Need some input on my macro's

[co1e_train]

Hey everyone,


So in case you didnt know Im prepping for my first show which is 21 weeks away. Ive been cutting slowly since like the beginning of december. I weigh my self every monday, wednesday, friday, at the same time and with the same consistencies (meals eaten, bowl movements, etc.)

Currently my macros are:
Calories:2340
Carb:200g
Protein: 250g
Fat:60g

w/one refeed a week and 3 sessions of cardio at 500 calories (elliptical) and 1 session at like 350 calories

On 2/11/11 I weighted 211. This past friday, 2/25/11, I weight 205.8 which is just a bit above 5 pounds in two weeks. Im somewhat worried that that drop is a bit much and that I may have lost some muscle and am curious if I should raise my calories slightly seeing that kind of weight loss and seeing how far out I am.

What do you guys think?

[zmcdole]

Since you're 21 weeks out 2340 at 200 carbs seems kinda low to me. In 14-16 weeks those numbers are gonna be quite a bit lower and your cardio is gonna be quite a bit more. If it were me, I would slowly work back up to 3,000 cals with a focus on increasing carbs. You should probably be able to do that without putting on very much fat if you take 4-6 weeks to do it. You'll gain some weight, but most of that will be filling back out and topping off glycogen stores. Yes, you'll loose 4-6 weeks of cutting time. However, I think your cals are too low at this point and having 21 weeks left. You may have to choose a different show date. Also, your fat intake seems low. I think you should be getting 80-100 grams. That number will go down a touch as you cut, but again at 21 weeks I really don't think 60 grams is where you wanna be.

[co1e_train]

Since you're 21 weeks out 2340 at 200 carbs seems kinda low to me. In 14-16 weeks those numbers are gonna be quite a bit lower and your cardio is gonna be quite a bit more. If it were me, I would slowly work back up to 3,000 cals with a focus on increasing carbs. You should probably be able to do that without putting on very much fat if you take 4-6 weeks to do it. You'll gain some weight, but most of that will be filling back out and topping off glycogen stores. Yes, you'll loose 4-6 weeks of cutting time. However, I think your cals are too low at this point and having 21 weeks left. You may have to choose a different show date. Also, your fat intake seems low. I think you should be getting 80-100 grams. That number will go down a touch as you cut, but again at 21 weeks I really don't think 60 grams is where you wanna be.

Thanks for the input.

I was afraid of what your saying, that in like 10 weeks my numbers would be super low. Ill start inching my cals back up and see how high i get while still loosing weight.

As far as a show date, July 23rd (date of show) is optimal but if I do need to push it back slightly i probably could, i just have already pushed date back and would rather not have too again but I do want to step on stage when im ready, I just i dont want to waste time.

Would it be wise to make like a 200 calories jump? Say from what my above posted macros were too:

Calories:2540
Carb:250g
Pro:250g
Fat:60g

Or should i increase carbs and fat at the same time opposed to just carbs first? Ugh i dont know much about how to appropriately add cals back in

[bwelch1985]

Since you're 21 weeks out 2340 at 200 carbs seems kinda low to me. In 14-16 weeks those numbers are gonna be quite a bit lower and your cardio is gonna be quite a bit more. If it were me, I would slowly work back up to 3,000 cals with a focus on increasing carbs. You should probably be able to do that without putting on very much fat if you take 4-6 weeks to do it. You'll gain some weight, but most of that will be filling back out and topping off glycogen stores. Yes, you'll loose 4-6 weeks of cutting time. However, I think your cals are too low at this point and having 21 weeks left. You may have to choose a different show date. Also, your fat intake seems low. I think you should be getting 80-100 grams. That number will go down a touch as you cut, but again at 21 weeks I really don't think 60 grams is where you wanna be.

luv ya ZMC but I'm gonna have to disagree...

Cole, you've got a substantial amnt still to lose. I wouldn't be concerned w/ a couple of 2-3lb weekly losses at this point. I know you're still kicking major ass in the gym everyday and you're feeling fine (I read your log)...so there's really no threat of muscle loss at this point.

As far as 80-100g of fat...I don't think you need that much at all. Offseason? sure...but w/ only 21 weeks left to get shredded your fats are perfectly fine where they are. Don't increase them.

