You need complex carbs before a workout or all your lifts will suffer. Simple cars are great only after a workout. The only time to really cut down on carbs is when you are cutting from a bulk, then cutting down will help, but you will be weaker and more tired. When guys look their strongest, they are at their weakest.

 

What would you recommend for time of day macro eating strategy if I exercise at 5am (weights 3x, cardio 1x per week)? Dinner is usually finished by 7 pm, up at 0500, out the 0515. If I get my complex carbs in at 7pm the night before, is the glycogen converting to fat within that time? I'm not a fan of eating immediately before a workout, I get nauseous.

I found this passage on the Livestrong website:
Dr. David Katz, reports in "O, the Oprah Magazine," that the body begins to store consumed calories as fat within four to eight hours from the beginning of the meal. As you consume these calories, the body automatically stores the first 1,000 calories within the liver and muscles for immediate energy reserves. This calorie storage is known as glycogen.

Should I wait and eat dinner later at night? Or perhaps keep the carbs low at 7 and eat a bowl of oatmeal at 10 before bed?

The IIFYM website is a great reference, btw. Thanks for the link.

 

I don't think I can be of much help. I always just do what works for me because something you hate is not something you stick to. Late eating is bad if weight loss is a goal, period.


I have lost about 7 pounds in the last month just doing Insanity 6 times a week and working in weights 3-4 times per week on top of that. I eat a salad with white meat chicken on it for lunch, and then a protien and vegetables for dinner. I have pretty much cut out carbs except for beans and things that I find at the salad bar. I sitll have been able to burn weight pretty steadily for the last month and I am doing it to have abs instead of "flabs". I turn 45 on Tuesday, and am pretty close to my goal.

Actually the weight loss part was pretty easy once you understand the technical part of it. Go to a BMR calculator and find your BMR. Then do a heavy workout each day and add roughly 700-800 calories to you BMR. That will be what you are burning each day. A pound of fat is 3500 calories. So if my calorie usage each day is 2500, and my intake is 1250 (chicken, vegetables and salad, whey protien) then I burn a pound about every three days. It has been pretty simple.

I am surprised I have been able to just eat protien and veggies because I LIVE for bread, pasta, rice, noodles, whatever, but it has not been bad at all. Weight loss has been steady. Just know what you are burning each day, then eat somewhere under that and the loss may be fast or slow depending on your discipline, but it will be steady and continuous.

 

BMR calculators aren't very accurate though. Finding your TDEE is a great thing so you can figure out what you need to do to cut or bulk. Carbs aren't bad, yet for me it's hard to eat them because they aren't filling, so I eat a lot of them.

 

Eat healthy all the time because it is your lifestyle and not a diet, lift heavy weights to the extent you can maintain proper form and not hurt yourself, and add in cardio to get leaner, if applicable. The rest is all garbage outside of adjustments to people's unique circumstances; e.g. I take some supplements because I am mostly a vegetarian.

Lift heavy and as many times a week as you can. You will not turn into a body builder unless you eat like an elephant so don't even mention it.

 

very true.. I went back to eating normally (lots of veggies, fruits, still eat meat, limited processed foods, etc) but I did lose 20 lbs on carb backloading the first 2 months and the weight hasn't come back.. went back to normal dieting mainly because of medical reasons.

as far as weights, I don't lift heavy but I do lift 4-5 times a week.. I used to lift heavy but i figured if i go light, its easier to get myself into the gym and possibly do it for long term. I am doing light cardio in the morning, like walking my dog for 30-45 minutes, before eating anything. I heard doing a light exercise before consuming anything in the morning burns more fat. and also doing some high intensity interval running for about 15 minutes during day.

for me, id say the dieting aspect of fitness is hardest. that's the main reason i tried CB as it allowed me to cheat quite a bit.. and i mostly end up eating junk at night (which CB allowed for). i would get back on it as i have listened to a couple of the author's podcasts and he knows ALOT, but just cant because of medical reasons.

 

Carbs within reason, yes. Backloading doesn't give you an excuse to binge on cookies and call it a day. Meeting one's macronutrients is more important than anything, i.e. diet. Along with a good training regimen, it serves much better than some fad diet. The carb backloading is similar to the paleo diet but geared more towards serious athletes. It is not for a few times a week gym goer, or someone who leads a sedentary lifestyle.

You will go far further with a meal plan situated around good carbohydrates(either fast digesting or slow digesting, like rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa), vegatables (I cannot stress vegetables enough) and protein.

I follow a similar diet, and it works for me; but for reference, I'm a national NPC Physique Competitor. So my meal plan isn't applicable to all. But those simple rules will net you far better results than following whatever is on the internet.