Bodybuilding w/ a Low Carb Lifestyle?

I have noticed that most T-Nation authors are on low carb diets that don’t include clean carbs such as brown rice , oats etc.

On personal experience I find these diets difficult to follow, I am tired all the time, cant sleep, have to pump myself up with supp just to lift anything near what i would lift with carbs.

I have made friends with alot of natural bodybuilders in the gym who compete and they think diets are too taxing on the body and only use it around 2 weeks before a comp.

Now dont get me wrong i think T-Nation is the best training website on the planet

My questions are

Are people following this diets all year round ?

Are these diets something you can follow for life ?

Some authors, like Christian Thibaudeau, are on a low carb diet all year long. Chad Waterbury likes a more balanced ratio of all macro nutrients, such as 40-30-30.

Some people can follow this all year long, and some people can’t. No one can answer the second question except for YOU.

If you don’t do well on a low carb diet, then you don’t do well with them. Plain and simple. Your insulin sensitivity might be high and a low carb diet might be bad for you. But, I have to ask, how long were you on it for?

Some people do poorly on a low carb diet, and get fat from simply smelling baked bread :stuck_out_tongue:

I on the other hand, am not on a low carb diet per se, but I try to limit my carbs to those found in fruits and vegetables, and some legumes.

It all comes down to variability and goals. Its hard (not impossible) to gain slabs of muscle on a low carb diet, while at the same time, its wise to regulate insulin levels better when trying to diet down. But some people can’t even lose fat on a low carb diet.

See where I’m going with this?

You have to find out yourself. If indeed carbs work for you, then all I have to say is…you lucky bastard :stuck_out_tongue:

Most folks have also built a pretty good foundation while not worrying about carbs, and as they reach a certain level, focus more on defining their bulk. IN such instances, you don’t really need as many carbs in your daily intake.

As far as natty BBers only cutting the last two weeks… that’s load of crap. I’m friends with several of the top Natty Pros in the WNBF, and they all keep “as many carbs as possible while still losing” in order to hold onto their LBM. I’ve done a similar approach myself, and there’s no way I could have achieved my level of conditioning otherwise.

S

Carbs are very important. Unless someone is near advanced in terms of development (like CT is), I don’t think it is a good idea to START OUT on some extremely low carb diet.

CT isn’t trying to gain another 40lbs last I checked. He already has a solid base. I eat less carbs now but more overall fat than I used to, however, I do not worry much about carb intake (aside from cutting back a little if I notice I am gaining too much fat) unless I am trying to specifically drop weight.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Carbs are very important. Unless someone is near advanced in terms of development (like CT is), I don’t think it is a good idea to START OUT on some extremely low carb diet.

CT isn’t trying to gain another 40lbs last I checked. He already has a solid base. I eat less carbs now but more overall fat than I used to, however, I do not worry much about carb intake (aside from cutting back a little if I notice I am gaining too much fat) unless I am trying to specifically drop weight.[/quote]

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%

[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%[/quote]

The carbs did it.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%

The carbs did it.[/quote]

must have been the oatmeal

[quote]Professor X wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%

The carbs did it.[/quote]

You look a lot fucking different now. Too many carbs makes you white?

I’ve tried low carbs for the past week, due to being young and wanting some abs for the summer.

Other than some major cravings for chocolate and other stuff like that I felt ok

I even blasted through a little sticking point I had on squats.

Although - I felt like passing out towards the end of my leg session.

[quote]Free2Be wrote:
Professor X wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%

The carbs did it.

You look a lot fucking different now. Too many carbs makes you white?[/quote]

Just white bread. Corn makes you Mexican for some strange reason.

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Free2Be wrote:
Professor X wrote:
jehovasfitness wrote:

jesus dude, see what happens when you bulk… one day you’re at like 18% BF, then BAM! you’re at 40%

The carbs did it.

You look a lot fucking different now. Too many carbs makes you white?

Just white bread. Corn makes you Mexican for some strange reason.[/quote]

I’m white and want to tan better: Corn, Corn bread?

I’ve eaten wheat bread didn’t work.

[quote]Pologazz wrote:

On personal experience I find these diets difficult to follow, I am tired all the time, cant sleep, have to pump myself up with supp just to lift anything near what i would lift with carbs.
[/quote]

I would just add that for me personally, it becomes much less difficult to follow with time.

[quote]robs wrote:
Pologazz wrote:

On personal experience I find these diets difficult to follow, I am tired all the time, cant sleep, have to pump myself up with supp just to lift anything near what i would lift with carbs.

I would just add that for me personally, it becomes much less difficult to follow with time.
[/quote]

Unless someone is trying to drop body fat, why would they follow this strategy if they feel like crap? Gaining should be the time that you do NOT feel like crap.

Eat your carbs.

I suggest patterning them around training and earlier in the day if you gain fat easily from starchy carbs, but otherwise sweet potatos, rice, corn, wheat or whole grain bread, plenty of fresh fruit…

Unless you’re trying to diet down to super-low BF levels, eat your carbs - your training will be better for it.

And wow - I just noticed the new avatar X.

So, you really went nuts with the bulk eh? Plus, you seem to have that Michael Jackson disease, because you’re now a white guy…

Nice tits. ; )

[quote]SkyNett wrote:
Unless you’re trying to diet down to super-low BF levels, eat your carbs - your training will be better for it. [/quote]

WITHOUT A DOUBT.

I think the typical carbophobe completely loses sight of the fact that TRAINING is the primary objective here. Instead, they’ll fixate on some target bodyfat level and precise eating strategies at the direct expense of their training. Kind of funny actually.

I don’t know- I’ve been doing the Anabolic Diet (in fourth week now) and my strength is going up faster than previously, but I had a rough week and had to take some extra rest days so that might explain it, too.

Definitely don’t feel any weaker… but I’m not “bulking” either…

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Most folks have also built a pretty good foundation while not worrying about carbs, and as they reach a certain level, focus more on defining their bulk. IN such instances, you don’t really need as many carbs in your daily intake.

As far as natty BBers only cutting the last two weeks… that’s load of crap. I’m friends with several of the top Natty Pros in the WNBF, and they all keep “as many carbs as possible while still losing” in order to hold onto their LBM. I’ve done a similar approach myself, and there’s no way I could have achieved my level of conditioning otherwise.

good points I think your totally right, i lost a stack of muscle on these diets ( not that i had much in the first place due to being on these diets for so long ) , do you follow any specific diets or meal plans posted on this site ? do you taper off the carbs towards the end of the day ?