Carb Cycling diet.....need assistance!

[mctrojan]

I'm new to posting, but have been learing from you ladies for years.

I started a carb cycling diet about 60 days ago. I've been working out and lifting since I was a teenager, but I have always been a chronic undereater and carb phobe. I've always been in good shape, but never was able to take my fitness to the next level b/c of my poor eating habits (not eating bascially).

In 60 days I’ve lost 4% bf. Of which I lost 3% in the first 2 weeks! Sooooooo it’s been a pretty slow road. I feel better, and I’m proud and happy that I have been eating consistently and clean! However, something isn’t working.

I have been so diligent. Haven’t had any sugar, no added sugar that is. this is huge for me. I was a candy addict! no fruit even. And nothing processed, except whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas or Ezekiel bread. I’ve had one cheat day this entire time--Cinco de mayo. I had margaritas and ate chips and more chips J

I started with 3 low days:1 high day. then about 3 weeks ago, I switched to 2 low days: 1 high day.

On low days I get carbs strictly from veggies and I feel good on this. I loathe high carbs days, they make me feel lethargic and bloated. And ironically, those days are my worst workouts. I eat about 50g of carbs on low days. About 150-200g on high days.

I do about 30-45 minutes cardio, 5-6 times a week. And I lift 5 times a week. I’ve actually cut back on cardio b/c I thought I was being counterproductive. I have been lifting heavy to moderate (usually reps of 8-10) to maintain LBM while in calorie deficit.



I am calculating calories using the Katch-McArdle Calorie Calculator. Here is my information below.

Female
age: 31
Body Fat: 22 %
Body Weight in Pounds: 126.8

Body Fat: 27.896 pounds
LBM: 98.904 pounds
Basal Metabolic Rate: 1342 calories/day

Choosing an activity level of moderate (I didn’t want to overestimate activity) my TDEE is 2081.

Activity Level


Activity

Factor​

Total Daily

Energy
Expenditure​

15% Deficit


20% Deficit


25% Deficit


30% Deficit​

Sedentary
1.200
1611
1369
1289
1208
1128
Lightly Active
1.375
1846
1569
1477
1384
1292
Moderate
1.550
2081
1769
1665
1561
1457
Very Active
1.725
2315
1968
1852
1737
1621
Extremely Active
1.900
2550
2168
2040
1913
1785


I base my calories on low days at a 30% deficit (because I wanted to be aggressive).

I am actually not hungry on this diet. I rarely even eat 1400 calories on my low days. It’s hard with just veggies. Is this my problem. Are my calories too low?? I average 1200-1400, so my deficit is actually a little more than 30 on most days. But I thought it would be ok, as long as I reefed with high carbs.

My high carb day is usually around 1800-1900 calories. The extra calories come from my carbs. Oatmeal, quinoa, sweet potates, rice, sometimes bread. I know I’m supposed to carb taper, but I end up having to eat starches until I go to bed to get them all in. they are 95% clean starches too….no cereals or white breads, sugars ect.

I’ve read that I can and/or should eat at my TDEE or 20% above on refeed days. This seems like so much to me….what do you think?

why am i not dropping more bf?? thanks for your help!!

 

[caligirl85]

This might seem like a silly question..how tall are you? Are you close to your goal weight but wanting to lose body fat and build some muscle?

 

[mctrojan]

I'm 5'3. I'd like to be under 20% bf. im not concerned with the weight on the scale. I have a good amount of muscle. I dont mind building more muscle, but i know that's not possible while in caloric deficit. I just cant figure out why I am not dropping bodyfat.