Stick to your guns dude. Your metabolism is working just fine right now...it's burning through everything you're giving it, and you're dropping fat at an appropriate rate. No reason to "rehab" or add cals back in at this point. Keep working your butt off in the gym, keep hitting those numbers, and keep up w/ the cardio. If you stall out in weight loss or notice a substantial drop off in performance THEN you need to re-evaluate your numbers...otherwise, stay on the straight and narrow buddy!

[zmcdole]

luv ya ZMC but I'm gonna have to disagree...

Cole, you've got a substantial amnt still to lose. I wouldn't be concerned w/ a couple of 2-3lb weekly losses at this point. I know you're still kicking major ass in the gym everyday and you're feeling fine (I read your log)...so there's really no threat of muscle loss at this point.

As far as 80-100g of fat...I don't think you need that much at all. Offseason? sure...but w/ only 21 weeks left to get shredded your fats are perfectly fine where they are. Don't increase them.

Stick to your guns dude. Your metabolism is working just fine right now...it's burning through everything you're giving it, and you're dropping fat at an appropriate rate. No reason to "rehab" or add cals back in at this point. Keep working your butt off in the gym, keep hitting those numbers, and keep up w/ the cardio. If you stall out in weight loss or notice a substantial drop off in performance THEN you need to re-evaluate your numbers...otherwise, stay on the straight and narrow buddy!


Good points all the way through. I'm just concerned that he still has 21 weeks left to cut and he's already down to 2300 calories. I'll take back what I said about the fats:)

[bwelch1985]

Good points all the way through. I'm just concerned that he still has 21 weeks left to cut and he's already down to 2300 calories. I'll take back what I said about the fats:)

yeh, but he's losing at a fast, albeit appropriate rate considering what he's got left to move. those cals will likely stay there for quite a few more weeks before weight loss slows and an adjustment is needed...and whenever that adjustment IS needed, my next move would be to increase cardio as opposed to decrease food.

but yeh, that's my $.02:D zack definately knows what he's talking about so you'll have to make your own decision here based on what you think will result in the best package you can bring in 21 weeks.

[JohnBrowne]

Honestly I've seen some BIG guys that have to diet on 1500-2000 calories... it is what it is.

[zmcdole]

yeh, but he's losing at a fast, albeit appropriate rate considering what he's got left to move. those cals will likely stay there for quite a few more weeks before weight loss slows and an adjustment is needed...and whenever that adjustment IS needed, my next move would be to increase cardio as opposed to decrease food.

but yeh, that's my $.02:D zack definately knows what he's talking about so you'll have to make your own decision here based on what you think will result in the best package you can bring in 21 weeks.



Honestly I've seen some BIG guys that have to diet on 1500-2000 calories... it is what it is.

Coletrain, both of the above posts are good points. Do what you think you need to do.

[co1e_train]

Gentlemen,

Firstly I want to thank you all for your input. You each have valid points. On one hand, I do not want to bring to many calories back to where it actually keeps me from burning an appropriate level but I also do not want to be 10 weeks form now and have extremely low levels of food and a high amount of cardio. Will that be necessary? It could be but I only want to go there if its needed.

Here is what im thinking. Im thinking ill raise carbs by 50g from 200 to 250 which is an increase in 200 cals per day which will bring me to 2540 cals per day which I do not think is that high and I also think that with how quickly ive been loosing weight it will negatively effect my weight loss, if anything I think it may cause my metabolism to run a bit quicker plus with the amount of cardio I do at this point im not too concerned.

This past friday, 2/25, i weighed 205.8. This morning, i weighed 204 which is a 1.8 lb drop in 2-3 days (although I did help someone move a little on saturday so there was a little extra cardio.) Depending on what my weight is at the end of the week i may add another 25g of carb or so.

Ive kind of have grown to be a proponent of dieting with lower fat levels and keeping carbs as high as possible. When it comes time to make another change I will adjust fat/pro/cardio before dipping into carbs.

Thoughts?

[AustrianOakJr]

luv ya ZMC but I'm gonna have to disagree...

Cole, you've got a substantial amnt still to lose. I wouldn't be concerned w/ a couple of 2-3lb weekly losses at this point. I know you're still kicking major ass in the gym everyday and you're feeling fine (I read your log)...so there's really no threat of muscle loss at this point.

As far as 80-100g of fat...I don't think you need that much at all. Offseason? sure...but w/ only 21 weeks left to get shredded your fats are perfectly fine where they are. Don't increase them.

