Need some outside critique on my current carb cycle!

[Atomini]

I'm pretty confident that i'm right where I want to be, but sometimes we need that outside critique from a different angle to tell us what we might be doing wrong or what we could be doing better. I am currently carb cycling to try and get shredded, and get those abs showing. I'm currently on week 5/10 of a cycle on top of this carb cycle. Lets cover what i'm currently using before I get to the diet:

Gear
Testosterone Propionate at 100mg weekly
Trenbolone Acetate at 200mg weekly
Anavar at 100mg daily

Ancillaries
Albuterol Sulfate at 16mg daily (4 tablets per day)
Ketotifen Fumarate for upregulation of Beta-2 receptors every other week at 2mg daily taken before bed for a week
Cabergoline 1mg weekly

Alright, so i've been doing this for 5 weeks out of 10 and have been dropping bodyfat at a steady rate and am happy with results so far, but who knows, maybe I could be burning even more fat by adjusting something and I don't even know it. At first I was doing 3 low carb days followed by 1 very high carb day. I found it was working but not as well as I wanted, so I did some adjustments, such as lowering my protein intake on low carb days (I was eating way too much) and I also switched the overall scheme about 2 weeks in to the following:

Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Medium carb day (100 - 150g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Very high carb day (pretty much a cheat day, 500+g of carbs daily)
Repeat the cycle

Low carb day
Meal 1 (7:30am – 8:00am)
1 x protein bar (290 calories, 30g protein, 8g fat, 24g carbs)
1/3 cup 5-grain granola (200 calories, 5g protein, 6g fat, 32g carbs)

Meal 2 (11:00am)
1 cup egg whites (200 calories, 28g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
Big bowl of leafy greens (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
5 - 10g almonds (86 calories, 3g protein, 7g fat, 0g carbs)
2 tablespoon olive oil with vinegar dressing (238 calories, 0g protein, 28g fat, 0g carbs)

Meal 3 (1:30pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios

Meal 4 (4:00pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios

Meal 5 (6:15pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios OR 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Meal 6 (9:30pm – 10:00pm)
½ cup 2% cottage cheese (100 calories, 15g protein, 2g fat, 6g carbs)
Big bowl of leafy greens (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
5 - 10g almonds (86 calories, 3g protein, 7g fat, 0g carbs)
2 tablespoon olive oil with vinegar dressing (238 calories, 0g protein, 28g fat, 0g carbs)

Medium carb day
Everything is pretty much the exact same as the low carb day, EXCEPT: meals 2 and 3 have 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oats included with them in order to increase medium carb day to 100 - 150g carbs for the day. In those meals, protein sources are reduced to 120g and fat intake is reduced in those meals as well.

Very high carb day
Pretty much a cheat day... I gorge on everything in sight in each of my meals except meal 6. Protein source is reduced to 120g servings with whatever carbs consumbed, and fat intake is lowered quite a bit.

So I have been happy so far with my results on this, but i'd like to know if there is anything I can do to improve what I am doing to perhaps optimize. I need 3rd party input here, because if I look at all this myself I become biased and often times refuse to make changes or see faults. I have not calorie counted or macro counted as meticulously as I normally would on this due to the cyclical nature of the diet. Some notes and clarifications:

- When I say "135g lean protein source" or "120g lean protein source", this doesn't mean I am eating 135g of protein. It means the protein source itself (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) is measured to the amount of 135g. I do not measure my food in ounces, I only do it in grams. If you want to know what 135g is in ounces, then just plug it into an online measurement converter.
- I WAS intaking 140-150g of protein for the first 2 weeks prior to what I have just listed (dropping it to 135g on low carb days) but I found it was way too much protein and that fat wasn't dropping as fast as I wanted.
- I may be increasing my Albuterol dose to an extra 1 - 2 tablets per day very soon.
- I have totally given up on electronic bodyfat checkers. The handheld checker at the gym has told me I am 16% with no drop in the 4+ weeks I have been doing this (actually, last week it told me I went up in bodyfat to 16.6%) yet I am visibly seeing myself get leaner in the mirror. The foot scale tells me i'm 21.6% bodyfat, so fvck that thing.
- I have gone up in strength in the gym like crazy. I never expected this due to my diet being focused on shredding.
- I have also put ON muscle mass while losing some bodyfat as well, as I am up about 6 lbs. on the scale. I am assuming the Tren and Anavar are doing their job here.

Any critique, adjustments, questions, etc. to make things better here are welcome.

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

hey man..

what r ur stats?

what r the total cals and macros of the diet? if ur eating the same thing every day for the specified days u would only have to figure it out once..

