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VacMan · 01-26-2007, 07:14 PM

elainevdw

What I think he means by carb cycling is to keep your protein constant, and your fats constant and then fluctuate your carbs.

In order to do this correctly you'll need to figure out certain elements that will really help you in your quest to shed some pounds.

First, I want to say that you have to stop thinking in strictly pounds.

Here's why:

If you only think about pounds then you are lumping in:

-Bodyfat
-Muscle
-Water Retention
-Whatever you've eaten that day
-etc.

Most importantly, you do not want to lump Muscle and Bodyfat into the same category.

Fat weighs less than muscle, BUT fat is what makes people "look" overweight.

For example:

Does a 220 pound 5'10 bodybuilder who is ripped to shreds, with a 6-pack washboard stomach, look fat?

How about a 220 5'10 couch potato with a gut and no visible muscle to speak of? Does that person "look more overweight?"

SO! What I'm saying is "weight" does not matter as much as body composition.

You can also drive yourself crazy with all the weight fluctuations that happen from day to day based on elements that are completely irrelevant to how good you want to look.

So don't focus so much on the scale. I'd personally say just throw the thing out. But you probably won't do that

What I personally recommend people do is find out these critical elements:

-How many calories a day does it take for you to simply maintain your current bodyweight?

-How many calories a day do you burn with activity?

The reason why you need these is because weight loss (or gain) is simply a function of these elements combined with your food intake.

Basically:

- If you eat less than you burn you will loose weight.

- If you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight.

- If you eat the same amount as you burn you will maintain your current weight.

So, if you burn 2200 calories a day, a safe number to subtract from that is 500, which would make the total calories you should eat in a day 1700.

This way you are in a calorie deficit (meaning you are expending more energy than you put in) this forces your body to get the energy from somewhere. And that somewhere is YOU.

If you want to make this more efficient, you should focus on controlling your macronutrients (Protein, Carbs, Fat) and make them into ratios that work for you.

A great guideline is to eat as many grams of protein in a day as you currently weigh.

For example:

-If you weigh 140 pounds, eat 140 grams of protein in a day.

-If you weigh 120 pounds, eat 120 grams of protein in a day.

This will help you preserve your "lean body mass" ie. muscle.

And by the way, muscle burns fat. Fat does not burn fat.

With what you have remaining in calories you'll want to divide that up with carbs and fat.

You need! good fats in your diet in order to hit your goal faster.

GOOD fats though, omega-3, omega-6, Monosaturated, Polysaturated, etc.

Not so much of the saturated, or trans-fats.

These fats can be found in avocados, almonds, peanuts, fish, olive oil etc.

Another good guideline is to just multiply your currently bodyweight by .4 and that’s how many grams of fat you should take in a day.

For example:

Say you are 140 pounds. 140 x .4 = 56, so your grams of fat a day would be 56.

The remaining should be carbs.

Preferably complex carbs. Complex carbs can be found in whole wheat foods, brown rice, some fruits, etc.

Here's a bit of a complicated piece...

But the way to find your remainder (to calculate the amount of carbs you need) is to find the total calories you need in a day.

That can be done with the Mufflin Equation:

IF Gender = Male
THEN RMR = (10 * Bodyweight * 0.45359237) + (6.25 * Height * 2.54) – (5 * Age) + 5
IF Gender = Female
THEN RMR = (10 * Bodyweight * 0.45359237) + (6.25 * Height * 2.54) – (5 * Age) - 161

Looks complicated huh!!?

Basically RMR = Resting Metabolic Rate which = how many calories it takes for you to just sit in bed all day and do absolutely nothing. (This does not account for activity)

So since I assume you are female

Multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) by 10 and then by .45359237, take that number and then add it to 6.25 multiplied by your height (in inches) multiplied by 2.54. Then take your age (in years) multiplied by 5 and subtract that from your previous number and then subtract 161.

Whoo!

Now find your corresponding activity level below and mutiply the number you got from above. So if you got 1800 calories above and you are "Moderately Active" then take 1800 x 1.55 and you'll get 2790

IF Activity Level = Sedentary
THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.2
IF Activity Level = Lightly Active
THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.375
IF Activity Level = Moderately Active
THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.55
IF Activity Level = Very Active
THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.725
IF Activity Level = Extremely Active
THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.9

If you want to loose weight then take 500 off of that number.

