Use My Carb Back Loading Meal Plan to Get Started Faster

Carb Back Loading Meal Plan: Simple, Healthy and above all … FUN!
While the book does contain a general carb back loading meal plan, they may or may not suit your needs and likes.  Assuming are you somewhat experienced in the creation of a meal plan, it’s not really difficult but it might go against the mainstream nutrition advice you’ve read before.  Some might even call it extreme!  If you want my carb back loading review.  Now let’s talk food!  Here’s how it works.
The Carb Backloading ebook by John Kiefer goes thru some very simple formulas.  No math, just charts.  You figure out the total number of grams of protein you want pre-training and post-training, the amount of fat and then the magic number of carbs for your backloads.

carb back loading meal plan
This could be your carb back loading meal plan

A Prep Phase is suggested before you start carb backloading.  It’s quite simple.  You go ULC for 10 days.  You weight yourself before and after and the number of pounds lost is your target carbs for backloading.  At the time, mine came out to be 409g per day for density bulking.  As weeks went by, I adjusted that to 350g as 200g was too low and 409g was too high.  Nevertheless, it proved to be an excellent starting point.  While it’s not required to do this prep phase, it’s highly recommended so that you can figure out your own personal numbers.  It would have been helpful to include a carb back loading meal plan for the ultra-low carb phase, but Kiefer assumes you aren’t the average person and you will already know this or use the forums to design your own for this short phase.
What do you eat on carb back-loading?  Let me show you.

I just started filling in the blanks for a carb back loading meal plan based on my needs at the time.  You can see my example below.  It’s just a guideline, not set in stone.  If you do the math, it’s too high in carbs and I adjusted downwards.
One thing Kiefer should mention in the carb backloading ebook that he doesn’t and that is that whatever your target number is, take that in half and work upwards.  For the most part, it’s the highest range you’d want.  For me, I found 409g every night to be too much.  I felt like it was difficult to backload that many carbohydrates and I felt stuffed.  200g, felt like I was still in some ketosis.  At 350g, I feel satisfied, energetic and my workouts the next day aren’t lacking.  I had to start lower and work my way up.  I suggest you do the same.  The sample carb back loading meal plan included in the ebook gives you an idea of how to craft one but following it to the letter usually won’t work unless you are exactly the same weight as the sample.  Even then, your numbers may be different so keep in mind you’ll have to do some leg workout to design a plan that is going to work for you.

My Carb Back Loading Sample Meal Plan:

Upon Waking:

  • A.M Accelerator Formula (10g whey isolate; 1 tbs coconut oil; 5g creatine, coffee)

Breakfast:

  • 1 bell pepper
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 3 large eggs scrambled
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/4 cup of cheese
  • 1 fish oil pill

Snack (optional):

  • 1/4 almonds
  • 5 celery stalks

Lunch:

  • 6oz chicken
  • 1 broccoli
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Snack (optional):

  • 1/4 almonds
  • 2 hardboiled eggs

Pre-Training:

  • Ignition Formula (25g whey isolate; 2 tbs coconut oil)

Intra-Training:

  • Sustainer Formula

Post-Training:

  • Hypertrophic Potentiator Formula (big fancy word for lots of carbs; some protein, shake)

Dinner:

  • 4oz salmon
  • 14oz potato
  • 2 cups jasmine rice
  • 1 tbsp butter

Splurge:

  • 2 cups lactose free milk
  • 4 cups frosted corn flakes

Before Bed:

  • 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese

To be clear, this was just a carb back loading meal plan I created based on my needs and tastes.  I’ve since tweaked it to remove the intra-workout formula (didn’t need it) and since becoming allergic to eggs, I’ve included uncured bacon, cottage cheese and a sliced tomato for breakfast.   I started using jelly beans in place of corn flakes at times and rice pudding if I didn’t have a baked potato.

carb back loading breakfast idea
My current carb back loading breakfast

A carb back loading meal plan should load pre-training, the majority of your protein and fats (keeping ketogenic) and full of energy.  Prior to the workout, you drink coffee and coconut oil for energy (MCTs) and after the workout, you spike your insulin with high glycemic carbs sources, driving in protein to the hungry muscles and fuel in the form of glycogen to replace what you lost during the previous workout.

My Favorite Carb Back Loading Meal Plan Foods

carb back loading meal splurge
There’s plenty of carb backloading recipes   Think about it.  Most of the stuff we’re told is unhealthy, can be used to build your own carb back loading meal plan depending on the ingredients and how well you cook.  Avoiding processed foods is still key.  Making your own homemade versions of higher carb desserts and foods would be ideal.  For example, a homemade pizza over a nasty rubbery store-bought frozen pizza.
Carb Backloading can be a Fun and Healthy Lifestyle!

carb back loading meal idea
A bison burger, sweet potato and jasmine rice make up this carb back loading meal.

