Understanding Macros with No Carb Diet

edc58
edc58 Posts: 3 Member
in Getting Started
I’m a recently retired college offensive lineman looking to shred my body fat and find a plan once I reach my goal weight of 260 lbs. I have a general understanding of macros but I would like to know what my goals should be percentage wise to reach a healthy caloric deficit.

Replies

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,284 Member
    What would a no carb diet consist of??

    Just meat and oil??

    Doesn't seem very nutritious.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    Oh ladies, be nice to the guy! He is new at this and, probably, slightly confused :smile:

    Much more important facts would be how much weight is on the "table" for chopping, and whether there is any expectation for training and how much.

    Also whether the past few months/weeks have seen weight moving up or down.

    All this to start honing in on calories to eat and size of deficits that may be appropriate... before tackling macros and ways of eating!
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    edited May 2020
    Upon seeing thread title:🍿
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,422 Member
    ^^What quicksylver296 said.
  • KrissFlavored
    KrissFlavored Posts: 327 Member
    @PAV8888 -- I'm pretty sure 9 times out of 10 I'm pretty blunt but there is a niceness buried under it like a tootsie pop
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    KrissFlavored wrote: »
    @PAV8888 -- I'm pretty sure 9 times out of 10 I'm pretty blunt but there is a niceness buried under it like a tootsie pop

    Mmmm tootsie pop's are good! :smiley:

    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    edc58 wrote: »
    I’m a recently retired college offensive lineman looking to shred my body fat and find a plan once I reach my goal weight of 260 lbs. I have a general understanding of macros but I would like to know what my goals should be percentage wise to reach a healthy caloric deficit.


    @edc58 - we need more information. Current weight, height, age, and activity level. Like people above have said, you don't have to go low carb to lose weight. All you have to do to lose weight is create a calorie deficit. Within that deficit, you can set up your macros in whatever way works best for you.

    As an athlete, I expect you want to maintain your muscle mass, and you probably plan to continue to workout, right? If those assumptions are true, I propose this. Set your protein macros to 0.8 to 1 gram per pound of your goal weight, so about 200-260 grams of protein per day. Protein is 4 calories per gram, so that's 800-1040 calories of your day. Fats need to be approximately .35 grams per pound of goal weight, so about 90 grams of fat per day. Fat is 9 calories per gram, so that's 810 calories per day. The rest of your daily calories can be carbs. I can't guess how much carbs, because I don't know the stats I listed above in bold.

    Also, if you do plan to continue to workout, you'll need some carbs to fuel those workouts. Zero/low carb makes it difficult for most people to maximize their workouts.

    Adding to @quiksylver296 's post: the rest can be ANY of the macros, including carbs, fats, or even protein, or, even some discretionary alcohol if you're wired that way!

    Fats at 0.35g would be a minimum and additional healthy fats would not be hurting you. Additional protein once you've hit 200-260g would probably be of little direct incremental benefit beyond providing satiation. And carbs can provide both energy and satiation and a whole lot of healthy food options.

    However, while all this talk about macros is wonderful... the most BASIC questions remain: GOALS and CALORIES.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    edited May 2020
    @quiksylver296 we both have the same concern but your numbers are coming up even higher than mine.

    I am coming up with a 2452 BMR using 6ft 4", 300lbs, male, 22yo.

    Which would put a sedentary person @ 3065 and a lightly active one at 3450.

    Not having see the OP in person I can't be sure. But at these levels he could start with a 750 deficit for 1.5lbs a week after any initial faster losses that may happen in the very beginning.

    But I wouldn't go much faster.

    I.e. I would start by eating 3500 and letting exercise and activity create the deficit (at his size they can easily come to 750 Cal, heck even 1k depending on overall activity)

    To be very honest I wouldn't even do that to begin.

    Just log food eaten while eating at will for a week or two.

    The act of logging the food (especially when starting up with logging being more labour intensive till you're used to it), especially if logging before eating will probably create a deficit that is as large or larger on its own!!!!!!

    The benefit will be that he can then look through the logs and evaluate his intake making easy substitutions for things he finds less rewarding (for satiation, nutrition, or other reasons) as compared to other options!

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edc58 wrote: »
    This is helping a lot. I can’t thank you guys enough. Moving foward I’m going to focus on constant logging of meals and move to a 3500 calorie diet.

    Sounds like a plan! Good luck! :drinker:
  • JaneDoeSix
    JaneDoeSix Posts: 5 Member
    Wow. I can't believe the hate for low carbers on this site. Having said that-- Zero carbs is hard to maintain. Maybe 3-5 days just to get in ketosis. I recommend Dr. Berg on YouTube. His videos are really good for healthy low carbing and he gives advice on Macros. He recommends 8 cups of non starch veggies a day plus higher fat proteins. On keto you will have 5-10% carbs, 15-20% protein and the rest fat. This is highly effective for weightloss. I lost 100 lbs on keto and got off insulin and my thyroid medication (per doctor, I didn't just stop taking them).

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