Weight loss, bulking, macros, aarrgghhh! (SO confused)!!

carlchampigny

Hello all,

First time poster here. If this is long winded and confusing I apologize, just trying to get all the info out there up front.

Been a member for 122 days according to my "streak". My wife got me into MFP when I decided to begin to use the YMCA membership I had been paying for (for the rest of my family) but not using myself. Thank God she did

Brief background here re: where I was, where I am, and where I hope to be, which I hope helps you understand my question(s) further down the post.

After smoking a pack(+) of Marlboro's for way too many years, I quit in this past August and have not turned back since. I gained weight and decided to try to get myself back into shape as I am not getting any older.

My stats were:
Age: 35
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 204.5 lbs

On Feb 9, 2014, my wife told me about MFP and to download the app, as she used it for her journey and found it to be, well, nothing short of "awesome". She showed me how to use it and scan bar codes, log food, etc. and helped me set it up based on my goals for weight loss and I instantly got hooked. My first check in was that day came in at 204.5 lbs.

Fast forward 122 days and now I am probably a rookie gym rat. I love going (7 days/week) and how I feel afterwards! I would go, use random machines and hit the treadmill or the elliptical, but did not have any solid structure other than the C25K app, which I completed and ran my first 5k in just under 30mins mid April.

50 days ago after complaining about plateauing with my weight loss to a co-worker (I was stuck at 193 at check in for close to 3 weeks) he told me about the bodybuilding.com site and how one can follow a "program". If you are familiar with these, I chose "transform" as I don't want to become a professional bodybuilder by any means. Rather, I want to be tone and have a good body with definition - "slightly ripped" I guess you could call it.

I am on day 50 of the "Lee Labrada 12 Week Daily Trainer" and I can definitely see a difference in how my body shape is changing - in a good way! The compliments I get from people who have not seen me since late Winter/early spring when I had more layers on is very rewarding, especially re: the weight loss.

My current stats are:
Age: 36 (still a male
Height: Same
Weight: 182.5

That's down 22lbs. This past Sunday when I checked in I gained a pound. It was the first Sunday check-in that I have had where I posted a legit gain instead of a loss or no gain/loss. I am hoping I did not plateau again, and have no clue if this was a "good pound" or a "bad pound" gain. I hope that makes some sense.

I get confused with the whole macros and %s of protein vs fat vs. carbs, etc. that I should be eating in order to maintain not being overweight with fat vs. eating more to gain weight so my muscles can get bigger. My current settings on MFP is 50c/30f/20p with an overall daily calorie goal of 1470 (this was automated by my wanting to lose approx. 1.5 lbs week to be at 180lbs. as my personal goal). I am thinking of changing that to 175lbs, which is what I weighed 9 years ago when I got married (I was thin, with little to no muscle definition). Ideally, to be around 175-180lbs but "slightly ripped" is my crossroads based on what I am currently allowed to eat via MFPs calorie set up and the macros, etc. If this is super unclear I apologize, just looking for feedback as to which direction to turn moving forward...do I adjust my macros?

Someone else told me about IFFYM and after poking around the site I started to feel frustrated and confused at all of the information that was there - most of it seemed like a different language to me.

Looking forward to seeing where this thread takes me! Thanks for reading and I welcome thoughts/feedback...

Carl

kdiamond

not sure exactly what advice you're looking for but my opinion is you're not eating enough calories in general, and definitely not enough protein for someone your size, and especially if your goals are to be more fit, not thin with little muscle tone.

I'd do 40/30/30 at least to start, and while working out 7 days seems excessive, if you are I would be eating 2000 a day (that's what I eat most days and I'm a 113 pound female).

carlchampigny

Thanks for the reply kdiamond, I could tell after reading my original post that it was not super clear as to what I was seeking in terms of advise. That being said...

My concern would be increasing the calories while trying to lose weight all while maintaining enough calories to allow the muscles to grow/become stronger to become more fit. I have a desk job so I don't burn all that much at work so my settings are set to sedentary. While I agree that the 7 days/week workout schedule seems excessive, it's what the Lee Lebrada program calls for so until it's complete I am committed (and the results have been great). Ironically, I hit around 2k for calories each day, but burn anywhere from 350-500 calories on the treadmill or elliptical so that gets the final total down to around 1500.

The current weight goal that I last set in mfp is 180. Assuming I am not at a plateau now (I hope not), when I get there do I then increase to 2000cal and the 40/30/30? If I increase in weight, I am OK with that, but want it to be muscle vs fat. Perhaps I am over thinking the value and "weight" of calories?!

I have heard the 40/30/30 is what a lot of weight lifters do...by my own design, my eating habits over the past few weeks have been driven more towards the protein instead of the fat so my "pie chart" has been skewed as a result. What are you eating to be at that total each day and maintain your weight, and how often do you work out?

Janlo26

The Muscle and Strength site has great info and some really knowledgeable members who will give feedback and/or critique your program. I've gained a lot of knowledge from reading the articles, mostly written by "lifer" body builders for us amateurs.
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/forum/forum.php
All the best in your quest!

tarachamp

here ya go!
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/680246-tdee-bmr-what-they-are-and-what-to-do-with-them

LividMuffin

I would suggest finding out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure). It's probably more reliable than eating the 1400kcal (which I assume is your BMR) + your workout calories. This method is only really reliable if you have some piece of technology that measures your heart rate during the workout so you know exactly how much you burned.

To find your TDEE go to iifym.com there's a calculator at the top of the page where you enter your age, weight etc and it counts it for you. To find your macros you can use the iifym calculator on that website too, it's pretty good. Instead of % of the calories it gives you the amount of protein & fat you should eat in relation to your bodyweight in lb. Personally I believe that the 'recommended' 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight is unnecessary so try to go for something like 0.6-0.8 . The amount of carbs and fat really depends on your preferences as long as you don't go over your calories and keep the fats under 0.5g/lb of body weight. (unless you decide to follow a specific diet where the ratios are set e.g. Keto or Atkinson).
this clears the confusion a little! Keep up the good work.

kdiamond

You can do a recomp in maintenance but it will take more time than if you did the traditional bulk/cut cycle.

I work out 4x a week with weights and 1-2x a week of HIIT cardio. I try to stick to 40/30/30 for the most part but that's just a guideline for me, I don't always get there and that's ok. In fact I hardly ever overthink my daily calorie consumption/macro ratio because it's really not necessary. As long as you're mainly getting there over a week's time you should be good.

I agree it's good to know your TDEE but again it's only a guideline.

elliej

In terms of weight lifting and getting strong, Stronglifts 5x5 is a great starter program. It's usually combined with eating at maintenance/a very small deficit.

TonyStark30

Cals are fine, up the protein, eat back some exercise cals tho if you need to.

I went from about 200 to 141 first time out, tried to hit the grams of protein for the weight I was aiming for, so go for 160 -180 and see how you go. Rest of the macros are down to what you like eating or what they do to you.

I'm not watching anything but protein right now but I know I could drop a bit more water weight if I watched my carbs, but that just me personally retaining water, once I get down to where I want to be it will go anyway.

Edit I'm also 5' 9