I guess my question was more concerned with finding a hybrid between the two? I know that being a bodybuilder requres a constant changing diet of different portions, since there are so many goals and aspects of the sport.
Ohhhh. yeah alright. i know, that's a huge difference. i should have clarified the order in the beginning.
that sounds pretty reasonable. i usually stick with 40/40/20 myself, but were I to work on cutting and gaining lean mass that's a split i might wanna try.
I agree, For myself to stay real lean I have to eat at about this split to put on lean mass or when dieting.
Actually...there is quite a bit of evidence supporting the fact that going below 40% CHO's for prolonged periods can be detrimental to health. Not only from lack of essential nutrients often contained within CHO sources, but also from high amounts of overall and saturated fats. The problem with the evidence is that no LONG TERM studies have been conducted on the risks associated with high protein, high fat diets. However, research conducted on diets moderate to high in CHO's has shown increased health benefits when combined with exercise and an overall healthy lifestyle. Adoption of macronutrient ratios should not be used soley as a means to changing physical appearance. It should also be considered when thinking about long term health implications. Maintaining a low CHO intake means increasing protein and fat to maintain adequate intake. Excessive protein and fat intake can and will eventually lead to health problems if maintained, especially if your genetically pre-disposed.
agreed. i've again tweaked my diet since my last post here. i guess you could say i'm still carb cycling... somewhat, but my diet doesn't exactly follow a particular plan per se. like any diet meant to encourage lean mass, my diet's relatively high in protein (1.5 times lean body mass, which is about 170ish). So I take in about 260 grams of protein per day, with about 220 or so grams of carbs on training days and around 70 grams of fat. on non-training/ cardio days, i try to limit carbs to around 150 grams while keeping fats and protein static. i also keep my carbs to morning/ afternoon to fill my glycogen stores and have replaced evening carbs w veggies. so far i've lost 15 lbs and my size hasn't deflated by much haha. grant it, there's been some loss of size but I consider this a necessary evil for toning up the midsection.
I know for my self when cutting I don't need to lower my carbs much at all. I still keep a 40/40/20 split. As mentioned already using protein as your main energy source is not just inefficient but expensive.
yeah this is true. i've found that if i go super low carb i feel fatigued and flat... not good. for a true recomp i'm a proponent of dieting down slowly over time to preserve as much muscle mass as possible, while slowly burning fat if not encouraging lean mass gains. it's important to figure out your ideal macro range for maintenance, however, before beginning such a diet. this way you have an optimal starting point and can make adjustments from that baseline.
is that zone diet. i saw it and started doing something similar, 40%protein, 30%carb, 30%fat, i didn't like the carbs being higher than my protein
It might be the zone diet. I used to use 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat, and have recently lowered carbs for more fats. I do well with high carbs.
You need to cut based on your body. An ectomorph can cut using higher calories as their BMRs are faster. I suggest dropping the calories to 10x bodyweight, ie. 2000 cals per day. Have a refeed day (higher carbs) at least once a week. I suggest adding 500 cals extra in carbs on that day.
thanks,
Doing high intensity cardio won't make you lose muscle. People usually lose muscle when doing way too much cardio overall - eg. 1 hour per day running or more.
I would up the cardio and keep eating the same thing. Lowering cals may do nothing as your metabolism burns less.
true, i have however set my daily calorie intake at 2300, with a 45/30/25 p/c/f ratio, i do however take either two scoops or one scoop of a protein a shake if i workout or do cardio so my calorie intake maybe closer to 2450 on those days.
See I wonder the same exact thing.
I'd be interested to hear a bit more about this method. I've never done it this way before, I always have assigned percentages, it makes my diet feel a bit more structured to me.
I'd shoot for assuming you are in the 10-15% bf range 200 base grams of protein, and at 4500 calories a day assuming primarily healthy fats a min of 125g to be approx 25% of calories. Those are the basic thresholds for healthy living, and the ability as a natural bodybuilder to add around 1/4lb of muscle a week.
I like your insight. I might have to ponder some of it and think about trying it for a little bit.
yeah, eating an over abundance of carbs will give ppl health issues later in life. Half of america doesnt lie
What differences have you noticed with this diet compared to a higer carbs one?