So... 2790-500 = 2290

And there you have it 2290 calories in a day if you want to loose weight.

Remember, in our example 140 of that will be in grams of protein
56 will be in fat

And the remaining calories are going to be in carbs

Protein = 4 calories a gram
Fat = 9 calories a gram
Carbs = 4 calories a gram

So for calories, you'd have:

140 x 4 = 560 calories (for all your protein)
56 x 9 = 504 calories (for all your fat)

And then find the remaining amount of calories allotted for carbs.

Which would be:

Your total calories - your protein + your fat (in calories)

so that would be

2290 - (560 + 504) = 1280 (Left for carbs)

Since carbs are 4 calories a gram we'll divide 1280 by 4

1280/4 = 320

So that brings the grand toal up to

140 grams of Protein
56 grams of Fat
320 gram of Carbs

And that is your total intake for the day!!

That combined with your running and your yoga should really help!

Of course you'll have to adjust the numbers to your specific situation, but this is a great way to start.

You'll want to space this out into 5-6 meals a day.

(Eat every 2-3 hours) this will keep your metabolism burning hot.

This will keep you burning bodyfat rather than just blind "weight" and you'll be looking great!!

So now lets tie this back to the beginning...

If you'd like to cycle carbs then that really relates more to cycling your overall calories (which is one way to speed up the process)

If you hold your fat and protein constant (140 grams and 56 grams in this example)

And then move your carbs down to 150 for 4 days and then back up to 320 or so for the rest of the 3 days in the week. Then your overall calories will go down and then back up again.

This will help to keep your metabolism guessing and force you to burn a little more overall calories. You CAN do this, but you don't necessarily need to.

Oh, and make sure not to eat too little! Because if you do... or if you already have for an extended period, then you can actually force your body into "starvation mode" its a survival tactic used by your body in extended periods of lacking food.

When you are in "starvation mode" then your body stores more fat and your metabolism lowers.

When this happens it becomes harder to loose weight because you burn less in a day as a result... and its just really not good for you.

So do NOT bring your overall calories lower than 1,200 a day. Thats just bad for you and it is actually counter-productive.

You most likely will be wanting to eat 1500 or more a day.

I hope that made sense.

