Carb Cycling - Is this a correct Carb Cycle Weekly Schedule?

[The_Asset]

Hello all,

I have never carb cycled before, however I am hoping to do it after the holidays if I can figure it all out. Please let me know if their are any erroneous flows in my analysis below. My goal is to burn fat and build muscle at the same time, I have never tried this before I have always either tried bulking or cutting so this will be interesting. I read a few articles saying this is possible, so I am gonna give it a go. This diet plan is completley based off of Gbrice75's thread on carb cycling. I would post a link but I can't as a new member.



Goal: Burn fat & Build Muscle

1) Baseline Daily Calories


TDEE (Mifflin - St Jeor)

10*kg + 6.25*cm - 5*age + 5 = BMR
(10*90)+ (6.25*180) -(5*27)+5 = BMR
1897=BMR

Moderatley Active Multiplier = 1.55
TDEE = 1.55* 1897

TDEE = 2940

2) Macros & Calories

Daily Calories = 2941 - 500 deficit = 2441
Weekly Calories = (2441*7) = 17087

Weekly Macro Goal;
50% protein, 30% carbs, 20% fat or;
2135 grams protein, 1281 grams carbs, 379 grams fat.



3) Carb cycle layout

A brief overview of my workout routine is as follows;

Mon - weights (chest/bi's) /cardio
Tuesday - weights (back) /cardio
Wednesday - weights (legs)
Thursday - cardio
Friday - weights (shoulders/tri's)
Saturday- Cardio

I will adjust my carb intake by high/moderate/low day, and keep my protein & fat intake as daily constants.

Therefore my high carb day will be 40% of total weekly carbs, my moderate carb days will be 15% of total carbs weekly per day (45% of total carbs in total after 3 days) and my low carb days will be 5% of total carbs weekly per day (15% of total carbs in total after 3 days)

High Carb Day (1 Day, Sunday)
Protein: 305 grams
Carbs: 513 grams
Fat: 54 grams

Moderate Carb Day (3 days, Mon, Tue, Wed)
Protein: 305 grams
Carbs:192 grams
Fat: 54 grams

Low Carb Day (3 days, Thurs, Friday, Sat)
Protein: 305 grams
Carbs:64 grams
Fat: 54 grams

As you can see following this schedule the weekly caloric goals, and protein/carb/fat gram goals workout to be the same as if I followed the same macro % daily. This way however the daily calories fluctuate as a result of altering carbs.




If anyone has the time to look through this and provide me feedback it is greatly appreciated. I am a total newb to carb cycling so any feedback is appreciated. Again if any presents any interest I will start a log with photos come January.

Thanks guys!

[The_Asset]

Here is another version of the carb cycling where I I alter fat intake inversely related to carb intake. Additionaly this format switches macros to 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat. Total weekly goals are still all met;

High Carb Day (1 Day, Sunday)
Protein: 275 grams
Carbs: 523 grams
Fat: 0 grams

Moderate Carb Day (3 days, Mon, Tue, Wed)
Protein: 275 grams
Carbs:224 grams
Fat: 49 grams

Low Carb Day (3 days, Thurs, Friday, Sat)
Protein: 275 grams
Carbs: 100 grams
Fat: 77 grams

[The_Asset]

Sorry to Bump this, someone must have some sound knowledge on carb cycling.

[Bio-Active]

What are your stats? Height weight and bf%?

[The_Asset]

What are your stats? Height weight and bf%?

Shit I thought I included that sorry;

Age: 27
Height: 5'11
Weight: 200 lb
Bf %: ? ( I would guess 12-14)

I can do body measurements too if needed.

[Bio-Active]

Shit I thought I included that sorry; Age: 27 Height: 5'11 Weight: 200 lb Bf %: ? ( I would guess 12-14) I can do body measurements too if needed.

ok then let's not complicate this. Once you figure out you base then let's just cut your carbs in half 3 days each week

[The_Asset]

So my TDEE is 2940, and I will cut calories by 500 so my baseline is 2440. Which means I would normally consume lets say 244 grams carbs per day. So just consume 122 grams of carbs 3 days a week?

[Bio-Active]

So my TDEE is 2940, and I will cut calories by 500 so my baseline is 2440. Which means I would normally consume lets say 244 grams carbs per day. So just consume 122 grams of carbs 3 days a week?

yep just cut those carbs in half

[The_Asset]

yep just cut those carbs in half

cool thanks. Should those low carb days all be in a row, or should it alternate between normal carb and low carb days? Also is their any need for a high carb day?

[Bio-Active]

cool thanks. Should those low carb days all be in a row, or should it alternate between normal carb and low carb days? Also is their any need for a high carb day?

No separate them out

[The_Asset]

No separate them out

Sweet thanks, have you had any experience carb cycling? My goal is to look like your profile picture haha

[Bio-Active]

Sweet thanks, have you had any experience carb cycling? My goal is to look like your profile picture haha

yeah that's exactly how I carb cycle I usually just do Monday Wednesday and Friday as low carb days

[The_Asset]

yeah that's exactly how I carb cycle I usually just do Monday Wednesday and Friday as low carb days

Awesome.

So just to make sure I have this right before giving it a go;

My TDEE is 2941, and I am looking to lose roughly 1 lb a week so I will cut calories by 500 which means my baseline is 2441.

