carb cycling

[moocow0463]

so my GF is dieting down to lose a little fat and just to help encourage/support her i decided ill end my bulk now and do a cut using carb cycling. currently 178 lbs @15% would like to get to 11 12 or 13% no real goal just some improvement

going to use the following cycle

high carb day
med carb day
low carb day
high carb day
med carb day
low carb day
low carb day

low carb days will fall on off days which ill just do cardio and abs or take a complete rest day

my only concern is maybe my low carb day is slightly too low?? but ive heard people going very extreme on low carb days guess it will vary from person to person how they feel on little to no carbs?.

high carb day
meal1: 1/2 cup oatmeal 3 eggs scrambled
meal2: pb&j whole wheat bread
meal3: 3 eggs tbsp coconut oil 1/2 cup rice
meal4: 2 turkey burgers on whole wheat bun
meal5: 1 chicken breast 1 cup brown rice
snacks: veggies and 1 serving sweet potato

2500cals 243g carb 111g fat 152g protein

medium carb day
meal1: 3 eggs, 1bsp oil
meal2: 2 burgers 1/2 avacado
meal3: 3 eggs tbsp oil
meal4: 2 burgers 1 piece of fruit
meal5: 1 chicken 1/2 cup brown rice
snacks: veggies and sweet potato

2200 cals 98g carb 152g fat 141g protein

low carb day
meal1: 3eggs 1bsp oil
meal2: 2 burgers 1/2 avacado
meal3: 3 eggs 1bsp oil
meal4: 2 burgers 15 nuts
meal5: 1 piece chicken tbsp oil
snacks: veggies
2075 calories 30g carbs 170g fat 142g protein

[IronInsanity]

Do you have experience with carb cycling and these carb levels in particular? My first thought is they are all a little low. But if it's worked before then go for it.

Your fat is 74% of your cals on low carb day. Keto is only 65%.

[moocow0463]

ive never ran any type of cut diet, ive been a skinny twerp all my life so bulking has been the diet ive known for the last year or 2. i was thinking they all look a little low as well but i wasnt sure how to add more carbs and stay in range with my other macros any advice on certain meals/days would be appriciated. i actually eat quite low carb on a daily basis (could be why i gain a bit slower) but i stay lean while i bulk ive never exceeded 15% BF. my fats macros look pretty high which is where most my energy and cals come from like you said which should feed my body. but again i have no experience im all ears

was reading a guide on another site and they suggested 2g carbs per lb on high days then lowering down to .5 on low days an adjust as needed from there. which would put me over 350g of carbs on a high day. maybe some wheat pasta with ground beef and tomato sauce for meal 5

[dangerouscurves]

why not instead of "cutting" with her keep lean bulking with her instead and just keep your food clean, and to stuff you can eat, I dont care that ow eats more than me, and honestly I do amazing with Keto, he cant..... so I am in Keto and have a 4year old with delicious snacks, I make his breakfast, lunch, dinners, snack etc, as well as her dinner and can manage to keep myself in check.... I think trying to be supportive is "sweet" but she is going to either do it or not regardless of what you do, the only real help is not having garbage around to tempt her imo ... unless it is a planned cheat of course !

[moocow0463]

why not instead of "cutting" with her keep lean bulking with her instead and just keep your food clean, and to stuff you can eat, I dont care that ow eats more than me, and honestly I do amazing with Keto, he cant..... so I am in Keto and have a 4year old with delicious snacks, I make his breakfast, lunch, dinners, snack etc, as well as her dinner and can manage to keep myself in check.... I think trying to be supportive is "sweet" but she is going to either do it or not regardless of what you do, the only real help is not having garbage around to tempt her imo ... unless it is a planned cheat of course !

that makes sense, and i do eat clean :S. im not doing it JUST to support her, id like to lose a little bit and see what my gains have been over the past 2 years once i loose this layer of fat. its for me also kinda a token of gratification, i dont compete im not amatuer or pro or fitness model i compete against myself pushing to be bigger stronger and heavier then i was previous years. i dont think ill need to cut a huge % of body fat to be happy and see these results. so maybe im not going about it the right way? i dunno if any of that makes sense but its something ive wanted to do see and experience for a little while now.