Stick to your guns dude. Your metabolism is working just fine right now...it's burning through everything you're giving it, and you're dropping fat at an appropriate rate. No reason to "rehab" or add cals back in at this point. Keep working your butt off in the gym, keep hitting those numbers, and keep up w/ the cardio. If you stall out in weight loss or notice a substantial drop off in performance THEN you need to re-evaluate your numbers...otherwise, stay on the straight and narrow buddy!

This ^. Losing quickly out of the gate is not a bad thing. Just keep an eye on fullness and if you start to get too depleted add some cals back in. Id rather see 2-3 lbs a week for the first 5-6 weeks, then bump carbs to get you back to a 1-2 lbs per week.

[co1e_train]

This ^. Losing quickly out of the gate is not a bad thing. Just keep an eye on fullness and if you start to get too depleted add some cals back in. Id rather see 2-3 lbs a week for the first 5-6 weeks, then bump carbs to get you back to a 1-2 lbs per week.

Thank for the input man.


Im probably going to go ahead and add the 50g this week and see what my weight does as I do not want to drive my metabolism into the dirt 10 weeks from now. This happened to me last year when i was just loosing weight and I ended up having to add in cals to get things moving again but I lost like 3 weeks at a stall and I don't want to run into that again

[AustrianOakJr]

Thank for the input man.


Im probably going to go ahead and add the 50g this week and see what my weight does as I do not want to drive my metabolism into the dirt 10 weeks from now. This happened to me last year when i was just loosing weight and I ended up having to add in cals to get things moving again but I lost like 3 weeks at a stall and I don't want to run into that again

Yep, its easy to do. I did it during my last prep. Lose too much out of the gate and it can be a double edged sword.

[co1e_train]

Yep, its easy to do. I did it during my last prep. Lose too much out of the gate and it can be a double edged sword.

yeah I can really see that now. So we will see what this surplus of 200 cals does this week.

[co1e_train]

So I got another macro question I would like input on.


This morning I weighed 202.9 (but we will just go ahead and say 203. So that is another pound down since the 200 calories increase. My current macros are

Cals:2540
Pro:250g
Carb:250g
Fat:60g

I was thinking that at my bodyweight, my protein is probably a tad high. I thought I would maybe lower protein down to 230g and then up carbs to 270g. That wouldn't negatively effect my progress right? I mean the cals are the same just different macro nutrient composition. Lol at first there was a thought of "but my muzles will fall off!!!#@#*U@!!!!" lol but carbs are more anabolic anyway.

Im not looking to up cals again unless I keep dropping at a really fast rate (do you guys think another pound drop with in this same week should be a conern?) as i would rather eat into a show and be ready early.

Thoughts?

[zmcdole]

So I got another macro question I would like input on.


This morning I weighed 202.9 (but we will just go ahead and say 203. So that is another pound down since the 200 calories increase. My current macros are

Cals:2540
Pro:250g
Carb:250g
Fat:60g

I was thinking that at my bodyweight, my protein is probably a tad high. I thought I would maybe lower protein down to 230g and then up carbs to 270g. That wouldn't negatively effect my progress right? I mean the cals are the same just different macro nutrient composition. Lol at first there was a thought of "but my muzles will fall off!!!#@#*U@!!!!" lol but carbs are more anabolic anyway.

Im not looking to up cals again unless I keep dropping at a really fast rate (do you guys think another pound drop with in this same week should be a conern?) as i would rather eat into a show and be ready early.

Thoughts?

Not a bad plan. Carbs are more muscle sparing than protein. Don't get me wrong protein is essential, but when dieting I like to think keeping carbs as high as possible is a VERY GOOD thing. 230 grams of protein should be sufficient.

[gleesamo]

soooo, if he lowered his pro, raised his carbs, but kept his cals the same, it would not efect his weight loss? Is it all just about cals in vs cals out?

[co1e_train]

soooo, if he lowered his pro, raised his carbs, but kept his cals the same, it would not efect his weight loss? Is it all just about cals in vs cals out?

Yes, most of it is about cals in vs cals out. Now macro nutrient composition plays a role in weight loss but at the end of the day, if you burn more calories then you consume you will lose weight. Now what kind of weight you lose can depend on macro break down.

zmcdole is correct, carbs are more sparring and anabolic then protein.

[zmcdole]

soooo, if he lowered his pro, raised his carbs, but kept his cals the same, it would not efect his weight loss? Is it all just about cals in vs cals out?

Essentially yes. However, every person is unique in the ratios that they should use for optimal fat loss. Trial and error is really the best way to judge what you need to be taking in in regards to macronutrient ratios.