Calorie Breakdown Help

Ricksh1000
Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

Could you look at my calorie breakdown and give me an idea I'm on the right track?

I am going to the gym 3 times a week lifting weights, so upped my protein intake to supplement. I generally match these totals on most days.

xjw3v28rde4b.jpg

My stats:

Male
5ft 6"
48 years old
157lbs
Goal: 146lbs

Many thanks,

Rick

Replies

  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    edited September 2016
    Do you know or have any idea of your bf%? Firstly I would up your fats to 60 - take the cals from your carbs
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    edited September 2016
    Why is your fat so low?

    Where did you get those macros from?

    And, with only 10lbs to lose, you should be aiming for 0.5lbs per week which I doubt gives you 1570cals?
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    edited September 2016
    Hi

    @nosebag1212 According to my scale i have 23.7% bf
    @TavistockToad I didn't know i should be aiming for 0.5lbs per week for the last 10 pounds. I had it set at 0.5kg {1.1lbs) per week. What is the reason to set it at 0.5lbs? I'm still learning and have never tried to lose weight before.
    I used Scoobys Workshop to get some idea of the percentages. I have now changed my goal to losing 0.5lbs per week and it now looks like this:

    m2mdq8qhba0l.jpg

    Do i need to change anything? According to MFP my TDEE is 2120

    Thanks,

    Rick
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    I would up the protein to 115-120g, leave the fats the same and the remainder in carbs.
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    How does this look?

    1o3kf5qsrsrh.jpg
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Looks good. If you go over on protein and fat don't sweat it as long as your calories are in check.
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    Many thanks for your help :)
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    Just one other question: I am targeting a 'lean / muscular' look (but not to Arnold Schwarzenegger proportions). Will my macros be ok for my goal?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Ricksh1000 wrote: »
    Just one other question: I am targeting a 'lean / muscular' look (but not to Arnold Schwarzenegger proportions). Will my macros be ok for my goal?

    You're in a deficit so you'll get leaner and lose fat... depends how much muscle mass you have to how muscular you'll look, you may need to do a couple of bulks.
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    you may need to do a couple of bulks.

    Forgive me, what does that mean, increase cals?

  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    A bulks entails adding muscle mass by lifting and eating in a calorie surplus, more calories. However, at 23% body fat you should not be bulking yet. Stick to a good beginner's lifting program and eat at a slight deficit until you get leaner. The lifting should increase your strength, preserve muscle mass and hopefully increase it a bit (newbie gains) and give you a great foundation to add more muscle later when you're leaner.
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    Excellent, thanks for your help :)
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Just to cosign - IMO calories and macros look good in that last revision (1870, 210c/62f/117p). Go with it for at least 4-6 weeks, monitor your weight loss and adjust calories accordingly if you're losing too fast/not fast enough.

    You may want to use a trend tracking app (Happy Scale for iOS, Libra for Android or Trendweight on the web) to see overall trend vs. daily readings, because daily fluctuations don't always give you a clear picture of what's happening in the long term. Weigh daily (same scale, same time, same clothing, same conditions) and enter your weight into the trend app and keep an eye on what your trend is doing. I weigh first thing in the morning, naked, right after going pee and before eating/drinking anything....exact same routine every time.

    If you're using a scale to track your bodyfat percentage, know that it's not a very accurate way of doing it. You can monitor the overall trend just to see the numbers, but expect a lot of fluctuations and don't live or die by the numbers you're seeing.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    My scale had my BF at 21.2-22% last month, this month I'm at 30.4... No weight change :smiley:

    I agree with your final numbers looking good
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    edited September 2016
    Hi,

    @AnvilHead Thanks for the info! I'm tracking my weight trend using Libra, I've been doing this for about 3 weeks now. I weigh every morning first thing naked in exactly the same place

    @Sued0nim Thanks, I bought my scale with this feature, but having read here I take the info lightly. I generally never really check bf% and have only checked this time for the purposes of info :)

    I feel like I'm in unknown territory now, 'the last 10 pounds zone'!! I must admit I feel at a bit of a loss as to maintaining the muscle once I hit goal weight, but as AnvilHead said I need to rely on the trend. Right now, thinking about going OVER my TDEE to supplement lifting etc is something that scares the hell out of me :#
    I regularly read about guys and gals lifting etc with huge calorie intakes
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    Ricksh1000 wrote: »
    I feel like I'm in unknown territory now, 'the last 10 pounds zone'!! I must admit I feel at a bit of a loss as to maintaining the muscle once I hit goal weight, but as AnvilHead said I need to rely on the trend. Right now, thinking about going OVER my TDEE to supplement lifting etc is something that scares the hell out of me :#
    I regularly read about guys and gals lifting etc with huge calorie intakes
    Here's two very good articles to read for when you get to that point:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html/

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/muscle-gain-mistakes.html/
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    Thank you for the links! I'll be reading with interest :)
  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
    Ricksh1000 wrote: »
    Right now, thinking about going OVER my TDEE to supplement lifting etc is something that scares the hell out of me :#
    I regularly read about guys and gals lifting etc with huge calorie intakes

    Great articles posted by AnvilHead. Once I hit my target bf%, my plan is to maintain and continue lifting for a couple months. This should give me some time to stabilize my weight. This should also put me in a recomp. If I decide to bulk after that, my plan is to add calories slowly, 100-200, and monitor weight gain.
  • DebSozo
    DebSozo Posts: 2,578 Member
    Since you are only 10 pounds from goal then you are smart to either maintain for a bit and recomp at the same time or lose weight now and not expect to gain a lot of muscle. The reason people are saying slow down to 0.5 pounds a week is so that you can keep more muscle and also feel less stressed. It is more likely you won't feel as hungry or binge either if the calories aren't so low.

    Alternately you can also choose to find your maintenance calories AT THE GOAL WEIGHT you ultimately want to be and eat at that level until your reach goal. That way you will be used to and adapt to the calories and portions you need to be and will be in training for maintenance. That is slower but is successful as well.

    If you lose too fast it is likelier that you will gain it back quicker. Whereas if the body can gradually adapt it won't be as difficult to transition to a new lifestyle of lower maintenance calories.
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    loulamb7, DeSozo, thank you guys, this makes complete sense to me now :)

    I ate today at 1870 cals and it felt like wayy too much. This is going to take some getting used to!

    I read the first link from AnvilHead earlier and learned a lot :)
  • Ricksh1000
    Ricksh1000 Posts: 88 Member
    edited September 2016
    Thanks everyone for your help.

    I have made a decision based on your advice - I am going to stick at 1870cals until I have 5lb left to go, then move to 2010cals which is my TDEE at my goal weight (according to Scoobys Website). I will still be lifting 3 times a week while all this is happening. Once I hit goal I will use Libra to keep track of my weight. I know the last 5lbs will take a while to come off, but I'm here for the long haul :)

    Thanks once again

    Regards,

    Rick

Categories