How to set up a diet - basic carb cycling
Okay - I get asked for this a LOT.
My cutting diet is the same as my bulking diet: I carb cycle.
All meals are protein and fat EXCEPT the one before and the one or two after I train - those are protein and carb.
Note that there are conflicting thoughts on whether or not fat and carb should be in the same meal, and why (or why not). My own reasons are comfort-driven: carbs are yummy, but they make me hungry. Since I don’t really NEED starchy carbs outside the training window, I leave ‘em out of all other meals.
I find I have a better workout if I’ve had SOME starchy carbohydrate before training, so I have a small serving of carb an hour or two before I train. If it’s more than an hour before, I’ll use slower food - sweet potato, meat and broccoli with a little butter. If it’s closer to when I train, I stick with faster carb and protein - maybe oats and cottage cheese - but I’ll avoid going higher in fiber and fat.
On the other hand, you want the post-workout meal to get to work right away, so it’s prudent to keep fat and fiber out of that meal.
Read What a bodybuilder eats… for food selection ideas.
This is how I design a diet:
Required information:
- Lean Body Mass (LBM) or reasonable approximation from total bodyweight and estimated % bodyfat. If you’re overweight and have no idea what your LBM is, here’s a simple way to get an estimate that will be close enough to serve here. Your “pipe dream” weight is the weight you’d pick if you could snap your fingers and wake up with it tomorrow. I’ve picked 90% for men and 80% for women as “fudge factors” because those numbers produce 10% bodyfat for males, and 20% bodyfat for females - healthy-lean levels that most of us probably identify as being “athletic” without realizing it.
- If you’re male, take 90% of your “pipe dream” weight. For example, suppose you currently weigh 240 lbs, and your “pipe dream” weight is 200 lbs. For now, assume you have 180 lbs lean mass.
- If you’re female, take 80% of your “pipe dream” weight. For example, suppose you currently weigh 180 lbs and your “pipe dream” weight is 150 lbs. For now, assume you have 120 lbs lean mass.
- Maintenance calories (from tracking for a week on www.fitday.com)
- Number of lifting days per week
To cut: drop total cals by 10-20%
To bulk: raise total cals by 10-20%
The diet will be the new calorie level, with at least 1g of protein per pound LBM and at least 0.5g of fat per pound LBM.
Because I carb cycle, I usually go a little lower on the fats for lifting days since two or three of the meals those days will be protein and carb.
On non-training days, the calories are lower. I usually go a little higher in fats because all meals have protein and fat, and fats are more satisfying on lower calories.
For example, me.
My LBM: 111 lbs
My maintenance calories: 2300
I cut using a 4-day split (Baby Got Back)
Cutting on 20% reduction looks like this:
LBM = 111 lbs.
Maintenance calories: 2300 per day.
A caloric deficit of 3220 calories per week,
for a loss of of 0.92 pounds per week
Average daily macros:
163g of protein,
87g of fat, and
100g of carbohydrate,
1,840 calories in total.
Lifting/HIIT days:
178g of protein,
78g of fat, and
127g of carbohydrate,
1,919 calories in total.
Rest/SS Cardio days:
144g of protein,
100g of fat, and
65g of carbohydrate,
1,735 calories in total.
I train in the evening, so my meals on training days look like this:
M1: P+F
M2: P+F
M3: P+F
M4: P+starchy carb (might have fiber and maybe a little fat if I can afford the calories)
<train> (might sip dilute whey and dextrose if I can afford the calories)
M5: P+starchy (very low fat, low fiber) carb
M6: P+F
On non-training days, all meals are P+F with fruits and veggies, but no starches.
Oh, and as my cut progresses, I have to drop calories.
Which sucks. 
Bulking, I do the exact same thing, but with an INCREASE in calories.
Dear i play soccer every day and i run alot in this game at the same time after few ours i go to gym how should i make my workout routine so that i can get big …. i am using whey gold standard from optimum nutrition…
Comment by wahab — November 19, 2007 @ 1:56 am
Hey Marianne, I need help.
I tried a conventional bulk, (P+F+C) and got some ok results (put on about 4 kg), but as soon as I stopped actively BULKING, i just shed it all.
I was wondering if you could help me with your carb cycling bulking plan to try something new.
I’d love to be one of your trial people if you could put my progress on your website. PLEASE!?
I’m 18, 150 pounds and a serious ectomorph. I have been lifting for about 10 months, do an upper /split that i’m really happy with (I love my squats and deadlifts!) but would love to start a new year big time bulking plan.
Please help out a struggling Australian ecto!
Comment by hardgainersimmo — December 16, 2007 @ 1:35 am
Hey hardgainer - let’s see what I can do to help.
Can you outline exactly what you’e doing now - what is your diet, describe your workouts. What calories do you run? How tall, what weight etc.
Comment by MariAnne — December 16, 2007 @ 1:42 am
MariAnne–I am seriously interested in getting in contact with you. You seem to know a lot about fitness and nutrition and I really need some suggestions. I am preparing for a figure competition (sooner or later!) and its not going well. My diet is super-clean and I have been working out for about 2-3 years now trying to achieve my goals. I’m interested in carb cycling trying to break my fat loss plateau… Its very frustrating doing an hour of cardio 5 days per week and lifting 5 days per week and eating chicken and brown rice and spinach everyday and getting NO results whatsoever for almost 9 months now. I was even working with a professional male bodybuilder and he trained me the past 4-5 months and I lost VERY LITTLE weight… 1/2 lb only this whole time. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong and I don’t know how to fix it. If you have time, I’d really like for you to email me and get in contact with me.
Comment by Alexis — December 19, 2007 @ 9:32 pm
Do you show to have keytones in this diet? I’m a nursing mother of 8 months. Can I do this carb cycling while nursing?
Comment by phobiagal — December 21, 2007 @ 6:10 am
You don’t need to hit ketosis on this - I sometimes do, but it’s an artifact of higher fat, lower carbs, and activity level, and not at all necessary as a goal. As far as I can tell, normal humans go into and out of mild ketosis through the day, as fat is either stored or retrieved for energy. But check with your doctor if you’re at all concerned.
Comment by MariAnne — December 21, 2007 @ 8:31 am
MariAnne, I’m setting this up for a friend. He has 161 lbs LBM and his fats/protein come to 80g(fats)/193g (protein).
I’m a little unclear on how to set up carbohydrates. How would that be worked out if he’s on a cut?
Comment by juggernaut — August 31, 2008 @ 12:38 pm
Protein and fat are essential, hence the LBM-targeted dosings. Carb isn’t essential, so there’s no particular requirement for it. Since carbs tend to make many of us hungry - and by “us” I mean us fatter types, I keep ‘em fairly low outside the workout window, hence the carb-cycling.
What are his maintenance calories?
Comment by MariAnne — August 31, 2008 @ 6:55 pm