High/Refeed
275g protein
55g fat
400g carbs
This breakdown will put you at roughly 3200 calories, 600 over maintenance. Carbs should consist of mainly starchy (potatoes, pasta, breads, rice, quinoa, lentils/beans, etc.), but feel free to enjoy life a bit with some fruit, or something you've been craving all week. Personally, I like to take an 'IIFYM' (If It Fits Your Macros) approach on this day. It gives me a mental break and allows me to enjoy some of the foods I normally don't eat while cutting. Just be careful not to go overboard, particularly with fat, because you are already consuming lots of carbs. Once glycogen stores are full, you'll experience the 'spill over' effect, which means additional energy (carbs/fats) gets stored in... fat cells! Definitely counter-productive. Just be mindful of what you're eating, do your best to hit your macros, and you'll be fine, especially if you've been perfect all week long.
Carb Cycling For Maintenance
IMO, running maintenance is, at certain times, just as important as cutting or 'bulking'. For one, giving your body a break from either of the 2 latter is always a good idea. Since doing 'nothing' wouldn't be a good approach, running maintenance, even if just for 4 weeks, is a good idea. Further, some people like to just maintain throughout the summer. They don't want to 'bulk' (for obvious reasons), and may already feel they're lean enough and/or don't want a flat/small/depleted look while they're at the beach. Even still, there are people who *need* to run maintenance for several months in an effort to 'reset' their body's 'set point'; e.g. maybe you've just finished a successful cut after years of being heavier/fatter. Jumping right back into a regimen where gaining weight is the goal would be a terrible and disastrous idea (I speak from experience)... you're body isn't yet 'comfortable' with it's new composition and needs an adjustment period, i.e. maintenance. Whatever the case may be, carb cycling can be applied to this as well.
I'm not going to provide sample cycles in this case simply because there is no specific goal per se; essentially, you want to maintain your current weight and/or body composition. You want to keep bodyfat in check, and maintain muscle mass. You could set up a carb cycle many different ways to help accomplish this, but the important thing is that you don't arbitrarily do so. Picking random days of the week and saying "I think THIS will be a high carb day, and THIS will be a low day, etc." probably isn't a great approach. Make it count. Training legs Tuesday and taking off Wednesday? Perhaps you should make Monday a high carb day, and Tuesday moderate. A carb cycle will only be as effective as the workout it's built around. That is, I build my carb cycles to compliment the training regimen.
One noteworthy point is with regard to maintenance calories. Running maintenance doesn't mean you have to eat at your TDEE every single day. You could do that, but you don't have to. Keep in mind that your body doesn't add up calories at the end of the day. We're continuously going through the process of breaking down and building up, caloric deficits and overages (even when eating in a deficit or overage), etc. As such, given a maintenance of 2200 calories, you could consume 1800 one day and 2600 the next, or vice versa, and manipulating carbs is what allows you this kind of flexibility.
In summary, carb cycling is a tool that can be used as part of a balanced, intelligent nutrition plan. Like anything else, if it isn't applied with consistency, results will be lackluster. There is no magic here, no smoke and mirrors, no perfect diet plan - only the knowledge to succeed, and your drive to apply it consistently. Enjoy!
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