How do my Macros look?

[Woodall1987]

So I'm 6'2", 236 pounds. Down 9 pounds in 28 days now. Eating 1650 calories a day. I am currently sitting at 23.6% BF. Was just wondering how my daily macros looked.

210g protein
85g carbs
45g fat

I'm getting all my vitamins. The only thing I'm worried about but not sure if it's a big deal is my fibre intake which is only about 12 a day. Might have to tweak things a bit to get more in

[Tommy W.]

So I'm 6'2", 236 pounds. Down 9 pounds in 28 days now. Eating 1650 calories a day. I am currently sitting at 23.6% BF. Was just wondering how my daily macros looked.

210g protein
85g carbs
45g fat

I'm getting all my vitamins. The only thing I'm worried about but not sure if it's a big deal is my fibre intake which is only about 12 a day. Might have to tweak things a bit to get more in

For now they look fine

[Woodall1987]

For now they look fine

Thanks man. Also wondering about the calories. I'm at a 1000 a day deficit for the past 4 weeks but lately I've been feeling drained. As far as lifting had gone I've been increasing the weight and haven't struggled there though

[dmacdonal9]

I would get a bit more fat, maybe 70g. Take it from protein.

If you're only getting 12g of fibre a day, I'd be concerned about your vegetable intake. If those 85g of carbs are coming mostly from grains you'll be deficient in micronutrients.

[Woodall1987]

I would get a bit more fat, maybe 70g. Take it from protein.

If you're only getting 12g of fibre a day, I'd be concerned about your vegetable intake. If those 85g of carbs are coming mostly from grains you'll be deficient in micronutrients.

Ya I should up the veggies a bit. I've been taking centrum vitamin tablets to get above my daily goals. I can try upping the fat intake and see how it goes

[Tommy W.]

Ya I should up the veggies a bit. I've been taking centrum vitamin tablets to get above my daily goals. I can try upping the fat intake and see how it goes

You up the fat and you up the calories. You can save that for when you're done dieting. I'd keep protein high. Carbs are pretty low already. Your goal at this point is fatloss and muscle retention.

[Woodall1987]

You up the fat and you up the calories. You can save that for when you're done dieting. I'd keep protein high. Carbs are pretty low already. Your goal at this point is fatloss and muscle retention.

Ya my main goal right now is to hit 190-200 pounds and hopefully get to 15% BF or less. With basically 10 pounds lost in the first month I'm wondering how long it will take me to reach that goal cause I know it will slow down the closer I get. Sometimes it gets tough with what to do cause there's so many different outlooks and opinions on things haha

[Woodall1987]

Also another question I have that seems to have mixed reviews on is how many meals a day to eat. Currently I'm eating 3 meals a day. One at 9am, 1pm, and 5pm. Although one meal I count is a whey protein shake with 1 tbsp of PB, 1 cup almond milk and 1 banana.

Would changing it to smaller meals 5 times a day be better or does it all just come down to calories for the day?

[Tommy W.]

Also another question I have that seems to have mixed reviews on is how many meals a day to eat. Currently I'm eating 3 meals a day. One at 9am, 1pm, and 5pm. Although one meal I count is a whey protein shake with 1 tbsp of PB, 1 cup almond milk and 1 banana.

Would changing it to smaller meals 5 times a day be better or does it all just come down to calories for the day?

1-10 meals per day. It comes down to what you like. 3-4 seem to be the most comfortable. IF will usually be about 2.
Don't overthink all this. The macros are less important than overall calorie amounts with protein intake setting the bar.

80% is calories
10% is macros (as long as protein is high)
10% is food quality, meal timing, supps

You can see where the focus should be

[BCAshock]

So I'm 6'2", 236 pounds. Down 9 pounds in 28 days now. Eating 1650 calories a day. I am currently sitting at 23.6% BF. Was just wondering how my daily macros looked.

210g protein
85g carbs
45g fat

I'm getting all my vitamins. The only thing I'm worried about but not sure if it's a big deal is my fibre intake which is only about 12 a day. Might have to tweak things a bit to get more in

Wow your'e at 23% body fat at 236 lbs? damn thats pretty good

[BCAshock]

Also another question I have that seems to have mixed reviews on is how many meals a day to eat. Currently I'm eating 3 meals a day. One at 9am, 1pm, and 5pm. Although one meal I count is a whey protein shake with 1 tbsp of PB, 1 cup almond milk and 1 banana.

Would changing it to smaller meals 5 times a day be better or does it all just come down to calories for the day?

Meal frequency doesn't have any significant effect on thermogensis and fat oxidation. As long as your macros are good and in a caloric deficit, meal timing doesn't really matter. It all comes down to what fits your schedule and if you IF.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592618

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23404961

[Woodall1987]

Wow your'e at 23% body fat at 236 lbs? damn thats pretty good

Well who knows how accurate it is. I've only used 2 different weight scales that measure BF and both came up pretty much the same. It sucks though considering 5 years ago I was 8% at 185 pounds. Luckily I've always been pretty muscular but never actually did any real lifting.

Even now at 236 most people wouldn't guess I'm that big. I've had multiple people guess that I was around 215 pounds.

My arms and legs look good it just sucks cause all the weight is sitting in my mid section

[livin101]

Well who knows how accurate it is. I've only used 2 different weight scales that measure BF and both came up pretty much the same. It sucks though considering 5 years ago I was 8% at 185 pounds. Luckily I've always been pretty muscular but never actually did any real lifting.

Even now at 236 most people wouldn't guess I'm that big. I've had multiple people guess that I was around 215 pounds.