This carb backloading diet example was based off the carb backloading meal plan included in the book.  I switched out foods and portions to meet my needs as determined by the steps you’ll learn in the ebook.
If you are somewhat creative, you can easily come up with your own carb backloading meal plan that meet your definition of health.  You do not have to eat burgers, fries and other desserts that you find distasteful.  However, if you’ve always steered clear of those, you can use them to your advantage.  This is one of the most nutritionally fun protocols I’ve tried in a long time.
Once you purchase the ebook, you’ll want to visit the forums as there’s many people who have made similar carb back loading meal plan templates you can use for your own situation.  The forums are full of information but you have to dig.
Marc David – CPT

PS – Keto type recipes like this would work for such a plan.

  • Keto-Krepes | Modified Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy – We are calling them crepes, because we usually fill them with ham and cheese and roll them up. But the coconut meal gives them a little more body than a real crepe, and they are a little spongy too, so they are kind of a cross …

PPS – If you have a carb back loading meal plan you’d like to share, please contact me and share your favorite foods.

15 Replies to “Use My Carb Back Loading Meal Plan to Get Started Faster”

  1. 1/17/13
    I just finished day 4 of my ULC/HITT plan and now I’m excited about backloading for tomorrow’s workout. I ended up losing about 3 1/2 lbs over 4 days. Feel pretty lean and don’t feel like I’ve lost any strength. Tonight is the first of 4 consecutive bakloads. I will update on weight gain and overall feel afteday 4.
    LJ

    1. L J Walker
      How did u feel after the 10 day plan did it work out for you? I’m on day 3 ATM! Did u find working out your carbs easy mate?

  2. Been on a Keto diet lost 30lbs now I am stuck I look good but not ripped is carb back loading the trick? To get shreds

    1. Getting ripped to shreds is a very low percentage of body fat and not a lot of water retention between the muscle and the skin. I’m not sure Carb Back Loading is the key but it certainly was a fun and interesting experiment. I felt leaner. I never did get “ripped” on it though. It has a Strength Accumulation Protocol, the SA Phase, that says this is what you’d use to get there. I can’t really say if that’s true or not. I focused on the Density Bulking portion which worked. I’m a fan of trying new things so being a long term keto, I can see how you’d get stuck. There’s only so much that will do for you in terms of what you want to accomplish. There’s the Intermittent Fasting which seems interesting as well. Getting to that shredded is really dependent on a very low percentage of body fat. Any of those options could get you there.

  3. I’m on day 9 of my prep phase. I want to density bulk and your story spoke to me. I started at 178lbs and I want to get up to 200lbs. What are the main differences between bulking up and strength accumulation? I’ve rear through Kiefer’s e-book several times but he doesn’t go into much detail on the subject. What I gather is that instead of waiting 1 hour before I have my accelerator drink in the morning, I have it right away. The rest of the day looks the same as strength accumulation until after I work out in the 4pm to 6pm window. Then my backloading is up to 4 hours, compared to the 2 hours for strength accumulation. Is that right? Or can you give me a few other ideas on how to tune up my density bulking? Thanks!
    Eric Dena

    1. You nailed it! The only real difference was the frequency of back loads. On the Bulking phase, it was daily. On the Strength phase, it was only if you were going to train the next day, the window was smaller, you held out longer before having anything in the morning.. but essentially it’s not too much different. You’ve outlined the differences very well. Just limit the backloads. No training the next day? No backload. Whereas with the Density Bulking, you had a pass to continue to load.

  4. Hey! For the morning Accelerator shake, I know it’s probably a no but does it have to be whey? Or could it be a vegan protein powder?
    Thanks!

  5. I’ve started the carb back loading meal plan already. I just have a question the AM Excelerator do I mix all of that in my coffee or in something else because my protein doesn’t mix in my hot coffee in the morning leaves big chunks.

    1. I mix it all because my protein doesn’t leave big chunks. That is what used to happen back in 1992. You should find a better protein that mixes better. However, in theory, you could just do the coffee and coconut oil and swig that protein right after by itself. You’ll get all the nutrients you want in the AM Accelerator shake and it shouldn’t make a huge difference. Taste but otherwise, that might be an option for you.

  6. I saw that your current breakfast is bacon, tomato and cottage cheese. How many slices of bacon do you use?

  7. Hi, what were your protein and fat ‘Macros’ I’m reading and hearing different opinions and can’t quite understand how much I’m supposed to be having.
    Alot of people are saying 1g of protein per lb of body weight, and 0.5g-1g of fat per lb of body weight for the prep phase, then the same for the backload phase. (obviously using the weight you loose in the prep to determine the amount of carbs you need to backload)
    Is this correct or is it way off?
    Cheers

    1. You are correct. I did the 1/.5 ratio. It worked. I would say.. whatever you determine the amount of carbs you need to backload … use half of that and adjust as necessary. Mine was 400g. I took it literally. I could have done great with 300-320g of carbs. If it doesn’t work you can add more. But I’d say start with half then add. You’ll have room to make modifications.

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