How much carb?

molnardrea
molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
edited November 2024 in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
What amount of carbs should I eat each day with lifting?

Right now I eat 260 grams a day, 2000-2200 kcals, lifting 3-4 times a week, horse riding 1-2 times a week, cycling 1-2 times a week.

I'd like to gain muscle but I'd also like to shed some bodyfat, get leaner. So lets call it a recomp approach.

Stats: 5 ft 4 inches, 127 lbs.

Replies

  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    I was reading the other day that you should have .8g of protein per pound of body weight and less than 150g of Carbs per day. So for me I need roughly 170g of protein and I have been eatting roughly 100g of carbs a day. My goal is to gain and define muscle and loose body fat
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    I have the same goals. You should look at your protein and fat goals as minimums, and let the carbs fall where there are leftovers. 1g of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (not total body weight) is generally recommended, as is .35g of fat per pound of total body weight
  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    soldiergrl_101 wrote: »
    I was reading the other day that you should have .8g of protein per pound of body weight and less than 150g of Carbs per day. So for me I need roughly 170g of protein and I have been eatting roughly 100g of carbs a day. My goal is to gain and define muscle and loose body fat

    Same here, I mean the goals. But muscle gain seems a bit hard for me on low carb...
  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    kshadows wrote: »
    I have the same goals. You should look at your protein and fat goals as minimums, and let the carbs fall where there are leftovers. 1g of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (not total body weight) is generally recommended, as is .35g of fat per pound of total body weight

    I have the protein amount right, sometimes I even go overboard on a day. My fat is a teeny tiny bit higher, but only with 16 grams, than 0.35* body weight.
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    kshadows wrote: »
    I have the same goals. You should look at your protein and fat goals as minimums, and let the carbs fall where there are leftovers. 1g of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (not total body weight) is generally recommended, as is .35g of fat per pound of total body weight

    How do you determine what your lean body mass is?

  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    soldiergrl_101 wrote: »
    kshadows wrote: »
    I have the same goals. You should look at your protein and fat goals as minimums, and let the carbs fall where there are leftovers. 1g of protein per pound of LEAN BODY MASS (not total body weight) is generally recommended, as is .35g of fat per pound of total body weight

    How do you determine what your lean body mass is?

    You have to determine your body fat percentage. I like this calculator specifically. http://www.fat2fittools.com/tools/mbf/
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    .8g of protein per pound of body weight.

    Lift really hard, don't do too much aerobics in between, and eat at a slight deficit or maintenance, fill in the rest of your calories with whatever fats and carbs appeal.

    Or if you want to do it PROPERLY, and save loads of wasted time spinning your wheels, go on a bulk, then a small cut. See the sticky thread for bulking for beginners.

    I recomped and it was ok.

    I cut, bulked and cut and it was AWESOME.

    This picture you see is of a 43 year old mother who was skinny fat most of her adult life.
  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    edited May 2015
    First you need to decide which one of your goals you'd like to accomplish first. Gain muscle, or get "leaner" in which I think in this case you mean tone. The reason I say this is because they both require opposite processes. Meaning, building muscle requires caloric surplus. While "toning" requires a caloric deficit. Toning is get rid of the fat that's on top of the muscles. You don't tone muscle, only build or lose it.

    So before figuring out your macros, first figure out which goal you want to obtain.

    Good luck!!
  • soldiergrl_101
    soldiergrl_101 Posts: 2,205 Member
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    .8g of protein per pound of body weight.

    Lift really hard, don't do too much aerobics in between, and eat at a slight deficit or maintenance, fill in the rest of your calories with whatever fats and carbs appeal.

    Or if you want to do it PROPERLY, and save loads of wasted time spinning your wheels, go on a bulk, then a small cut. See the sticky thread for bulking for beginners.

    I recomped and it was ok.

    I cut, bulked and cut and it was AWESOME.

    This picture you see is of a 43 year old mother who was skinny fat most of her adult life.

    You say .8g per pound of body weight, and the other chick says per pound of lean body mass....why the difference

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  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    soldiergrl_101 wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    .8g of protein per pound of body weight.

    Lift really hard, don't do too much aerobics in between, and eat at a slight deficit or maintenance, fill in the rest of your calories with whatever fats and carbs appeal.

    Or if you want to do it PROPERLY, and save loads of wasted time spinning your wheels, go on a bulk, then a small cut. See the sticky thread for bulking for beginners.

    I recomped and it was ok.

    I cut, bulked and cut and it was AWESOME.

    This picture you see is of a 43 year old mother who was skinny fat most of her adult life.

