Carb Cycling Experiment

bootsLast Thursday I embarked on the last leg of the tour that is my transformation.  It’s an all out, bootstraps kind of endeavor that scares me a little.  In fact, I’ve been putting it off until I knew I was mentally ready, and finally I am.  You may have heard me talk in the past about how, even after I reached my initial goal, I was still improving and growing.  With that growth has come the additional drive to achieve more.  More muscle, more definition and ultimately more personal satisfaction.

I’ve done all that I can do with the plan I’m on now, and I’ve been blissful in maintaining my progress since last summer.  The time has come now, though, to give it that last extra push to see if I really have what it takes to 1) find the abs 2) define the butt 3) carve up the hamstrings 4)  achieve 1-3 without losing my upper mass, with which I’m really pleased.

To the bodybuilding elite these goals may seem wishy-washy.  No bodyfat percentage or final body weight numbers will be of concern here, the mirror will be my guide.  I have taken measurements for each muscle group to compare how this program will affect my overall size.  My hope is to keep all of it on the upper body and lose enough to expose those hamstrings and glutes.  Now for the shocker : )  I’ll be doing this by manipulating my diet alone.  No 2-a-day or marathon cardio sessions, and about the same lifting routine, which may be adjusted as I settle into the program.  I’ll be lifting 5-6 days per week, with the same 2 days of brief conditioning.  The usual stuff.  Many cutting plans I’ve seen (used by bodybuilders to reduce body fat before a contest or photo shoot) use lower weight and higher reps, but with my tendency to lose mass, I’m cautious on this point.  I have been able to keep my strength during weight sessions and will continue to do everything in my power to lift as heavy as possible, but will reduce the weight as necessary since already I’ve noticed I have less energy on the low carb days.

magnifyingglasswithappleI’m really excited and thrilled to get this started.  It’s a total and complete experiment, so I know I’ll learn a lot in the process.  I’ve included the link to my new diet plan and current stats below.   I’ll offer any updates on Facebook that seem relevant as I go.  Please note that I’ll only be eating this way for 3 weeks.  Any more than that and I risk losing muscle, which we all know is a sin!  I’ve placed a countdown ticker on the home page to track this jaunt down Fat Torching Lane.  I’ve always wanted to use that little ticker!  And we’re off!

DIET

Balanced dietCarb cycling with 3 days low, 1 day high for 3 weeks.  This is based off Jamie Eason’s 3rd phase of the LiveFit Trainer, which will boost my metabolism as my body uses stored fat for energy.  I won’t be following these meals to the letter, but will use the same ratio of macronutrients each day.  Since this is my first time out with carb cycling, I’m not sure what to expect, so I didn’t want to recreate the wheel just yet.  I’m all about effective and easy!  Speaking of easy, if you haven’t checked out Jamie’s program, you really should.  It’s built for beginners and offers a very comprehensive diet and exercise program covering every minute detail.  Everything is laid out for you, which eliminates any guesswork.

STATS

  • Height  5’5″
  • Weight  115
  • Bicep 10.5″
  • Forearm 9″
  • Chest 31″
  • Waist 25.5″
  • Hips 36″
  • Thigh 20″
  • Calf 14″

Have experience doing this?  Any tips or tricks you’d like to share?

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