macronutrient counting.....?

**Spoon** · 06-07-2004, 04:17 AM

guys im finally taking the plunge and dishing away with my calorie counting in favor of macro counting. i have done some research but im still very confused. i am 175 lbs and my daily maintenance is around 2800. therefore to cut i should be eating at least 2300 cals. how do i go about this? do i just count macros then convert to calories to see if im at par? others have said just to reach 265 grams protein (175 x 1.5) and everything follows? there must be a simple straightforward method.

taken from jonh berardi's website,

"Essentially, you would add up and record the grams of each macronutrient consumed at each meal. At the end of the day, the goal is to come within 5 grams of your daily need for each macronutrient."

this sounds simple enough, so now how do i get my exact macro requiremnts, i tried the nutri calculator of ar and its hella wrong. please help. thanks

**Spoon** · 06-07-2004, 06:46 AM

did my first day of macro counting and i sort of messed it up already. was aiming for 2800cals maintenance. today was a non workout day. dint do am cardio either.
meal 1: pro/fat
meal 2: pro/fat
meal 3: pro/carb
meal 4: pro/fat
meal 5: pro/fat
meal 6: pro/fat

i have on more meal to go which is bed time consisting of another pro/ fat meal. macros right before last meal are kinda messed up 269p/98f/55c, is there a way to salvage day's macros in last meal, say upping the fats? thanks bare with me guys

**RockyX** · 06-07-2004, 08:24 AM

The easiest way to do it bro, is to sit down with a pen and paper and draw out a diet, that you will stick to (same foods), every day. Draw out your diet, and see what all the macros come out to. You will probably want your macros to look about like this Protein: 265 Carbs: 110 Fats:90, this will give you 2310 calories. Then after you have your diet drawn out, add everything up. You will know how much of what macro you need to add/take away from that outline to meet your goal macros/calories.

**Spoon** · 06-07-2004, 08:38 AM

Originally Posted by RockyX

The easiest way to do it bro, is to sit down with a pen and paper and draw out a diet, that you will stick to (same foods), every day. Draw out your diet, and see what all the macros come out to. You will probably want your macros to look about like this Protein: 265 Carbs: 110 Fats:90, this will give you 2310 calories. Then after you have your diet drawn out, add everything up. You will know how much of what macro you need to add/take away from that outline to meet your goal macros/calories.

from what ive been reading the values of carbs and fats would be swapped, more carbs than fats workout days, vice versa for cardio days while protein remains the same. as i lower my calories where do i take the deficit from/ protein, fats, carbs? i want to cut properly and dont want to risk my hard earned muscle. thanks

**RockyX** · 06-07-2004, 08:54 AM

The macros I stated were for workout days. For non-workout days, yes you would want to keep your protein the same but have your fats around 110g and carbs around 60g. As you progress and reach a plateau in your weight loss, you may find it effective to lower your protein or your carbs, not both however. Lowering both is sure to result in muscle loss.

**eggplant** · 06-07-2004, 10:14 AM

something important i think you should look into..if you are taking in example 250g of carbs before the commence of your cutter, you do not want to go right down to 100g or 60g...go on a gradual diet..and slowly bring your level of carbs down..but on workout days..its never good to have carbs below 100g..just my 2cents..

**RockyX** · 06-07-2004, 11:19 AM

Originally Posted by eggplant

something important i think you should look into..if you are taking in example 250g of carbs before the commence of your cutter, you do not want to go right down to 100g or 60g...go on a gradual diet..and slowly bring your level of carbs down..but on workout days..its never good to have carbs below 100g..just my 2cents..

ditto

**Spoon** · 06-07-2004, 07:38 PM

thanks guys i will try to get a weekly pattern for my cutting macros

**Spoon** · 06-08-2004, 02:34 AM

Originally Posted by RockyX

The macros I stated were for workout days. For non-workout days, yes you would want to keep your protein the same but have your fats around 110g and carbs around 60g. As you progress and reach a plateau in your weight loss, you may find it effective to lower your protein or your carbs, not both however. Lowering both is sure to result in muscle loss.

so effectively if i want to lower total kcals i can lower from any of the macros? lets say decide to lower carbs by 25g do i lower it on both training and non-training days and protein fat stays the same? or can i choose between pro, fat, carbs to arrive at a caloric deficit for cutting?

**RockyX** · 06-08-2004, 07:31 AM

Yes, you can choose to lower from any of the 3 macros. Carbs are the most frequent choice since protein preserves muscle, and the EFA's are actually helping you burn fat. Ideally you would want to lower on both w/o and non-w/o days, but I think sometimes, if you're carbs are already extremely low on non-w/o days, then it's not possible.

Then again some people find good results by lowering their protein when they hit a plateau. You just gotta experiment with it.

**Spoon** · 06-08-2004, 07:35 AM

Originally Posted by RockyX

Yes, you can choose to lower from any of the 3 macros. Carbs are the most frequent choice since protein preserves muscle, and the EFA's are actually helping you burn fat. Ideally you would want to lower on both w/o and non-w/o days, but I think sometimes, if you're carbs are already extremely low on non-w/o days, then it's not possible.

Then again some people find good results by lowering their protein when they hit a plateau. You just gotta experiment with it.

thanks bro youve certainly answered most of my questions. now i gotta apply them. il keep ya updated!