For the past few weeks, the topic on everyone's mind has seemed to be Carb Back-Loading. While it should be noted that each person's body responds to such a regimen differently, our athletes have offered to weigh-in on a few of your questions. As a bonus, they even threw in sample meal logs to give your menu planning a kick-start.
Vincent Dizenzo on CBL
Hi Vincent,
I have a question regarding Carb Back-Loading (CBL). I have been doing The Carb Nite® Solution (CNS) since the end of April and have only lost about 10 pounds and 2% body fat—not very happy about that. My question is, did you start doing CBL while above 20% body fat? I read in a few places that CBL isn't ideal to start until you are in the 15% range, but with the frustratingly slow progress that I am having with CNS, I am thinking about trying CBL instead. I train twice a week, so maybe having that big calorie bump two times a week will keep my metabolism up? Any thoughts on that idea? I am 300 pounds at 23% body fat... trying to get down to 280-275 pounds and end up in the mid-teens (or whatever may be considered a healthy range) for body fat.
This seems to be a problem with some people on CNS. Making the move to CBL is another way to go about things. I will tell you this, if you are someone over 20%, I personally do not recommend eating garbage calories after training. Try to stay away from highly processed carbs. Stick with foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, very ripe bananas (spotted), and rice. I believe these foods make a difference physically and psychologically. I do not think a true diet mentality for someone who is over 20% body fat should include junk food on a regular basis. Aim for a cheat back-load once every other week, and only make it one meal.
Vincent Dizenzo
Julia Ladewski on CBL
Question about carb back loading:
In the book, it gives me a number about 900 grams of carbs on back-load days. I get up at 3 a.m. and train at 3:30 a.m. I have been starting back-loading at 5:30 p.m. when I get home from work. The question is, could I start back-loading earlier because I cannot get 900 grams before bed, which is 9:00 p.m. (I've only averaged about 200 grams the last seven days.) Thank you for any help.
First of all, so glad you read the book! 🙂
Remember, the numbers in the chart are the UPPER LIMIT of carbs. So, I'm assuming you went through the prep phase and that's how you came to that conclusion. 900 is the upper limit. Most people that fall into that category do well with 400-500 grams.
So, let's back up... it really depends on your goals. And if you're starting around 5:30 p.m... what time do you go to bed? You should easily be able to get 300+ grams. I can get close to 200 in about two hours, so it's a matter of finding the right foods. Do you have a post-work out shake with carbs?
Diet Log Day 6: Final week of the band cycle. Ready for a deload.
Total carbs- I'm guessing about 150-160 grams (I don't know the content of the soup or the cupcake, but I can take a stab).
Stuffed,
Julia Ladewski