problem, as some might suspect it
would be without carbs beforehand.
In fact, looking back, eating the
standard ration of egg whites and
oatmeal before training made me feel downright sleepy compared to going to the gym after a plate
of bacon and whole eggs, or just black coffee.
There are other diets out there that bear strong similarities to Kiefer’s method, such as the
modified Warrior Diet that Michael Keck has championed, and The Renegade Diet by Jason
Ferruggia (discussed HERE). All of these approaches use fasting and have you eating most of your
carbs at night, which I think are the take-home points. The rest is just details.
Eat this at night, and a lot of other stuff, and you’ll be fine.
FurtherFurtherFurtherFurther ReadingReadingReadingReading
The Carb Back-loading e-book is available HERE. He generously gives away a considerable
amount of information and strategy for this approach on his site, dangerouslyhardcore.com, and in
various articles he’s done for fitness magazines and other sites. Blend H is available at
proteinfactory.com. Leucine and creatine can be found at truenutrition.com, per Kiefer’s
recommendation.