MORE carbs better for me?

[Hardness23]

Does any competitor feel they keep off fat easier when they eat MORE carbs ? I feel better, look better and train harder when I eat alot of slow digesting carbs throughout the day. When I cut carbs I feel heavier and according to the scale I gain weight. Is this normal? I don't know what to do then when I actually have to get my bf% down lower, increase or decrease the carbs. Everyone to include my nutritionist says cut carbs when cutting, but I never feel this benefits me. HELP!?

[MauiZos]

Ultimately you do what works for you and your body. What might work for the majority, doesn't necessarily suit every individual. Listen to your body over other people!

[Lckymii]

When you need to get your body fat down lower you could try cycling carbs, and not go as low as another person does. For example you may find that no carb days don't work for you so just have a small, medium and large carb day. Or if carb cycling yeilds no benefit in fat loss add more cardio and calorie cycle. I am sure if you play around with things you will find a program that yields results for your body.

[kaspar_19]

I actually experience quite the same thing! I was trying to find some information on this a while back, because I do appear to stay leaner when I eat more carbs as well. The thing is, there isn't very much information on pro-carb people at all, because protein is emphasized as the most magic macronutrient of them all. Don't get me wrong, I love my protein, but I find that I need to keep my protein at a MAX of 1 g/1b of body weight if I want to stay lean (which is still a fair amount of protein, according to non-body builders). Some people talk about keeping their protein at 50% calories, but my body would completely revolt!! I am sure that I gain weight, both on the scale, and both visually, when I up my protein intake. I also, oddly enough, appear to gain muscle faster, and recover from exercise quicker when I eat more carbs. I eat a moderate amount of carbs, but adding healthy fats keeps my blood sugar really stable as well (which makes up for the lowered protein intake).

I'm a pretty strong believer in "metabolic typing." Just as no two people look alike, the way that their cells respond to nourishment differ as well. I mean, think about it... some people have allergies or sensitivities to particular foods, and others do not. Everybody's body chemistry is different, and I'm pretty sure that everyone needs different ratios of macronutrients for their bodies to thrive and maintain a balance (including a balance ofhormones, such as cortisol, and others that may produce cravings). I would be interested in learning more about this, but the fact is that metabolic typing isn't thoroughly explored (or accepted by some people). There is no "right" diet that everybody should embrace, but there are diets that are right for particular people.

If you find that you are staying leaner when you eat carbs, I would continue to do so. Your body knows what ratios work best for you. Your goal is, after all, to reach your personal genetic potential (at least, that's what I'm assuming) and the best way to do that is to nourish your body with what you respond to best. When you are cutting, I think the key is to consume carbs that have a low glycemic index. Carbs are, essentially, the only macronutrient that will raise blood sugar. To lower the glycemic impact of a meal, I usually make sure to consume moderate amounts of healthy fats and healthy proteins along with my carbs.

If anyone has time, I would be interested in hearing more about their experiences with what ratios work best for them, and in particular...if there are more people out there like me and Hardness23, who need more carbs to stay lean.

[breathingsky]

If anyone has time, I would be interested in hearing more about their experiences with what ratios work best for them, and in particular...if there are more people out there like me and Hardness23, who need more carbs to stay lean.

Not sure if I 'need' them to stay lean, as I've managed to get pretty lean on both a very low carb and a moderate carb diet. Right now my macro breakdown is about 140p/125c/30f. I prefer this to the carb cycling I've done in the past, which looked something like: Mon 100g, Tues 75g, Wed 50g, Thurs 25g, Fri/Sat 0g, Sun cheat day. On the cycle diet I was practically brain dead for three days a week, had a lot less energy, and was lifting much lighter weight. I prefer the moderate carb diet because I get to enjoy more foods that like, I'm able to make larger increases in strength, and have more energy overall. So basically, I suffer less but the BB benefits are the same

[Lckymii]

I don't really know if I qualify either but I find that when I have low to no carb days I am a walking zombie. I have been doing my fall semester right now and you can definitely tell when I tried carb cycling, my grades dropped considerably. It was just so hard for me to think and my thoughts were incoherent. So I have stuck with moderate carbs (like breathingsky) with good results so far. I am coming off of a bulk and losing about .5 to 1 lb a week with moderate to high amounts of complex carbs.

[Hardness23]

I felt the same way when I tried cycling carbs and don't like being mentally incoherent either. I think my problem might have been that when I was cutting carbs, I was also causing a huge calorie deficit. I think being on a low carb diet makes you feel like crap, being on a low calorie diet makes you feel like crap, but being on both is that much worse. So now I am trying to have 40% of my calories come from protein, 40% from fats, and 20% from carbs. I bought some ground flax meal and I put it on all my foods to compensate for my fats and I feel a little better, I think it really helps with slowing digestion and leveling blood sugar/appetite. Before my workouts I'm going to have my carbs in the form of juice mixed with creatine for energy. I'll see how this goes.

But I must say, if I was not getting ready for competition, I would NOT EVER cycle carbs, I would have a moderate carb intake because I feel the best and put on massive muscle NATURALLY and not much fat. I feel that eating carbs have played just as big of a role in putting on muscle as protein, and would never sacrifice them in a muscle building phase. As a matter of fact, I think women CAN put on alot of muscle if their diet allows. Everyone says we don't have testosterone so we can't put on much muscle naturally. Well there are psychological studies which showed that when women were told they couldn't perform as well on the same test as men, they didn't. And when they weren't told anything, they scored just as well if not better on the test. I mean I know that women can't physically become like Arnold back in the day, but I feel we underestimate how much muscle we really can put on because when we start to put on a little fat, we freak out and cut carbs and start with the cardio. Anyways, your muscles need carbs for recovery and definitely to grow. I wish there were more studies on high carb vs high protein muscle gains.

I had the opportunity to have dinner with Mrs. Fitness Universe 2005 a while ago, and she told me that high protein diets don't work for her either and that she eats alot of vegetables and starchy foods. So that does show you that everyone is different and to be careful who you listen to. Sometimes I think nutritionists can be a complete waste of money! Well unless you're very overweight of course.

[kaspar_19]

I completely agree with what you are saying about building muscle!!! I am very good at putting on muscle quite quickly if I put enough energy into it, and I don't gain much fat either! It sounds like we have much the same body type!

P.S. This may be an odd question, but are you of Northern European descent?? This might explain the reason for our similarities (genetic descent)

[Scarl3tbutt3rfly]

My understanding is people with the more mesomorph type phenotype usually tolerate and handle carbs better than mesomorphs and they usually put on muscle mass easier without gaining as much fat. Could this be what it is?

[Hardness23]

Well yes I am of Euroopean descent! Not sure about the mesomorph thing