Body building - What are your macros??

terar21 wrote: »

oceansmoke wrote: »

TiberiusClaudis wrote: »

You are asking BBs what their MACROs are...so are you or do you plan on competing? Some of my female friend's compete at not much less than 14%, so that's actually pretty good.

I know that this won't make sense to some people but I don't necessarily plan on competing but I want to be in competition shape. So ideally, I'd like to keep my bf at 14-15%.

Just a note, competition shape - as in the actually body that steps on stage - isn't something that is maintained year round. So if that's what you're comparing your belly fat to, it's not really a good comparison because they don't stay at the level of lean.

The link posted about bulking will be a really good post for you to read and decide if that's what you want to do. You will gain fat. Muscle gain and fat gain go hand in hand. The other option is recomposition (thread is in the maintenance section). But be aware that it's a much longer process than bulking and cutting. But would be a good situation if a little fat gain makes you uncomfortable.

^ +1. Being competition lean all the time is not healthy, nor sustainable (unless you are on PEDs, which puts even more stress on the body). Women are especially sensitive to extra lean bodyfat levels, as it can really mess with your hormones. Nothing wrong with competing ( I plan to myself in a couple years), but you need to realize that you can maintain super lean bodyfat for a week, maybe two, before serious health problems set in. Better to maintain an athletic level of bodyfat (for ladies, I think this is the 15-20% range, but don't quote me on it) where your body is stable and your insulin/hormone levels/etc. are in healthy ranges.

Hey hun, just from my personal experience as a female there are two reasons why you could be 14% and have extra belly fat. 1. Sugar or salt. I store either extra fat or extra fluid around my organs when I'm eating too much sugar and salt. Cut the sugars down (even fruit) and salt for a couple of weeks and see how you go. 2. Body dismorphia. When you stare at the same spot over and over you start to get a skewed opinion of what you really look like. What is your waist measurement? Try not looking at your belly area (! seriously !) for a couple of weeks. Just literally ignore it when you're looking in the mirror or try to look at your body as a whole, which takes practice but is worth it. You'll be surprised what a bit of perspective does. Any lower than 12-14% body fat for an extended period of time for a female is harmful for our hormones, so you don't really want to cut much more fat off that frame. Remember as well for us our bodies are trying to protect our reproductive organs and always have a little store in case we get pregnant and there's famine - modern times, but our bodies haven't adjusted! Some times a little bit of self love and working on trying to get rid of the perfection mentality can really help. All the fitness models you see have been dieting for 16+ weeks, doing extra cardio, and often salt depleting before comps. They look like that for a few hours!! Sorry, probs not what you want to hear but I had to realise that for myself x

I am 125lb woman and mine are. 150G Protein, 120G Carbs, 27G Fat.

Marcos are very individualized.......... Someone else's macros will not help me...... just sayin'

ndj1979 wrote: »

Shouliveshappy wrote: »

Hi. I know what machine is that. its the inbody media scan, it should look something like this. http://thedietdoctwinfalls.com/introducing-the-inbody-230-body-composition-device/

No matter how 'inaccurate' it is, i would i say its pretty close judging from the what i visually see. it had me at 9% body fat, i see a lot of veins in my forearms and legs. and i feel moody and my period is haywire. So yes TOO LOW a bodyfat % is dangerous and not healthy. Hence I am currently 'bulking' to get my weight up and also to increase my bodyfat%.

I am only 5"2" 106 pounds (desk job), but i am eating 2400 cals. Even at this, i foresee myself increasing these calories to gain more size, faster. Bodyfat% is not something i would like to play with, especially for ladies.

you have never seen the machine but you know what it is and how accurate it is? That is a neat trick….

I was tested on that machine. And many other machines. The readings were consistent across. So yes, I would say that the machine is pretty accurate enough. Anyway, if you have the money to spend on a proper test, go ahead but these machines are just an indication and Goo enough at giving you a consistent progress (to see variance).