 

[Rayca]

Hi. I'm new here too but I know a little bit about a little bit. You seem to have a lot going on there. Not sure what you're basing your averages on. The sedentary is 1200-1400 cals. Is that correct? The extremely active averages almost 2100 cals. So if you thought that was 1800-1900, that would be off. I'm not even sure if this is a monthly breakdown or what? Can you elaborate? What's your fat and protein breakdown, specially on low days? Just from looking at this, it seems pretty complicated. The more complicated you make your diet (in this case, numbers) the more chance you have for error. Estimating your cals. lower than what you're actually taking in. Your protein/fat ratio is also pretty important. Don't see that here. Females have higher leptin levels than men, typically so I don't personally believe in refeeds too often. My personal opinion is refeeds should be when you're pretty lean and looking for just those last few lbs. to put you in competiton mode. Again, my personal opinion. You say you didn't eat much before. Did you jump from not eating to doing this cycle? If so, you're sure to have metabolic slowdown here. You may want to eat at maintenance for a couple of weeks (or more, lifting really heavy) and begin again. Do you lift heavy? What's that program like. Cardio is secondary, important but weights s/be what comes to your mind first. Didn't here. Jumpstart things. You need that anyway after 60 days. Females especially are gonna hug that fat, at all costs. I say, maintenance for 2 weeks or more, lift very heavy, reprogram the cycle to be less complicated, probably a low and a high. Keep the high what you know your body is comfortable with for carbs. Since I don't know more, that's my 2 cents.

 

[mctrojan]

it's really not as complicated as I made it sound thanks for your input.

my caloric intake on low days is 1400. i based this on a 30% deficit of my TDEE. using a moderate activity level. 55-60% protein, 30% fat, 15-20% carbs

My caloric intake on High days are around 1800. 50% carbs, 40 protein, 10% fat

i record all food using fitday so all of my meals are measured.

I think i may be taking in too few calories, on both low and high days. I have also been told that i was low carb for so many years, that my body may not be absordbing them, hence the refeed days arent working as they should be.

any ideas??

 

[Rayca]

Hmmm. Yes, I have the same trouble when doing too much low carb. Quite a bit of the time, it sets you up for failure when you try to do something else. I've also heard it won't work if you go off it for a while and try to come back to low carb. It has its drawbacks. That's yet another reason to scrap dieting and do maintenance for 2 weeks, ease back with a normal "balanced" calorie deficit and tweak it from there gradually. That would also be giving you the "more calories" that you're feeling might be stalling you. I believe in regular diet breaks or your body adjusts and pulls back. Also if you bring out all the hard guns, i.e., really low cals, cycles, refeeds, you won't have anything left to get those last few lbs. off with. Not saying you're doing that right now, just a thought to remember. And personally I concentrate more on actual numbers, i.e. grams of food I'm getting rather than %. % can be a slippery slope when trying to calculate what you should be (or think you are) eating. I know I have gotten hung up on % before and when I start to evaluate a problem, I can see I'm not getting what I should be for a certain macro. Just a thought. Sometimes diets come down to tweaking even the smallest of things. And lastly, you're at 22% BF. That's starting to get pretty low. That % is defined as an athlete. I know the competitors are at 11% or so but if you're natural, I'm assuming you are, it's just not the same. Fat is the hardest and longest to lose. You're working out so we know that. It's just the way it is, especially for girls. The upside to taking weight off really slow, 1 lb. every week, two or three, means it's ALL fat. Fat doesn't weight as much as water or muscle so when you take .5 to 1 lb. of pure fat off, it doesn't show up on the scale. If you're taking fat off in the same amount off your entire body, it won't show up in how your clothes fit, so you need to be cognizant of these things. Yours is definitely a little slow but I'm telling you, it only gets worse when the BF gets lower. It's slooooow and you must be prepared for that. So again to summarize, my thoughts haven't changed: 2 weeks maintenance, then balanced calorie deficit, tweak from there and then be patient because the slooooow ride is just beginning. I also just read this post on this site. It's simple, it's sound and it has low carb and I like this style a lot. http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/a...-build-muscle-loose-fat-then-read-712503.html I wish you much luck and success in your quest. I know exactly what you're going through and how hard it is. --Peace.