Carb Cycling

[NicholasRoco]

>Be carb cycling

eggs, boneless skinless chicken breast&thighs, fat free cottage cheese, fat free milk and protein shakes for no carb days.

eggs, chicken, full fat cottage cheese, fat free milk, protein shakes, oatmeal and homemade bread (carbs for only 2 out of 6 meals) on low carb days

and all of the above but 5 out of 6 meals i consume a lot more carbs than low day for my high carb day.



I'm curious if i'm missing out on other foods to incorporate OR if someone is good with this particular diet, could i get some pointers/ meal plan for carb cycling???


just trying to make sure i get enough calories for growth while reaping the 'cutting' benefits of the carb cycle

again, OP is rather new, any help would be appreciated

[MrBillson]

So many carb cycling threads recently.

Just drop the silly cycling and compose a sensible diet. You're doing yourself no favours with these low carb days.

And why on earth are you consuming reduced fat products?

[beastlymandude]

1) A list of foods you may eat on a particular day without the macronutrient breakdown of your diet makes it impossible for anyone to assist you with your goals. We need your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and macros. Go here to calculate them: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=156380183

2) After calculating your TDEE, pick a goal:
- For weight gain, add 10-20% to your TDEE.
- For weight loss, subtract 10-20% from your TDEE.

Fulfill your calorie/macro/micro requirements with foods you enjoy (use common sense and practice moderation) while comprising the majority of your diet from whole or minimally processed foods.

3) There is no benefit to carb cycling. It's unnecessary. You can keep your carb intake the same every day if you want.

4) Your diet looks highly deficient in micronutrients and dietary fat, and it looks insanely bland and unvaried. Include a wider variety of foods in your diet. Also, why are you eating 6 meals a day?

5) Are you strength training? If not, pick a routine from right here on BB.com (preferably one that focuses around compound lifts and progressive overload).

6) Read through the Nutrition stickies because you seem to be lacking basic knowledge about nutrition.

If you have questions, feel free to ask.

[NicholasRoco]

1) A list of foods you may eat on a particular day without the macronutrient breakdown of your diet makes it impossible for anyone to assist you with your goals. We need your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) and macros. Go here to calculate them: forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=156380183

2) After calculating your TDEE, pick a goal:
- For weight gain, add 10-20% to your TDEE.
- For weight loss, subtract 10-20% from your TDEE.

Fulfill your calorie/macro/micro requirements with foods you enjoy (use common sense and practice moderation) while comprising the majority of your diet from whole or minimally processed foods.

3) There is no benefit to carb cycling. It's unnecessary. You can keep your carb intake the same every day if you want.

4) Your diet looks highly deficient in micronutrients and dietary fat, and it looks insanely bland and unvaried. Include a wider variety of foods in your diet. Also, why are you eating 6 meals a day?

5) Are you strength training? If not, pick a routine from right here on BB.com (preferably one that focuses around compound lifts and progressive overload).

6) Read through the Nutrition stickies because you seem to be lacking basic knowledge about nutrition.

If you have questions, feel free to ask.

thanks for the honest insight.

i do need to do more research on my own, been going off of fad/here-say information i guess...

[kencasehall]

I would not neglect healthy fats. For instance, my macros look something like:
220 g protein / 35 g fat / 400 g carbs on heavy training days (oats, egg whites, low fat meats, potatoes, rice, veg, fruits, protein shake, greek yogurt)
200 g protein / 85 g fat / 200 g carbs on "off days" (complex carbs, salmon, steak, veg, fruits, whole eggs, PB)
That would average out 210 g protein / 60 g fat / 300 g carbs = ~2600 calories

[MrBillson]

I would not neglect healthy fats. For instance, my macros look something like:
220 g protein / 35 g fat / 400 g carbs on heavy training days (oats, egg whites, low fat meats, potatoes, rice, veg, fruits, protein shake, greek yogurt)
200 g protein / 85 g fat / 200 g carbs on "off days" (complex carbs, salmon, steak, veg, fruits, whole eggs, PB)
That would average out 210 g protein / 60 g fat / 300 g carbs = ~2600 calories

That eating plan is horrendous.

[musicman725]

I made the mistake of doing cycling for a while. In theory it sounds great- give your body the calories on weight lifting days to build muscle, take them away on cardio/off days to burn fat. But our bodies don't work that simply. Your body doesn't immediately utilize what you feed it, maybe not even the same day. You'll notice most endurance athletes carb up the night before an event, not 30 minutes before. Because your body's utilization isn't instantaneous, carb cycling is pretty much useless unless you just enjoy eating more on lifting days. If you like the idea of building muscle without much fat, then go on a very slow bulk (like 250 calorie surplus) and lift. Heavy and frequently. You'll gain some fat but not much. Cheers.

[kencasehall]

Ok.

Either way, you need to eat more healthy fats especially on your low carb days.

[MrBillson]

Ok.

Either way, you need to eat more healthy fats especially on your low carb days.

The diet plan you posted leaves you deficient in dietary fat.

I think you should learn the basics of nutrition and start applying them to your own diet before trying to advise others.