    You say .8g per pound of body weight, and the other chick says per pound of lean body mass....why the difference

    For people with normal BMI that usually works out to be the same calculation. People generally don't know what their exact fat percentage is, or mostly get it wrong (it's very difficult to calculate correctly) so I stick with the .8

    Anyway, for muscle building, excess calories, lifting and carbs are what really matter. its rare you wouldn't get enough protein, what with all the tag along proteins in various foods like yoghurt, bagels etc....

  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    .8g of protein per pound of body weight.

    Lift really hard, don't do too much aerobics in between, and eat at a slight deficit or maintenance, fill in the rest of your calories with whatever fats and carbs appeal.

    Or if you want to do it PROPERLY, and save loads of wasted time spinning your wheels, go on a bulk, then a small cut. See the sticky thread for bulking for beginners.

    I recomped and it was ok.

    I cut, bulked and cut and it was AWESOME.

    This picture you see is of a 43 year old mother who was skinny fat most of her adult life.

    Wow! Congrats first of all, you must be proud of what you achieved!

    I appreciate your advice, will check the bulk part.

  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    ObiWanJacoby_ wrote: »
    First you need to decide which one of your goals you'd like to accomplish first. Gain muscle, or get "leaner" in which I think in this case you mean tone. The reason I say this is because they both require opposite processes. Meaning, building muscle requires caloric surplus. While "toning" requires a caloric deficit. Toning is get rid of the fat that's on top of the muscles. You don't tone muscle, only build or lose it.

    So before figuring out your macros, first figure out which goal you want to obtain.

    Good luck!!

    Thank you! Also with Springfield's advice, I feel like I should really focus on gaining some muscle mass, then focusing on leaning out. Yes, in my case it means getting toned.

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  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    .6-.87g per lb of bodyweight in protein
    .4g per lb of bodyweight in fathe
    Fill the rest with carbs

    On a bulk carbs are king. However, simply eating a certain of food isn't going to make you add muscle. You need proper nutrition and proper progressive lifting.

    You are looking to gain muscle and lose fat which is reality are 2 separate goals and its not very likely that will be successful. If you're looking to do that you are basically talking about a recomp with is very slow and take precision with nutrition and training. We're talking about months and months for maybe a few lbs of difference. You would be better off running bulk and cut cycles.

    Thank you! I appreciate your view as well.

    Seems like it will be a bulk then first :)

    How long?

  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    IMO you should NOT bulk first. You want to get your BFP down enough so that your body will partition the calories better towards new muscle than new fat. If you bulk during high BFP then your hormonal profile (unless you have super freaky genetics) will send those surplus calories towards fat. Read up a little bit on when to bulk vs when to cut. Then ultimately decide from there.

    Good luck!!
  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    ObiWanJacoby_ wrote: »
    IMO you should NOT bulk first. You want to get your BFP down enough so that your body will partition the calories better towards new muscle than new fat. If you bulk during high BFP then your hormonal profile (unless you have super freaky genetics) will send those surplus calories towards fat. Read up a little bit on when to bulk vs when to cut. Then ultimately decide from there.

    Good luck!!

    At the moment I'm the skinny fat type. Around 25% bf.
  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    edited May 2015
    You're not too far off!!

    17-21% is a good range for women to start bulking. You won't regret if you cut first and then bulk. Make sure to not create too big of a deficit. Our bodies get energy from stored adipose (fat) or muscle, so push yourself hard on the weights to maintain the muscle you have now and signal your body to lose the fat.
  • joeboland
    joeboland Posts: 205 Member
    This is a tricky topic, because regardless of the numbers that get thrown around, there are good guidelines, but there is no "one size fits all" approach when it comes to bulking/cutting calories/macros. The guideline I've been using is from "Bigger, Leaner, Stronger" is to consume roughly 1g per lb of total body mass in protein and carbs, and fill the rest with fats.
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  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    MrM27 wrote: »
    ObiWanJacoby_ wrote: »
    IMO you should NOT bulk first. You want to get your BFP down enough so that your body will partition the calories better towards new muscle than new fat. If you bulk during high BFP then your hormonal profile (unless you have super freaky genetics) will send those surplus calories towards fat. Read up a little bit on when to bulk vs when to cut. Then ultimately decide from there.

    Good luck!!

    You need to understand some, I have seen you talk about nutrient partitioning and I know the concept but that isn't what governs our decisions. We control out rate of fat gains through having control of the size of our surplus and the ability to train properly. If I were to start bulking at 11% as opposed to 8% there isn't going to be a world of difference when you approach the bulk properly.

