Are you looking to build lean quality muscle while losing body fat? Of course you are! This seems to be the typical goal of gym-goers nowadays. To do this effectively, a few things must be taken into account: total calorie intake, total daily energy expenditure, macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fats).
Instead of a few months at a time of “bulking” or “cutting”, these same principles can be applied day to day. In practical terms, this would mean that you retain a constant total calorie intake throughout the week (15-20% more than your total daily energy expenditure if you’re trying to gain weight or 15-20% lower than your total daily energy expenditure if you’re trying to lose weight). While retaining a constant total calorie intake, the amount of carbohydrates can be varied with high carb days filling your muscle bellies with glycogen and fueling protein synthesis and with low carb days fueling fatty tissue oxidation.
To retain a constant total calorie intake while varying carbs something else must be changing too, fats. Good fats that is. Utilizing, omega 3, 6, and 9 oils you can increase your fat intake proportionally on the low carb days and this actually promotes further fat loss because your body detects the surplus of fat and is more willing to release its stores.
Here’s a sample carbohydrate cycling protocol:
Total daily energy expenditure: 2500 cal
Goal: gain weight (lose fat)
- Total calorie intake: 3000 cal
- Total protein intake: 300g
- Day 1-3: 200g carbs 110g fat
- Day 4-5: 140g carbs 135g fat
- Day 6: 80g carbs 165g fat
- Day 7: 40g carbs 180g fat
Sample “good” fat sources: fish oil, borage oil, coconut oil, flaxseed oil, chia seeds