Carb Cycling General Questions
Good morning everyone. If you have a moment, I have some questions that I'd appreciate your opinions on.
Carb cycling. I've done some research from various sources, and many of them are similar but slightly different. I am considering using this method to shred down and lose some stubborn body fat I've had left over from being overweight as an adolescent. The issue that I don't understand though is how to implement it properly, what amount my macros should be at for carbs on high and low days, and when these high/ low days should be.
A diet I've been following for quite some time has worked fairly well, but I know my body is also at a plateau and has been for a while. This diet would keep me at 6 meals a day, protein concumption is around 200 grams a day, fats around 80-90 grams, and I would either slowly add or remove 60 grams of carbs from each meal depending on if I'm bulking or cutting.
Now I haven't always had the same diet, but I've been training for about 8 years now and made some great progress. Went from 205 pounds of fat to 135 pounds, then started lifting over the next few years. Currently, I'm 26, 5'7", and about 168 at 14% body fat.
So back to carb cycling. I guess the biggest issue is that I don't know what the best way to properly implement this diet would be in order to ensure that I can still steadily gain muscle while also trimming the excess crap fat I don't need. I have only tried it once before but I think my high and low days were spread too far apart because my energy levels dropped significantly and made training difficult. If anyone has some words of wisdom or advice, I would greatly appreciate it!
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Here's an example of how it could look:
*Nc = No Carbs
Low, Low, High, Nc, Low, Low, High, repeat.
On Low Day. Fats and Protein higher, low Carbs
On High Day, Carbs and Protein higher, low Fats
On NC, same as Low but just no Carbs.
Macros adjusted per the amount of meals during the day and when your workout is.
This is a very rough draft but can give you a starting point.
for me the best option is 80g before trainning and 80 after trainning and protein 200g, my weight 170lb
There is some carb cycling info in this post
https://www.eroids.com/forum/training-nutrition-diet/weight-loss/structu...
basskiller89Carb cycling will work if you total calorie expenditure is below what's needed. From experience when dieting I notice that if my carbs go below 150 grams I start to get headaches. Your brain is used to getting roughly 150 grams or less of glucose daily, and when it doesn't get that it begins to develop ketones and burn fat for fuel. That's usually what that drained feeling is. You'd actually still build ketones on 150 grams of carbs most likely but wouldn't feel as sluggish. You could probably safely get 150g protein a day, slash fats down to like 30-40g a day and keep your carbs high with great fat loss. Really there's not right answer here. You have to see what you feel best doing. Hope any of that helps brother
AnonThank you for the reply Sir. And that’s were part of the confusion comes in. All of the sources I am finding from various sites are giving me different recommendations for amounts of carbs to cycle, what and when the high/low days should be, etc. It’s been pretty frustrating trying to figure out the diet since I think my training plan is for the solid. Of course nothing is perfect and I’m sure I could definitely re-find my training plan as well, I just don’t know what else I am doing wrong in regards to diet. Having lower fat and higher carbs did help me gain some decent, mostly lean weight, but I gained a decent amount of adipose as well. Yet, having lower carbs and higher fats has only lead to super slow progress (maybe 2-3 pounds of fat mass lost over almost 4 weeks now).
Again, I appreciate the responses from you guys, just trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong or what I should adjust. Cheers
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.Permalinkbasskiller89For me what works best is 150g protein, 250g carbs, 30f, that combined with weights daily and / or some weekly cardio on cycle = fat disintegration. It literally melts off if you're on good quality gear and working out. For me personally, anything below 150g carbs results in headaches and fatigue. I like to take in 50g carbs every 2 hours to keep my brain happy. It probably won't work as well if you take in 150g at once, but the body is pretty smart so it'll hang onto some glucose knowing the brain wants it. Maybe placebo, but I find giving my body 50g carbs every 2 hours melts fat and keeps me mentally sharp
I don't think you did anything wrong, sometimes you slash carbs and look fatter bc you lose IM water retention lol add 300g carbs back and you look leaner. Just know that if you're consuming 2k calories on cycle and working out you're gonna blast the fat off
RustyhookerMagnifying glass...find makwa, medex ....tgey have plans laid out in their forums. Click on their avatar, click forums. You can read anyones forums doing that too.
Calories too low will also add fat to the body. Body see it as starving and adds to storage.
AnonThank you Sir. I don't know who the veterans on this site are yet since I just registered, but I will look them up and see what their threads cover.
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.Permalink