Ok i’m finding it near impossible to loose the last bit of fat i can see the top 4 abs but still have a roll around my belly button. Since xmas iv tried a variety of diets and got to this point.
I then found the carb cycling article on this site which sounds great I followed it precisely and I mean I calculated everything and iv weighed my food out exactly every day for 4 weeks now!
I’m pretty lazy with shopping and cooking so my diet was very basic and consisted of only…
oats, rice, red skin potatoe, eggs whites, chicken breasts, 2 steaks a week and on occasion steak mince with fat drained. But to be honest Iv mostly eaten oats and chicken as actually love just plain oats I could eat them all day.
So I think iv done everything right only now 4 weeks on Im exactly the same weight and same body fat as I was when i started. The only thing i think iv done different is i spread my carbs evenly over 5 or 6 meals day depending on work rather than just morning and around workout, does this make that much difference?
To give an idea my carb breakdown is… high-225g medium-180 and low-120
Workoets have been 4x a week very intense even upped a few reps / weights and cardio has been 20 mins non training days 20 mins fast walk incline.
Im so determined to once in my life get cut but it seems my body is fighting me all the way I find adding muscle so easy in comparison. Id realy apreciate any guidance im so frustrated at getting no where when i thought I had it all figued out?
First question, is the walk fasted? This can definitely help. Also up the walk to 45 minutes, 20 minutes isn’t exactly an optimal amount of time.
Most people around here will tell you to change your training before your nutrition. This is good advice. If you literally feel like there’s nothing more you can try (walks fasted, walks post w/o, 2 trainings a day, etc.), THEN you can touch your diet. If it comes down to that, I’d lower your “low” day to nuts and veggies. Trace carbs. This should put you at around 40-60g of carbs a day.
I could be wrong about this, but I thought that most carb-cycling diets had a whole less carbs than you seem to be getting. 50-100g carbs on low days, which there should be 4-6 of for each high day. Eating oats, rice, and potatoes every day won’t get you where you need to be. Good for a bulk, however.
On the other hand, you look pretty ripped already, and it’s not the end of the world if you don’t see all your abs.
I agree with pc. You look pretty good dude. I would advise having your low days at only trace carbs. Then perhaps up fasted cardio a little…Than mabye reduce carbs on meduim days and so on. Your nearly there mate, good job. Just a few tweeks.
1-Lower your #'s on low days, these are the days you ‘suffer’.
2-20 mins of steady state cardio is nothing, you’re wasting time. Either raise the duration while lowering carb intake, OR keep your current Low day carb intake while replacing your cardio with interval work (the choice I would suggest to a client actually)
Thats great thanks for all them comments guys has definatly gave me something to work with. Think il add in 45 min cadrio sessions and mix it up with the odd HITT although I struggle a bit on my treadmill as it takes 30 secs to adjust its speed. I gues I have been pretty lazy cardio wise although with my workouts they are always intense and I put in maximum effort.
Think Il give that a go first then and then see about my diet.
pcdude & moogweasel, thanks for those comments guys apreciated. Pretty bad pic but when I started last year I was 15 stone of all fat.
I do have a couple more questions about the carb cycling article though.
I train in the evening and the article suggest I spread my carbs, 25% breakfast, 50% post workout shake, 25% post workout meal.
Will it be beneficial to follow this or should I spread my carbs evenly across all 6 meals?
If i follow this do the carbs from my green veg and seasonings etc count also towards my daily total carbs or i just count the carbs from whole food?
Following this example to get 50% of my carbs on my high day in my post workout shake would mean it would contain 112g of carbs lets say 40g of this is waxy maize, should I then get the other 72g from fine oats or something? Seems like an awfully big shake!
See what works best. Most people’s high days consist of carbs in every meal because they need to get 400-500g of carbs in. Since you are staying below 300 on high days, breakfast and periworkout windows are definitely your ideal times to take in carbs. Med days keep it to peri workout.
I definitely wouldn’t count veggies and seasonings into daily carbs. Those are trace carbs. That is unless you’re eating unnecessary amounts. I count carbs only from straight carb sources, not incidentals.
Consider a post workout whole meal around an hour after the workout. This still counts as post workout and will allow another opportunity to get some good carbs like potatoes and rice. Just a suggestion to avoid huge shakes.
Thanks Reedoc, This thread has been realy helpful think I hav all the info I need now to get stuck in!
I know simple carbs are consumed post workout to spike insulin and replace glycogen, would eating complex carbs relativly soon after my shake to make up the extra carbs effect this process at all?
White rice and potatoes are “technically” complex carbs, but they are high GI because they digest fast and absorb quickly anyway, so if that’s what you’re eating then no.
If you’re eating low GI carbs I know that most people give it at least an hour after consuming PWO nutrition. The GI of a meal is the average GI of all it’s constituent foods (sort of).
See what works best. Most people’s high days consist of carbs in every meal because they need to get 400-500g of carbs in. Since you are staying below 300 on high days, breakfast and periworkout windows are definitely your ideal times to take in carbs. Med days keep it to peri workout.
I definitely wouldn’t count veggies and seasonings into daily carbs. Those are trace carbs. That is unless you’re eating unnecessary amounts. I count carbs only from straight carb sources, not incidentals.
Consider a post workout whole meal around an hour after the workout. This still counts as post workout and will allow another opportunity to get some good carbs like potatoes and rice. Just a suggestion to avoid huge shakes.
Carb-cycling for fat loss means low-carb all week and ONE high-carb meal. This will mean protein and FAT the rest of the week; your OP indicates almost no fat (and too much carbs).
The hypothalamus reads total dietary intake of fat; if fat is consistently low for long enough, this is taken as a signal by the brain that it’s a time of scarcity and shuts down fat-burning, even if total calories are sufficient. YOU MUST EAT FAT!
The healthy sources of dietary fat for humans are: animal, nut, and fruit (olive, coconut, avacado). Animal should be organic cuz pollution’s in the fat. “Vegetable oils” promote inflammation.
Sounds like you’re describing the anabolic diet or a cyclical ketogenic diet rather than carb cycling. Those are effective strategies as well for rapid fat loss.