Carb/cal cycling, fuelling, recovery

upgetupgetup

A lot of 'recomposition' type programs advocate fluctuating calories from day to day, eating more cals (and more carbs) on workout days (sometimes with fasted morning cardio, or just with a bit of protein beforehand), and eating fewer calories (with more from fat) on days off.

Really roughly, how does that work? Because aren't you then working with very little in the tank? I guess the idea is that post-workout nutrition is more important?

I personally would have ****ty workouts if I did that - historically, my best workouts have happened when the previous day's deficit was not more than ~200, and much better when I ate at maintenance (the day before). (When I lost my weight, I kept a steady (tdee - ) deficit.)

I understand that it's the daily/weekly balance that matters most, and not so much timing or quantity on the level of hours, but I don't know why that is

People have had a lot of success recomposing (lol) with IF, is why I ask.