can i cut carbs completely

[testchef]

hello all

im currently in week 4 on my cycle
my tdee=2304
and my diet looks like this
carbs =720 cals
prot = 1044 cals
fats =504 cals

im finding it extreamly hard to shift this mid rift . 4 packs looking good and defined but just cant seeem to shake beneath and around top of my ass
i do 30 mins fasted cardio ed
and work out in afternoon followed by 1hr cardio at a steady pace.
how far can i drop my carb intake before it will start to effect my energy levels ?

many thanks

[MR-FQ320]

its totally person dependant, just lower carbs gradually till you feel you have got to where you want to be, keep carbs pre and post workout, eliminate carbs from all other meals except brakfast, i got down to 20g of oats for breakfast after fasted cardio, i did try 10g and 15g but i hardly had the energy to stand up, that was low enough for me.

what bf% are you right now ?

[testchef]

its totally person dependant, just lower carbs gradually till you feel you have got to where you want to be, keep carbs pre and post workout, eliminate carbs from all other meals except brakfast, i got down to 20g of oats for breakfast after fasted cardio, i did try 10g and 15g but i hardly had the energy to stand up, that was low enough for me.

what bf% are you right now ?

i was 15% four weeks ago bin hitting my cardio well again since i had knee problems which are now sorted.
1m guessing 12/13% will do measurements this afternoon and also post pic.
obviously il need to up my protien if reducing carbs to raise cals so i dont drop to far .or can i leave them how they are ?
so can reduce bf. if i do this would my cycle be effected ?

[tall76]

Mr said it- it depends on each person. Carbs are like gas for a car so u need some or ur workouts will suffer. I would suggest doing a simple carb cycle- it will ge ur body burning that last bit of bf and the higher carb days will keep energy levels high so u can kick a$$ in the gym still

[MR-FQ320]

yes increasing protein to keep cals and metabolism high is good, like tall76 says, when you have been on a carb reduced diet go onto carb cycling diet, look up marcus 300 thread on it.

are you on cycle right now or planning to do one, last year id did this, diet with reduced carbs (gradually reducucing all the time)for 13 weeks, carb cycle for 10 weeks( longer than planned but the longer the better), start AAS cycle and eat like a horse, watch the muscle pile on and its for keeps aswell, your body islike a sponge for carbs and cals, really awesome results.

What does your cycle look like?

[testchef]

Mr said it- it depends on each person. Carbs are like gas for a car so u need some or ur workouts will suffer. I would suggest doing a simple carb cycle- it will ge ur body burning that last bit of bf and the higher carb days will keep energy levels high so u can kick a$$ in the gym still

simple carb cycle . ? can u elaberate please ?

[testchef]

yes increasing protein to keep cals and metabolism high is good, like tall76 says, when you have been on a carb reduced diet go onto carb cycling diet, look up marcus 300 thread on it.

are you on cycle right now or planning to do one, last year id did this, diet with reduced carbs (gradually reducucing all the time)for 13 weeks, carb cycle for 10 weeks( longer than planned but the longer the better), start AAS cycle and eat like a horse, watch the muscle pile on and its for keeps aswell, your body islike a sponge for carbs and cals, really awesome results.

What does your cycle look like?

yes three weeks in now
test p 100mg ed
tren ac 150 mg ed
16 weeks

training cardio twice daily as above

chest / bi / abbs
shoulders / tri / abbs
legs / back
twice weekly one rest day but still cardio

this is the problem to eat to pile on the muscle means that i cant shift this middle

[testchef]

yes increasing protein to keep cals and metabolism high is good, like tall76 says, when you have been on a carb reduced diet go onto carb cycling diet, look up marcus 300 thread on it.

are you on cycle right now or planning to do one, last year id did this, diet with reduced carbs (gradually reducucing all the time)for 13 weeks, carb cycle for 10 weeks( longer than planned but the longer the better), start AAS cycle and eat like a horse, watch the muscle pile on and its for keeps aswell, your body islike a sponge for carbs and cals, really awesome results.

What does your cycle look like?

yes three weeks in now
test p 100mg ed
tren ac 150 mg ed
16 weeks

training cardio twice daily as above

chest / bi / abbs
shoulders / tri / abbs
legs / back
twice weekly one rest day but still cardio

this is the problem to eat to pile on the muscle means that i cant shift this middle

[--->>405<<---]

700mg test prop
1050mg tren

Per week for 16 weeks seems like alot dude...