i eat the same basic meals 6 days a week i mix it up on weekends but still keep it clean
current diet:
meal 1: 3eggs 1 slice cheese bowl of oats
meal2: pb & J
meal3: 3 or 4 eggs tbsp cocounut oil 3 slices turkey bacon glass of milk
meal4: 2 turkey burgers slice of cheese
meal5: brown rice and 1 chicken breast
meal6: plain greek yogurt (either 1bsp honey or 1 sccop protien)
on top of this i mix 2-3 shakes a day with oats and milk (one pre one post then one just as i feel hungry)

on avg 2700-2800 calories 200g carbs 140g fat 200+g protein
my body fat rarely increases or decreases and i think ive hit the point where im just now maintaining weight so my next bulk will need to be 3,000 calories (different topic)

occasionally substitute meal 5's chicken with steak or fish

[ItalianMuscle]

I carb cycled before, and your high carb days were nowhere close to what mine were. Your high carb days, were actually closer to my medium carb days. I took in close to 600g of carbs on high days, and around 200g on medium days, and 90g on low. That last diet is all over the place. You need to get rid of all that dairy. No more cheese, and milk. And since when is PBJ a meal??

I dont carb cycle anymore. I do something that actually works better. But here is a sample of what my medium carb cycle day was when I was carb cycling..

1st meal.. 80g carbs, 55g protein
2nd meal.. 40g carbs, 55g protein
3rd meal.. 80gcarbs, 55g protein (post workout meal)
4th meal.. 55g protein, 2 cups veggies, 8g healthy fat
5th meal.. same as 4
6th meal.. 55g protein

[dangerouscurves]

How tall are you ? Do you do cardio?

[moocow0463]

How tall are you ? Do you do cardio?

6 foot, i do a 8minute warmup on treadmill with fast walking everday before lifting. then after lifting i run at the pace of 10min mile for 10 minutes jog for a few minutes then end with a walk usually around 15-18 minutes of cardio there. on 2 of my off days i have been going outside and jog for about half mile to warmup then do hill sprints. til tired then i walk for a few minutes then sprint on flat ground and walk again. (usually takes about 20 minutes)

I carb cycled before, and your high carb days were nowhere close to what mine were. Your high carb days, were actually closer to my medium carb days. I took in close to 600g of carbs on high days, and around 200g on medium days, and 90g on low. That last diet is all over the place. You need to get rid of all that dairy. No more cheese, and milk. And since when is PBJ a meal??

I dont carb cycle anymore. I do something that actually works better. But here is a sample of what my medium carb cycle day was when I was carb cycling..

1st meal.. 80g carbs, 55g protein
2nd meal.. 40g carbs, 55g protein
3rd meal.. 80gcarbs, 55g protein (post workout meal)
4th meal.. 55g protein, 2 cups veggies, 8g healthy fat
5th meal.. same as 4
6th meal.. 55g protein

i agree with everything u said, i think my high carb day should be about 360g carbs and moderate day around 180g at least, my low day i can add some brown rice to my post workout meal rather then adding oil. like i said in previous post im not sure how to add all the extra carbs without going way over in calories. thinking ill try some pasta in the equation see how it adds up ill tinker with the total more tonight

[ItalianMuscle]

6 foot, i do a 8minute warmup on treadmill with fast walking everday before lifting. then after lifting i run at the pace of 10min mile for 10 minutes jog for a few minutes then end with a walk usually around 15-18 minutes of cardio there. on 2 of my off days i have been going outside and jog for about half mile to warmup then do hill sprints. til tired then i walk for a few minutes then sprint on flat ground and walk again. (usually takes about 20 minutes)


i agree with everything u said, i think my high carb day should be about 360g carbs and moderate day around 180g at least, my low day i can add some brown rice to my post workout meal rather then adding oil. like i said in previous post im not sure how to add all the extra carbs without going way over in calories. thinking ill try some pasta in the equation see how it adds up ill tinker with the total more tonight

Im trying to remember, but when I was carb cycling, I wasnt allowed to have pasta. I mainly used cream of wheat, cream of rice, brown rice, oatmeal, and eziekiel bread. I crave bread when I diet, so eziekiel bread works out good for me, plus its easy to measure out carbs..14g slice. Im down to 50g carbs a day right now. Going down to 30g/day in the next week or so.. Not sure what week you are in with your carb cycle, but I would slowly get rid of the high days, and replace them with the medium, so your doing just mediums/lows. Its been awhile, but at the peak of my carb cycle, I was doing 2 medium, and 5 low days.. Just depends on how lean you want to get.

