"Loading on Carbs"

I'm 8 weeks and 5 days from my competition! I've been on my carb cycling diet for 12 days. I feel like I am now just getting the hang of it and figuring it all out. Who would have known there was so much to know about dieting. I've been studying Nutrition for the past 5 years but never did I advice anyone to cycle their carbs. It is pretty common in the bodybuilding industry and I can see why, It is very effective in decreasing your body fat. It's interesting how the body works and doing this diet has been very rewarding so far. I thought I knew my body, but I am constantly learning something new every day.

It's been about a week and 4 days since I've started my "new diet" my diet consist of high, low, and no carb days. It's been very neat to see how my body functions on low, high, and no carbs. I'm still consuming the same amount of protein every day (120 grams) and at least 3 servings of veggies a day (spinach, broccoli, kale, asparagus); that doesn't change.

I recalculated my diet because after almost 2 weeks on this diet I am seeing rapid results and becoming too lean too quickly which can be very unhealthy. I have about 9 weeks left till the competition and have plenty of time to try different diets and see how my body responds to them. In just 12 days I lost 8 pounds which is NOT healthy! Normally a healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds a week.

I don't think I was getting enough fat in my diet. I was getting about 20% of my calories. However my goal is to build muscle and reduce body fat at the same time which can be very difficult and attainable. I was seeing a decrease in body fat but not a major increase in muscle. For how hard I was lifting I knew something wasn't right. I wasn't losing any of my muscle but I wasn't gaining either.

My new diet plan will consist of 1600-1800 calories a day depending on my activity level and workouts.

with 30% of my calories coming from Fat, 30% from Carbohydrates, and 40% from Protein

160-180 grams of Protein (640 calories)
90 grams of Complex Carbohydrates (360 calories)
5-10 grams of simple CHO (fruit) 20-40 calories
30-35 grams of CHO (Fiber) ~ 60-120 calories
45-50 grams of Fat (400-450 calories)

50g FAT: 110g CHO: 160g PRO


Today's Meals (Jan. 21)

Meal 1: 1/2 cup of brown rice with 1 tsp of coconut oil
1/4 large sweet potato
2 strawberries
30 grams of PRO from protein shake

Meal 2

Meal 2: 37 g of Pro from greek yogurt with added chocolate protein powder and 1/2 cup of sliced strawberries
1 cup of spinach with 1 cup of quinoa, and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

Meal 3: 25 grams of PRO from Chicken, 1 cup of spinach, 1/4 of a steamed sweet potato, 1/4 cup of quinoa and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil

Meal 4: 1 cup of spinach, 3 oz of chicken, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of crushed almonds and walnuts, 2 tsp of dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of green salsa

Meal 5: 39 grams of protein from protein shake, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 cup of almond milk

My Nutritional Facts for my 5 meals I had today: 1600 calories, 144 grams of protein, 45 grams of fat, 131 grams of carbohydrates

Meal 4