Macros?

SilentDrapeRunners

I'm currently bulking and I'm reevaluating my macros...I was at 1900 calories, ~240 g carbs, ~45 g fat, ~140 g protein. I'm going to increase my calories to ~2000 because I stopped gaining. I weigh 104 pounds, 5'4". I realize my protein may be too high, but is it bad to increase protein at the expense of decreasing carbs and fat? I'm not sure I want to increase my carbs much more than ~260....increasing carbs tends to increase my appetite significantly and make me more lethargic.

JoRocka

I go with more fat- protein seems good- I mean I'm shooting to hit 150-200 and I'm 5'8". Fat just seems low. I want to say carbs are high- but looking back and my stuff- it ranges from 100-300+ so it's not. I would just look for that- or up the protein- carbs are just an easy way to make sure you hit the number.

I'm finding I'm less concerned with macros on bulking and more concerned with hitting the total calorie number- cutting seems much harder to hit calories without a well balanced/on point macro plan.

__freckles__

I'm certainly no expert but I would also say you could increase your fat. Looks like your macros are currently 50% carbs, 20% fat, and 30 % protein. I'm currently trying 40c/30f/30p after reading a bunch of articles and opinions, but again I'm not an expert as this is my first bulk.

HMVOL7409

Macros are very personal. Some like myself do high carb; currently 375-400g. Some get away with less. I will say in the grand scheme of a bulk, fat and carbs are to be higher for energy and meeting calories purposes. With higher protein your appetite might be ceased due to feeling satisfied as for most people, protein does that. Once again, that's personal; high protein does nothing for my satiety. But Jo is right, there may come a point where it's more important to get your calories in them hitting all the macro targets. As long as I reach my minimums I'm good.

SilentDrapeRunners

Thanks for the tips everyone. I think I'm going to try one more week of higher carbs, and if I'm still feeling crappy I'm going to switch to higher fat. I increased my calories yesterday, and the extra calories (and possibly extra carbs) made me so sleepy. I was falling asleep at 9:30pm and I'm normally a night owl

sarahstrezo

I had a hard time consistently gaining until I increased my carbs to 50%.
After this week when I go to maintenance and an eventual small cut, I'll drop the carbs back to 40%

Kestrelwings

I agree that everyone is different as to which macro blend suits. I go high carb (250-350g) with about 100-150g protein (I weigh about 115lbs), but take my carbs mainly as low GI where possible to give me slow and steady energy release rather than risk the slump in energy that can come after a sugar hit. As a result a lot of my carbs is from oats and milk.

SilentDrapeRunners

I agree that everyone is different as to which macro blend suits. I go high carb (250-350g) with about 100-150g protein (I weigh about 115lbs), but take my carbs mainly as low GI where possible to give me slow and steady energy release rather than risk the slump in energy that can come after a sugar hit. As a result a lot of my carbs is from oats and milk.

Agreed about the difference in carbs. I feel completely different after eating oatmeal vs. a sugary cereal. Or whole wheat bread vs. white bread. But I have a sugar addiction too...can't resist my dessert at the end of the day (especially when my bulking diet allows me to eat more).

TriLifter

I tend to go lower carb because I have issues with gluten and tend to avoid grains so my main carb sources are sweet potatoes, quinoa, and bananas. Macros are a totally individual thing.