Carb Cycling

[Grizvok]

This thread may prove to be slightly counter-intuitive (given that I'm an athlete and athletes generally want carbs) but I will give it a shot anyway. Firstly, I am an athlete that does rock climbing and NOT a bodybuilder. I am 6'1'' 165 lbs at roughly 10% body fat.

I have some pretty severe tendinitis of the brachialis and have been given a certain protocol by the doctor to try and heal it up which involves a prescription NSAID and 2-3 weeks of rest. After that I am allowed to climb very easy stuff at reduced intensity/volume while still taking the NSAID for 2-3 more weeks.

Since I am unable to climb or do any type of arm workouts I am reduced to only having cardio and core work in my daily regimen. I currently run 4 times a week for 20-25 minutes and do core specific training on Mon-Wed-Fri. I am also taking EC 25mg ephedrine and 200mg caffeine 3 times a day.

I want to know if carb cycling is something that I should look into? Since I am trying to get down to extreme lows in body fat percentage what sort of carb cycling diets should I look into? Or are there other diets out there that are better than carb cycling at getting to very low bodyfat?

I'm thinking of limiting myself to carbs at breakfast and PWO, while keeping my protein and fat intake higher during the other meals of the day.

Thanks for any help.

[TheJuicer]

I think that a low carb diet would get you were you wanna be but if your 10% now I wouldnt bother carb cycling I would just keep to a good clean diet with low complex carbs. But I do think that carb timing is very important. Breakfast, Pre Workout and Post Workout carbs are a must in my opinion. I dont consume any carbs 3-5 hours before bedtime. Also dont lower your carbs and calories too quickly or your body will think that its going in to starvation mode. Since your very active you should get to your goal in no time at all. Good Luck.

[Grizvok]

I think that a low carb diet would get you were you wanna be but if your 10% now I wouldnt bother carb cycling I would just keep to a good clean diet with low complex carbs. But I do think that carb timing is very important. Breakfast, Pre Workout and Post Workout carbs are a must in my opinion. I dont consume any carbs 3-5 hours before bedtime. Also dont lower your carbs and calories too quickly or your body will think that its going in to starvation mode. Since your very active you should get to your goal in no time at all. Good Luck.

Thanks man. As always with this awesome site, I go look at some stickies and see some ****ing incredible information. Those Milos Sarcev Nutrition seminar videos were very informative; I feel like I know 3 times as much about nutrition than I did a day ago.

I'm going to keep my carb intake up there but cut back on carbs before bed, while focusing on carb timing.


Here's my diet:


9am: 1 Apple, 1/2 cup of Oats, 1 piece of whole wheat bread w/ peanut butter and sprinkled whey (take daily vitamins)


11am: 8oz chicken with brocolli (pre workout meal, I have a fibrous carb because the amount of starchy carbs in my breakfast is quite large)


3:30 pm: 45g whey protein shake w/ 20g of dextrose w/ a blended banana (post workout shake)


7pm: 45g of whey protein w/ oats (I'm at work at this time so the shake is convenient and so are the carbs)


10pm: 8oz of Tilapia


12am: Snack of celery and some pb