My arms and legs look good it just sucks cause all the weight is sitting in my mid section

Are you getting that BF% from a scale? If so, I would find a different way to "measure" body fat since those scales can be terribly inaccurate.

[Woodall1987]

Are you getting that BF% from a scale? If so, I would find a different way to "measure" body fat since those scales can be terribly inaccurate.

Ya I am unfortunately. Like I said I tried 2 different scales both showing similar results. I'm not really that worried about it to test it other ways though because I figure it's going to be a few months before I'm where I really want to be anyways so I've just been kind of using it as a guideline.

In the 28 days I've been going so far it's gone from 25% to 23.6% so as long as it shows its going down I'm happy and more or less just looking in the mirror and judging how I feel more then anything.

Once I feel like I'd be closer to say 12-15% I might get it tested another way

[L_erwin]

I would bump your fats to 80-100 grams.

[MrM27]

I would eat more than 1650 calories.
I would up up fat to at least 70g.
Reduce protein to 185g.
Fill the rest with carbs.

Eat your fruits and vegetables.

[Tommy W.]

Personal experience taught me to keep protein high at the expense of other macros when dieting. Pretty much zero muscle loss. Protein at 1 gr per lb of lean mass and there was a big difference to the negative Your results may vary

[BCAshock]

Personal experience taught me to keep protein high at the expense of other macros when dieting. Pretty much zero muscle loss. Protein at 1 gr per lb of lean mass and there was a big difference to the negative Your results may vary

zero muscle loss with higher levels of protein? No way. When your dieting to loose fat or cut, there will always be some muscle loss. No matter how much protein you consume.

[MrM27]

Personal experience taught me to keep protein high at the expense of other macros when dieting. Pretty much zero muscle loss. Protein at 1 gr per lb of lean mass and there was a big difference to the negative Your results may vary

My recommendation is in line with that. 1g per lb of lbm going based of his 23% bf which isn't likely to be accurate works out to roughly the same as .8g per lb of body weight. All the recommendations would bring it to the 184-188g of protein range.

[andyzed]

Ya I am unfortunately. Like I said I tried 2 different scales both showing similar results. I'm not really that worried about it to test it other ways though because I figure it's going to be a few months before I'm where I really want to be anyways so I've just been kind of using it as a guideline.

In the 28 days I've been going so far it's gone from 25% to 23.6% so as long as it shows its going down I'm happy and more or less just looking in the mirror and judging how I feel more then anything.

Once I feel like I'd be closer to say 12-15% I might get it tested another way

Gday mate

I was similar stats to you when i started although i'm a bit taller but weight was about the same.

Now firstly i have to say that i really am still very new to all this but have been happy with where i've got to so far. Still more to go but am loving it and the difference is really satisfying and worth the effort.

in saying that, i'll run through what has worked so far for me. I wouldn't bother normally to say much but seeing as yr similar stats i thought it might help.

Starting off i ate around 1700 to 1900 cals a day. Protein i tried to keep around 220 or so give or take 5 to 10. I then aimed to keep carbs pretty low....around 30 - 50 and the rest filled in with fats. I wanted to burn the fat and use it as fuel for my workouts so i decided to keep carbs low. It seemed to work and although energy was down some days i only really felt depleted maybe one day out of 2 weeks.

I originally worked out one body part per day then switched to two so everything got hit at least twice a week, i train first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, mon to sat and have sun off or sometimes both days......so now routine is mon chest and arms, tues - back and shoulders, wed repeat. I also do 20 mins HIIT at the end of my workout. Legs i work once a week on an off day or if i have time at the end of one of the other workout days but i also have a 14km run coming up so i'm training for that as well so i'm not going too hard on my legs with weights at the mom. i definitely will once it's over but at my age and with a few lingering sports injuries if i train them hard in the gym i don't recover in time to do the long training runs i need to do to get my cardio up to the level needed for a long run.

Back to the nutrition i get carbs as other posters said mainly from vegetables and oats but i keep them low and whilst at times energy drops it seems i'm burning the fat still. I'm def no expert but i wanted to keep protein high to try and help maintain muscle mass. Whether i can do that with less i'm not sure but i've just kept it up around 210 + and factor the rest around trying to keep carbs between 30 and 50 mon to fri.

I'm doing this to just be in better shape as i get older and not to compete or anything. So....on weekends i still enjoy a cheat meal and eat a lot more carbs.....virtually reverse how i eat through the week. I don't go stupid but if i'm with friends and they are having pizza or thai or whatever then i'll have some and a beer or two. I won't go overboard but i enjoy my weekends still and it doesn't seem to have worried me too much......it seems to actually shock the body a little and my metabolism seems to have sparked up more.

If i'm down on fibre then i have psyllium husk with some water or on my oats. Does the trick.

Just for examle I ate a lot of carbs ( healthy ) over the weekend and really didn't exercise much more than a couple of long walks but didn't go to the gym at all. Normally i would on sat or sun but usually rest one day at least. Anyway, i weigh myself at the same time each day on an empty stomach and this morning i was only 400 grams heavier than friday. I've steadily been losing weight.....last few weeks a lot slower than initially but i have upped my calories now to about 2100 - 2300 on average mon to sat. I was never really hungry on 1700 cals but it's nice to now eat a bit more and still be losing. I do think it's helping me keep some muscle gains too.

Sorry this has dragged on but hope it helps a little.

All the best

[Tommy W.]

zero muscle loss with higher levels of protein? No way. When your dieting to loose fat or cut, there will always be some muscle loss. No matter how much protein you consume.

haha ok chief