[MR-FQ320]

this is the carb cycle explained http://forums.steroid.com/showthread...d#.TvnQZbxvKTs

I totally understand your problem, while over the course of the 16 weeks you may end up where you want to be if you stay on the same 'maintenance' diet, I am not sure on how it would be best to proceed here.

I think I would go onto the carb cycling, no carbs on non training days, reduced carbs on training days with one or two refuels once a week or every three days de[pending on training regime, and its complex carbs not simple sugary stuff, keep the diet super clean, I would say no higher than 15% intake of dietery fats, the lower the better.

[Times Roman]

I tried cutting all carbs once while lifting. became grouchy and irritable. added back in some carbs, and the attitude went away

[testchef]

700mg test prop
1050mg tren

Per week for 16 weeks seems like alot dude...

yea i know big one before the spring

[testchef]

ok so ive just ran two different online bf readers one said i was 12.8 and one said 25% wtf how can two bw so different anyone got a relible way to calculate bf please ?
`

[testchef]

anyone guess my bf and do you see what i mean about the mid rift

[tall76]

Bf maybe around 15?? Idk I'm not good at that. What are ur sources for carbs right now or maybe post ur diet

[testchef]

Bf maybe around 15?? Idk I'm not good at that. What are ur sources for carbs right now or maybe post ur diet

7ish oats and shake
10ish tuna salad
1.30 chicken brown pasta veg
4 pm pwo shake
4.30 chicken or fish with brown rice
7ish eggs *4 steak lean
10ish fish and salad

main carb sources are brown rice and pasta brown bread
sometimes legumes . haricote beans kidney beans etc
i try stay away from potato and bread as much as poss as it sticks to me
rice and pas6ta bloat me abit so its small amount of them and load up on chick and fish etc
can i change rice and pasta for just vegetables and get my carbs that way ?

[--->>405<<---]

For what its worth test ive beenn cutting for 3 months and been able to go from 22% down to 13-15% eating 300g pro and 100g carb and 55g fat... And im still getting leaner and havr actually gone up in LBM.. I didnt see where u posted ur current weight and without knowing ur LBm its kinda hard to figure out how many cals u should be eating... Im eatn 2200 with the split i just told u.. If i were u id drop the amt of carbs ur eating down.. Ur eatn 180g/day... Try it at 120/day and up ur protein to 320 and see if the fat starts coming off.. Everyones difft in how carbs affect them but at 100g/day i have enuff energy to do 45 min fasted cardio in the am and lift at lunch.. I do this 5days/week.. I weigh 195lb...

Based on ur cals/macro ur at 180carb/261pro/56f. Maybe ud do better at 120/320/56.. For me less carbs = less fat on my arse

If u can itd also be better to have egg whites at meal 1 instead of shake (assuming its pro powder) and id also find a better carb source than pasta... Also when u say tuna salad does it have mayo??

Id move the 4:30 carb to pwo eith the shake and add fibrous green veggie in at 4:30.. U could prob move that to 5pm if time permits..

The 7ish eggs.. How many whole eggs in there??Could prob find a healthier fat source than yolk..

The 10pm meal salad does it have dressing? For my before bed meal i have 5oz chk breast,1cup lowfat cottage cheese,2 tbs nat pb...

[testchef]

For what its worth test ive beenn cutting for 3 months and been able to go from 22% down to 13-15% eating 300g pro and 100g carb and 55g fat... And im still getting leaner and havr actually gone up in LBM.. I didnt see where u posted ur current weight and without knowing ur LBm its kinda hard to figure out how many cals u should be eating... Im eatn 2200 with the split i just told u.. If i were u id drop the amt of carbs ur eating down.. Ur eatn 180g/day... Try it at 120/day and up ur protein to 320 and see if the fat starts coming off.. Everyones difft in how carbs affect them but at 100g/day i have enuff energy to do 45 min fasted cardio in the am and lift at lunch.. I do this 5days/week.. I weigh 195lb...

Based on ur cals/macro ur at 180carb/261pro/56f. Maybe ud do better at 120/320/56.. For me less carbs = less fat on my arse

If u can itd also be better to have egg whites at meal 1 instead of shake (assuming its pro powder) and id also find a better carb source than pasta... Also when u say tuna salad does it have mayo??

Id move the 4:30 carb to pwo eith the shake and add fibrous green veggie in at 4:30.. U could prob move that to 5pm if time permits..