[moocow0463]

Im trying to remember, but when I was carb cycling, I wasnt allowed to have pasta. I mainly used cream of wheat, cream of rice, brown rice, oatmeal, and eziekiel bread. I crave bread when I diet, so eziekiel bread works out good for me, plus its easy to measure out carbs..14g slice. Im down to 50g carbs a day right now. Going down to 30g/day in the next week or so.. Not sure what week you are in with your carb cycle, but I would slowly get rid of the high days, and replace them with the medium, so your doing just mediums/lows. Its been awhile, but at the peak of my carb cycle, I was doing 2 medium, and 5 low days.. Just depends on how lean you want to get.

ok thanks, i havent even started it yet, im not super anal about counting macros so i like to have my diet and meals planned ahead of time so i dont have to count on the fly. im very consistent in my meals as i eat the same thing day in and out substituting protein sources and types of veggies but my carb sources are always the same. medium/low days might work better for me anyway as i eat a medium/low diet typically. for example today im only at 170g carb just under 1g per lb.

adding 1 serving of rice onto my low days would put me right at 2,000 calories 50g carbs 157g fat 167g protein (without shakes)

my new highday (revised so far, think im making progress let me know if im not)
meal1: 3eggs bowl of oats
meal2: 2 pieces wheat toast, 2tbsp PB , 1bsp cinnamon
meal3: 3 eggs, 1 cup brown rice
meal4:8oz turkey burger/lean beef on whole wheat bun
meal5: 6oz chicken 1 cup brown rice
snacks: 1 medium sweet potato, 2 protein shakes with oats
cal: 3055 carbs: 311 fats: 117 prot: 209 (not including post workout shake)

[moocow0463]

Do you have experience with carb cycling and these carb levels in particular? My first thought is they are all a little low. But if it's worked before then go for it.

Your fat is 74% of your cals on low carb day. Keto is only 65%.

To address this ill be taking the oil out of meal 1 on low carb day and adding either fresh fruit or oatmeal (swapping a serving of fat for a serving of carbs) this will bring fat down and carbs up to 50 grams I'm on my phone so I
Can't calculate totals but that should be close to 65% fat if not ill sub another serving of fat with protein to lower fat even more

[ItalianMuscle]

ok thanks, i havent even started it yet, im not super anal about counting macros so i like to have my diet and meals planned ahead of time so i dont have to count on the fly. im very consistent in my meals as i eat the same thing day in and out substituting protein sources and types of veggies but my carb sources are always the same. medium/low days might work better for me anyway as i eat a medium/low diet typically. for example today im only at 170g carb just under 1g per lb.

adding 1 serving of rice onto my low days would put me right at 2,000 calories 50g carbs 157g fat 167g protein (without shakes)

my new highday (revised so far, think im making progress let me know if im not)
meal1: 3eggs bowl of oats
meal2: 2 pieces wheat toast, 2tbsp PB , 1bsp cinnamon
meal3: 3 eggs, 1 cup brown rice
meal4:8oz turkey burger/lean beef on whole wheat bun
meal5: 6oz chicken 1 cup brown rice
snacks: 1 medium sweet potato, 2 protein shakes with oats
cal: 3055 carbs: 311 fats: 117 prot: 209 (not including post workout shake)

I would use eziekel bread instead of wholewheat buns/toast, and mix up your fats and dont use peanut butter everytime.. Im big on raw olive oil. I use that mostly, and all natural peanut butter. (I take in 60g/day of olive oil, and 15g of peanut butter per day for fats) Dont be buying Jiff either. lol.. I use natural Smuckers. You actually have to mix up the oil in the peanut butter. Kinda a pain in the ass, but great stuff.

Good luck.. Carb cycling is tough. I didnt know what to expect my first time. But it does work, just be consistant..

[moocow0463]

Thanks, for oils I been using coconut oil. And no jiffy or skippy. My grocery store carries natural store brand in both creamy and chunky variations. This week has been too hectic to start a new diet with the holiday and my gf graduates college saturday so hopefully next week ill start this if I make it to the grocery store for a few thing I don't have on hand

[smawshot01]

i am going to interject a thought as a competitor that successfully carb cycles to prep. i have no idea about how lean you are trying to get but have you thought about eliminating as much sugar possible from your diet? sugar of any kind is the enemy when you are trying to get as lean as possible. at least that is how it works for me. now a lean bulk it is all good but i didnt read exactly what your goals on this run were. other than the sugar from the pb i think you have a pretty solid set up man

[moocow0463]

Thanks any input is appreciated, I eliminated all dairy took out the jelly from pb&j. I think I'm on the right track now. My low carb meal has been revised to 65/30/5 macros. I just want to lean down from 15% bf hopefully get sub 13 or 12 then I can focus on a good lean bulk and be happy bf wise. Just don't like how I look right now