Thinking about going into a carb cycle again

[NewbieChris]

Redesigned the diet a little, would love input. Its still in a 7 day cycle, but its designed to work with my lifts, that is why I didn't change it to a shorter period.


Bare minimal carb day (Day 1)
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, apple/banana
Meal 2: 8 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Bare minimal carb day (Day 2)
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, apple/banana
Meal 2: 8 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Minimal carb day (Day 3)
Meal 1: 2 whole eggs, 6 egg whites, apple/banana
Meal 2: 7 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie; 1/4 cup of rice / oatmeal (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 5 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey - )
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Bare minimal carb day (Day 4)
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, apple/banana
Meal 2: 8 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Some carb day (Day 5)
Meal 1: 2 whole eggs, 6 egg whites, apple/banana, 1/4 cup oates
Meal 2: 7 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie; 1/4 cup of oates (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Carb day (Day 6)
Meal 1: 1 whole eggs, 7 egg whites, apple/banana, 1/2 cup oates
Meal 2: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie, 1/2 cup rice (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado, 1/4 cup rice
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey), pre-workout quick acting carb (white bread maybe)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 serving of pasta, pasta sauce, 1 cup of green veggie half or an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)

Bare minimal carb day (Day 4)
Meal 1: 3 whole eggs, 5 egg whites, apple/banana
Meal 2: 8 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie (Maybe meal replacement shake -- 2 scoops whey, 8 oz skim milk)
Meal 3: 6 oz of chicken, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 4: Pre-workout Protein (1 scoop whey)
PWO: 2 scoops whey + 8 oz of grape juice
Meal 5: 6 oz lean beef / turkey, 1 cup of green veggie half of an avocado
Meal 6: casean protein (1 scoop)


Scrum, this is for you. Want some advice badly.

Thanks guys!

[Bouncer]

your "bare minimal" carb days have to much sugar. fruit, grape juice, milk etc..

not enough fat.

less sugar more fat..

[NewbieChris]

Here were my thoughts.

Morning should have the carbs, so like 1/4 cup of oatmeal? The rest get carbs from veggies?

Then PWO, is white bread a bad idea? I don't want a complex carb because I want my body to break it down quickly.

Based on my LBM my BMR is about 2700 calories. I put myself at .3 ratio because I'm sitting most of the day. I run in the morning and burn from 550 - 700 cal, then I lift in the PM. So, I figure in all burning like 1000-1200 calories from activity. My base BMR is like 2000 calories, so I'm net below about 300 / calories per day?

What do you all think. I could really use some second eyes here. I just can't get the final pounds off. Do you think I need less calories?

Please help. lol

[NewbieChris]

Nothing guys?

[Bouncer]

Here were my thoughts.

Morning should have the carbs, so like 1/4 cup of oatmeal? The rest get carbs from veggies?

Then PWO, is white bread a bad idea? I don't want a complex carb because I want my body to break it down quickly.

Based on my LBM my BMR is about 2700 calories. I put myself at .3 ratio because I'm sitting most of the day. I run in the morning and burn from 550 - 700 cal, then I lift in the PM. So, I figure in all burning like 1000-1200 calories from activity. My base BMR is like 2000 calories, so I'm net below about 300 / calories per day?

What do you all think. I could really use some second eyes here. I just can't get the final pounds off. Do you think I need less calories?

Please help. lol

use maltodextrin post workout.

its a complex carb that gets used fast. try and use no simple carbs at all. as long as you get rid of all sugar i think you will be good to go.

[NewbieChris]

So, while I have been working on revamping my diets I've had a small experiment. I dropped my cardio to 30 active minutes with 5 min warm up and 3 min cool down...and eaten a strict low carb diet high protein...but i threw in a small cheat snack everyday. For example, I ate 3 cookies or a soft pretzel, etc. once a day. I have lost 4lbs. You'll probably say its muscle mass, but my pants are looser.

I don't know wtf is going on, but I have decided to attempt to up calories and keep cardio low. I will also be eating new varied carbs...like 1/2 of a potatoe or something.

I have rid myself of sugars because you're probably right about that one. I guees I just have to keep playing with the diet till something good happens

[Scrumhalf]

NewbieChris, carb cycling is an advanced technique that has a lot of details you need to keep track of. I really must recommend again to go purchase Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0. It lays out all the details of carb cycling in a straightforward way. it is not something that I can post without violating Lyle's copyright.

The bottom line is that in the low carb phase, you need to keep carbs below 50g and total calories at 50% of maintenance (I assume you know what you maintenance calorie levels are).

BTW, you CANNOT be having cheat snacks on low carb days. If you I would recommend you use something like fitday.com to accurately track your carbs and total calories. 50g of carbs is not a lot. A cup of veggies has something like 5-8g or carbs. You can't even have a cup of brown rice on a low carb day. I seriously doubt you will be able to stay under 50g of carbs eating cookies or pretzels.

[Scrumhalf]

Let me tell you - strict low carb will be the most brutal thing you would have done to your body. Here is a typical low carb day for me. This gives you an idea of the kind of pain that we are talking about.

Keep in mind that my maintenance calorie level is about 1800 calories but Lyle recomemnds not to drop below about 1200 calories, so that's the target I am shooting for. Also, proteins are at about 1.5g/lb of bodyweight (in my case, about 130lbs). Also, I am vegetarian, hence the textured vegetable protein, shakes and cottage cheese.

Breakfast:

1 tablespoon spoon peanut butter
2 scoops protein shake

Lunch 1:

1/4 cup TVP
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp flax seed oil
1/2 cup green veggies

Lunch 2:
1/4 cup TVP
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 tsp flax seed oil
1/2 cup green veggies

Dinner:

1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup green veggies

2 more protein shakes (2 scoops each) thrown in between meals.

Total:

1200 Kcal
56g carbs
22g fat
180g protein

[NewbieChris]

I seriously doubt you will be able to stay under 50g of carbs eating cookies or pretzels.

That was an observation while I was just putzing around this week trying to design a newer diet.

1200 calories is so low, I would assume he doesn't want you doing cardio?

Also, I have read to NEVER drop below 50g of carbs per day? as carbs are essential for the brain to function.

[NewbieChris]

Oh, and Scrum I use Fitday.com actually. I take in about 62 g of carbs on my lowest day, and I thought that might be a little low.

[Scrumhalf]

Actually Lyle says that you want to stay at 50g or below for carbs. He does not recommend going to zero like some of the ketogenic diets do as he feels that it is not necessary. Some of this might be specific to the program you pick. Lyle's UD2.0 is a particularly effective way to drop bodyfat while maintaining muscle. There are probably different programs with their own restrictions on carbs, etc.

[Bouncer]

listen to scrumhalf. buy the book. you are obsessed with details and with details you can easily get lost. the book will put everything in black and white for you to follow.

[Scrumhalf]

^ What he said!

The thing with carb cycling is that it is both a specific diet and a workout routine combined. You can't have one without the other. For example, Lyle lays out how/when to eat, how to set up your workouts around the diet and most importantly, how to transition from the low carb to the high carb phase. I don't think it is possible to do carb cycling without paying attention to these details - at least I don't think you will get the best results.

[bigscott]

chris i have to agree with scrum on this -- purchase the book

was looking at your setup -- grape juice would have to go and eating fruits with protein would have to go --you should consume fruits away from the protein meals . you dont have enough fats in there either -

what is your overall goal

[the art of war]

I've been toying with the idea of going keto again but just like you said NC - I go luney tunes w/out carbs for my brain... the whole mimicking starvation works too well.