Carb nite or backloading???

[LM11]

I live/love to train. However I don't look like it b/c I also love to eat. Ideally, I need to drop 20-30lbs. Where should I start? CN or CB? Thanks!

[Naomi Most]

Definitely Carb Nite!  Just make sure you get really clear on your goals and make a commitment to the fat loss.Let me explain what I mean...You will need to dial down your training somewhat while doing Carb Nite.  I can't say how exactly.  It depends on the individual.  I can only say that you just won't be hitting PBs too often and you might not have the energy to train as often as you would like.If you try to overdo your training on Carb Nite, you may find yourself hitting some cognitive dissonance to the tune of, "I know it's an ultra-low-carb day, BUT I just trained really hard so I should have a 4:1 carb:protein shake, right?" Nothing will spoil your results like interrupting your ultra-low-carb days with "I deserve carbs".So: make a commitment to Carb Nite if you think you can live with not training so hard (sounds like you enjoy it a lot, so don't under) and you really just want to drop the fat fast.  Carb Nite is FOR fat loss. It's not unproductive to train hard during Carb Nite, but it can be self-destructive if you second-guess the program.

[casinonman]

I have been on carb nite for about 5-6 weeks so far. I have dropped about 25lbs and I am probably the leanest I have ever been at this weight, but I can definately stand to lose more as I would like once in my life to have visible abs.  I knew I would lose strength, so for 4 weeks I followed a basic WSB template of using maximum effort on my lifts, no speed days.Towards the last week the workouts started getting a lot harder to get through. This told me it was time to go back to 531 for me. I have actually in the past 2 weeks got some PRs on the the bench press and deadlift. So the ME protocal helped me maintain some of my strength but allowed me to train hard. I know for me I like to drink a lot of BCAAs during my workout, and I tend to take sometimes way too much caffeine. I basically kind of went by feel a lot also, if in the first 30 minutes I knew that I wasn't gonna be able to push it hard that I took it easy.Jesse

[Richard Schmitt]

My thought process, and it's just a thought, that everyone should go through CN just to get a feel on how to to intake carbs on that nite. To experiment with it, to get the timing process correct. I haven't gotten the book yet, but I started the depletion phase over because I knew I messed up CBL, because I gained weight around my midsection, losing the sight of hard worked abs…so I'm currently on day 4, waiting till next Tuesday to get my CN…I'm not trying to lose weight but don't want to gain the bad either, so I personally figured if I could dial in, or time the process just right next Tuesday, I can utilize CBL a lot better, with more control than perviously before. Again this is just a personal thought.

[LM11]

Thanks everyone! I downloaded the book last night, I hope to delve into it this weekend. I'm already doing a paleo type approach and have starchy carbs only after a really tough workout (lifting and hard sprints). I hope the carb nite will still work for me even though the low carb aspect of it won't be that big of a shock to my body. To the folks who have lost weight; did you follow the meal plans from the book or do more of your own thing? Thanks 🙂

[casinonman]

I haven't made any of the recipes but that is the basic layout I follow. For myself I don't eat breakfast as my break at work is at 11am. Jesse

[Naomi Most]

My thought process, and it's just a thought, that everyone should go through CN just to get a feel on how to to intake carbs on that nite. To experiment with it, to get the timing process correct.

I think that's good advice, and echoes my experience as well.  However, for the first 2-3 cycles of Carb Nite, I really think people should "go crazy" with the carbs and not attempt to optimize anything. That's perhaps entailed in what you're saying, BigTex, but I wanted to throw that out there.Relatedly, I keep seeing (anecdotally) that CBL seems to work far better for those just coming off of Carb Nite.

[ADTS]

Heres 2 things I know about you:You live/love to trainYou love to eatSo I recommend:The Strength Accumulation version of CBL will allow both. It also is designed to promote "massive fat loss" which is certainly in your target of 20-30lbs.Your chance of adherance goes up when your plan is closer to your existing lifestyle. What little additional fat loss is possible on Carb Nite will be negated due to lack of adherance.Best of Luck

[Naomi Most]

Heres 2 things I know about you:You live/love to trainYou love to eatSo I recommend:The Strength Accumulation version of CBL will allow both. It also is designed to promote "massive fat loss" which is certainly in your target of 20-30lbs.Your chance of adherance goes up when your plan is closer to your existing lifestyle. What little additional fat loss is possible on Carb Nite will be negated due to lack of adherance.Best of Luck

I agree... except... people who "love to eat" tend to get a little over-permissive with themselves, and with Carb Back-Loading, there is so much room for interpretation, it's easy to justify various transgressions.  It also tends to be the case that people who don't go through Carb Nite before Strength Accumulation never get completely attuned to their body's states of being.  It's very possible to stay slightly bloated doing CBL by simply eating too many carbs, but if you haven't regularly seen your body in a carb-depleted state, you might think you're doing just fine and won't know to dial back.Part of the process of body transformation is a bit of mental transformation. I'm not saying you can convince someone not to enjoy eating -- that's not the point anyway.  But I am saying that doing a really strict diet for a few weeks can help readjust a person's attitude toward the availability and use of food and the huge range of feedback they can expect to see from their body, and short-circuit those rationalizations that will get in the way of success with CBL.

