Carb intake

[WayTooSmall]

I've never used this post so I'm not sure if this preface is needed, but I am serious about bodybuilding. I have all the disorders that come along with someone whom which bodybuilding finds and engulfs. It seems to me that this post has some very knowledgable people, and I have decided to see what kind of information I can gather from the many years of competition that most likely peruse this site. On to my question. I am in my 3rd year of competition and a few things still confuse me about carbohydrate intake. Personally, I have been following a diet that has high days of 300 grams of carbs, medium days of 150, and low days of 75. Then I'm reading one of the "popular" muscle magazines and a gentlement writes in asking how he should de-carb and carb up for a show. The writer suggests that he should DECARB at 150grams. I'm thinking "What the F---". That is now my high day, how in the hell is someone going to de-carb on that. I am 5'8" and currently weigh 204 lbs at 5%. I have 5 weeks to tighten up and I want to know, am I retarded for having my carbs so low (which I must add does get the fat off me and the 'supplements' make sure I do not waste muscle tissue), or should I throw caution to the wind and get them up higher and hope that this results in more efficient fat reduction. Am I killing myself at these low levels only to miss out on better loss at higher levels, or do you all agree that very few can de-carb at 150grams. Thank You for the info.

WayTooSmall

 

[Rudee34]

The biggest factor in the equation is one's own metabolism. The typical couch potato has reduced his metabolism significantly through the years by poor eating, inactivity, and yo-yo dieting.

The rational is that the typical couch potato is eating in excess of 300 gms carbohydrate day, thus a consistant reduction to 150gms daily will trigger weight loss.

Too much too quickly can cause adverse results when it comes to reducing carbohydrate intake. Sure, the typical couch potato can reduce his daily carbohydrate consumption to less than 100gms, or even zero gms. Obviously the person will lose some bodyweight (note I said bodyweight, not bodyfat) But the persons metabolism remains the same, thus when he returns to normal eating, boom! the bodyfat goes back on, and the body's metabolic setpoint has now been lowered, making future weight loss more difficult. The recommendation for the typical couch potato is to reduce carbohydrate consumption slowly.

Conversely, if you've lost a decent amount of bodyfat on a carbohydrate restricted diet, and you wish to revert to a more 'normal' eating plan, then you want to ensure you add carbohydrates to your diet slowly. i.e. don't go from zero to 300gms or you will trigger insulin responses that will adversely affect your goal to remain lean. If your metabolism can handle it then go for it. Othwerwise, take it easy and increase consumption slowly.

You don't have to "throw caution to the wind" when you increase you carbohydrate intake, just do it sensibly. And most importantly, do it slowly to allow the body to adjust, and avoid those nasty insulin spikes. The amount of carbohydrate that you can safely injest on a daily basis without fear of bodyfat gain is dependent on your own metabolism and the types and levels of anabolic and catabolic hormones circulating throught the body. It's quite possible that you may be able to double your intake of carbohydrate while reducing bodyfat at the same time, and maintaining muscle hardness for contest time. Simply put: people with faster metabolisms can efficiently process more carbohydrate than people with slower metabolisms.

If you're 5 weeks away at 5%, then you're body is going to resist further bodyfat loss. Restricting carbohydrates too much at this state will do more harm than good. "Tightening up" for the contest at this stage for you will have to do with pulling water from out of the cells and under the skin to obtain that 'hard' look. Start increasing your water intake and decreasing your sodium intake. That simple change alone will reap benefits come contest time. Trust me.

Good luck.