The 7ish eggs.. How many whole eggs in there??Could prob find a healthier fat source than yolk..

The 10pm meal salad does it have dressing? For my before bed meal i have 5oz chk breast,1cup lowfat cottage cheese,2 tbs nat pb...

im 230 lb 6.4 feet
yes its whole eggs i f**kin love the yolk
greens are good can deal with that whites at meal one you mean as in scrambled ?
salads are very little oil i like to use alot of ginger and chilli touch of soy sauce in my salads.
to be honest i dont mind just eating chicken turkey or lean steak allday

[tall76]

Yes I would mess with ur macros a little to bring the carbs down. I am the driest and tightest when I cut out bread completely also the pasta. I don't use beans so not sure about those. My carb sources are oats, sweet potato, brown rice. So quickly looking at ur macros ur at 180g for carbs. A real simple carb cycle would be go Mon-thurs carbs down at 100g then fri- sat bring them up to 180 and Sunday fuel up with 220g. Don't think u can eat crappy food on that fuel up day.

[--->>405<<---]

Dang dude.. 6.4 feet and 230lb.. Ur a good sized dude..

I dont know how u came up with 2300 tdee but ur bmr if ur bf is 15% is 2285cals... Depending how many days u work out(if 5days/week) would put ur tdee at 3541cals.. I run 900cals below tdee cuz it tends to be a tad on the high side.. If u ran the same deficit u would be eating 2641cals/day and be 900 under tdee based on lbm...

It appears ur not eating enuff..!! U weigh 35lbs more than me and im eating only 100cals less than u and 40more grams of protein/day..

If i were u id drop carbs down to 120g , up protein to 380g and see how u do.. Thatd put u close to the split ive had great succes with.. Itd also bring u to 2500 cals/day.. My guess is u will eat more food and lose more fat... Have ur carbs only in meal 1,preWO,&PWO , split ur protein 6 ways .. Total ur macros and if u need more fat add natty pb before bed.. Lowfat(2%) cottage cheese is a good slow digesting protein before bed.. Id stick to carbs proven to work:brn rice,oats,sweet potato and thats it.. (except fibrous green veggies like broc,asparagus,spinach) Id also come up with ur revised diet and post it with times and macros and workout times ... Thats what id do..

[neversurrendr]

I agree with TestChef regarding carb cycling. However, my opinion, stop cardio and diet for 7 days' then hit it hard. You may need shock your system a bit. That usually helps me.

[testchef]

Dang dude.. 6.4 feet and 230lb.. Ur a good sized dude..

I dont know how u came up with 2300 tdee but ur bmr if ur bf is 15% is 2285cals... Depending how many days u work out(if 5days/week) would put ur tdee at 3541cals.. I run 900cals below tdee cuz it tends to be a tad on the high side.. If u ran the same deficit u would be eating 2641cals/day and be 900 under tdee based on lbm...

It appears ur not eating enuff..!! U weigh 35lbs more than me and im eating only 100cals less than u and 40more grams of protein/day..

If i were u id drop carbs down to 120g , up protein to 380g and see how u do.. Thatd put u close to the split ive had great succes with.. Itd also bring u to 2500 cals/day.. My guess is u will eat more food and lose more fat... Have ur carbs only in meal 1,preWO,&PWO , split ur protein 6 ways .. Total ur macros and if u need more fat add natty pb before bed.. Lowfat(2%) cottage cheese is a good slow digesting protein before bed.. Id stick to carbs proven to work:brn rice,oats,sweet potato and thats it.. (except fibrous green veggies like broc,asparagus,spinach) Id also come up with ur revised diet and post it with times and macros and workout times ... Thats what id do..

ok so ive tried working a diet around a 30/60/10 split finding it very hard to get that much protien needing 360 g per day any advice on that using chicken and turkey not so much fish cos of the natural fats . ?

