Calorie flux for carb cycling?

[ckjavier]

Hi All,

I'm about to try carb cycling for the first time, main goal being to gain a few lbs of dry muscle in next couple months and lose fat. I'm about 9-10% BF, 195 lbs, 6' 1", 22 years old. My TDEE is around 2800, which means I need around 20,000 calories per week. I'm going to eat the same amount of protein per day. Many forums I see say to keep the fats as low as possible on high carb day, bringing a balance in total calories ingested per day. Eg- I would still be eating 2800 cals per day, if my carbs are low my fats are high and vice versa. But I've seen others that say the only thing in fluctuation during carb cycling should be the carbs itself, meaning that high carb days I would rise to about 3300 cals and low carb days around 2400 cals.
I'm wondering which is the better option for my specific goal of gaining dry muscle and burning pure fat? I'm a cross between endo and mesomorph.

 

[john.patterson]

Our stats are almost identical. I'm about 5-6 pounds lighter, but very close haha. Its really going to depend on how you respond to carbs. For me personally, I lower fats on my high carb days to keep my overall calorie intake for the day at a reasonable level. I still aim to eat more calories on my high carb days, but I cut back on fat so the calorie surplus isn't so drastic. I find this to work best for me, but you might find that you can get away with keeping you fats in on higher carb days.

Also, on low/no carb days, I will bump my fats up a bit. Usually they are rest days, so I don't aim to fill all of my calories with fats. I tend to stay about 2-300 calories under my maintenance, which is what you've mentioned above. I think the plan you laid about above (3300 high carb, 2400 low carb) would be a great place to start. Some people may disagree, but I think this method will ensure you're not putting on weight too quickly. If you find that you aren't gaining weight, you can begin to add in more calories on your rest days. Sounds like a solid starting point to me though dude

 

[AntM1564]

Give the article below a read, it should answer all your questions

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/carb-cycling-codex

 

[unreal89]

Give the article below a read, it should answer all your questions

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/carb-cycling-codex

Good read as I'm doing. Carb cycling at this time.