Howdy all,
Quick question, would changing my carb and protein change my total maintenance kcals?
Previous macros: 250c/87f/367p total kcals 3367
New macros 325c/71f/294p total kcals 3350
So basically does adding more carbs change weight gain or weight loss? Even though the kcals almost the same?
Thanks in advance!
It shouldn’t.
Depends on your insulin response.
Your protein seems extremely high unless you’re 300 pounds.
Agreed with @believer423, your original macros are insane amounts of protein, even the new macros seem high unless you do in fact weigh 300lbs?
Total cals are king, so this shouldn’t make a difference in terms of weight gain. At those cals maybe consider lowering protein a little more and getting some more fats? What’s your weight/height?
Stats 5-9, 216lbs
I was 260 back in March before trt.
Per my home scale 19% BF
I know my protein was extremely high, my trt doctor said to raise it. But I’ve decided it’s not working due to the fact I can’t gain an oz. I’ve slowly upped my kcal from 2800 all the way to almost 3500 and still my weekly weigh in is 1-2lbs loss. Not sure if that’s due to too much protein though.
I know I wanna lower protein down to about 212-250 area but that means my carbs will be closer to 400 and I’ve always gained fat easily so that’s what worries me I guess.
Are you weighing your food? Reading that you’re eating 3500 calories and losing 1-2lbs a week, but you gain fat easily, seems contradictory. You do burn some more calories digesting protein vs carbs or fat I believe, however I don’t think that would account for your weight loss. Are you weighing all of your food, and most definitely getting those calories and macros?
Are you trying to gain weight? Assuming so based on your post. You could lower your protein to 220, and raise your carbs and/or fats. If your total calories truly stay the same, and your macros shift, as long as you’re not eating processed sugary crap, you shouldn’t be gaining weight due to higher carbs. Especially if you’re eating protein and fat with your meals, your blood sugar should be stable. If you’re happy with your carbs where they are, you could keep your carbs at 325 and raise fats to meet your total caloric numbers.
I’m a huge advocate for having a food scale and weighing everything when you’re getting this specific about total cals and macros.
What are your typical protein, fat, and carb sources?
I weigh everything my dude. Currently I’m eating 3 cups white rice, 12 oz chicken, 4 oz 96/4 ground beef, 120g oats, 4oz apple, etc. obviously these are al split into different meals. Which pre and post meals are carb heavy, I think 70g and 80g. The worst thing I ingest daily would be my 10oz of orange juice, as far as crappy sugars.
I have toyed a bit more with my macros and now have the set at 271p/71f/350c 3361 kcals I believe.
Im happy with the weight loss per say because I’m not as lean as I would like to be. But for whatever reason I can’t find my maintenance lvl. I weigh in tomorrow and I’m almost certain that I will have dropped another 1-2lbs
My thought is for my height/weight 3300 kcals is quite high to be shedding weight. Anywho thanks for your input man.
White rice and chicken breasts are basically a nutrient void, beside shooting your insulin up for a ride I don’t see what’s out there from them. There are plenty of nutrient richer foods that will also satiate you more. Namely, vegetables, legumes, berries etc. Orange juice (assuming freshly squeezed) is far more nutritious than white rice. Black rice is far more nutritious than white rice. Pasta and rice and bread must be why people hate on carbs so much. Vitamins&minerals&satiation 404 not found. Massive caloric intakes effortlessly. Pancreas rekt.
I feel like nutrient density is super important yet people think calories are king. However in my experience and according to the TDEE calculator I got from my VO2 Max testing, you can get similar bodyweight results from widely different caloric intakes. It’s all about how nutritious your foods are. Since I like the idea behind less being more, plus I also like saving cash, I always strive for less unnecessary volume (also valid for training but in our case, less empty calories, more foods that leaves me more satiated).
Bottom line, try to use cronometer.com and focus on nutrient density rather than macros.
By the way - nothing wrong with 1.5g/lb of protein folks. Costly, probably unnecessary, still the one macro that just won’t cause fat gain
Great input from @tontongg. Ezekiel bread is a super nutritious and low GI carb source. Are you getting veggies in during your day? If so, what and where?
TDEE calculator I got from my VO2 Max Testing
could you elaborate?
Yes I get in 2 cups of broccoli, I also sauté I mix of peppers, onions and jalapeños to top all of my meals.
I used to run a shit ton of lentils a day but I’m fucking done with those for awhile. I over ate them and am sick of them.
No extra fruits except my apples, and greek yogurt. Oh and eggs daily.
I really am not trying to go vegetarian lol.
I’m not even gonna lie, once I get everything figured out as far as macros and total kcals, I eat the exact same thing day in and day out. Too much damn work to consistently change foods and try to arrive at the same macros or kcals.
Where am I suggesting going vegetarian, I’m saying you can find much better carbs than white rice
It’s a test I’ve run in Salt Lake City alongside DXA scanning, they basically factor in your bodyweight, fat mass, VO2 Max, metabolism vs average and suggest what your TDEE is from there.
Me personally at 6’3 218lbs 9.2% fat back in 2017 they recommended 2800-3500kcal for maintenance, which is pretty damn wide. About 3600+ to gain weight. My metabolism was estimated as slightly higher than average. I know I was maintaining with 3500 back in those days, I was on a high TRT dose… then again I was eating a lot of low nutrient foods. I’m 200 now and 11% ish fat without any drugs, effortlessly maintaining at 3000kcals daily. Walking around most of the day at a normal pace (retail pharmacist)
Idk, bodyweight x15 has always seemed to work well. Eating whole Foods, packed with vitamins and minerals, not overthinking it.
is this a serious statement?
I’d consider dropping protein down to about 260g daily. Then bump carbs up to 360g daily as long as your body is responding to carbs good. If you’re worried about gainin weight off carbs, make sure you focus majority of them around your training.
I’d do 50g Carbs pre workout, 20g carbs intra workout, and then 100g carbs post workout from a quick digesting source like Kids cereal, organic honey, mixed berries, etc…that leaves you 190g carbs to split throughout the rest of the day. So split that up into four other meals, about 45-50g carbs per meal. I’d knock your fat down just a little, probably by about 10g
Are you being sarcastic?
Yeah, I’m trying to figure out why there would be “much better” carb sources than white rice. That’s such an absolute statement.
Buckwheat, oats, black rice, wild rice, the list goes on… just plug white rice into cronometer.com and observe the nutrient void.
Your statement is still too absolute. Much better for what?
If getting glucose into the system is the goal (which should be, when choosing a carb source), then you can’t really beat white rice. It’s basically pure glucose and is one of the easiest foods on the digestive system. Just because some other food has more micro doesn’t make it a much better carb source.
Micros are better off taken in from other food
sources like veggies, that actually have significant amounts of them
For reference, this article addresses that directly
Agreed. I eat carbs for carbs. When doing so I want the easiest to digest. For micros I will eat veggies and some fruit, there are much better sources. Anthocyanins in black rice? Berries blow it out of the water.
Trying to have the “best diet” is what keeps many from their physique goals. Food prep becomes a hassle and you become a slave to variety. Not to mention the cost differenes.