Howdy all,
I have a question about my current macros/kcal intake. First my stats,
40 years old
230lb
5’ 9”
18-20% bf
Lift 5 days a week
Hiit cardio 2 days a week
Current kcal 3167 lift, 2880 non lift
Macros 240c 71f 367p lift
Macros 179c 72f 344p non lift
So my question I guess is I’m not see any type of gains, weight on the scale is staying stagnant. It’s slightly decreasing but nothing in the way of rising. I have to say that I’m still leaning out. My bf % is still dropping (which is a good thing) I’m currently on TRT and my test lvls are 1269. So I know I’m good there. But everything I’m reading says protein is where it’s at. I do gain fat easily so carbs I have to be careful with. Any advise would greatly be appreciated as to how my current macros look as far as gaining muscle. Or is it possible I’m actually gaining lean mass and shredding? Thanks in advance!
I’m confused. Is your goal fat loss or muscle gain? The answer changes based on it.
If you are trying to gain weight, and 3200 calories isn’t moving the scale then you need to eat more. Try adding 300 calories and reassess in 2 weeks. Your protein is high enough, probably too high actually for my preference. So increase one of the others. My vote is carbs.
If you are trying to lose some fat and the scale isn’t moving, drop 300-500 calories and monitor for 2 weeks. If weight doesn’t move, drop another 300. I would drop some (maybe 200-300 calories) from protein honestly and the rest from fat or carbs.
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe you’re 230 at 18-20% bf at 5 ft 9, that would be a very big amount of muscle. You would be stepping on a bodybuilding stage around 195 lbs, and at 5 ft 9 that is HUGE. For reference, there are threads on here of guys with long training histories and a lot of muscle within 2 or so inches of your height hitting the stage around 175-178 lbs and they were pretty competitive. If you are 230 lbs, it’s likely your body fat percentage is higher than you’re believing. Use that information however you like.
1 Like
Thanks for the response, the idea was to add lean muscle. I have slowly been increasing my kcals and I guess my question wasn’t properly asked. I just wanted to know if those macros looked good as far as c/f/p. I keep reading that the body can only use so much protein, wanted to make sure I’m not over doing it.
As far as BF% I was simply going off of my scale. The scale puts me at 19.2%. I also use pinch calipers and those are coming in at 24%. I only carry fat on my stomach and inner thighs. The rest is pretty lean (at least I think so)
I actually since my post dropped another 3lbs and am currently sitting at 227.2. I guess I had a bit of bloat going on. I almost bet I’d drop another 5lbs if I stopped creatine as well.
So yea I just am basically just curious as to the macros. And is it possible to gain and lose? Because when I started this venture in February(ish) I was sitting at 34-36% bf.
Fair enough. Generally people recommend 1 to 1.25 grams protein per pound of body weight. With that I’d probably aim for 260-290 grams protein on lifting days and bump up your carbs to make up the difference. If you want to on non lifting days I’d have protein around 260-290 also but maybe increase the fats to make up the difference instead, with some increase in carbs being fine though.
It’s possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, but it’s not a quick process usually. There are some things that make it easier, like being very high body fat, being a newer lifter, and using drugs. Usually you’re better off picking a goal (gaining or losing) and focusing your efforts on it. But yeah it’s possible, and you may have been doing that already. Where you’re at, if you eat at a maintenance and put in effort in the weight room it’s not crazy to think you can gain some muscle while losing a little bit of fat.
1 Like
If your seeing results and don’t feel like garbage your golden.