cycling carbs

[CardioGirl]

I was gonna try playing around with the amount of carbs I consume each day but I was wondering for those of you that have tried this as a means of losing bodyfat (or more or less "shocking" your body)How did you cycle your carbs, what worked best?
I read someone here suggested 200g for 4 days then 50g for 3 days. I also thought I read somewhere (but I can't find it again)to cycle it something like 100g, 60g, 40g then none for a day. Then do the cycle over.
And they should be "good' carbs right...oatmeal, yams, veggies etc. Any feedback would be apprieciated ladies

 

[diamonddiceclay]

my trainer is a pro bb'er and he said that diet only works well if you are on gear as well-otherwise, carbs are too low

 

[Sassy69]

I talked to a girl I know who just competed in nationals in one of the natural (e.g. NGA) organizations. She's never juiced. She was carb cycling for about 12 weeks - claimed to have lost about 1 lb / week. Said she went about 150 carbs / day 2-3 days, then drop to below 100 (50?) for a few days, then back up.

Of course - hearsay. This is a girl - about 5' 5", don't recall her comp weight. She worked with a female nutritionist who she swore by. I know she used to use Triax to lean out, but I dont' know about now. Note that this is for leaning out pre-comp so the carbs would be low anyway.

 

[new@gettinbig]

Its all going to depend how lean you want to get and what your goals are. What is your bf now? Having higher carbs on training days and lower carbs on non training days is a good way to start. Dieting is so individual and you have to just experiment and see what works for you. It takes time to develop a good solid diet that you get the most benefits from. What does your diet look like now?

 

[Cheetarah]

I am natural and have been cycling my carbs. I am taking a week off right now from my cutting diet but I was doing 125 grams carbs on Sundays, 60 grams Mon & Tue, 180 grams Wed, Thu & Fri back to 60 grams, then Saturdays up to 210 grams. It was working for me. The last three weeks of my diet, I lost 3 lbs of fat and gained 2.2 lbs of muscle. I started at 22% body fat back in the beginning of August and am now down to 16.6%. I have been cutting since August and have kept tweaking my diet to keep me losing fat. I started cycling my carbs about a month ago. When I go back on my diet on Monday, I will most likely go back to some plan of cycling my carbs again. Hope this helps. Oh and like I said, I'm natural, 5'5" 140 lbs. I have managed to hold my weight steady while losing fat. My goal is 12% at 140 lbs by May 1st. So far so good.

 

[CardioGirl]

Ok...i posted my diet a few months ago but it has changed since then ( b/c of some suggestions by u gals )I've cut my cardio down to 3 times a week and I am lifting 5x a week( and I've been bustin my ass like a MOFO). So my diet looks kinda like this:
9am scrambled eggs(6 w/ one yolk) and grapefruit
11:30am MRP (in between classes) or can of tuna with w/w melba toast (or a tuna sandwich with mustard on w/w)
2pm 2 chicken breasts with spinach salad (w/ red & grn pepper )
4pm apple with natural peanut butter
I workout between 5-7pm
7-7:30pm chicken breast/tuna with mixed veggies(broccoli,carrots cauliflower etc)
Then as a snack in the evening(and I usually have one) I might boil a few eggs.
I should add too that i also take flax oil, mult-vit,vitC and glutamine.
My "cheat" day is usually Sat or Sun...my fiance and I go out for dinner.
How's that look???

 

[Sassy69]

CG - my only observation would be to put in some more complex carbs maybe instead of the other carbs - apple, melba toast. Try some oatmeal w/ breakfast, a sweet potatoe in there somwhere or brown rice. One thing I noted when I cut my diet down (limited types of food) for comp, that I got more foot cramps at night. The only thing that would fix that is a sweet potatoe.

Probably don't add the complex carb to your 7:30 meal. Also considering this is immediately after your workout, maybe one of the ladies can comment on a good balance between last meal o' the day and post-workout food.

 

[Iron Queen]

During a lot of my contest prep I cycled my carbs. At the time I was about 8% bf and 140 lbs approx... I would do 150g carbs one day, then drop it down to 60 or 70g for a few days after. Of course I would up my protein intake on the days that I dropped my carbs to make up for the lack of calories in my diet but it really worked for me and when I upped my carbs to the 150g I felt great! I also cut complex carbs out after 1pm. Everyone I know cuts it out after 4pm but it worked better for me to not have any after 1pm because I trained early in the morning and it didnt effect me as much.

I also cut out fruits, dairy, and all breads. I was mainly pulling from oatmeal, brown/white rice, potatoes (white), vegetables (brocolli, lettuce). Protein also came from chicken, Isopure shakes, egg whites...

 

[Par Deus]

I was gonna try playing around with the amount of carbs I consume each day but I was wondering for those of you that have tried this as a means of losing bodyfat (or more or less "shocking" your body)How did you cycle your carbs, what worked best?

Read my article on "leptin" for the science of the mechanisms respnsible for this being effective. It might help you to optimize your cycling:

http://www.avantlabs.com/issue3/big_mfr_issue_3.htm

ParDeus
www.avantlabs.com

 

[SteelWeaver]

Iron Queen and others who've done it: what were the ratios of protein, CHO and fat on low/high days, and how many calories above, at or below maintenance were you on those respective days?