Hi, I am cutting, currently doing carb cycling. This is the first time I have cut in a long time and I am not sure if I am making progress appropriately or if I need to switch things up. The two pictures are three full weeks apart and yes I am more tan in the second one.
I am coming back after close to seven months off lifting, so all this seems “new” to me again. I just want to know if I am making progess at a proper pace, or if I need to adjust my calories and or macros.
Thank you
*** Just as a side note, I am coming off a long course of corticosteroid therapy from which, I developed secondary HTN, so bulking is not an option until I get that under control. I DO intend to bulk again, and for a long time once it is feasible, but right now I would like to get back to tip top shape first.
The scale is down like 4-7 pounds depending on the carb day lol… I can’t see much difference either, which is why I am re-evaluating, but I also don’t know if three weeks is enough time? I dunno, thanks for your input though.
I make use of carb cycling, and I’ll tell you that very often, the results towards the beginning are very subtle. I don’t know how far apart those pics were taken, but so long as I’m dropping a lb a week, I stay the course.
3 weeks is definitely not enough time to notice big changes in my opinion, especially since you are not doing a very low carb diet, which would cause you to lose a lot of water initially. If you are down 4-7 pounds in that time, sounds like you are doing things right. I would keep doing what you’re doing and assess in another month.
I keep them in. Up until last week, I was still at about 200g of carbs a day, except for every third day, when I would keep them under 50g (that’s when I would do my interval work). This week (2 weeks out), I dropped to about 160g, my morning oatmeal, and my pre-training finibars. I figure these are the two most important times to keep carbs if you want to maximize muscle retention.
So those are the two times you keep them in up until the big day? I always thought people had to go to completely zero to deplete fully, but didn’t understand how they’d look full on stage and not flat.
[quote]earthquake wrote:
So those are the two times you keep them in up until the big day? I always thought people had to go to completely zero to deplete fully, but didn’t understand how they’d look full on stage and not flat.
Thanks Stu[/quote]
They ALL carb load before the contest. Manipulation of body water is the other issue. No bodybuilder wants to look flat on stage even though sometimes they miss the mark because playing around with body water is tricky. I look flat after about 3 days of low carb.
I have also found it takes about 2 full days for me to fill back out completely and my weight can fluctuate around 5-8lbs from that alone…meaning I could weigh a certain weight on Tuesday night looking flat but if I hit the carbs hard after that, but Thursday night I could be 8lbs heavier or more and more filled out.
[quote]earthquake wrote:
So those are the two times you keep them in up until the big day? I always thought people had to go to completely zero to deplete fully, but didn’t understand how they’d look full on stage and not flat.
Thanks Stu[/quote]
They ALL carb load before the contest. Manipulation of body water is the other issue. No bodybuilder wants to look flat on stage even though sometimes they miss the mark because playing around with body water is tricky. I look flat after about 3 days of low carb.
I have also found it takes about 2 full days for me to fill back out completely and my weight can fluctuate around 5-8lbs from that alone…meaning I could weigh a certain weight on Tuesday night looking flat but if I hit the carbs hard after that, but Thursday night I could be 8lbs heavier or more and more filled out. [/quote]
Prof X, do you think carb cycling is an optimal approach to putting on size? I have been eating my way up the scale and weights and if I could still move the scale and weights up with less fat gain then why not? or do you believe a former skinny newb can benefit from the extra weight gain via getting stronger, leverage, homeostasis, etc.
So far my approach has been pretty simply. Get 6 to 7 big meals a day and lose the carbs before bed, no supps or anything fancy just whey protein if in need of meal replacement. an amen to the carb thing i lose about 4 pounds between 5PM and 8AM. After eating carbs and drinking water all day I weigh in at 5PM at around 179-181 and wake up at 174-177.
Little over 9 weeks cutting. I have stalled out the last two weeks WRT the scale. With my health back in tact, should i just go back to bulking? I’m really unhappy with my progress and how I look so I don’t really know what to do.
[quote]Detroitlionsbaby wrote:
Little over 9 weeks cutting. I have stalled out the last two weeks WRT the scale. With my health back in tact, should i just go back to bulking? I’m really unhappy with my progress and how I look so I don’t really know what to do. [/quote]
Forgot the pic
My diet is currently
5 Low carb around 100g carb
1 no carb
1 medium around 150 carb
Should I just switch over to keto? Or do I just not have enough mass to be ripped with my bodytype? My health is back in order, so I think I would be safe bulking.
I would keep your basic numbers, but throw in a high day, where you force down about 250-300g of carbs (you can lower protein on this day). I know, I know, people have fought me on this for fear of putting on fat, but you NEED that high day for the lower days to have the desired effect on your body (it’s the whole “we can’t have good without bad argument” -lol)
[quote]Detroitlionsbaby wrote:
Little over 9 weeks cutting. I have stalled out the last two weeks WRT the scale. With my health back in tact, should i just go back to bulking? I’m really unhappy with my progress and how I look so I don’t really know what to do. [/quote]
Forgot the pic
My diet is currently
5 Low carb around 100g carb
1 no carb
1 medium around 150 carb
Should I just switch over to keto? Or do I just not have enough mass to be ripped with my bodytype? My health is back in order, so I think I would be safe bulking.[/quote]
Did you start off like this or build up to it? Whats your training look like? How much cardio/conditioning work?
Listen, you are making progress. Think of how long you weren’t dieting, do you think all those years can be overcome in 6 or 7 weeks? Let’s see your cardio, let’s see your diet, and lifting schedule. Fat loss is a long process, especially if you are trying to retain as much muscle as possible.
Trust me, once you get very lean you will have a great rebound effect and it will help you when you start to bulk again. You will tolerate carbs better as well. Don’t get discouraged, dieting isn’t as easy as bulking which is why everyone likes to bulk but no one likes to cut…
[quote]jb99 wrote:
Listen, you are making progress. Think of how long you weren’t dieting, do you think all those years can be overcome in 6 or 7 weeks? Let’s see your cardio, let’s see your diet, and lifting schedule. Fat loss is a long process, especially if you are trying to retain as much muscle as possible.
Trust me, once you get very lean you will have a great rebound effect and it will help you when you start to bulk again. You will tolerate carbs better as well. Don’t get discouraged, dieting isn’t as easy as bulking which is why everyone likes to bulk but no one likes to cut…[/quote]
Thank you guys for the response and JB thanks for the motivation
M: Chest Shoulders cardio
T: Hamstring Back
W: Quads, Abs, Arms cardio
TH: Cardio
F: Chest
Sa: Back cardio
Su: Shoulders
My diet is around 250g Protien and about 150g fat and then the altered carbs.
Fats are exclusively from avocado or flaxseed meal + cheese
Protein is chicken, Tuna, Egg whites for every meal