IMO the "cheat day" is probably hurting you

the protein bar, is it homemade??

what does ur workout look like on each of the days?

how much cardio u doing per week and when r u doing it?

[Atomini]

Current stats: 5'10", 207 lbs., about 13% bodyfat.

I haven't calculated total macros and cals like I did with my previous diets but I am going to probably do that for this one either today or tomorrow and then post it up here.

Cheat day I am aware is probably doing more harm than good, and as of this point forward I am going to stop that and change it to all complex carbs on the 'very high day' accompanied with maybe one cheat meal.

Workouts don't fall on any specific day, I train every other day regardless of what day it is or if it is a low, medium, or high carb day. If workouts land on a low day, then I ONLY consume carbs post-workout (aside from the 1st meal of the day). Post-workout carbs is simply 1/2 cup of oats blended into a shake. No pre-workout carbs. I have no problems not consuming pre-workout carbs, my workouts are fine and intensity and pumps are always sky high. No cardio either. When cutting, I haven't done cardio in about 6 years and have no issues dropping fat without it. I also don't have the time to allot for that hour or two of cardio every day these days.

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

training EOD is a great protocol and what i currently use. running a similar diet as urs except a 7 day cycle with 3 moderate days and one extremely high day i would stall out around 11-12% due to IMO the extremely high day. i have found glycogen depletion and subsequent supercompensation to be effective with me but only to a point.

i have also found carbs pre workout ONLY to be very effective. theres a school of thought out there (and i havent researched this) that carbs PWO reduced protein synthesis. assuming this were true u would benefit more to have ur carbs pre workout as opposed to PWO. this is what i do and have had pretty good success. have cut from 13.1% to 9.9% in 6 weeks with no other chems than TRT without losing LBM, but to the contrary gaining it (be it minimal - a pound or two).

i have also experienced more of a benefit from doing no carbs EOD instead of multiple days in a row of no carbs, and its easier. fasting is also a good tool to utilize for many reasons. im not suggesting u change ur protocol at this point just trying to provide u with some info that i have acquired and benefited well from.

also obviously if u did cardio ur results would come a lot faster IMO.. but u know this..

[human project]

I'm pretty confident that i'm right where I want to be, but sometimes we need that outside critique from a different angle to tell us what we might be doing wrong or what we could be doing better. I am currently carb cycling to try and get shredded, and get those abs showing. I'm currently on week 5/10 of a cycle on top of this carb cycle. Lets cover what i'm currently using before I get to the diet:

Gear
Testosterone Propionate at 100mg weekly
Trenbolone Acetate at 200mg weekly
Anavar at 100mg daily

Ancillaries
Albuterol Sulfate at 16mg daily (4 tablets per day)
Ketotifen Fumarate for upregulation of Beta-2 receptors every other week at 2mg daily taken before bed for a week
Cabergoline 1mg weekly

Alright, so i've been doing this for 5 weeks out of 10 and have been dropping bodyfat at a steady rate and am happy with results so far, but who knows, maybe I could be burning even more fat by adjusting something and I don't even know it. At first I was doing 3 low carb days followed by 1 very high carb day. I found it was working but not as well as I wanted, so I did some adjustments, such as lowering my protein intake on low carb days (I was eating way too much) and I also switched the overall scheme about 2 weeks in to the following:

Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Medium carb day (100 - 150g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Low carb day (less than 50g of carbs daily)
Very high carb day (pretty much a cheat day, 500+g of carbs daily)
Repeat the cycle

Low carb day
Meal 1 (7:30am - 8:00am)
1 x protein bar (290 calories, 30g protein, 8g fat, 24g carbs)
1/3 cup 5-grain granola (200 calories, 5g protein, 6g fat, 32g carbs)

Meal 2 (11:00am)
1 cup egg whites (200 calories, 28g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
Big bowl of leafy greens (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
5 - 10g almonds (86 calories, 3g protein, 7g fat, 0g carbs)
2 tablespoon olive oil with vinegar dressing (238 calories, 0g protein, 28g fat, 0g carbs)

Meal 3 (1:30pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios

Meal 4 (4:00pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios

Meal 5 (6:15pm)
135g lean protein source (approx 200 - 230 calories, 27g protein, 9g fat, 0g carbs)
Small handful of unsalted pistachios OR 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Meal 6 (9:30pm - 10:00pm)
½ cup 2% cottage cheese (100 calories, 15g protein, 2g fat, 6g carbs)
Big bowl of leafy greens (0 calories, 0g protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
5 - 10g almonds (86 calories, 3g protein, 7g fat, 0g carbs)
2 tablespoon olive oil with vinegar dressing (238 calories, 0g protein, 28g fat, 0g carbs)

Medium carb day
Everything is pretty much the exact same as the low carb day, EXCEPT: meals 2 and 3 have 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oats included with them in order to increase medium carb day to 100 - 150g carbs for the day. In those meals, protein sources are reduced to 120g and fat intake is reduced in those meals as well.

