Is this with the same calories or removing the calories from carbs? I mean like say it was 2000 cals for the sake of simplicity, was it through the whole week 2000 with the calores reduced from the carbs adjusted to more fats and protein, or did you remove the carbs and reduce the daily calorie intake? So did your calorie intake reduce by 500 (125g carbs) every day and then back up, or did it remain constant? Hope that made sense.
At:
250
125
0
It absolutely reduced calories. That is not much to eat, and, as I said above, I never did it that way again (it worked, but it is way too restrictive for the body size I had at the time).
No, I did not keep my calorie intake constant by raising fats or anything like that. The whole point is to reduce calorie intake over a week or two week period (instead of each and every day).
Re-read what I posted above, and you will see that I always kept protein high (especially while cutting) and fats low. Then I adjust carbs to manipulate body fat,
not adjust protein, fats, and carbs.
Protein high
Fats low
Carbs as needed for goals.
But here is why it worked for me - the 125 day kind of sucked, but the 0 day absolutely sucked, especially if it landed on leg day. I did not make any allowances for what day it was. No deviations. If 0 carb day fell on leg day, so be it. I sucked it up and hit the gym and trained intensely. But while suffering through a 0 carb day (not even a tablespoon of milk in my morning tea or coffee), I could do it because it was only one day, and I knew the next morning I would have this very large, almost difficult to finish, bowl of oatmeal and
two slices of Dave's Killer Bread with my eggs for breakfast. The next day was 250 grams of carbs day, and it felt like heaven, and I could dream of it all day on the 0 carb day.
The way I looked at it, I could suffer anything for one day. Tomorrow is high carb day!
It was just a mental trick to cut quickly and get through the suffering with one day that was above maintenance but still lower calories over the 3 days than if I had kept carbs the same each day. It was also easier for me than eating 125 grams of carbs each day (which would be the same calories over three days).
Like I said, there are many other ways to do it, and most of them are better than 250, 125, 0. I just threw it out there as something that I tried, an experiment, and it worked.
CONCLUSION
Cycling carbs while upping fats to make up for the calorie reduction is counterproductive. Doing so will undermine your goals and create nothing but failure and frustration.
You have to get calories down. That is how this works. You also need, for best results, to keep protein high. Yes, that just means you will not be enjoying your food if you are serious about getting lean. Food will become a tool you use to accomplish your goals, not an enjoyable "foodie" moment to photograph and post on social media.
All the other stuff, even steroids, but certainly hgh, is just an add on. Without reducing the number of calories you consume, you are not going to get there. You can out eat steroids and growth hormone easily.
GLP-1 drugs are not an exception to this rule. The difference is that these drugs
reduce the number of calories you eat by getting rid of the urge to eat. Many here encourage their use. I have not tried them and cannot comment. All I will say is that you certainly do not
need them. Beyond that, I will not make any claims except to observe that if they hinder your protein intake from real food, then they may be holding you back from the absolute best body composition that you might otherwise have <--- something you will never know about when you hit your lean goal and have plenty of muscle and look the best you ever have, but you never know how much better you might have looked with an extra 50 grams of protein daily from real food over that 4 month journey . . . The age old battle between the seen and the unseen.