[testchef]

this would be my typical day

6.30 wake up ihr fasted cardio(really want to shake this belly so changing this to main cardio time)
8.00 meal 1
11.00 meal 2
2.00 meal 3
2.30-3.30 work out
pwo nutrition - my shake consists of 200 cals-3g c-41g p-3.4g f
4.00 meal 4
7.00 meal 5
10.00 meal 6

any help planning this diet would be appriciated

looking at 30/60/10 split
2400cals
180g carbs
360g pro
26g fat

thanks people

[--->>405<<---]

test i can give u the protein i eat per day and the amounts which total 305g.. ud only need to up the portions slightly on a few..
meal1:1whole egg,5 whites,3 oz shrimp,chikn or grnd beef (96%fatfree)
meal2:5oz chk breast
meal3PWO)2 scoops whey
meal4:6oz(96%fatfree)grnd beef
meal5:2cans tuna
meal6:1cup 2%cottage cheese,5oz chikn,2 tbs nat pb

like i said thats just the proteins and it comes to 305g..all ud need to do is up the serving size on a couple meals to get to 360..i eat that with no problem..could eat more meat easily

[--->>405<<---]

test i can give u the protein i eat per day and the amounts which total 305g.. Ud only need to up the portions slightly on a few..
Meal1:1whole egg,5 whites,3 oz shrimp,chikn or grnd beef (96%fatfree) pick one and add to the eggs
meal2:5oz chk breast
meal3pwo)2 scoops whey
meal4:6oz(96%fatfree)grnd beef
meal5:2cans tuna
meal6:1cup 2%cottage cheese,5oz chikn,2 tbs nat pb this meal i eat all 3 of these

like i said thats just the proteins and it comes to 305g..all ud need to do is up the serving size on a couple meals to get to 360..i eat that with no problem..could eat more meat easily

hope this helps

[testchef]

test i can give u the protein i eat per day and the amounts which total 305g.. ud only need to up the portions slightly on a few..
meal1:1whole egg,5 whites,3 oz shrimp,chikn or grnd beef (96%fatfree)
meal2:5oz chk breast
meal3PWO)2 scoops whey
meal4:6oz(96%fatfree)grnd beef
meal5:2cans tuna
meal6:1cup 2%cottage cheese,5oz chikn,2 tbs nat pb

like i said thats just the proteins and it comes to 305g..all ud need to do is up the serving size on a couple meals to get to 360..i eat that with no problem..could eat more meat easily

thanks for that
i could eat meat all day long just not sure if that would be particularly good for me ..... prob not .
apprieciated

[--->>405<<---]

i noticed u kept the carbs at 180g.. IMO thats too many.. i however dont know if u plan on cycling those carbs throughout the week.. i havent done a carb cycle but am aware that it can be very effective.. personally for myself the closer to 100g i am the better i lose fat i do better with more protein and more fat.. 58%P/18%c/23%f

[--->>405<<---]

thanks for that
i could eat meat all day long just not sure if that would be particularly good for me ..... prob not .
apprieciated

ur welcome.. just so we understand each other i was not suggesting that be all u eat.. i was just giving u my current diet of protein for each meal..obviously u will want to include carbs in meals 1,3,and PWO as well as fibrous green veggies maybe in meal 2,3,and 5

[Papiriqui]

thanks for that
i could eat meat all day long just not sure if that would be particularly good for me ..... prob not .
apprieciated

I think you can eat meat all day without a problem, chicken, tilapia, ground beef, turkey, as long as you get the right amount in, meaning what you are aiming for. If you shoot for 400g protein a day then devide that among all the meats you want to eat, take into acct that carbs and fata have slight amount of proteins as well.

What i did and helped me a lot was an excel spreadsheet to calculate every little thing i added or took of from my diet plan.

[testchef]

yes i thought it would be better to lower the fats . what ever i try do seem to get carbs up to that .
will try your protien levels but in b igger portions il eat like that for the rest of the week and keep note of everything then do micros come sunday see where im hitting and make adjustments from there .

[testchef]

yes we understand each other ha ha



spead sheet sounds good idea tar

[--->>405<<---]

check out www.fitday.com thats where i calculate all my meals.. they have an inventory for macros but personally i prefer to plug all mine in and save them.. once u get that done it becomes fairly easy

as far as the carbs go since they carry the same cals/gram as the protein if u just kept ur fat where it was (56g) and droppd carbs 60g and raised protein 60g u would be at same cals/day.. ur fats would change cuz of the increase in protein but as long as ur meat choices are lean the fats should be where theyre supposed to be

[Papiriqui]

yes we understand each other ha ha



spead sheet sounds good idea tar

Yeah if you know how to do the formulas which are fairly easy since all you need is a sum of whatever cells, just add all the food along with their macros and get a result for each meal and as well as a total of cal, pro, carbs, fats.

If you cant do this i can send you mine and all you have to do is change my foods to yours and thats about it, they are color coded, etc.