Good luck with your goals!
-Sean

01-26-2007, 07:14 PM	#24 (permalink)
VacMan Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 250	elainevdw What I think he means by carb cycling is to keep your protein constant, and your fats constant and then fluctuate your carbs. In order to do this correctly you'll need to figure out certain elements that will really help you in your quest to shed some pounds. First, I want to say that you have to stop thinking in strictly pounds. Here's why: If you only think about pounds then you are lumping in: -Bodyfat -Muscle -Water Retention -Whatever you've eaten that day -etc. Most importantly, you do not want to lump Muscle and Bodyfat into the same category. Fat weighs less than muscle, BUT fat is what makes people "look" overweight. For example: Does a 220 pound 5'10 bodybuilder who is ripped to shreds, with a 6-pack washboard stomach, look fat? How about a 220 5'10 couch potato with a gut and no visible muscle to speak of? Does that person "look more overweight?" SO! What I'm saying is "weight" does not matter as much as body composition. You can also drive yourself crazy with all the weight fluctuations that happen from day to day based on elements that are completely irrelevant to how good you want to look. So don't focus so much on the scale. I'd personally say just throw the thing out. But you probably won't do that What I personally recommend people do is find out these critical elements: -How many calories a day does it take for you to simply maintain your current bodyweight? -How many calories a day do you burn with activity? The reason why you need these is because weight loss (or gain) is simply a function of these elements combined with your food intake. Basically: - If you eat less than you burn you will loose weight. - If you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight. - If you eat the same amount as you burn you will maintain your current weight. So, if you burn 2200 calories a day, a safe number to subtract from that is 500, which would make the total calories you should eat in a day 1700. This way you are in a calorie deficit (meaning you are expending more energy than you put in) this forces your body to get the energy from somewhere. And that somewhere is YOU. If you want to make this more efficient, you should focus on controlling your macronutrients (Protein, Carbs, Fat) and make them into ratios that work for you. A great guideline is to eat as many grams of protein in a day as you currently weigh. For example: -If you weigh 140 pounds, eat 140 grams of protein in a day. -If you weigh 120 pounds, eat 120 grams of protein in a day. This will help you preserve your "lean body mass" ie. muscle. And by the way, muscle burns fat. Fat does not burn fat. With what you have remaining in calories you'll want to divide that up with carbs and fat. You need! good fats in your diet in order to hit your goal faster. GOOD fats though, omega-3, omega-6, Monosaturated, Polysaturated, etc. Not so much of the saturated, or trans-fats. These fats can be found in avocados, almonds, peanuts, fish, olive oil etc. Another good guideline is to just multiply your currently bodyweight by .4 and that’s how many grams of fat you should take in a day. For example: Say you are 140 pounds. 140 x .4 = 56, so your grams of fat a day would be 56. The remaining should be carbs. Preferably complex carbs. Complex carbs can be found in whole wheat foods, brown rice, some fruits, etc. Here's a bit of a complicated piece... But the way to find your remainder (to calculate the amount of carbs you need) is to find the total calories you need in a day. That can be done with the Mufflin Equation: IF Gender = Male THEN RMR = (10 * Bodyweight * 0.45359237) + (6.25 * Height * 2.54) – (5 * Age) + 5 IF Gender = Female THEN RMR = (10 * Bodyweight * 0.45359237) + (6.25 * Height * 2.54) – (5 * Age) - 161 Looks complicated huh!!? Basically RMR = Resting Metabolic Rate which = how many calories it takes for you to just sit in bed all day and do absolutely nothing. (This does not account for activity) So since I assume you are female Multiply your bodyweight (in pounds) by 10 and then by .45359237, take that number and then add it to 6.25 multiplied by your height (in inches) multiplied by 2.54. Then take your age (in years) multiplied by 5 and subtract that from your previous number and then subtract 161. Whoo! Now find your corresponding activity level below and mutiply the number you got from above. So if you got 1800 calories above and you are "Moderately Active" then take 1800 x 1.55 and you'll get 2790 IF Activity Level = Sedentary THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.2 IF Activity Level = Lightly Active THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.375 IF Activity Level = Moderately Active THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.55 IF Activity Level = Very Active THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.725 IF Activity Level = Extremely Active THEN Activity Multiplier = 1.9 If you want to loose weight then take 500 off of that number. So... 2790-500 = 2290 And there you have it 2290 calories in a day if you want to loose weight. Remember, in our example 140 of that will be in grams of protein 56 will be in fat And the remaining calories are going to be in carbs Protein = 4 calories a gram Fat = 9 calories a gram Carbs = 4 calories a gram So for calories, you'd have: 140 x 4 = 560 calories (for all your protein) 56 x 9 = 504 calories (for all your fat) And then find the remaining amount of calories allotted for carbs. Which would be: Your total calories - your protein + your fat (in calories) so that would be 2290 - (560 + 504) = 1280 (Left for carbs) Since carbs are 4 calories a gram we'll divide 1280 by 4 1280/4 = 320 So that brings the grand toal up to 140 grams of Protein 56 grams of Fat 320 gram of Carbs And that is your total intake for the day!! That combined with your running and your yoga should really help! Of course you'll have to adjust the numbers to your specific situation, but this is a great way to start. You'll want to space this out into 5-6 meals a day. (Eat every 2-3 hours) this will keep your metabolism burning hot. This will keep you burning bodyfat rather than just blind "weight" and you'll be looking great!! So now lets tie this back to the beginning... If you'd like to cycle carbs then that really relates more to cycling your overall calories (which is one way to speed up the process) If you hold your fat and protein constant (140 grams and 56 grams in this example) And then move your carbs down to 150 for 4 days and then back up to 320 or so for the rest of the 3 days in the week. Then your overall calories will go down and then back up again. This will help to keep your metabolism guessing and force you to burn a little more overall calories. You CAN do this, but you don't necessarily need to. Oh, and make sure not to eat too little! Because if you do... or if you already have for an extended period, then you can actually force your body into "starvation mode" its a survival tactic used by your body in extended periods of lacking food. When you are in "starvation mode" then your body stores more fat and your metabolism lowers. When this happens it becomes harder to loose weight because you burn less in a day as a result... and its just really not good for you. So do NOT bring your overall calories lower than 1,200 a day. Thats just bad for you and it is actually counter-productive. You most likely will be wanting to eat 1500 or more a day. I hope that made sense. Good luck with your goals! -Sean