Carb cycling and the mental affects.

[NewbieChris]

I started a carb cycling diet last week and my morning cardio has suffered due to it. I also feel like I am going crazy.

[Bouncer]

welcome to the world of bodybuilding.

[bigscott]

welcome to the world of bodybuilding.

amen to that -- should try dieting for 20 weeks :hang:

[Bouncer]

scott, dave had my boy in a protein only diet for 7 weeks! lmao. no carbs, no fats. he looked like piss at the end of it though, dave messed that one up.

[NewbieChris]

So, this is normal then?

[Scrumhalf]

So, this is normal then?

If you mean feeling like crap and weak during the depletion days and having wild energy swings due to your blood sugar oscillating during the refeed day, then YES... lol....

Seriously, carb cycling needs a lot of willpower, dedication and willingness to suffer short-term for the long-term. Having never competed, I don't know anything about contest prep dieting, but I am currently using Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0. It is a 7-day carb cycling plan that I intend to use to drop from about 15% BF to single digits. It is hard work, but I highly recommend it, at least for reading if not practicing. Lyle knows what he is talking about.

[NewbieChris]

If you mean feeling like crap and weak during the depletion days and having wild energy swings due to your blood sugar oscillating during the refeed day, then YES... lol....

Seriously, carb cycling needs a lot of willpower, dedication and willingness to suffer short-term for the long-term. Having never competed, I don't know anything about contest prep dieting, but I am currently using Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0. It is a 7-day carb cycling plan that I intend to use to drop from about 15% BF to single digits. It is hard work, but I highly recommend it, at least for reading if not practicing. Lyle knows what he is talking about.

What period of time are you going to be on this diet?

[Scrumhalf]

The recommendation is an 6-8 week cycle, followed by 2 weeks of maintenance before starting another cycle if necessary.

I am on my 3rd week after having researched it for quite a while. It is not for beginners - Lyle recommends it for anyone who is about 15% BF and wants to get down below10%. The best thing about the book is that it described in great detail exactly what is going on inside your body as far as the fat/muscle-regulatory hormones are concerned at each stage - depletion, coming out of depletion and the carb load phases. It is especially targeted at the genetically average, natural athlete, which I think applies to both of us.

[NewbieChris]

Is the crappy cardio the mental effect or the blood surgar variation?

[Shibby]

I did it once and it sucked. Never again. It's not worth it to me since I am just doing everything to be healthy. I would rather eat the carbs and do twice as much running instead of carb cycling again. You don't realize how your body uses carbs until you don't eat any.

[Scrumhalf]

Is the crappy cardio the mental effect or the blood surgar variation?

A bit of both. You definitely need carbs to function effectively - you feel weak and lethargic without enough carbs. However, it gets better with time. My 2nd and 3rd weeks are definitely better than when I tried it for the 1st time.

[NewbieChris]

I feel like I should be doing less intense cardio and for a longer time, but I already hit 45 minutes inthe morning.

[bigscott]

scott, dave had my boy in a protein only diet for 7 weeks! lmao. no carbs, no fats. he looked like piss at the end of it though, dave messed that one up.

B , its good with some and terrible with others -- know someone that just competed last weekend -- he looked so over dieted and way to lean - he lost so much muscle

[Scrumhalf]

Lyle McDonald indicates that a zero-carb ketogenic diet is extreme and unnecessary. So, while he pays homage to Dan Duchaine in his book Ultimate Diet 2.0, he builds on Duchaine's ketogenic approach by cycling carbs from very low to high, never zero.