A lot of trial and error. I've read a lot of studies on nutrition, read different peoples diets (analyzed them), different websites had a lot of info, asked a lot of questions and gained a lot of knowledge from GB in the nutrition section of this forum. Everyone is different, you just need to listen to your body.Originally Posted by Deltaflaze
Everyones first step is to find out WHAT a carb/protein/fat actually does for the body.
Another part was figuring out HOW to eat. Many people think eat as much protein as possible and everything will fall into place, yet they are tired ALL the time. Well, our body receives it's energy from carbs/fats. Don't have them in your diet, I promise you your workouts will fail and you will feel lethargic. I know this because I purposely put my body in this state to see what would happen. I am not one to just read something and assume it's true. I want to know exactly how my body works and if I change something I want to know what exactly it will change and why. (obviously there are keto diets where there are no carbs)
On a cut you will be taking in more protein then carbs, but you need to utilize your carb as energy just as if you were driving a car. Here is my example for understanding what I am talking about:
You can fill your car to full and drive 1 mile, leave your car and come back 1 day later and still have that full tank of gas, same thing goes for our bodies and carbs. Like fuel is energy for cars, carbs is energy for humans. If we consume a bunch of carbs in one meal and not do any activities that require energy, our bodies hold onto the carbs for later use. If you continue eating carbs and then eventually goto the gym for example, your body will feed off the carbs it has, but chances are you have too much and you don't utilize it all. To compensate for that, you eat carbs to the point where you will use them as energy and nothing is stored.
Not getting into the science of the body with glycogen levels because that's a whole other ball game.
Here is an example of my carb cycle:
Workout days: 1500 calories/150g carbs/170g protein/25g fat
OFF days: 900 calories/0g carbs/170g protein/25g fat
Cardio only day: 1150 calories/80g carbs/25g fat
Re-Feed day: 2,000 calories/250g carbs/170g protein/25g fat
WHEN to eat is also important. I have 15% of my carbs for breakfast, 40% pre-workout and 45% post-workout. Doing this I utilize my carbs in 100% and never store anything extra. The reason WHY it is so important to have a complex carb after your workout is to refill your glycogen levels and bring nutrients to your muscles for recovery/build.
There is nothing in my diet that doesn't serve a purpose. The 2 hours you spend in the gym are important, but what you do with the other 23 hours will determine how serious you are about bringing your body to the next level.
Nutrition > everything.
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