pookie69

Hey guys. I've been running a carb cycling diet since the start of August (3 days low, 1 medium, 2 days low, 1 re-feed) and in that time have gone from 264lbs to 248lbs - so an average of about 2lbs weight loss per week which I hear is a good rate to hit.

But last week however, I lost no weight, and this week gone, I've managed to jump to 4lbs weight loss (so that 2lbs/week average may be misleading!). I don't know if this is just coincidence or in my head, but these last few weeks gone also, I've suffered a noticeable decrease in strength in the gym. Whereas before I was maintaining all usual weights and reps despite the dieting (and indeed even being able to increase reps for some exercises), now I feel as though this diet is starting to weaken me.

This also coincides with 3 weeks of having been back at uni (after 4 months of hols SITTING AT HOME!) which means less sleep, more stress and more erratic eating times.

BASICALLY, WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS:- is strength loss something you can expect during dieting down, or have things become out of whack now and do I need to set things straight?


Thanks in advance for any and all help guys! ;)

PS - dieting is fvckin hard :( - I'm already dreaming of Thursday's breakfast...

hackskii

I lose some strength on low carb diets.
I myself am about the same strengh overall but the reps I cant do as many carb depleted.

could be a combination of being carb depleted, low blood sugar, bad rest, too much stress, sure it all can be a factor.
Are you on gear?

pookie69

Nah-uh. I don't know enough about any of that to even consider it at the moment

hackskii

OK then, try not to drop too many pounds a week so you dont lose as much muscle....
Aggressive dieting is probably not the best approach as too much muscle loss happens....
Unless you are on gear

Jock

I lost between about 4-5kg recently during dieting and actuallu got stronger, keep protein intake high and get some good fats down you and you can keep it to a minimum.

Bulldozer

I have done a full on keto diet and still managed to get stronger each week.

I was fairly new to training at the time tho so maybe that was a factor.

carl20

maybe add another high carb day between the low days.

Aftershock

You will lose some strength but that doesn't necessarily mean you are losing muscle, there is just less glycogen available to fuel the workouts.

This is part and parcel of any diet, you are going to be stronger when your not dieting, stands to reason really doesnt it?

Any strength lost and more will come back when you stop dieting and are carbed back up.

To minimize the effect make sure you are taking you carbs in at the key times ie breakfast, pre and post workout.

Also make sure that you are training on your high carb days not the lower carb day.

I have two high days, two low days, two medium days and a re-feed. Needles to say I train on the high and re-feed days.

Whats the breakdown of your diet in terms of days of the week, macro intake and training sessions?

pookie69

Sorry I haven't checked back here after initially posting....

... today I thought I should given my SHOCKING lack of any and all strength during the bench - i barely managed to get through my warmup sets let alone the main event - I felt like crying!


I only take in carbs post workout on low carb days. Regarding breakfast, if it's a low carb day, I'll go for my run on an empty stomach and then have nothing but fat and protein to start off the day.

Sorry - I'm confused now - should I be taking in some carbs pre workout and at breakfast even on low carb days.

Oh right - I always made sure to do feck-all on my one and only high carb day during the week - kinda want to enjoy it as much as possible you see! But I understand what you are saying and I feel somewhat dumb for not having appreciated this before.


In that order? How's a re-feed day differ from a high carb day? I always thought a high carb day was the day your body got to re-feed?


I shall pull it all out of the excel sheet I have someplace and post it up ASAP! WATCH THIS SPACE!


In the mean time, thanks everyone for the help! It's greatly appreciated!

Jimmy_Cricket

usually when i tone up, i find i loose strength. IMO the more chubb you have, the more you can lift (relative to your body of course).

hackskii

Loss of strength can be from many things like, lack of sleep, lack of food, lack of desire, too much stress, distractions, overtraining, lack of sleep, etc.

big

If you are doing things properly, you should not be losing strength while dieting unless you are pretty advanced.

13stonetarget

Problem is, it's usually only the advanced lads that do things properly ;)