how low would you have carbs on non training days?

[jameswarren1984]

hi i am playing with my carbs on my non workout days, and am trying having low carbs on non workout days... what is your opinion on this subject?
i normally have 350+ carbs, but i have put on a bit of lard and thought trying out having lower carbs on off days.
today i am only having 150 grams of carbs, but keeping my calories above maintenance,
i was thinking obviously u recover on off days, and if ur calories are mainly from fats and proteins ur maintenance calorie needs will eat away at your protein allowance for the day, and wont that affect recovery?
please HELP me, if you can.. im sure i will get flamed... it always happens

[steel1970]

moved...post your questions in the Pound Puppy forum from now on please, that is if they pertain to DC Training and diet related questions

[Michael Travis]

I'll only ask one question and that is have you tried the protocol you are asking about before? One of the recommended "prerequisites" to DC training is knowing how food and diets affect your body and recovery etc. So, if you've tried this protocol how did it work? If not, why not try for a while and see how it goes. What is your current BF? I'm not trying to be mean, but it looks a little too high for you to be hung up on making sure you consistently stay above maintenance calories. Why not try to drop some body fat first?

I guess that was more than one question...

[darkguitars2000]

Damn, I thought I WAS BAD about asking a ton of questions.

A while back, this guy compiled 99% of all you needed to know in a single thread here, and made it a sticky. Here it is:

http://intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=17843

If I were you, I would spend a few days looking around and reading before you keep asking questions. I know you're trying to save yourself some time with these, but the way any trainer/nutritionist starts people off is with a baseline program/diet. You need to do it and stick with it a few weeks, and make adjustments based on the changes, instead of over-analyzing every little step you take.

[mateus]

As far as carbs go, what are your goals. How long have you been training? What is your diet/lifting like? What is your split?

You can work this many ways. It will take patience and some work. Why are your carbs that high on lifting days? Do you feel/know that you need that many or is it something that just feels right because you read it some where?

The cyclical approach will def help with controlling BF to an extent depending on your split. Most of this is going to be highly individual. There are guys using ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) right now putting up some crazy numbers and getting stronger while staying lean. FYI, not only are they having no carbs on off days but they are eating at all.

I cycle my carbs using a LG approach lifting M-W-F. Tue-Thur-Sat have less than 40g carbs and less than maint cals. My lifting days have over 300g, sometimes over 400g, carbs and over maint kcals. Doing just fine.

There are many others that keep carbs low all week (under 200g) and then skipload on the weekends to replenish glycogen stores.

As far as your concerns regarding your protein allowances, keep pro the same every day. Fill in the gaps with carbs, or fats, or dare I say both.... You are going to have to experiment with it.

[jameswarren1984]

ok steel sorry, i have posted in doggpound by error cos im a numnuts, for the second time wont happen again dude... can you respond to my thread tho please bro? cheers

[mateus]

And btw, is that an old Nintendo gun behind you in you avi?

[jameswarren1984]

thanks guys...
well im 5'6, 190 pounds, been lifting for 5 years or so... been difficult at times due to my finances, so eating correctly was difficult, but isnt now.
on off fasting days? wow? thats sounds intense!!
the reason i have high carbs normally is i find it difficult to get at least 3500 calories without eating lots of carbs (clean carbs may i add just rice and oats).
im fairly strong, nothing impressive but my lifts are pretty solid.
i do want to lose bodyfat, but i want to increase mass, im not saying i think i can do those things at the same time, but, if i can increase my mass without adding much bodyfat i think i will look a lot better and not too concerned about the fat. iv had a low carb diet today and iv only had 1500 calories so far and i have 3 or 4 meals to go so it will be cutting it fine getting a decent calorie intake for today.
i do my 30 mins cardio on every off day, except after workout B (legs) and have started a personal journal (due to being prone to get flamed) where i take pics in the same lighting and same place weekly so i can tweak things as i see i need to. any tips ?

[jameswarren1984]

lol @ mateus, no pal its a model spitfire, its my dads. haha.. does look a lil like one tho!

[steel1970]

hi i am playing with my carbs on my non workout days, and am trying having low carbs on non workout days... what is your opinion on this subject?
i normally have 350+ carbs, but i have put on a bit of lard and thought trying out having lower carbs on off days.
today i am only having 150 grams of carbs, but keeping my calories above maintenance,
i was thinking obviously u recover on off days, and if ur calories are mainly from fats and proteins ur maintenance calorie needs will eat away at your protein allowance for the day, and wont that affect recovery?
please HELP me, if you can.. im sure i will get flamed... it always happens

I'm unsure if you ever stated what your goals were.....Are you trying to lose fat while holding onto/building a bit of muscle? If so, I personally respond better to lower carbs for fat loss, with the majority of my daily carbs coming pre and post workout (while dieting, not now)....You have to play with this, if you're going to do it yourself. Find where your maintenance is at, keep protein high, and moderate carbs and good fats. Weigh yourself weekly and see what's happening. Then adjust from there. I think it's almost impossible for anyone here to really tell you where you should be at carb wise, UNLESS it's someone like Skip, who you would HIRE, and then he asks a shitload of questions and figures all of this out for you.....I will give you a general recommendation. Have 150 grams of carbs daily, divided equally into your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th meal on NON training days. Do the same thing workout days, EXCEPT add 50-75 grams of simple carbs after your workout. That is my generic response to your question. If you want someone to lay it all out, set it all up, make the adjustments for you, well then, you need to hire someone, like, uh, maybe Skip?? lol

[jameswarren1984]

my BF% is about 22% i know it is high

[jameswarren1984]

thanks steel, that has given me something to work from... im going to try that approach..
i just think i will have a hard time getting my calories needed for the day if i drop my carbs nearly in half on the workout days... but gonna try it for a few weeks and see how it goes, i will post my before and after pics if u want, and maybe u could give me ur unbiast thoughts on whether i should make certain tweeks or not

[steel1970]

thanks guys...
well im 5'6, 190 pounds, been lifting for 5 years or so... been difficult at times due to my finances, so eating correctly was difficult, but isnt now.
on off fasting days? wow? thats sounds intense!!
the reason i have high carbs normally is i find it difficult to get at least 3500 calories without eating lots of carbs (clean carbs may i add just rice and oats).
im fairly strong, nothing impressive but my lifts are pretty solid.
i do want to lose bodyfat, but i want to increase mass, im not saying i think i can do those things at the same time,

but, if i can increase my mass without adding much bodyfat i think i will look a lot better and not too concerned about the fat. iv had a low carb diet today and iv only had 1500 calories so far and i have 3 or 4 meals to go so it will be cutting it fine getting a decent calorie intake for today.
i do my 30 mins cardio on every off day, except after workout B (legs) and have started a personal journal (due to being prone to get flamed) where i take pics in the same lighting and same place weekly so i can tweak things as i see i need to. any tips ?

IMO you need to lose some bodyfat first, before you worry about gaining size. You can go for a recomp with eating a bit below your maintenance, training hard, and hitting cardio several times a week....No one says you need to be shredded before you get back to pounding food and trying to gain mass, but your body will absolutely respond to carbs better insulin wise if you are leaner. Don't just eat to try to get big when you are already fairly fat and expect your gains to be good gains, cause they're not gonna be....Trust me, I've been there.....a few times....

[Heckman]

my BF% is about 22% i know it is high

Simple answer then....cardio days = NO CARBS!

[SkinnyMike42]

Is that an old AVI, doesn't look anywhere close to 22% in that pic. No way an arm has that much definition at 22%...if it was that high, you would just see one long blob.