Protein with little fat and/carbs

jaybelovely
jaybelovely Posts: 53 Member
edited November 2024 in Food and Nutrition
im currently 5'6, 135lb, and 16.9% bf. Trying a recomp stage and need some help. It's so hard for me to get over 1500 calories a day due to my work schedule. Usually I'm completely full at this or less! My recomp has me at a 2200 calorie intake a day, and my macros at 40 protein/30 fat/30 carbs. Any advice would help. I want more muscles in my life!

Replies

  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited June 2015
    If those stats are accurate, then your maintenance calories TDEE are as folllows:

    If Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): 2021 cals/day

    If Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): 2279 cals/day

    For more muscles, train on a proven routine with a focus on progressive overload. Rather than a body recomp, I would look into a clean bulk, e.g. consuming 10% calories more than your TDEE. If you're consistent with diet and training, this path will add mass/muscle without adding too much body fat. This equates to a goal of 2223-2507 cals/day for new muscle synthesis. Consistently consuming more than this at your current weight might add unnecessary body fat, even if you train.


    Don't rely on %'s for macros, instead follow these guidelines:

    Dietary Fat: a minimum of 0.40 - 0.45 grams per 1 lb. bodyweight (more if maintaining or bulking).

    Protein: 0.60-0.80 grams per 1 lb. bodyweight is the upper range for new muscle synthesis.

    Fill in the rest of your calories with nutritious and/or high fiber carbs.

    If your work schedule restricts the amount of times/day you are able to eat, then you need to consume more calories in fewer meals (as opposed to snacking here and there, or eating multiple smaller meals). A homemade mass gainer with protein powder mixed with other foods such as banana, oats, coconut oil, peanut butter, whole milk, cookies, etc. could help for quick calories on the go. Depending on how much of each ingredient you use, you can get a upwards of 600-1000 cals/shake.
  • jaybelovely
    jaybelovely Posts: 53 Member
    Thank you so much! That helps a lot. Now, should I increase those calories only on training days?
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited June 2015
    My advice would be to choose an activity level and calorie goal and stick with it. Consistency is key. Don't go from Sedentary to Moderately Active for a day, and back to Sedentary... then next week, all Lightly Active. Then the following week totally Sedentary. Your fitness and nutrition goal has to be a COMPLETE lifestyle change for it to work for you. Increasing your activity level is good, but my point was not to flip-flop.

    For the calorie goal, you can try intermittent fasting, or incorporate refeeding phases, but things just get confusing, and people do not tend to stick with these plans long-term unless they are meticulous loggers. My advice would be to calculate your TDEE and adjust with every 5 lbs. gained or lost (your TDEE will change as your weight shifts). Page 2 of this website is how I plugged in your numbers: http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/ -- Remember to add bodyfat %.

    Also, I forgot to add this above in case you wanted to do the math:

    Protein: 4 calories per gram
    Carbs: 4 calories per gram
    Alcohol: 7 calories per gram
    Dietary Fat: 9 calories per gram

    So for your weight and activity level, that's 81 grams (or 324 calories) to 108 grams (or 432 calories) of protein per day. Shoot for the upper end to hedge your bets.

    And a minimum of about 61 grams (or 549 calories) of dietary fat per day. For maintaining or bulking, try to get more dietary fat.

    Combine this and that is still only 981 calories. Say you get 180 grams of high nutritious and/or high fiber carbs (or 720 calories). That equals 1,701 calories total and you're still under your goal. So you have wiggle room for indulgences (ice cream, alcohol, cookies, etc.) to to play with your macros a bit in order to maintain or bulk... just remember to at least meet your protein and dietary fat minimums and predominate your intake with a rich variety of whole foods.
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