Carb Cycling or Counting Macros?
Counting macros and keeping them steady all week vs Carb cycling
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we’re answering the question of which is better: carb cycling or counting macros and keeping them steady all week?
This is another great episode from our #WayBackWednesday series, where we highlight the best questions from previous episodes of our #AskLiveLeanTV Q&A show.
This question is from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 002.
@santos116 on Twitter asks: carb cycling or counting macros and just keeping it steady at 40% protein, 20% carbohydrates, and 40% fat?
In other words, should you carb cycle or keep your macros steady all the time?
The 40/20/40 macronutrient split is similar to the balance that we tend to aim for.
It just basically means you’re eating a slightly lower carb diet
This is similar to people asking if you should eat clean or should you do IIFYM.
Honestly, I can’t answer that question for you.
Whatever nutrition protocol you follow, it has to fit for you.
That’s the entire thing with Living Lean.
Everything we’re saying is from personal experience, which has worked for us.
We’re not necessarily saying it’s going to fit your lifestyle.
Maybe you work different hours or maybe you can’t eat meat or have something against eating meat.
This is just what we do
So when I say people can get great results from eating 40% of your calories from protein, 20% from carbohydrates, and 40% from fat, that works for me and that has worked for a ton of my clients.
So give it a try.
But if counting macros and keeping them steady all week doesn’t work for you, try carb cycling.
What is carb cycling?
Carb cycling is when you manipulate the amount of carbohydrates throughout the week.
Some days you’ll have a:
- high carb day
- medium carb day
- low carb day
- no carb day
This means your carbohydrate consumption is fluctuating up and down throughout the week.
Carb cycling does work, and it’s honestly similar to what we do when we go out for pizza on our cheat days.
Higher carb days on leg day
Also on non workout days, my carbohydrate intake is lower compared to when I train legs, where my carbohydrate intake is higher.
So essentially, carb cycling is similar to what we’re doing, but we just don’t like to put labels on what we do.
Brad and Jess follow similar but different nutrition protocols
For example, I aim to follow a 40/20/40 macro split as I love how I feel and how my body responds to following a higher fat diet.
When I go high carb, I definitely notice a difference, as I feel like I’m storing more water, and my energy levels bounce all over the place.
However, Jess is different
Jessica would be closer to 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fat.
She consumes less fat than me, because she feels her body, energy, and digestion does better on higher carbohydrates, rather than higher fat.
So it’s important to test different nutrition protocols, and find what works for you, your body type, and your digestive system.
Bottom line on carb cycling or counting macros
Everyone is different.
Again, we just don’t like labeling or calling ourselves a certain popular way of eating.
Even though we agree with most of the paleo nutrition protocols, we’re not 100% paleo.
If we had to label ourselves, it would be the Live Lean Way.
It’s about finding a diet that is sustainable and works for you and your lifestyle.
This is the best thing overall.
It’s better than being paleo, counting macros at a 40/20/40 split, carb cycling, or doing IIFYM.
Rather than looking for labels, look for what works for you.
Perfect.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.