ExRx.net

Hi, all. I'm new to lifting and so I'v been doing loads of research. Problem is there is so much info that I'm strugling to make sense of it all.
I'm confused about fruit and veg. I think it is recomended to mainly eat fruit and veg to get your carb intake. But then I'v also read that you should not eat fruit, but only veg and only fibrous veg at that. Not entirely sure what fibrous veg are. Is this true and if so, why?

Also, carb cyling. Is it just a fad or does it work? Reason I ask is because it seems to me that this is a method that I might like to use. I'm only small and weigh only 137lb. So I want to build some muscle. But I also want to get rid of this bit of gut that I'v got. I'm quite thin but as I just said, I'v got a bit of belly coming on. Not the best look in the world! Probably worse than just being thin.

Another question on carb cyling. I'm not sure if I should keep to the same calorie intake for the week and cycle between high, low and no carb days. Or if I should reduce daily calories consumed by 500cal.

Sorry, I realize that i'v asked lots of questions here,(ok, I know theres only three) but this looked like a really good site to get answers.
Thanks Jr

Fibrous veg is the best source of nutrients and the are relatively low on calories and high in fibre. These would be all the green and colourful veg. Regardless of your diet you can and should eat as many of these vegetables as you want without restriction. Some even burn more calories than they provide. These are even better when eaten raw.

What's not included are potatoes, sweet potatoes, legumes and corn. (Corn is actually a grain) These are higher in calories and would be better in bulking diets. Grains should be treated similarly as they are less nutrient dense and higher calories. The additional issue with grains is over processing. You should avoid any white grains (white flour, sugar, white rice) except for post workout. Grains should always be cooked.

Fruits are healthy but some are concerned in the amount of sugar in them. These should also be eaten in moderation.

Stu

Thanks for the reply. Lots of helpful information there.
What about carb cylcling? Would this be a good method for myself. As I said, I'm only small, weighing in at 137lb. However I am beginning to develop a bit of a belly. So, I would like to build some muscle and also get rid of this gut both at the same time. This carb cyling diet looks good to me because it would appear that I dont have to bulk up (and get a bigger belly) and then have to go into a cutting phase. I can build muscle and lose the fat at the same time. Have I got this right?

Building and cutting at the same time. These are two opposing things. For a brand new beginner it usually occurs uite readily, especially if the beginner is not used to weight training in any form. After a few months it will plateau. Most strategies have you building for a few weeks, then losing fat for a few weeks. Is it impoosible to do both for an experienced lifter? No. Not at all, just beware it is going to take a lot of experimenttion and "walking a fine line: with diet. There is no one magic way. Dr. squat, on his web page, talks of a zig zag diet, where you cycle between higher and lower calorie days, and yes, you do that by adding and subtracting carbs and fats. Other methods are cyclical ketogenic diets, where you low carb for a few days then do a 1-2 carb up days. What was very popular back in my day (early 60's) was Vince Gironda's version of a CKD (which could be considered carb cycling). He trained a lot of the bigger BB stars back then, i.e. Larry Scott, Dave Draper, etc After the trainee had a good solid base, he would put them on 4 ays of low carb , being defined as 60 gr dat (give or take a few), not worry so much about fat, but obviously don't sit down and eat a brick of cheese in one setting, then on the 5th day, eat moderate amount of carbs (think 40-50% total calories), cut back on the fat (as they don't really go too well together) and moderate protein. There are a lot of variations on this. There was a company, in the early 90's, run by Scott Chinery, can't remember the name, but they sold these supplement kits, along with an instruction booklet. Similar to the old Icopro kits. They actuallydid have a really wid form of carb cycling that was laid out in the book . Two days low carb, one day medium, the next very high carb, or something to that effect. Might want to do a search on Dr. DiPasquale's Anabolic Diet, or his new one The Metabolic Diet. They both involve carb cycling. Dan Duchaine's BodyOpus does as well. You can also check out lyle McDonald;s (MacDonald ? sp?) site. He has pretty decent forum's over there and is much more knowledgeable in this area than I am.
Tim