Best macros for clean bulking.

[GH5lhan05hO5GXs]

Hi all, what is the best Macro for clean bulking?

Protein: 35%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 25%

or

Protein: 40%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 20%

Are any of those good or other suggestions?

Thanks!

[SuffolkPunch]

There is no need to use percentages. You need to meet or exceed sufficient levels of protein (1.6g per kg of bodyweight) and fat (about 0.8g / kg)

You can use any combination of macros that achieve this whilst meeting your calorie target.

"bulking" should be approached cautiously unless you are very underweight. Piling weight on can be mostly fat, keep your calories to maintenance or very slightly above as much as possible whilst still making progress in the gym

[RapidFail]

You don't need more than 0.7g/lb (1.6g/kg) protein or 1g/lb (2.2g/kg) at the most.

I ended my last bulk at 180lb and needed 3700 daily calories to gain 0.5lb per week on average. Eating on the low end of optimal protein intake, that would be 126g protein or just under 14% calories from protein and eating at the high end would still only be 180g and under 20% of calories from protein.

On the other hand, when cutting, your protein needs are the same (though some prefer a little higher) while calories are lower, so your protein percentage will be much higher.

Forget percentages, just make sure you meet your protein and fat minimums and focus on hitting your target calories.

[faithbrah]

when you say clean bulking, you're not talking about """clean""" foods, right? (c)lean bulking means that your surplus is like 200-300 calories, no matter what foods you get it from

[AdamWW]

Hi all, what is the best Macro for clean bulking?

Protein: 35%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 25%

or

Protein: 40%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 20%

Are any of those good or other suggestions?

Thanks!

As others have said, do not use %'s to determine your intake.

I would also note that your modifications above are so small, you'd never notice a difference... like at all...

I cannot imagine getting 40% of my intake from protein, i'd be eating like 350g of protein.

[280bit]

The best diet in general is high carb/low fat.

Carbs are extremely anabolic because your muscles run off glycogen and when in a catabolic state your body will prefer burning carbs over your own muscle tissue.
Fats are necessary for building hormones and other vital functions, but for sports/fitness are almost useless.

Your protein intake should be along the lines of 1-1.4g/lb depending on if you're massing/cutting. On cuts you should err towards the higher end and vice versa on bulks.

You want around 0.3g/lb of fat as this is near the minimum. If you start to feel miserable or have a decreased sex drive then you can up this a bit, but I wouldn't go over 0.5g/lb.

Having a lower fat consumption means you can invest those saved calories in carbs, which is what the rest of your diet should be comprised of.


Tl;DR: 1-1.4g/lb protein, 0.3g/lb fat and the rest of your daily calories in carbs.

[AdamWW]

The best diet in general is high carb/low fat.

Carbs are extremely anabolic because your muscles run off glycogen and when in a catabolic state your body will prefer burning carbs over your own muscle tissue.
Fats are necessary for building hormones and other vital functions, but for sports/fitness are almost useless.

Your protein intake should be along the lines of 1-1.4g/lb depending on if you're massing/cutting. On cuts you should err towards the higher end and vice versa on bulks.

You want around 0.3g/lb of fat as this is near the minimum. If you start to feel miserable or have a decreased sex drive then you can up this a bit, but I wouldn't go over 0.5g/lb.

Having a lower fat consumption means you can invest those saved calories in carbs, which is what the rest of your diet should be comprised of.


Tl;DR: 1-1.4g/lb protein, 0.3g/lb fat and the rest of your daily calories in carbs.

Gunna disagree with that fat recommendation of .3/lb.

That would mean a 180lb man would only get 54g of fat... that's going to be very difficult to stick to unless you restrict food selection quite hard, and if you're trying to add mass, that doesn't make sense at all.

I would suggest starting higher, perhaps .4g/lb, and just leaving it there. Why risk feeling like crap with the rock bottom number?

[paulinkansas]

Protein: 35%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 25%

or

Protein: 40%
Carbs: 40%
Fat: 20%

Those numbers remind me of the labels of dog food for sporting dogs. I used to give my Labrador 27% protein dog food, along with an egg or two every day.