Ive been trying to keep my carbs below 100grams a day and have been pretty successful and I have been eating between 2500-3000 calories a day. With Carb Up day of about 250-300carbs and still no weight loss. Only thing I notice is my weight fluctuates like crazy and usually doesnt correlate with my carb up days either some days im 214 other days im 210 it just keeps bouncing about in that area for the past couple of weeks.
Here is a rough sketch of my daily intake -
9:00 -
40-50grams of Protein powder
12:00pm -
Usually El Pollo Loco chicken with corn and vegetables(its the only thing i can get at school thats not laced with carbs hmm kay)
3:30 - 3eggs with 1 protein powder 27grams or turkey or 1 can of tuna
5:00 - I have about 2 scoops of tang thats 44grams of carbs i have 15 minutes before i workout and i have 1 shake 40grams of protein during the workout
6:30 - 27 grams of protien powder
7:00 - 11 ounces of uncooked steak(i dont know how much it is cooked) 1 cup of veges
11:00pm - 1 can of tuna with 1/2 cup peanutes
This is like rough sketch i try to get in more whole foods but I can only buy so many meats lol.
And my carb up days i have been trying to do every 3 days. And its usually just whatever carb stuff i have in the house ill add to the meals like bread, ice cream( only like half a cup), fruit, rice and stuff.
And stats im 5’10" at 210lbs with a bunch of fat in my tummy lol
The start to your day seems a little odd. Going solely with 40-50 grams of protein powder? Your body can’t even absorb all that and your not really getting anything else to power you up after sleeping. There are some weird things overall with your diet choice as well.
I think it would be smart to start out with a bowl of steel cut oats (1/2 cup = 25 carbs) add some eggs and flax to make it more nutritious, or just drink your shake with it.
Also, instead of getting almost half of your carbs from sugar (Tang) try getting 'em from complex carbs instead (sweet potatoes, brown rice, quinoa etc.).
Overall it is better to get your carbs first thing in the morning and before and after workouts, and to stick with mostly complex carbs. If you want quick carbs I think fruit would be a better option, rather than pure processed sugar like Tang.
I think having a sweet potato (30g carbs), steel cut oats (25g carbs), a serving of brown rice (25g carbs), and some fruit (20g carbs) everyday to reach your 100 grams of carbs would be a much better option, making sure to eat them either in the earlier portion of the day and around your workouts.
I would also suggest having carb up days on the weekends, so probably only once a week, and trying to stick to healthier sources of carbs instead. Good breads, rice, potatoes and the like are a much better option for somebody that is trying to cut weight (especially in your stomach).
Let me know if you have any more questions. This is the path that I took (modeled from information from T-Nation) and it worked pretty well.
Carb up no more than once a week and use better carb sources than ice cream. Give it a week or 2 and if your not getting leaner either increase cardio or drop 50g of carbs from the non carb up days.
[quote]ACTrain wrote:
Carb up no more than once a week and use better carb sources than ice cream. Give it a week or 2 and if your not getting leaner either increase cardio or drop 50g of carbs from the non carb up days.[/quote]
Okay soo on my Low-Carb days Im not counting Carbs from Pre workout am I? I basically just front load Simple carbs before i workout so about 44grams 15-20min before i workout. Also Do the carbs that come from peanuts/protien shakes/other foods that are mainly protein count? I read around that some people do and don’t count those when calculating their carbs?
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
What’s your overall caloric intake per day?
You should PM elusive…[/quote]
It ranges from 2500-3000 I cant keep everything constant so it does fluctuate.
@ Westcoast - The reason i have the 40-50grams of protein is cause i have class in the morning so I just make that really fast and drink it on the way to school. And the reason i have the tang is for workout days I have 2 servings of it before I workout thats all, I dont use it as a carb source for carb up days and stuff.
I got 2 other questions-
how should one feel in general when carb cycling? I dont mean tired and stuff Because I hardly notice a difference but hunger? Even after eating my goal of the day for calories is it okay to be hungry?
And also my routine at the moment is - 6 day cycle so I workout for 5 days and 1 day of rest. If I do a carb up day on the weekend Im supposed to do it on a workout day correct? Not a rest day?
You’re fluctuating the carbs, but what does your calorie intake look like? Are the cals higher on your carb up day? and for that matter, are you eating at enough of a deficit on your normal, lower carb days to even elicit steady weight loss?
For most of my last contest diet, I had figured that my maint level of cals was about 3000 or so, so a carb up day came to about 3000-3300 cals, a regular (moderate) carb day was about 2500-2600 cals, and the low days were about 2300-2400 cals.
Honestly, id have to change some things in your shoes bro. For breakfast, id say wake up earlier. Thats probably the best time to take in carbs, aside from Post workout. You need some slow burning, Oatmeal power there. Personally, id also drop the carbs pre workout (and tang altogether) and put them instead towards your post workout, if not an actual post workout shake than atleast 40-50g of whey with a banana or something.
“Carb up” is not a get out of jail free card when it comes to cycling. Your carb sources should remain the same - Oatmeal, Yams, Brown rice, wheat pasta. If you’re gonna have fruit, have it either immediately after your workout with your shake or with breakfast, thats it. And for the love of God, no ice cream lol
[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
The start to your day seems a little odd. Going solely with 40-50 grams of protein powder? Your body can’t even absorb all that
WC7[/quote]
Whos carb cycling set-up are you guys following? Im more familiar with shelby starnes’ carb cycling which has high, medium, and low days, depending on how lean u r and how demanding ur workout is that day. i noticed opheta doesnt go above 100g of carbs…i weigh 200lbs and on my low days don’t go below 200g of carbs. Im not trying to discount other methods of carb cycling, Im just not familiar with any others.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
You’re fluctuating the carbs, but what does your calorie intake look like? Are the cals higher on your carb up day? and for that matter, are you eating at enough of a deficit on your normal, lower carb days to even elicit steady weight loss?
