Carb rotation

[GunnaBbuff]

I have been reading in some of the posts about carb rotation, What is that and does anyone know where I can find some infor about it?
Thanks
Mary Ellen

[Iron-T]

basically you alternate high and low carb days. you have to experiment what works for you, but in general you consume more carbs on heavy training days and less on you cardio or off days. You adjust your carb intake according to activity level ( common sense, since carbs provide energy ).
For example ..say you normally consume 100 gr carbs a day : drop down to half that for two days and then bump it up to 150 or 200 for one day, before you start cycle again. The amount and the days vary for everybody. It is a great way to lose fat and gain muscle, plus your metabolism periodically adjusts and therefore keeps elevated !
Read about the 'zig-zag' diet on 'drsquat.com'

[Mickey]

Iron-T did you tried this diet? Maybe you could give me a more expanded opinion about it? It's something like the ABCDE diet, only for a shorter amount of time?

Sorry for all the Q's bro...don't have time to read the zig-zag diet right now.

Thnx

[MsFit]

Iron T is a lady and the method she is suggesting does work. It's carb rotation, not ABCDE diet which you gorge one week and deplete the next. Carb rotation keeps the body in shock and prevents adaption. I've used this approach for contest and it was worked wonders. Rotate high/med/low and even 0 carb days if necessary.
MsFit

[Mickey]

Thnx for the info.
Sorry for the misunderstanding Iron-T.

[GunnaBbuff]

Msfit,
I was wondering if there is a book on carb rotation, I am interested in the details of the diet. How many carbs are considered high, how many days to do each one ect. Thank you for your help.
Mary Ellen

[MsFit]

GunnaBbuff, it's not something I found in any book persea...I've been dieting and competing for years and have used many different approaches as well as trail and error. I decided to rotate my carbs daily to prevent staleness and it proved to be beneficial. The amount of carbs you rotate depend on your stats if your goal is fat loss. The amount of carbs that work for me will differ for you. What are your stats?
MsFit

[utblazer]

Originally posted by Iron-T
basically you alternate high and low carb days. you have to experiment what works for you, but in general you consume more carbs on heavy training days and less on you cardio or off days. You adjust your carb intake according to activity level ( common sense, since carbs provide energy ).
For example ..say you normally consume 100 gr carbs a day : drop down to half that for two days and then bump it up to 150 or 200 for one day, before you start cycle again. The amount and the days vary for everybody. It is a great way to lose fat and gain muscle, plus your metabolism periodically adjusts and therefore keeps elevated !
Read about the 'zig-zag' diet on 'drsquat.com'

Hey, IRON-T,

I've been reading a lot of your replies and I'm impressed with your knowledge. I'm a PT in Austin, TX and had a quesiton for you about Carb-Rotation (Since you seem to add a lot to those kinds of posts). How can a person have 0 or 50 g of carbs a day, if after a workout alone, you need ~50g of simple sugars for the insulin spike (to help increase protein metabolism). I'm always confused about this. Do you not have any other carbs during the day, or should a person just not workout? Thanks

Ed

[KitKat]

Hi Msfit - wandering if you could also guide me on approx amounts of carbs to use on rotation. At the moment I have about 130g carb daily (about the same protein & 20ishg fat) I'm looking to lose the last few pounds & am 5'3, 127lbs & approx 18% bf.
thanks

[SlickRick]

If you are looking for max fat loss and factors such as your bodyfat levels will have variance in terms of 'carb rotation.' For max fat loss just eat at slightly above maintenance keeping carbs very high, getting good amounts of protein and low fat.

Carb rotations tend to work for some and tend to not work on others. My opinion? THey work in general if you know when to eat carbs and at what times. Also having more 'carb up' days in your rotation would lead to lower fat loss (you still lose fat, but not as fast) yet more muscle gain. It's all a compromise.

The real reason why carb ups work is simply for the hormone leptin though there are other reasons. Do a search on 'leptin' and you will see what I mean.

[sessa]

I have never carb loaded. I am looking to put on some mass, then I will worry about loosing bf later. I am 5'9 140 pds, 25%bf.

Could you look over my diet and see if you can give any suggestions? I would really appreciate it.
Meal 1 (8:00) 475 calories
- 1/2 cup uncooked oatmeal
- protein powder
- 1/2 cup sk milk
- fruit

Meal 2 (10:45) 275
-3/4 cup cottage cheese
-1/2 cup canned fruit no added sugar
-1/2 cup of fresh berries

Meal 3 (12:45) 450
-large chicken breast (or 1 cup chickpeas)
-3 cups of lettuce & spinach
-1 cup of veggies
-2 tsp low fat dressing
or chicken sandwich with spinach, mustard dressing

Meal 4 (3:30) 500
-protein bar Trioplex (or almond butter sandwich)
-apple

workout at 5:30-7:30
sports drink & protein 200 calories

Dinner (7:30 or 8:00) 500 calories
-large chicken breast
-yam or veggies
-large salad

Late night snack (10:00) 200 calories
cottage cheese & fruit or protein shake or cereal kashi high protein

Total 2600

[SlickRick]

Well I think the nutritional profile is outstanding. Lean sources of protein, veggies and fruits which seem to have some positive partioning effects within the body. I would like to see some fish oil which would help with the partioning effects as well plus you can look even more attractive with more vital, healthier skin and hair, etc.

The calories seem a bit high for me but is your metabolism pretty good at handling higher amounts of calories? Im an endo myself and would get fat fairly easily at even slightly above maintenance (yours seem to be in the 18-20 x range)

Throw in some fish oil and drop calories just a tad bit and you are goleden imo.