Trying to gain muscle....but really confused!!

D2244

Ok I have always been a skinny guy but in recent years packed on some weight (eating food off of 4 kids plates will do it!!). I just lost 30 lbs so I am now ready to switch gears and want to bulk up by doing body weight training and or lifting etc.
Here is some info...5 ft 7, 152lbs 18% BF 41yrs old

What I am confused about is how much protein, carbs and fats do I need to build muscle? There is alot of info on the web but everyone says something different and it has left me confused. Also, can you modify MFP to change how it calculates Protein, carbs and Fat if I figure out what the percentages should be? I don't think I am getting enough calories or protein....

As for cardio, I have done workouts to loose 30 lbs since January but how much cardio should I do in addition? Not sure if there is a right balance here but need some advice...I still have some belly fat and want to go down more so I will continue cardio but not sure much should if real goal is to build muscle.

Look, I know there is no magic formula here but looking for some advice so i can get a plan together. In my 40's now and finally motivated enough to get my body in shape. Thanks for your help.

NikkiLS28

40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat is a good place to start. You can tweak it from there (and yes you can change MFP settings to this)

mrmanmeat

I think I'm on 40% protein. Lower carbs. I really only eat veggies and fruits. other than meats. My arms are getting noticeably bigger in the last two months.

sel254

I was recommended 40% carbs, 30% fat and 30% protein. You can go to the goals tab, select "change my goals" and then select "customize" rather than guided and you'll be able to edit it yourself

KittieLea

I changed my settings to 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat, however, I do much better with higher protein than carbs. If you're wanting to build muscle I'd recommend having higher protein than anything, then you can always change it to suit your needs. Everybody is different

EvanKeel

Other posts I've seen seem to suggest something like:

To gain while weight training...

- 1 to 1.5g protein per lb of LBM,
-Can't quite remember fat...I think probably at least .5g per lb of LBM.
-200cal or so above maintenance daily
-Fill in the rest with carbs as you like, more fat probably wouldn't hurt. It does take energy to build muscle too after all.

So, a grain of salt with all that. I've seen people recommend going by either rations or grams compared to LBM. curious to see what others say.

D2244

Hey thanks...just changed the goals.

medennison123

your 152lbs 18 % bodyfat? How do you know your 18%? Mirror calipers? I recommend cutting down to 12 ish % Then bulk up as in order to build muscle you have to be in a caloric surplus meaning fat gain of some extent.

percentages are not right for everyone.

keep protein no more that 152 grams a day. You dont need much more than 1 gram per body weight plus your at 18 % body fat so you should go off of your lean body mass not body weight.

.5 * 152 is 75 grams of fat minimum

152 * 4 = 608 from protein
75 * 9 = 675 calories from fat

608 + 675 = 1283

Your calorie goal(should be a bit over maintenance cal) for this example lets say 2600 cal total.

so 2600-1283(from fats and protein) =1317 from carbs

1317 / 4 = 330 grams of carbs.


Most people will tell you protein is the most important piece of food when you are trying to build muscle but it really is not. After you get your 1 gram or so per lb of body weight/lean body mass the only way you are going to build muscle is being in a caloric surplus which is optimally achieved by using carb sources as it is your bodies fuel.

mfpmech

a breakdown of what science (not broscience) has to say about gaining/losing weight and muscle:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

percents are an inefficient way to look at it; think of it more as meeting macro requirements.

I. meet your target calories to gain weight at the pace you want. this is what i look forward to every four months: switching from the cut phase to the gain phase. going from 2000 calories a day to 2800 calories a day is like a vacation inside food.
II. meet your protein requirements within your calorie goal (research suggets between 0.8 and 1 gram of protein per pound of your target bodyweight; ie, if you want to weight 175 lbs after putting on some muscle, aim for 140-175g protein per day
III. next priority is filling out the rest of your calories with carbs and fat. i tend to go higher on carbs than fat on lifting days, for energy, and about equal carbs and fat on recovery and non-lifting days. i lift in the afternoon; if i lifted in the morning, i would probably have my higher carb day the night before.

to make this work with myfitness pal's counter at the outset, let it calculate how much you should eat to gain maybe 1 lb per week. then, go to My Home -> Goals -> Change Goals -> Custom, and fiddle with the drop down box for protein % until the base % is your target protein amount (eg, 175g). personally, after that, i set carbs and fat to be equal percentages.

of course, because MFP only allows you to set the protein requirements according to a percentage instead of a flat amount, on days that you log exercise, the protein goal will "increase" on your diary. i disregard that, and just keep an eye to make sure i'm closing in on my protein, while keeping a balance on fat and carbs.

edit: medennison123 made similar points, and posted faster than me i feel like his information, while not mirroring mine, is pretty close to what researchers suggest, and is a decent set of guidelines.

i disagree about cutting downt o 12% first, though. in my experience, the 5% between 17% and 12% are miserable, and sometimes a homie just wants to add some muscle and worry about recutting the fat off later. both for the sake of liking having the muscle, and for being tired of eating at a caloric deficit and wanting to eat a monster cheeseburger.

HeidiMightyRawr

1) Eat in a calorie surplus (around 10-20% above maintenance)
2) At least 1g per lb of bodyweight for protein (yes you can change the %'s on MFP
3) At least 0.35g per lb of bodyweight for fat.

How much that is in %'s will depend on your calorie goal. Change around the %'s and you should see what gives you certain amounts in grams Although as someone said earlier, 40/30/30 is a good place to start.

4) Lift heavy (heavy for you)

D2244

Thanks for the info. I was debating on going down to a lower body percentage first but it is just taking a long time....I am hoping to bulk up some and do cardio.

dorothytd

a breakdown of what science (not broscience) has to say about gaining/losing weight and muscle:


Love the "broscience!" Perhaps the boards should be nicknamed that?

wellbert

Carbs and protein are needed to build muscle. Not just protein.