Low carb diet and weights

TerrorFirmer

Just wondering what the opinions are on a relatively low carb diet and weights? I'm pretty happy at the moment with my strength standards but not with my bodyfat, which has always been high due to poor eating choices (lots of meat but looots of crap too). This isn't any effort at cut, more a permanent diet and I've been following it awhile and it's fine, though I haven't been to the gym much. But I would be concerned about how it would affect my weights training, or strength, and size only to the extent that I want to preserve what I have, not necessarily put on more, though I wouldn't be against that. I thought that if I was eating 150g carbs/150g Protein it would be enough to be relatively lean but sufficient to build a small bit of muscle or at least preserve what I have...any advise welcome. I know 150g of carbs isn't a low carb diet strictly but considering I'll be going to the gym 4 times a week I'd consider it fairly low carb compared to what I used to eat for bulking (lots of rice, pasta, bread, alongside junk). Oh..here's the diet, give or take.

Morning : Shake, Bran Flakes (or porridge), Apple, 1 yoghurt, Cod Liver Oil, Vitamins.

Snack: Smoothie (25g whey, banana, strawberries, 2 scoop frozen yoghurt or ice cream, orange juice)

Lunch: Chicken Breast salad (lettuce, croutons, vinegar dressing). Some dark chocolate (one large square, 81% cocoa).

Dinner: Chicken Breast salad (as above). Some dark chocolate (as above).

PM: Apple, Chicken Breast.

Night: Shake with Milk.

On Gym days it'd be the very same, except a shake after the gym with 25g whey and 50g sugar. Also somedays if I'm going to the gym in the AM, I'd skip breakfast apart from the shake and oil/vitamins.

sfag

50g carbs/150g Protein is prob fine - although I don't know your body weight.
Not sure it counts as a low carb diet.

Modern thinking is in favour of carbs when weight training esp fast absorbing ones (eg dextrose) within 20 mins of w/o and a full regular meal 1 hr afterwards. No tricking around with food separation or carb avoidence at certain times.

A steady stream of both like you are doing thru out the day is good. Training should be as intense as you can make it. I gotta tailored diet for what you are trying to do once that had me consuming small meals 8 times a day.

Yor diet looks good - gotta laugh at al the chicken. check out fish (smoked & packeted), round steak minced, and diary produce.

I recommend flora flax or udos oil (cheapish on ebay) for throwing on dry chicken.

Basmati & brown rice is fine - amt should be small.

all in all you still need to be calorie deficit to lose fat but only slightly.

Remember 1 lb a week on the scales is good progress.

and as always walking on empty for 45 mins is the oft recommended as the best fat reducing activity whilst trying to gain muscle and lose fat. Its even got its own name - steady state cardio.

metamorphosis

Just me thinking out loud - bran flakes are 22gms sugar per 100gms. Might swap for oats, shredded wheat or weetabix?

More greens in the salad. Croutons are crap but its okay if you are good with the portioning of them.

In the smoothie maybe use natural yogurt instead of frogurt or ice cream as these can sugarfull.

Diet is a hell of a lot better than most peoples just my observations above.

Maybe throw some eggs in there too?

150gms is nowhere near low carb whether or not you are going to the gym and doing weights etc 4,5,6 or 7 days a week.

ragg

Agreed 150grams is nowhere near low carb. I cycle my carbs and i dont even have that much on a gym day.
My low carb day is one slice of bread with my brekkie & whatever carbs are in green veg

corkcomp

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Just wondering what the opinions are on a relatively low carb diet and weights? I'm pretty happy at the moment with my strength standards but not with my bodyfat, which has always been high due to poor eating choices (lots of meat but looots of crap too). This isn't any effort at cut, more a permanent diet and I've been following it awhile and it's fine, though I haven't been to the gym much. But I would be concerned about how it would affect my weights training, or strength, and size only to the extent that I want to preserve what I have, not necessarily put on more, though I wouldn't be against that. I thought that if I was eating 150g carbs/150g Protein it would be enough to be relatively lean but sufficient to build a small bit of muscle or at least preserve what I have...any advise welcome. I know 150g of carbs isn't a low carb diet strictly but considering I'll be going to the gym 4 times a week I'd consider it fairly low carb compared to what I used to eat for bulking (lots of rice, pasta, bread, alongside junk). Oh..here's the diet, give or take.

Morning : Shake, Bran Flakes (or porridge), Apple, 1 yoghurt, Cod Liver Oil, Vitamins.

Snack: Smoothie (25g whey, banana, strawberries, 2 scoop frozen yoghurt or ice cream, orange juice)

Lunch: Chicken Breast salad (lettuce, croutons, vinegar dressing). Some dark chocolate (one large square, 81% cocoa).

Dinner: Chicken Breast salad (as above). Some dark chocolate (as above).

PM: Apple, Chicken Breast.

Night: Shake with Milk.

On Gym days it'd be the very same, except a shake after the gym with 25g whey and 50g sugar. Also somedays if I'm going to the gym in the AM, I'd skip breakfast apart from the shake and oil/vitamins.

just general observation dude, why do you feel the need to go low carb anyway? you mention you not happy with body fat because of eating crap, so if you stick to clean foods you should be ok, carbs like porridge, fruit and veg etc are fine imo ...

TerrorFirmer

Sorry for the confusion re: low carb. I should have stated more clearly it's far more low carb then what I'd be used to. I used to eat about 400g rice a day, 4 slices white bread, large amounts of cereal, and so on! So there's a two pronged approach with a fresh diet - health and fat loss. Though I guess a clean diet should yield fat loss anyway compared to the large amount of carbs I was eating. At the moment I'm 90kg, don't have many regular gym stats as I don't squat/deadlift but bench is 120kg. I had planned to replace the bran flakes with porridge anyway. I would only have 1 slice of bread for day to do both salads portions of croutons. I actually read in a few articles that 100g carbs would be the recommended amount of carbs needed to still gain muscle during heavy lifting...hence the framework. I eat all that chicken because I love chicken....was never a fan of other meats at all! Thank for all the help though, very much appreciated.

ragg

You don't squat and you don't deadlift, but you bench 120 kgs. Sort yourself out man...