    Not talking specifically about the OP but you also advised her to keep cutting without even knowing her body fat. You're recommending a woman go down to 17% but you do realize not every woman will be able to be successful in getting there because coming down to those levels is more of a vanity thing and certain adjustments need to be made. Same goes for a man when you say to get down to 8%, it's not as if everyone can just cruise there because if it were that easy everyone would do it. We don't need to recommend generalized rules across the board because not everyone will succeed with the same system. There are plenty of guys that can cut to 12% but many who fail to get to 10% and even more that never come close to 8%. Recommendations like you're giving is basically telling many people to never hulk because they aren't ready. Not good advice.

    I never said it should garner your decisions. I'm just stating facts. Have I lied? I don't think so. Everything I've said has validity. When you say you control your fat gains, you're telling me that a female that decides to start bulking at 35% is going to yield the same outcomes as a woman who begins at 21%? If your answer is yes, then I say *kitten*.

    I suggested a range, sir. I didn't tell anyone that only 17% will let you gain muscle. You kind of twisted that there a little bit. But that's why I gave a range, because if you can't get down to 17%, in which the OP is already around 25%, then 21% would be better, in my opinion. Again, let me clearly state IN MY OPINION. At the end of the day the OP should do what ever she feels is comfortable, and realistic for her. I'm just offering my insight and knowledge.
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  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    edited May 2015
    MrM27 wrote: »

    Please, don't be absurd in thinking saying it's okay to bulk at 35%, you very well know I didn't say that. You however keep on with the partitioning talk. Trust me there is more to proper bulking that starting 1 or 2 points lower. When you're ready to move on from harping on nutrient partitioning to another topic on this subject feel free to call me out, I'll gladly reply.

    I agree with you, there is definitely more to proper bulking. Like calorie cycling methods, proper training, nutrient timing, as well as other very important facets. Just like proper body fat percentage is. If the OP had just mentioned bulking, instead of bulking and toning at the same time then we would have a totally different conversation going on.

    For the OP, do what you feel is right for YOU!
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  • ObiWanJacoby_
    ObiWanJacoby_ Posts: 56 Member
    edited May 2015
    MrM27 wrote: »

    And we have more stuff that definitely is not important, like calorie cycling and nutrient timing, both of which a far from very important.

    Im just going stop here and agree to disagree.

    Good luck on your endeavors OP!!!
  • molnardrea
    molnardrea Posts: 78 Member
    Oh wow. Sorry for stirring the thoughts up.

    I'll try to figure out what is best for me, going to trial and error. I already know what being in a caloric deficit is and that it works for me, now I'd like to try the muscle gain part. :)

    Thank you everyone!
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    edited May 2015
    MrM27 wrote: »
    ObiWanJacoby_ wrote: »
    MrM27 wrote: »

    Please, don't be absurd in thinking saying it's okay to bulk at 35%, you very well know I didn't say that. You however keep on with the partitioning talk. Trust me there is more to proper bulking that starting 1 or 2 points lower. When you're ready to move on from harping on nutrient partitioning to another topic on this subject feel free to call me out, I'll gladly reply.

    I agree with you, there is definitely more to proper bulking. Like calorie cycling methods, proper training, nutrient timing, as well as other very important facets. Just like proper body fat percentage is. If the OP had just mentioned bulking, instead of bulking and toning at the same time then we would have a totally different conversation going on.

    For the OP, do what you feel is right for YOU!
    And we have more stuff that definitely is not important, like calorie cycling and nutrient timing, both of which a far from very important.

    Just to reiterate OP, many of us have bulked and cut without nutrient timing and calorie or carb cycling. It's detailed but not too complicated.

    I nutrient time for triathlon training but for bulking, it's not mega important.
  • Shouliveshappy
    Shouliveshappy Posts: 161 Member
    Do you get so full that you cant eat anymore?
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Shouliveshappy wrote: »
    Do you get so full that you cant eat anymore?

    Only after ridiculous amounts of food....
    I eat everyone under the table, I think I have a black hole in my tummy.
  • sixxpoint
    sixxpoint Posts: 3,529 Member
    edited May 2015
    See which one of these works for you, or you can blend the two...

    Stats:

    Female
    19 years old
    5 ft 4 inches
    127 lbs.
    Moderately Active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
    TDEE = 2074 calories per day (for maintenence)

    Female
    19 years old
    5 ft 4 inches
    127 lbs.
    Lightly Active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
    TDEE = 1840 calories per day (for maintenence)

    TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

    Eat 10-20% less than your TDEE to lose weight.
    Eat 10-20% more than your TDEE to gain weight.

    0.60-0.82 grams protein per 1 lb. bodyweight
    0.40-0.45 grams dietary fat per 1 lb. bodyweight
    Nutritious, high fiber carbs fill in the rest

    Protein = 4 cals per gram
    Fat = 9 cals per gram
    Carbs = 4 cals per gram
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