Very high carb day
Pretty much a cheat day... I gorge on everything in sight in each of my meals except meal 6. Protein source is reduced to 120g servings with whatever carbs consumbed, and fat intake is lowered quite a bit.

So I have been happy so far with my results on this, but i'd like to know if there is anything I can do to improve what I am doing to perhaps optimize. I need 3rd party input here, because if I look at all this myself I become biased and often times refuse to make changes or see faults. I have not calorie counted or macro counted as meticulously as I normally would on this due to the cyclical nature of the diet. Some notes and clarifications:

- When I say "135g lean protein source" or "120g lean protein source", this doesn't mean I am eating 135g of protein. It means the protein source itself (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) is measured to the amount of 135g. I do not measure my food in ounces, I only do it in grams. If you want to know what 135g is in ounces, then just plug it into an online measurement converter.
- I WAS intaking 140-150g of protein for the first 2 weeks prior to what I have just listed (dropping it to 135g on low carb days) but I found it was way too much protein and that fat wasn't dropping as fast as I wanted.
- I may be increasing my Albuterol dose to an extra 1 - 2 tablets per day very soon.
- I have totally given up on electronic bodyfat checkers. The handheld checker at the gym has told me I am 16% with no drop in the 4+ weeks I have been doing this (actually, last week it told me I went up in bodyfat to 16.6%) yet I am visibly seeing myself get leaner in the mirror. The foot scale tells me i'm 21.6% bodyfat, so fvck that thing.
- I have gone up in strength in the gym like crazy. I never expected this due to my diet being focused on shredding.
- I have also put ON muscle mass while losing some bodyfat as well, as I am up about 6 lbs. on the scale. I am assuming the Tren and Anavar are doing their job here.

Any critique, adjustments, questions, etc. to make things better here are welcome.

Subscribed.... Wow 50g of carbs 3 days in a row???? Your a freakin animal in my book... A croc maybe. How's your energy during the day and cardio??

[Atomini]

training EOD is a great protocol and what i currently use. running a similar diet as urs except a 7 day cycle with 3 moderate days and one extremely high day i would stall out around 11-12% due to IMO the extremely high day. i have found glycogen depletion and subsequent supercompensation to be effective with me but only to a point.

i have also found carbs pre workout ONLY to be very effective. theres a school of thought out there (and i havent researched this) that carbs PWO reduced protein synthesis. assuming this were true u would benefit more to have ur carbs pre workout as opposed to PWO. this is what i do and have had pretty good success. have cut from 13.1% to 9.9% in 6 weeks with no other chems than TRT without losing LBM, but to the contrary gaining it (be it minimal - a pound or two).

i have also experienced more of a benefit from doing no carbs EOD instead of multiple days in a row of no carbs, and its easier. fasting is also a good tool to utilize for many reasons. im not suggesting u change ur protocol at this point just trying to provide u with some info that i have acquired and benefited well from.

also obviously if u did cardio ur results would come a lot faster IMO.. but u know this..

In regards to your idea of doing carbs pre workout only instead of post workout, I am going to start that ASAP! I don't know if it would make THAT much of a difference, considering its only a 1/2 cup of oats but I might as well switch it up and try it, I have nothing to lose.

Also, concerning no carbs EOD instead of multiple no-carb days in succession, I am under the understanding that the reason multiple days low carb is preferred is because the body will not tap into more fat as fuel if not enough zero-carb time has passed (most say 3 days is the sweet spot). But this theory could be wrong. How would you go about doing EOD low carbing? One day no carb, followed by one day high carb and repeat? Any medium days in there? No point in switching to this right now but I want to try this out next time I decide to cut.

Subscribed.... Wow 50g of carbs 3 days in a row???? Your a freakin animal in my book... A croc maybe. How's your energy during the day and cardio??

Yup, no more than 50g carbs consumed on the low-carb days. I have found no issues with energy, strength, or pumps in the gym since doing this for the last 5 weeks. HOWEVER, the experience of doing this while ON cycle as opposed to OFF cycle is very different. I've done this protocol without gear before and didn't go up in strength, and although I don't think I lost muscle (or at least very minimal amounts were lost), my muscles would look very flat due to the carb depletion. This isn't happening this time around likely due to the gear i'm using.

The hardest part of course is mentally putting up with this, but it's not that hard when you have something like Albuterol lowering your appetite a bit.

