Im 6ft 168lbs and my maintenance calories are 3000 cals and some change. During my cut i kept protein and fats at 180g and 70g respectively. While i increased calories from a deficit to maintenance, i only increased carbs. My carb intake is 412g and im wondering if thats too much?
I read on this forums your body can only store so many carbs before its stored as fat, whoch would mean i need to be more active to make use of said carbs. Eating more carbs is cheaper but i also considered eating 220p/300c/100f.
Do macros really matter if youre maintaining? I plan to maintain my physique for the rest of the year until loose skin tightens up.
My experience with carbs is that at 250g a day i look amazing and feel great. Decent strength and no water retention.
At 300g i perform better and am stronger, but i look more bloated.
350g is even stronger and more bloated.
400g carbs is where i just retain water like crazy and gain no extra strength. Is cycling carbs better since i work out 3 days a week, or is 300g per day fine?
Its definitely mental. My measurements are the same. In fact, my stomach stayed the same along with weight but other body parts dropped. Im still in a deficit. Going from 250g to 412 was a big difference in water retention becsuse i have slightly loose skin. The feathering around my serratus is slightly gone. I lost some definition and vascularity along with a loss in facial definition. Im still lean, but it was mostly a vanity thing for me. I finally got pretty damn lean for the first time in my life and i wanted to maintain how i looked.
I reverse dieted 200 cals per week from 2100 and ended up at 3k cals. Im sure my body will adjust to it. The 200 cals i increased per week was straight carbs. So afding 50g a week made noticeable difference. 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400.
Do you know if fiber had anything to do with digesting carbs? I noticed after increasing carbs, constipation was a huge issue and do was the wayer retention.
After adding in fiber, not even 100% rda, the carb bloat/water retention is minimal and i dont feel or look gross.
Fiber improves motility which will lead to less inflammation. Stool can stick around longer causing a myriad of symptoms, and carbs may ferment (look into FODMAPs to learn more). This is a general statement and it is actually far more nuanced than this (many people have to increase their fiber very slowly or could end up with worse symptoms of bloat, some people actually do better with less fiber for long periods).
Thanks for the drtailed explanation. When raising carbs without any fiber, i noticed i wouldnt pass any stools for 1-2 days, sometimes 3. It went on for months and i judt glossed over it. I do notice im a lot more gassy now before bed but id rather be a little gassy than with food left in my gut. I figure having a little gas isnt that bad since it probably means im digesting my food better.
The fermentation of fiber by gut bacteria can produce a few different gases. This is a fluctuating thing depending on a lot of things I won’t get into.
I find that when supplementing with psyllium husk fiber, the first 2-3 days I am more gassy but it levels out and I end up less gassy. This kind of individuality we’ve gotta figure out for ourselves as there are so many factors involved including the type of carbs you are actually getting more of and the condition of your overall gut. For example the fructans in many breads (as well as onions and garlic) can be a problem for some people when it comes to producing gas. For some people, it’s dairy products (lactose) that can cause similar problems. All our gut microbiomes are different and changing all the time. Often there can be an adjustment period when fiddling with your diet so you may find you get less gassy over time (if it is the introduction of the fiber causing it).
Cool discussion here! It started with macros (and there’s nothing to add to @BrickHead’s post), but the culprit/ question may actually be digestion. I think you’ll have to experiement with the latter.
I think it’s one of the things that don’t get talked about enough. Many lifters underestimate the journey of eating for how it makes you feel afterward instead of in the moment. People just accept gut issues as a means to an end when it comes to gaining muscle. It seems to be a huge subject that people don’t talk about unless questioned. I mean who cares if your protein shake often makes you piss out of your ass and you cause the whole family to evacuate the room during movie night as long as your lifts are going up? The only data we care about is the log book and the scale. Many of us would do well to keep a different kind of log book, or at least try to objectively listen to our bodies when it tells us things like “rice sits on me like air, but oats make me grumble”.
With a username like @gottheruns, it might be looking him right in the face.
You’re 100% correct. I think a lot of the “detox” and whatever is nonsense, but if you’re wrecked all the time a good old-fashioned elimination diet where you then add foods back in one at a time is a great idea.
