Calorie Undulation VS Constant Intake On Off Days
Not sure if this is more suited for weight gain or weight loss since, it is mainly for neither. Really just general nutrition and eating but related to different exercise programs.
Any of y’all have any experience with calorie undulation via carb cycling?
By that i mean if your daily average is 2,800 calories for the week you add up the calorie count for each day and divide by 7 like the below:
Sunday: 2,650
Monday: 3,000
Tuesday: 2,650
Wednesday: 3,000
Thursday: 2,650
Friday: 3,000
Saturday: 2,650
To make up the difference in calories, the change is about 90% through carb reduction/increase with the last 10% with fats and proteins.
As opposed to just eating 2,800 calories a day every day.
I am doing a MWF full body split with tues/thurs/sat low volume single body part days, plus off on Sundays so i am doing the above calorie rotation. This is the first time I’ve run a program with low volume/off days instead of 6 days a week.
So far i am liking it but i was curious if anyone has done anything similar, but maybe with bigger/smaller calorie gaps, or just any other info or thoughts on it.
Not necessarily looking for feedback on my current plan, but more or less curious if anyone has ever done something similar but instead of 3000/2650 they did something like 3250/2400 and felt better on training days, saw better/worse results, etc
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This is just a maintenance diet showing that uve uped ur calories on the days of ur heavier work out. I deffinately wont consider this carb cycling. Just general maintenance. U cld mess with the timing of ur macros...??
I know that, it’s maintenance. i am asking about other people’s opinions/experiences running similar eating plans with similar training plans, not necessarily feedback on mine. I’ll clarify IN my OP.
It is a form of carb cycling though. Carbs are the only thing being modified daily (as a majority at least). Calorie undulation through cycling carbs in and out.
I gotcha.. I've carb cycled before w decent results. My problem was discipline, refeed days I tend to go crazy or my mapped out food schedule would get off course. Any diet can be difficult but any time u make it a more extreme or advanced, u better be committed. Now my metabolism is slow as fuck, so I cld use a advanced diet for speeding up metabolism, fighting a fat burning plateau, or aiding in recovery. At 25, imo, u need to be eating clean and a proper balanced macro plan. Surplus or deficit based on ur goals.. Unless ur competing or dealing w some health issues.. Its hard to say want uve got going on w ur plan because theres not macros layed out other than what ur doing with the difference in cals.. But I understand what ur doing.
That’s why i tend to stay away from refeed days. Mainly because it takes away calories from my others day, and then when I’m hungry in those days i tend to want to eat more.
As far as goals i am doing a slow reverse diet until New Years, so this way if i do decide i want to compete next year i will be starting off in a much better spot and have a faster metabolism/more calories to cut out.
For now I’m just enjoying the ride i guess haha
Carb cycling can be effective if done right. If done wrong it can be horrible. So, it's up to you to get it right! You don't seem to be swinging big differences in calories.
Personally I just stick to the basics. I think obviously the most important time to get protein is whey waking up, 30 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbs within 30 minutes of training and casein before bed.
The rest I think should be split evenly through the day.
Some guy can train only 3 days a week but most of us I think need each part twice weekly. For me that's a 6 day routine.