Originally Posted by supercell

Paul if you work out from Toms weight the number of carbs he should be on to drop bodyfat it works out at around 180g per day, which means what he is on now is pretty much spot on. As for 'a lot of carbs', I think not, a man with the kind of muscle mass that Tom has should be shooting for at least what he is on now and let the cardio do the work.

I have worked out that for Toms weight protein should be at 352g (88kg x 4)his carbs at 176g (88kg x 2) and his fats should come from his food and also a little udos or flax and be around 70g per day. Thus his total calorific intake per day would be around 2800-2900 Kcals. As time goes by though Tom may find he could raise this a little to fill up in the last few weeks before loading.

It really depends on the strategy Tom adopts and whether he does what I did (kept cals constant and upped cardio if needed) or whether he goes down the carb cycling route. Having personally done both types of diet, for pure ease and effectiveness the 'keeping cals the same' option was far superior, as there weren't so many variables. The only thing I did do once a week was have a 'clean cheat'.

Whatever option Tom goes for it will work, it is just down to personal preferrence and what 'suits' his body type and metabolism best.

If Tom does wish to bring a fuller physique to the stage then IMO he will have to keep his carbs at 175g a day at least and maybe even increase it a little at the expense of dietary fat. Tom is not afraid of cardio and that is the trick. More cals (carbs) and more cardio, keeps you fuller, fitter and gets you shredded whilst maintaining your muscle mass; I for one would do it no other way now.

James