T Nation

Low Carb Diet Help

#1

I have been dieting since January and have been pretty strict on my nutrition. I am down 80 pounds now and have increased some muscle size and strength. Lately I have noticed that the day after an intense heavy workout I feel like a bag of crap with no energy, almost like I could fall asleep at any moment. I figure it is because my body is using up resources to repair the muscle tissue but the glycogen is in short supply. What kind of carbs should I eat on these non-workout days to keep a good anabolic environment? My diet usually goes as follows;

6am 4 egg omlette with cheddar cheese sprinkled in
9am chicken breast or 2 cans tuna or 250 ml low fat yogurt with 2 scoops of EAS 100% Whey Protein mixed in
12pm whole food like either chicken breast, 2 cans of tuna, lean sirloin, or lean ground beef
3pm 2 scoop protein shake and creatine with skim milk (EAS 100% Whey Protein), non workout days - 6pm dinner of steak, ground beef, chicken breast, salmon or trout with broccoli or spinach or asparagus. workout days - 1 scoop maltodextron with water and creatine to drink during workout, then 2 scoop protein shake post workout, then same whole food dinner as above about 45 minutes after workout.

Workout days are Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

I drink about 4 - 5 litres of water per day and take a multivitamin every day (Allmax Vitastack). I also cycle an eca stack 2 times per day 2 weeks on 2 weeks off.

I am thinking maybe oatmeal for breakfast every day and cut the eggs down to 2 yolkes and 4 whites to go with it and maybe some brown rice with lunch and an apple with the 9am meal. Please let me know what you think I should do.

Thank you.

#2

There’s your problem, you have hardly any carbs in your diet…add some oats

#3

That’s what I was thinking, but I didn’t want to add too many carbs at once. I started at 376lbs and am now at 296. I was planning on adding the carbs at around 300lbs. That’s why I added the yogurt.

#4

That’s great progress but your body needs carbs to fuel your workouts and overall energy…If you only ate .5 grams of carbs per lb you would only be at around 150grams a day, and that is a good amount, especially trying to lose fat/weight.

I would only eat your carbs at breakfast/preworkout/post workout and try to spread your meals and calories in 6-7 equal small meals a day, makes life a lot easier when you have your diet set bro

#5

[quote]Hintonshawn88 wrote:
That’s great progress but your body needs carbs to fuel your workouts and overall energy…If you only ate .5 grams of carbs per lb you would only be at around 150grams a day, and that is a good amount, especially trying to lose fat/weight.

I would only eat your carbs at breakfast/preworkout/post workout and try to spread your meals and calories in 6-7 equal small meals a day, makes life a lot easier when you have your diet set bro[/quote]

I have done this before, and I appreciate the advice. I always found that I go keto for a bit and cycle carbs in the back end. Once metabolism is up and I am coasting I add carbs to get about 200-300 per day but all clean carbs. I just don’t want to add too much too quick so I am thinking about adding 50 grams a week for the next 3 weeks then do a week of keto again. Then cycle back in the carbs and get them back up. I found before that oatmeral in the morning didn’t give me much energy. That’s why I thought about the apple, good for polyphenols and stuff.

RB

#6

sweet potatoes, oranges, grapefruit, beans, grapes, etc…and congratulations on losing the weight