Carb Cycling

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,162 Member
    edited November 2018
    MelanieCN77 wrote: »
    Rach0878 wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    Rach0878 wrote: »

    I gained 15 lbs over an 8 month period and have maintained that gradual gain since then. Which is a lot for me. I'm 5'4" and have never really struggled with my weight until now. I'm sure age and hormones have something to do with that as well.

    by eating how much per day?

    Oh, I don't know, just eating what I felt like eating. I mean, I eat pretty reasonably healthy to begin with but probably endulged in too much pasta, sugar and beer more than I should have during that time.

    You went between to fair extremes - eating what you want, healthy or not, without tracking, probably well over requirements, especially if you'd become accustomed to eating at a higher maintenance level. The 1200 and HIIT is just wearing you out, it makes me feel tired thinking about it. That trainer needs a poke in the eye.

    OP, I'm delighted to see that you're considering upping calories and working on recomp: That should be a good plan with your stats. (Fatigue tends to slow weight loss anyway, if only because we rest more, and do less in daily life because we're tired!)

    In addition - even though I know why people find it seductive - I'd also encourage you to consider moderating the HIIT **. HIIT tends to be more fatiguing than other options that have similar calorie expenditure (calorie burn from HIIT, and especially calories from the so-called afterburn, are pretty over-hyped). Furthermore, doing HIIT many days a week, or multiple consecutive days, is not an approach that athletes use for training, and I think they and their coaches know something about building/maintaining fitness. HIIT is mostly trumpeted by the "gee whiz" trendy part of the fitness blogosphere, and trainers who are its acolytes. (Those kinds of sources need us to hop on the latest bandwagon and switch routines with the trend, so that they have a continuing income stream! ;) )

    You'd be better served by a sound, professionally-designed strength program (bodyweight intially, or weights from the get-go - good options discussed extensively in this thread: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you), plus a reasonable (more moderate) cardio routine that you enjoy. There are lots of free/cheap options. Big price tags are a danger sign.

    If you're weight training, Body Boss on other days (between strength workouts) might be enough to hinder muscular recovery (that's needed for strength/muscle growth), but if you choose to do some form of cardiovascular HIIT, once or at most twice a week would be a practical maximum (zero times a week isn't a problem, either, if you don't need to improve VO2max for some reason).

    At your size, your protein level seems reasonable; personally, I'd try to bump up the fats a little, maybe mid/high 50s, ideally with nuts, nut butter, avocados, olive oil, or other such good stuff - for my taste, you're on the lower end of adequate; and I assume you're at that low a carb level on purpose so I won't quibble at that (but will observe that some of us, and I'm one, find that low carb eating doesn't support our exercise energy level as well as a more balanced macro split does - but that's very individual). If the low carb level was pushed by your trainer, rather than something you pursued for concrete reasons of your own, you might want to experiment a bit with macro split to see what you personally find most satiating, energy-supporting, and easy to stick with. Good nutrition is important, but beyond that, any reasonable macro split is compatible with weight management.

    BTW, I'm around your size (5'5"), and lost most of 50ish pounds on 1400-1600 plus all exercise calories (at age 59-60, while hypothyroid, even). I support your current idea of going to/near maintenance calories now to recomp (better plan!), but you should find that maintenance level experimentally by watching your weight over a few months - calculators give you estimates, not gospel.

    ** Footnote: The HIIT terminology is used in very diverse and sometimes questionably-accurate ways lately, because of the trendiness. There's nothing wrong with interval training (high, medium or even lower intensity), but daily high intensity anything is not the best plan for most people. Historically, HIIT referred primarily to a specific sort of very high heart rate but short duration training that has very specific athletic training purposes. These days, the HIIT terminology is used for lots of "go as hard as you think you can" workouts. "Go as hard as you can" every day, in every workout, using the same exercise modality every time, is not the best path to progress in fitness or performance for most people, regardless of whether that "HIIT" is traditional cardiovascular HIIT or not.

    Best wishes!

    Edited: typos
  • RunForPizza88
    RunForPizza88 Posts: 56 Member
    OP you are getting some awesome advice here, which you will hopefully take forward :)

    Never take advice from that ‘trainer’ he/she has advised you to eat 1200 which is likely to be a little less than your BMR which is just the basic minumum that your body requires to keep you alive, nevermind keeping your bones, teeth, hair strong and giving you energy to do to your day to day activities.

    No wonder you've felt weak... <3 best of luck to you and please enjoy eating much more!

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