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

In regards to your idea of doing carbs pre workout only instead of post workout, I am going to start that ASAP! I don't know if it would make THAT much of a difference, considering its only a 1/2 cup of oats but I might as well switch it up and try it, I have nothing to lose.

Also, concerning no carbs EOD instead of multiple no-carb days in succession, I am under the understanding that the reason multiple days low carb is preferred is because the body will not tap into more fat as fuel if not enough zero-carb time has passed (most say 3 days is the sweet spot). But this theory could be wrong. How would you go about doing EOD low carbing? One day no carb, followed by one day high carb and repeat? Any medium days in there? No point in switching to this right now but I want to try this out next time I decide to cut.

this is what im doing and its freaking awesome and working great:

EOD lifting upper/lower split big lifts only. 5 rep range increasing weight each set. 3 work sets as heavy as u can go for 5 reps..

training day diet: (initial phase)
100-150g protein pre workout split over 3 meals
350g carbs pre workout only start complex and finish high GI immediately pre w/o (3 meals)
5g leucine intra workout
50g ZERO CARB protein powder PWO
1-2lbs meat for the rest of the day (plus i have a big spinach salad with raw veggies)

works out to approx: 400g pro, 350g carbs(i dont count veg carbs), 60g fat 3500cals

non-train:
fast 12 hrs after waking
eat according to appetite with NO starch carbs
usually for me this is 1 pound lean beef, a big spinach salad (like 1lb of spinach big) whole tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, onion, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, turkey pepperoni
i also have a bag of salt and vinegar pork skins after my cardio

cardio: non training days only split into 2 sessions: 30min light interval/60min moderate

kicking ass diet. after results slow u simply reduce carbs from 350g to 200g.. after this u can reduce to 150g but instead im going to go 2 days non-training in a row and 1 day training..

this can be used for lean bulking as well. the idea is manipulating the frequency of fasting days and training days to achieve desired results..

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

the concept ur referring to by running low carbs several days consecutively is glycogen depletion. IMO if this is what u wanna do u need to drop the protein bar as well as the granola and cottage cheese..

once glycogen is depleted u can then utilize body fat for fuel. dietary carbs will be used first..

also u want to do depletion workouts to achieve this.. high volume low weight and 45-60secs spent under tension per set.. 5-6 sets per body part total body 2 days in a row works well.

[Atomini]

So today which happened to be a medium carb day, I just attempted carbs pre-workout ONLY. Post-workout was simply protein and that's it. I'm actually really enjoying this, I feel less bloated after consuming my shake post-workout with no carbs than when I include carbs. Lets see how this holds up in the long run.

[human project]

So today which happened to be a medium carb day, I just attempted carbs pre-workout ONLY. Post-workout was simply protein and that's it. I'm actually really enjoying this, I feel less bloated after consuming my shake post-workout with no carbs than when I include carbs. Lets see how this holds up in the long run.

I've been hearing so many ppl complain about carb bloat when dieting.... I flippen love carb bloat when I'm dieting.... I hate gettin soooo flat... No matter how hard I diet I even add a little slin every week or two for a day (pre and post workout either legs or baxk day) just to bring some carb bloat or maybe just some fullness back... Not talking smack I just saw a video where Kevin Leverone "how ever the hell you spell it" said he loved the keto diet bc it didn't give him any carb bloat... I thought it to be strange... Just my 2 cents

[Atomini]

Oh don't get me wrong, I LOVE the near instantaneous increased vascularity and fullness in the muscles from carbing up after a workout, no doubt. The problem I have is the BLOATING. You know, the soft puffy look. Of course, it all depends on what type of carbs consumed and how much, but most of the time if I do a heavy heavy carb-up after a workout, I get the awesome vascularity and fullness but I also get that bloat.

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

hey atomini i suggest (assuming u havent already) google "CPWO" carbless post workout. ur a research guy, im curious to see what u pull off the internet! i think u will find the protocol informative and a worthwhile venture!

[Atomini]

Way ahead of you 405! I did some googling on no carbs post workout when I got home from the gym today and some of the stuff I read is pretty interesting. I'm going to do a lot more reading on it very soon. I found this link here I plan on reading through tomorrow:

http://testosteronemuscle.co.uk/diet...-conwict-4754/

[RaginCajun]

Way ahead of you 405! I did some googling on no carbs post workout when I got home from the gym today and some of the stuff I read is pretty interesting. I'm going to do a lot more reading on it very soon. I found this link here I plan on reading through tomorrow:

http://testosteronemuscle.co.uk/diet...-conwict-4754/

Interesting

It's almost like Marcus's prime before cycle with fasting introduced

And looks to be exactly what 405 is doing

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

good work! figd u might be