[ADTS]

Heres 2 things I know about you:You live/love to trainYou love to eatSo I recommend:The Strength Accumulation version of CBL will allow both. It also is designed to promote "massive fat loss" which is certainly in your target of 20-30lbs.Your chance of adherance goes up when your plan is closer to your existing lifestyle. What little additional fat loss is possible on Carb Nite will be negated due to lack of adherance.Best of Luck

I agree... except... people who "love to eat" tend to get a little over-permissive with themselves, and with Carb Back-Loading, there is so much room for interpretation, it's easy to justify various transgressions.  It also tends to be the case that people who don't go through Carb Nite before Strength Accumulation never get completely attuned to their body's states of being.  It's very possible to stay slightly bloated doing CBL by simply eating too many carbs, but if you haven't regularly seen your body in a carb-depleted state, you might think you're doing just fine and won't know to dial back.Part of the process of body transformation is a bit of mental transformation. I'm not saying you can convince someone not to enjoy eating -- that's not the point anyway.  But I am saying that doing a really strict diet for a few weeks can help readjust a person's attitude toward the availability and use of food and the huge range of feedback they can expect to see from their body, and short-circuit those rationalizations that will get in the way of success with CBL.

I re-agree, CBL can encourage justification of bad behavior if taken advantage of.I see 2 possibilities:OP is an all or nothing dieter. So when strtict phases are implemented its no problem, but when left to intrepretation liberties are taken.OP is a flexible dieter. One day no carbs, one day lots of carbs, not a problem. The idea of having to wait a week to eat a donut is not an option for this person.Also, the prep phase extended to two weeks (ala atkins and many other intro phases) could help to "readjust a person's attitude toward the availability and use of food". As far as bio-feedback, I find unless I am very lean its hard to notice all but the most drastic swings (excessive bloat or depletion). Once again, just my opinion.  Of course everyone should experiment and see what works for themselves.

[Kevin rogers]

Not really how sure you are in the same situation but if you are looking to gain weight, and I assume you are talking about muscle mass, then CBL is definitely for you.

I live/love to train. However I don't look like it b/c I also love to eat. Ideally, I need to drop 20-30lbs. Where should I start? CN or CB? Thanks!

I'm in the same situation except i need to gain weight 🙂Good luck!

[PropaneFitness]

Not really how sure you are in the same situation but if you are looking to gain weight, and I assume you are talking about muscle mass, then CBL is definitely for you.

I live/love to train. However I don't look like it b/c I also love to eat. Ideally, I need to drop 20-30lbs. Where should I start? CN or CB? Thanks!

I'm in the same situation except i need to gain weight 🙂Good luck!

Yes, I'm indeed in the quest for muscle of massive proportions without drugs.

Nice avatar, meeh. Where did you get that from? 😛

[cookieb]

My thought process, and it's just a thought, that everyone should go through CN just to get a feel on how to to intake carbs on that nite. To experiment with it, to get the timing process correct.

I think that's good advice, and echoes my experience as well.  However, for the first 2-3 cycles of Carb Nite, I really think people should "go crazy" with the carbs and not attempt to optimize anything. That's perhaps entailed in what you're saying, BigTex, but I wanted to throw that out there.Relatedly, I keep seeing (anecdotally) that CBL seems to work far better for those just coming off of Carb Nite.

GRRR - did this and gained 2 pounds over a month...lots of hard work down the toilet, not to mention the stress of dieting...switching to CBL to accomodate 3 days of heavy lifting and 2 days of heavy hiit

[Kaprice]

I need to lose about 60 pounds of fat, but I'm going to give a modified CBL a try. (I did a meat/egg/cheese with 1 free for all day a week last year and hated it, though I did lose a reasonable amount of fat.)For my CBL test, I'm doing the SA program but with calorie deficiencies. Staying far below maintenance calories, I'm then focusing on getting in enough protein (1g per pound of my estimated lean weight). After that, I'm just eating enough carbs (PWO) to satisfy me while not going over my calories. I eat as much of it in clean carbs as I can, but I'll eat a few junk carbs to satisfy my sweet tooth and salty-crunchy cravings.Intuitively, it just makes sense that I'd lose fat by keeping a calorie deficit. But, by doing carbs every resistance day, I should also be able to build some decent muscle.Obviously, it's just a theory, so we'll see. But, after 1 week, I'm feeling pretty good about it. My gut and waist are measurably smaller and my lifting weights are still going up. And, I feel great with no sense of deprivation.

[Richard Schmitt]

Good luck and it's best to go by feel as experimentation. Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

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