Need help with how much to eat

[guth12]

Hey guys,

I've been reading a lot of different articles, including the sticky in this forum, about how much protein/fat/carbs to eat. However, while I know I should be (and am) eating more than I normally do, judging by these articles it seems I should be eating literally twice as much as I normally do.

I'm 6'1, 200lb, 22 years old, male, and about 22-23% body fat. I have a desk job, but I work out 4 days a week which includes cardio before and after a group of 2 muscles for weight training. I tend to eat 3 to 4 meals a day. I am taking MusclePharm Assault before workouts and Gold Standard Whey Protein after workouts and a shake in the mornings. I tend to eat pretty healthy food like talapia, oranges, whole grain bread turkey sandwiches, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, chicken...

On average, I usually consume the following amounts of nutrition:
Protein: 180
Carbs: 165
Fat: 32
Calories: 1700-1800

I've been working out for about two and a half months and have only seen minimal results whereas I feel I should be seeing a little more. What should I be changing in my nutrition intake specifically? I want to build muscle, but I also have some fat that I can lose and feel like I shouldn't have to put on much weight to bulk up a little.

Thanks for any advice.

[ScaleAndSteel]

Here is an online calculator you can use as a start point:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Starting point for macros:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/nut...calculator.htm

My first questions is: Are you actually tracking your macros? If not I can almost promise you that if you are not losing weight it is because you're not eating as healthy as you think you are.

Get this account going:

www.myfitnesspal.com

Start tacking your calories. Remember, the calorie calculators and formulas don't work like magic. You will have to play around a bit to get your specific numbers. By actually tracking and logging them, you can begin to figure out what those specific numbers are.

[chevro1et]

More fat. ~.4g/ lb bodyweight minimum. Beyond that, what are your goals? Although losing fat and gaining muscle can be accomplished at the same time, it can be a long, slow process. Usually more efficient to choose a bulk or cut route.

[guth12]

My first questions is: Are you actually tracking your macros? If not I can almost promise you that if you are not losing weight it is because you're not eating as healthy as you think you are.

Start tacking your calories. Remember, the calorie calculators and formulas don't work like magic. You will have to play around a bit to get your specific numbers. By actually tracking and logging them, you can begin to figure out what those specific numbers are.

I do track my macros and my calories, which is how I got the numbers in my initial post.

Thank you for the links- To have a good amount of fat loss the calculator said to have about 1850 calories a day, 161 protein, 208 carbs, 41 fat. I'm pretty much there just need to up the carbs and fat a little bit. However, I do want to build muscle mainly and I don't want fat loss to get in the way.


@chevro1et, so at 200lb, I should be having atleast 80 grams of fat per day? I would like to build muscle mainly. I will look into bulking/cutting.

[ggfusion]

Very helpfull thank you!

[Get-n-fit]

OP, you cannot bulk and cut at the same time. Building muscle requires bulking (calorie surplus) Cutting fat requires a calorie deficit, so you see how you can't do both.