Macros will be 45% protein, 35% carbs and 20% fat or;
275 grams of protein
215 grams carbs
54 grams fat

Normal Carb Days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)
275 grams of protein
215 grams carbs
54 grams fat

2441 calories

Low Carb Days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
275 grams protein
110 grams carbs
54 grams fat

1981 Calories

[Bio-Active]

Awesome. So just to make sure I have this right before giving it a go; My TDEE is 2941, and I am looking to lose roughly 1 lb a week so I will cut calories by 500 which means my baseline is 2441. Macros will be 45% protein, 35% carbs and 20% fat or; 275 grams of protein 215 grams carbs 54 grams fat Normal Carb Days (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday) 275 grams of protein 215 grams carbs 54 grams fat 2441 calories Low Carb Days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) 275 grams protein 110 grams carbs 54 grams fat 1981 Calories

looks good. Let's do this for at least 4-6 weeks and weigh yourself once each week first thing in the am after empty your bladder

[The_Asset]

looks good. Let's do this for at least 4-6 weeks and weigh yourself once each week first thing in the am after empty your bladder

awesome thanks I will keep a log going somewhere

[Bio-Active]

awesome thanks I will keep a log going somewhere

looking forward to it

[wellshii]

Looking forward to that log.Gonna start a small deficit myself come Jan. Debating of what i should do and how

[The_Asset]

looking forward to it

Looking forward to that log.Gonna start a small deficit myself come Jan. Debating of what i should do and how

Glad to hear it, I will start the log probably second week of January with a complete meal plan, daily calories/macros, workout routine, supplements, pics, and measurements.

I am also looking at adding clen to this lean cut/muscle gain plan but that is a whole additional can of worms. I have never tried it so I have a TON of research to do. I also live in Canada so that would be an issue as well.

[Splifton]

Interesting approach on your protocol. You'll probably love it after you adjust to the initial change in your eating habits. I've been periodizing my carbohydrates for quite a while now and I'll never go back to standard bulk/cut cycles.

[The_Asset]

Interesting approach on your protocol. You'll probably love it after you adjust to the initial change in your eating habits. I've been periodizing my carbohydrates for quite a while now and I'll never go back to standard bulk/cut cycles.

glad to hear it. the more I research carb cycling the more it seems it is a solid alternative to bulking and cutting. In the last few years I really got tired of the winter bulk summer cut routine. Seems to really be just running in place in a lot of ways. Hopefully this works for me, and hopefully I can add some clen in to make the log all the more interesting too.

[Mp859]

Seems to be to complicated for me to read. The way I found worked best for me, and I have used this while transitioning into prep goes as follows.

Leg day-high
Back-moderate
Every other day-low

Do 3 days 30 minutes cardio as well and you will be very happy with the results.

[The_Asset]

Seems to be to complicated for me to read. The way I found worked best for me, and I have used this while transitioning into prep goes as follows.

Leg day-high
Back-moderate
Every other day-low

Do 3 days 30 minutes cardio as well and you will be very happy with the results.

meh i dont find it too complicated.

I have adjusted everything a bit more so I only have three low carb days and 4 moderate carb days. Everything works out to make the caloric weekly intake the same.

[Splifton]

I have mine set up to gradually taper down and back up, but I also opt to replace my 1-2 low carb days with zero carbohydrates. I believe in excluding non-starchy fibrous vegetables from being considered caloric intake when tallying up macros.

Protein: 250+ Carbohydrates: 0-750+ Fats: 50-85

Sunday-Refeed/Overfeed (Macros get too out of hand. I don't waste time anymore tracking refeed day anymore.)

Monday- Lowering carb intake (Lower by 1/3rd of set baseline. Mine being 300 grams of carbohydrates.)

Tuesday- Lowering carb intake (Lower by 2/3rd of original set baseline. Increase fat by 15 grams.)

Wednesday- No carbohydrate intake* (I eat a lot more green fibrous vegetables that day to take the edge off. Also some of the squashes I love to eat appear very abundant in volume due to their water content like pumpkin. It feels like you are eating a lot of food which can be helpful in the psychological realm when sustaining 24 hours from carbohydrate intake. Fat intake tops out providing an extra 600-800 calories to fill the void.)

Thursday- Increasing carb intake (Roughly 50-75 grams of carbohydrates. Just enough to modestly fill intramuscular glycogen stores and satisfy immediate energy and emotional demands. Fat intake lowers 15 grams.)

Friday- Increasing carb intake (Roughly 100 grams of carbohydrates. Just like Thursday, but with a slight increase in how much of an impact it could produce via insulin production along with it's impact on ghrelin, leptin, and adiponectin.)

Saturday- Increasing carb intake (1/2 of baseline. Allowing 150 grams of carbohydrates. Saturday night I do about 45-60 minutes of low intensity cardio before falling asleep, but I don't eat after my cardio session.

Repeat with refeed/overfeed on Sunday.

Only real difficulty with my approach is situating your carbohydrate needs around crucial moments like working out. Unless you have a very organized and planned day-to-day agenda, the difficulty at rationing out your fuel constantly will probably drive anyone nuts. My variables always alter, but I tried to give a rough picture. I benefit most from being able to enjoy my overfeeds and allow a "cheat meal" to a degree in return for sacrificing carbohydrate intake majority of the week.

[73rr]

Seems to be to complicated for me to read. The way I found worked best for me, and I have used this while transitioning into prep goes as follows.

Leg day-high
Back-moderate
Every other day-low

Do 3 days 30 minutes cardio as well and you will be very happy with the results.

I'm kinda like this as well.but I will do

Day 1= high carbs
Day 2 = low carbs
Day 3= low carbs

Back to day one. I love it except sometimes on day 3 I kinda feel down. Low energy. Probably could up it a little more carbs but y change something that works.