For most of my last contest diet, I had figured that my maint level of cals was about 3000 or so, so a carb up day came to about 3000-3300 cals, a regular (moderate) carb day was about 2500-2600 cals, and the low days were about 2300-2400 cals.
S
[/quote]
Now that I think about it my Calories stay some what the same throughout the whole process. I probably should change that
[quote]ACTrain wrote:
Carb up no more than once a week and use better carb sources than ice cream. Give it a week or 2 and if your not getting leaner either increase cardio or drop 50g of carbs from the non carb up days.[/quote]
Yeah, I have no idea what brand you are using but generally speaking ice cream has a substanstial amount of fat. When I carb-cycled my fat intake was at about 30g on high carb days, and about 70g on low/moderate days. Although, my carb intake was a lot higher in general – I took in 150g on low days and 240g on mod days. I carbed up twice a week on leg days and I had great results.
Which article did you use as a reference and how did you calculate your macros?
[quote]optheta wrote:
Okay soo on my Low-Carb days Im not counting Carbs from Pre workout am I? I basically just front load Simple carbs before i workout so about 44grams 15-20min before i workout. Also Do the carbs that come from peanuts/protien shakes/other foods that are mainly protein count? I read around that some people do and don’t count those when calculating their carbs?
[/quote]
Personally I count everything. I think a good reason to count everything is there is then no confusion on what counts and what doesn’t. When it comes down to it, everything you consume counts.
Some don’t count green veggies, I think that is fine cause I don’t know anyone who has sabotaged their goals by consuming too many green veggies. Shelby Starnes has written about not counting trace carbs in protein powders and nuts.
Pre workout definatly counts.
I think Shelby has an article on this T-Nation and look up his articles and Q&A at elitefts.
I’ve used CT’s stratagies in Refined Physique Transformation to get very lean.
[quote]optheta wrote:
how should one feel in general when carb cycling? I dont mean tired and stuff Because I hardly notice a difference but hunger? Even after eating my goal of the day for calories is it okay to be hungry?
[/quote]
When in a caloric deficit you may feel hungry. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t. This is normal.
[quote]optheta wrote:
And also my routine at the moment is - 6 day cycle so I workout for 5 days and 1 day of rest. If I do a carb up day on the weekend Im supposed to do it on a workout day correct? Not a rest day?
[/quote]
There those that favor carb up on a workout day and others that favor the carb up on a rest day. Personally I’ve done them on a workout day.
[quote]Ghost22 wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
The start to your day seems a little odd. Going solely with 40-50 grams of protein powder? Your body can’t even absorb all that
WC7
[quote]chimera182 wrote:
Ghost22 wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
The start to your day seems a little odd. Going solely with 40-50 grams of protein powder? Your body can’t even absorb all that
WC7
I’m glad someone pointed that out.[/quote]
Ya I know its not the best thing its just I wake up about hour before class starts and I have 30minutes to get ready and 30min drive, I guess I will just have to wake up earlier. Soo what are some good breakfast Ideas to have in the morning thats somewhat quick? I know alot of peopel like to eat eggs in morning but i prefer to eat them during the day :P.
Also What are your guys thoughts on eating before going to bed? I usually have a strictly Protein meal before i go to bed which would be about 30min-1hour later is that okay?
Before I manned up and woke up earlier to cook, I would just nuke a bowl of oatmeal, mix in some Metabolic Drive and some natural peanut butter and go to town. Quick, Easy, and delicious!
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Before I manned up and woke up earlier to cook, I would just nuke a bowl of oatmeal, mix in some Metabolic Drive and some natural peanut butter and go to town. Quick, Easy, and delicious!
S
[/quote]
That’s right. It doesn’t take more than 3 minutes to make a bowl of steel cut oatmeal, and there’s tons of variations you can make to suite your taste. Just have a bowl with your shake right when you wake up. Here are a couple suggestions
[quote]ACTrain wrote:
Carb up no more than once a week and use better carb sources than ice cream. Give it a week or 2 and if your not getting leaner either increase cardio or drop 50g of carbs from the non carb up days.[/quote]
I agree with train here. Do your carb ups once a week. Why would you carb up every 3 days? No wonder your weight fluctuates every day. stick with 100-125 carbs per day. Eating all your Carbs at breakfast. pre, and post workouts along with a 500-600 carb refeed once a week is all you need. Just protein for breakfast is your largest mistake for sure. That’s when your body needs the Carbs the most to fuel your day and your intense workouts.
[quote]Ya I know its not the best thing its just I wake up about hour before class starts and I have 30minutes to get ready and 30min drive, I guess I will just have to wake up earlier. Soo what are some good breakfast Ideas to have in the morning thats somewhat quick? I know alot of peopel like to eat eggs in morning but i prefer to eat them during the day :P.
Also What are your guys thoughts on eating before going to bed? I usually have a strictly Protein meal before i go to bed which would be about 30min-1hour later is that okay?
[/quote]
For breakfast add your protein powder to a blender with some oatmeal, mixed frozen berries, and water.
Before bed I have protein and fats.
2 caps Flameout
2 caps FA3
6oz Steak or 1 scoop Metabolic Drive & Brazil Nuts
