Carb Cycling - Newbie Question - 1st time

[williamske]

Female
5'4
133lbs
19-20% BF

I am on my 3rd/4th week of carb cycling. I am getting very strict these last few weeks before our vacation - 3/20.

I do 3 low carb days followed by one high, then repeat. It's always 3 lows then a high/moderate, and the workouts adjust accordingly. Low days are always cardio, cirucit, or rest. High days are power days and moderate days are strength days:

S- Rest or HIIT and cardio (LOW)

M- Power Lift (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps) (HIGH)

T- Circuit (Legs/back/biceps and i mix abs in). (LOW)

W- 20 Mins of HIIT, 15 mins incline walk, and 15 mins elliptical. Abs. (LOW)

Th - Circuit - chest/shoulders/triceps (LOW)

Fri - Strength - Legs/back/biceps/abs - sets of 12/10/8 (Moderate)

Sat - Rest or HIIT and cardio (LOW)


On low days I am trying to stay under 50-60 carbs (i include veggies in this count - should I include veggies?). On high days I i do not really count the carbs, but was told to go high to shock my body, with that being said I eat healthy - so I am not at mcdonalds on my high days. My fat always stays below 35 grams on all days. I am hitting anywhere from 150-190 grams of protein daily. What should my numbers be for the best results?

This is my first carb cycle so any advice would be appreciated. So far in 3.5 weeks I lost only 1lb but I have made great gains in all of my strength and power excersises. I also did legs/back/biceps for three weeks on power and chest/shoulders/triceps for strength, and now I am switching it for the next 3 weeks to chest/shoulders/triceps power and legs/back/biceps strength.

My goal isn't necessarily to loose weight, but to harden up. My upper body is fine, just looking to fine tune the lower body and abdominal areas.

Thanks everyone!

 

[williamske]

anyone?

 

[gymjunkie09]

I would start counting your carbs on you high days, if you go overboad it could negate the progress you have made from the days before. Everything looks pretty solid as you have explained but at only 1lbs loss in 3 weeks something is not right. Post your entire diet up and then you may get some more responses or explenations

 

[williamske]

I weigh myself once every other week. I am starting to think that after reading various material online, that maybe my carbs are just not high enough and i am not hitting my sweet spot. I was goning veggies as part of my total carb count. Was this correct?

A typical low carb day is as follows:

1. Shake - 25gm protein with 8oz skim milk
workout 1.5 later - sip on BCAAs
2. Post WO meal is usually 4oz chicken with veggies or a salad.
3. Power crunch protein bar (10gr carbs) or another shake
4. 6 egg whites with 1 slice fat free cheese and 3 slices of turkey bacon.
5. Chicken and veggies
6. Power crunch protein bar (10gr carbs) or another shake - opposite of mid day snack.

I followed the above regime for a good 5-6 weeks on low days - easily hitting 150-215 grams of protein a day, around 60 carbs, and 35 grams of fat.

On my low days i either circuit train for 45-60 mins, HIIT training and cardio plus abs, or Rest.

My high days I would have around 200gram of carbs a day, and the fat was in check. My high days are power or strength days, but on strength days i do not have breads or pasta so I call it moderate.

This is my first time carb cycling, so maybe my body doesn't know what's going on. I did this at the advice of my fiance in preparation for our destination wedding, where he said 'If you are not under 130lbs before the wedding, you don't have to say 'I DO'! That is how positive I am that it will work...'

Well, 6 weeks later I am up a small amount of weight - prob 2lbs, BUT I have become a beast in the gym in my opinion. I have made great gains in every exercise and I feel stronger. My fiance says I am 'harder' than I was when I started, but even he is confused about why my results are not off the chart. I track everything, so it just does not make physical sense.

Prior to this I was not power lifting. I was just doing circuits and endurance workouts. Maybe the sudden halt and change in routine caused it? My fiance thinks it's because I do 2.5 scoops of jacked as my preworkout supplement and the creatine may be causing me to retain water, so i was instructed to stop the jacked until the wedding cruise - march 20th!!!

I picked up Anabolic Pump by USP labs after hearing good things about it, and I am going to try and up my carbs a bit and see if that changes anything. You cannot take AP without atleast 30 grams of carsb, so I hope it does not have a negative impact.

2 days ago was my first time adding AP, I also bought oxy elite pro, but was told my gnc not to mix the two?

Here is what 2 days ago looked like:

Fasted Workout - Circuit trained legs/back/abs with 1.5 mins of cardio in between sets for 50 mins

Cal/P/F/C
Post WO Meal
1. Isopure 80/20/0/0
and Panera Salad 500/38/36/11

2 hours later TOOK AP
2. Shake 180/30/0/13
Fiber Plus Bar 130/3/5/ 24

3 hours later
3. 6 egg white omelet with fat free cheese and 5 pieces of turkey bacon 221/31/7/2

2 hours later
TOOK AP
4. 4oz of chicken and
broccoli/cheese over rice 275/27/3/35

2 hours later
5. Apple - forgot to add the stats into my calculator

Totals 1386/149/51/85 (without apple)


That day I was one meal behind and my fat intake was high because I am trying to decide on how to work AP in on my 'low days'. I do not see why AP needs to be taken Post Workout- this is your natural 'window of opportunity' so wouldn't it make sense to take AP with the meal following your P/W meal? I am starting AP by taking it just in the morning and then again with my second meal following my post workout meal, and keeping the carbs low in the afternoon into the evening. I am trying to incorporate the AP with the 30grams of carbs without going too high in anything else. It will take a couple of days, but I will nail it. Yesterday was a good day - fat was lower and carbs were still under 100 - these will be my low days.

I guess my question is: What should my low days look like? Because under 60 a day was not doing anything for me. I read various sites and used different calculations, and most say a little over 100 grams of carbs a day on my low (based on physcial stature), on high days it should be 125% of my moderate, and my moderate is slightly higher than my low. ( i have the physcial numbers in my log in the car). I will post my meals from yesterday once I get home from work.

Any advice would be appreciated. As I hate trainging this hard, restricting my diet and not getting results.

 

[gymjunkie09]

Well he's right about the creatine, n.o. should be fine though. also drop the fruit, dairy and protein bars if you're still eating those. Especially the dairy. stick to oatmeal, brown rice and sweet potatoes for your main sources of carbs and position your Carb meals in the morning, pre and post workout only and separate your fats from your carbs as well. I would also monitor your bf% because u can't always go by the scale. Although it's not likely u may be gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time whick would be a good thing. Use almonds and flax oil for your sources of fats and add plenty of leafy green veggies in there, spinach broccoli etc. Follow this advice and u will be golden, reconstruct your diet and post it up if u want and I will critique if that helps.......good luck

 

[D.Edward]

There are many counting charts available that surely will help you in counting your progress and carb that you put during the day . Just have a quick search on google .
chino hills boot camp

 

[Tonytoo]

if your only measuring your weight every other week, you may find your losing slightly more then 1 lb every 3 weeks. my body weight can fluctuate 2-3lbs in a day from water/food/carb depletion, and up to 4lbs in any 2 days.

best of luck ... er best of work to you!