phzend

I am finding one high carb day of 150g and the rest at 50g is enough for me. My only purposely eaten carb source if 50g of oats in the morning in water, although some days I do drop a few segments of fruit in my cottage cheese but I am trying to keep fruit to a minimum.

My calories are about 1900 - 2200 a day at the moment, I am 5' 8" and 13st 10lb now. The weird thing is since starting this I have more energy, no cravings for carbs and my strength is up a little. My waist is coming down well and I have gained a solid 1/8" on my arms. I also feel more full and pumped when I should be feeling depleted and flat, so I don't quite understand that. On my 150g carb up day I actually felt flat and soft which is obviously the total opposite of what I expected.

I'm certainly not in ketosis or anything, I have lots of veg and of course there are some carbs albeit small amounts in cottage cheese and nuts as well as a few in my whey (80%) PWO drink. If I start to feel 'stringy' I will not hesitate to increase cals and carbs but so far so good.

The only downside to this is insomnia, I am getting to sleep at about 12:30am but waking up at around 4 - 5am and finding it difficult to sleep, does anyone have any tips? I did notice on my 150g carb day I slept well but I am not about to ram in carbs just to sleep.

Pscarb

you have to count all carbs except those in green veg and xalad so the ones in cottage cheese count.

if your high day is 150g at 192lbs then you are not understanding what carb cycling is....the whole purpose to the method is to shock the body into burning more fat and going from 50g to 150g is not going to do it mate long term but if it is working then stick with it...
the reason why you cannot sleep on low days is because your not eating enough fats

phzend

Hi Paul,

I'll do a high carb day this Sunday and shoot for 250g to see what happens. I decided I would ram the 150g in the morning and cut off from lunch, I guess that defeats the whole purpose so I see your point, thanks for the advice

Pscarb

go for 500g of clean carbs spread throughout the day you will be suprised in the results

phzend

500g! ... I'm prepared to give that a go, I know I've been too low carb for too long now without a proper refeed so it looks like Sunday will be a Weetabix and oat day, once again, thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

JawD

Paul, are those figures based on lean body weight or total weight? Im assuming lean? Reason is I'm 215lb at the moment but hold alot of fat on my middle. Based on the above as a starting point, its around 3000cals per day. At the moment, in an effort to burn off the fat Im eating around 2000-2200 per day? If I estimated I was 18% BF then that would bring the cals in at nearer 2500.

I'm asking this while keeping in mind the need to burn off more than I consume.

Thanks,

Pscarb

this is based on weight as it is an estimate obvouisly if you are 35% BF then it won't work as well but you have to understand that you have to start some where....to many guys think dropping calories is the way to go which it is not it is about where the energy comes from to fuel your workouts and cardio sessions.
i and many other diet on 3000+ cals a day yet we get down to sub 5%BF diet alone will not work you have to train hard and do cardio if you do then you will see a difference using the numbers above how much of a difference will change from person to person hence why you need to change the numbers to suit after about a month if needed.....

JawD

Yes, Paul you have the nail on the head there, and I think Id also stick myself in that group. But, I think its finally sunk in through this thread, so thanks again. But, if I could just run this past you.

Baring in mind that I train 7AM - 8AM whether its cardio or in the gym. My thoughts were I probably want a high day before a heavy lifting session? Then perhaps I want a no day before a cardio day?

If so, it would look like this (note Ive tweaked the number to what I think I should start from):

			P	C	F	Kcal
M	Back Bi	No	262.5	87.5	131.25	2581.25
T	Cardio	Low	262.5	175	87.5	2537.5
W	Cardio or rest	High	262.5	262.5	43.75	2493.75
T	Legs shoulders	No	262.5	87.5	131.25	2581.25
F	cardio	low	262.5	175	87.5	2537.5
S	chest tri	low	262.5	175	87.5	2537.5
S	cardio	High	262.5	262.5	43.75	2493.75

Lost Soul

Correct
Carb cycling is a school of though
This is one model, not the only model
Cats can be skinned in many ways

Pscarb

JawD i don't understand the No days does this mean no carbs? if so where are the 87g from? i would switch the Low to med days and the No to Low days

JawD

Sorry that was me pasting it wrong for excel, of course you;re right. Ive changed low to med and no to low etc. Hopefully that makes more sense.

So would I be thinking along the right lines if Im training 7-8AM?

On a low day as Im at the gym, the carbs would be pre Oats and PWO the rest of the day would just be veg/salad.

Pscarb

well i would not have anything but a protein/fat drink pre-workout as i don't feel you will get the benefit from the oats so soon before training, i would have carbs from a fast source PWO then Veg the rest of the day

JawD

Thanks Paul, appreciate the input. My PWO is Cornflour. Hydrolised whey, Creatine, L-Glutamine + BCAA tabs.

Pscarb

that is fine PWO as on my low days i have fat and protein PWO but then i have carbs earlier in the day..

phzend

I've dropped another 1lb, not loads but it is steady and stable, although I do expect another 1lb loss by Friday. I did a 420g high carb day, it wasn't enjoyable but I was very pleased I avoided binging, I have been eating 100% perfect and clean for weeks now.

The weird thing is I have more energy on my low carb days and feel much better. I have just done legs and definitely gained a little strength. I was quite nervous about todays leg session because my legs do look a little smaller but I guess it is fat loss.

I haven't seen any strength loss, many exercises are up a little even if it is just 1 or 2 reps. I did cut down in 2006 but like an idiot I was running 8 - 10k a day and ended up looking like a stringy piece of ****, not a good look. I have far more confidence in this method and even though 1lb a week is slow at least it appears to be all fat.

I haven't started cardio yet, I'll probably start that from this weekend, a brisk 45 min morning walk 3 - 4 times a week for starters. I'm finding sugar free jelly and large quantities of veg are keeping me full, no cravings at all.