Revisiting CBL

[Joseph Flaherty]

Hey guys,It has been a long time since my last post. I've basically stuck to CBL and CNS principles for the past year to 18 months now, but it's been a roller coaster ride to say the least. When I first started CBL, it was unbelievable. I got down to 166 lbs, had visible abs for the first time, and was as strong as ever. But, over time, backloads became an excuse to binge on crap food. There was a lot of change going on in my life at the time, and a whole lot of additional stress. That may have been a factor in a) not seeing the same results as I first did and b) leaning on food as a crutch. Then I reinjured my back and was forced out of the gym for months. I hopped on CNS, which also worked like a charm the first time around. I dropped 30 lbs in just over a month's time and was never hungry. But then I had to move back home (from school), and I once again started to overdo it regularly on my carb nights due to a number of things including stress.I'd also like to point out that I'm a former fat kid growing up, so that's where those tendencies stem from.Anyways, after numerous attempts at trying to rekindle the CBL and CNS magic from the first go arounds, I've failed enough times to put me at my tipping point. Over the summer, I went full on ketogenic for a month, but that dovetailed into an all-out binge fest on my vacation to California that I haven't been able to rebound from.I'm planning on giving CBL one final shot to get me back to where I was, because at the end of the day, the results are in the practice of the principles. I know the science is sound, I just can't take liberties anymore.I wanted to get opinions on my set up as I launch into full on CBL SA for the next few months. Since work has me coming in on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, I'll be lifting Tuesday (total body hypertrophy), Friday (heavier, more intense upper body) and Saturday (heavier, more intense lower body). I'll also add in HIIT on a stationary bike on Thursday mornings (fasted) and taper the intensity up as the weeks pass.As for a typical day's diet...0830 Wake up, 20 mg Synephrine and 12 mg Yohimbine HCl0900 Black Coffee (takes 30 minutes to French Press lol)1100 Meal 1 --> Bacon and Eggs in Coconut Oil + 5 g Fish Oil (53 g fat/31 g protein)1400 Meal 2 --> Salmon in MCT Oil and "Coconut Oil Chocolate" (40 g fat/28 g protein)1630 Pre WO --> Black Coffee (+MCT Oil?)1700 Lift (1/4 tspn. Sea Salt in 1 liter of water)1930 1 hr Post --> 30 g Whey Isolate + 20 g Dextrose + 5 g Leucine + 5 g Creapure + Fenugreek + Enzymes (modeled after Carb Shock)2015 ~45 minutes after shake --> 1/2 Cup White Basmati Rice (1 g fat/72 g carb/6 g protein) + 5 g Leucine2400 --> 2 tspn. Magnesium Citrate0030 SleepAll told, I'm looking at about 94 g fat, 92 g carbs and 95 g protein (1,647 calories). That seems a little low, which is why I was considering adding the MCT Oil to the preworkout coffee I'm planning to have. But I could probably also afford to add protein to the backload meal of white rice.Would having another whey isolate shake there make sense? Or would I be better off with a lean cut of meat?My off/HIIT days would look pretty much the same up until when I would normally lift. I would scrap the workout nutrition for a meal similar to earlier in the day, aiming for around 40 g fat and 30 g protein. That would leave me with about 133 g fat, 90 g protein and trace carbs on those days (1,557 calories).That also seems a bit low, so any suggestions are welcome. I don't want my metabolism to tank in this scenario.Some tack on questions:- Is 5 g creatine a day still solid, or is a higher total better for those who have tried it?- Any reason I should be concerned about a low fiber total?- Do you guys think I'm going too high on the fat? I know Kiefer said if he could go back and change one recommendation from his books, it would be to add more fat because it's the least insulinogenic macro and is also a hefty chunk of your energy source.- Anything else I should be adding or taking out of this template? I recently used Nicotine gum for a long while so I don't want to hop back on that just yet, but any other ideas?I hope the combination of reducing my days in the gym from 4 to 3, giving myself small hits of carbs throughout the week, and allowing one "cheat" backload per month will keep me sane and help combat the high stress levels that still exist. I'm glad I've tried CBL over and over again because I've learned so much that I can create a solid template like this... but God I hope it works.I started the new year at an all time high of 200 lbs, but I'm back down to 189 lbs after a CBL/CNS hybrid. I want to keep this going and get down to 175 lbs before I start tweaking again.

[Richard Schmitt]

Is there a reason you are consuming less than 100g of fats and protein? Let alone carbs? I mean that would possibly work for a 100lbs-115lbs female. You need to consume macros around your BW, or target BW at least. 1) 5g of creatine is fine, just read the creatine articles on Athlete.io2) No, fats help lube the intestinal track to let you "go". Some folks do better with some fiber, others not so much. Drink water to help that.3) It would depend, for composition wise having around .5-.65g/BW for fats is probably a good idea. High fats would be for medical reasons.4) More food.

[Joseph Flaherty]

Thanks for the response Tex. I wanted to keep macros low to encourage weight loss but I suppose it's a better idea to start high and taper down rather than bottom out and have nowhere to turn from there.I checked back in the book to grab some numbers. I know the recommendations have changed, but the target macros for 170 lbs look like this:Fat: 32 gCarbs: 595 gProt: 73 - 130 g (Avg ~ 102g) BL Prot: 46 - 83 g (Avg ~ 64g) Total: 166 gSo first thing to note is that 600 g carbs is outrageous lol. I wonder if that chart is spelling out carb needs for the week, not per day. I would hope so. I know 100-200 g carbs is the limit for me in Backloads to prevent spillover.Second thing, fat is WAY low. I went that route and that's when CBL started to lose it's effectiveness. Not enough substrate for energy there. Per the .5-1g/lb recommendation, 85-170 g fat is a safe zone.Then we have protein, which it looks like I need to jack up any way you cut it. 1-1.5g/lb, so 170-255 g protein. I'm way off there, even though 255 is hella high and would likely encourage gluconeogenesis. Looks like I need to sneak some more protein in whenever I can. Would another whey isolate shake with the BL meal of rice be advisable?I'm thinking 100 g fat, 100 g carbs and 150 g protein (1,900 calories) on lifting days and 150 g of fat and protein on rest days (1,950 calories).Better?

[Richard Schmitt]

Nope. Not. At. All. ;DJust get on CNS if fat loss is the main goal and the master you want to serve. .65-1g/BW for fats, .8-1g/BW for protein, keep carbs <30g. Do a 3 day full body program, Shockwave, or a 3-4x day pull/push program.

[Joseph Flaherty]

You still think those macros are too low?  ???I don't want to travel back down the CNS road just yet. My intensity in the gym always tanks when I go low carb; there's something about carbs, when used properly, that just makes it easier to go about my day. I can't really explain it, it's just something I've noticed repeatedly.And I can never nail the post workout window with CNS. It might be me mistiming the gap between the insulin spike and fat intake, but I've never woken up the next morning following the CNS protocol looking "tighter," as happens on occasion with CBL.I would honestly put my faith in CBL before CNS for psychological reasons as well. Keeping carbs to once a week sets up a binge eating scenario for me. 

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