Nutrition guide
Carb cycling: a simple plan for lifters
Carb cycling is not a metabolic trick. It is a way of putting your carbohydrate where the work is, so hard sessions get fuel and rest days do not get spare calories.
How carb cycling works
Keep protein constant every day. Keep the weekly calorie total where your goal needs it. Then move carbohydrate between days: more on hard training days, less on rest days, with fat moving in the opposite direction to keep calories steady.
That is the whole method. The benefit is practical rather than metabolic — you train harder on the days that matter and find the deficit easier on the days you are sitting still.
| Day type | Carbs (g/lb) | Protein (g/lb) | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|
| High — hard lifting or intervals | 1.5–2.0 | 1.0 | Low |
| Moderate — normal session | 1.0–1.25 | 1.0 | Moderate |
| Low — rest or light day | 0.5–0.75 | 1.0 | Higher |
A 7-day template
Anchor the high days to your two hardest sessions of the week. Everything else falls out from there.
- Mon — moderate (upper strength)
- Tue — high (lower strength, heaviest day)
- Wed — low (rest)
- Thu — moderate (upper)
- Fri — high (full body or intervals)
- Sat — moderate (optional conditioning)
- Sun — low (rest)
Who it helps, and who it does not
It helps lean-ish lifters in a deficit who still want to train hard, and athletes with genuinely uneven training weeks. It does not help someone who has never tracked food — the gains there come from hitting protein and a consistent calorie target first.
Carb cycling also adds tracking work. If it makes you less consistent, a flat daily target beats a clever one you abandon in week three.
What to expect on the scale
Weight jumps a pound or two after high days — that is water bound to glycogen, roughly 3 g of water per gram of carbohydrate stored. Judge progress on the seven-day average, and always compare the same day of the week to itself.
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Your details
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On your feet, 3–5 sessions a week
Fat loss — 1,700 kcal a day
Maintenance is about 2,070 kcal at 175 lb and moderate activity.
- Protein
- 175 g
- Carbs
- 125 g
- Fat
- 55 g
Training day: 1800 kcal
Rest day: 1600 kcal
A day on this plan
- BreakfastEggs, oats and fruit430 kcal45 g protein
- LunchProtein, rice or potatoes, vegetables510 kcal55 g protein
- Around trainingYogurt and a banana, or a shake260 kcal25 g protein
- DinnerProtein, starch, salad with olive oil510 kcal55 g protein
Drink around 2.6 L of water a day, more in heat. General guidance, not medical advice.
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