Having trouble 'filling in' my macros

[gbrice75]

I am working on a new diet plan for myself to be implemented in a month or so. I am going to drop to 2200 calories in an effort to drop body fat. I will add 100 calories each month until I find my sweet spot. Look at this as a body recomp rather than a cutting diet, although initially my emphasis is on fat loss; 10% has eluded me so far, and damnit I WANT IT! I feel this is the only way to get my metabolism back to 'normal'. I spent so many years eating like crap and being fat, that i've completely messed things up.

I am planning a typical 40/40/20 split at 2200 calories. That equates to 220g protein, 220g carbs, and roughly 50g fat. Honestly that's already more carbs that I want to be eating, due to my perceived sensitivity to carbs and resistance to insulin. However, I don't think I need to up protein beyond 220g (my LBM is about 160lbs), and i'm hesitant to swap some carbs for fat.

So assuming i'll stick with 220g carbs for now, here's my problem. I eat 7 meals a day, and don't want to eat any carbs beyond the 4th meal. Other than going to the gym first thing in the morning, my days are VERY sedintary. I'm finding it really difficult to fit 220g of carbs into 4 meals. That's roughly 50g per meal which seems like a lot to me.

My first meal (pre-workout) of the day is 1 cup of oats, that's about 50g. My PWO shake gets another cup of oats, another 50g. Meal 3 is 1/2 cup of oats (yea I know, relying on oats alot. Sorry, i'm sick of the sweet potato!), that's about 25g. And my 4th meal (last one containing carbs) is 1 cup (cooked) brown rice, another 25g. That puts me at roughly 150g of carbs, 70g shy of the target - that's almost 300 calories!

Is the answer simply to add more carbs to meals 3 and 4? Or, should I add carbs to my 5th meal (which would be 4:00pm)? Even with the latter, I am not going to add 70g to my last carb meal - if anything, i'd want to taper carbs as the day goes on. Any thoughts?

[Dan111]

What about throwing in some veggies? depending on what kind they can have a sizable about of carbs in them. Same with fruit, 1 banana has about 25g of carbs, maybe throw that in early in the day. (I know fruit has a lot of natural sugars in it, but just a suggestion, nothing wrong with 1 or 2 pieces of fruit in a day)

[gbrice75]

What about throwing in some veggies? depending on what kind they can have a sizable about of carbs in them. Same with fruit, 1 banana has about 25g of carbs, maybe throw that in early in the day. (I know fruit has a lot of natural sugars in it, but just a suggestion, nothing wrong with 1 or 2 pieces of fruit in a day)

I'll be honest - I hate veggies. Not so much eating them, but preparing them. Plus, the veggies that I think I should be eating on a 'lower' calorie diet (broccoli, asparagus, spinach, etc) don't contain many carbs from what I know. If i'm wrong about this, let me know.

The fruit is another story - I disregard it right off the bat due to the sugar content. However, adding a banana to my oats for instance would give me some extra carbs AND flavor up my oats, i'd like that.

I'd like to hear some other's opinions, both on my original post but also the fruit idea as an option.

[baseline_9]

personally i would split the 70 into 2 and add 35g carbs each side of ur workout.

Preworkout - add the bannana as mentioned = 27 - 35ish g carbs

Postworkout - add some 1% milk (may induce some insulin release, however i can think of a much worse time for insulin to be about)

400ml will add 20g carbs, 15g protein, 4g fat

gets you a bit closer to your macros

[baseline_9]

im taking it ur eating ur oats with water aswell, could always add a bit of milk there in that first meal.

you will definatley be able to get ur carbs up by 70 then

ofcorse if ur too scared of the sugar content in bannana and milk u cud always add more oats LOL

[gbrice75]

personally i would split the 70 into 2 and add 35g carbs each side of ur workout.

Preworkout - add the bannana as mentioned = 27 - 35ish g carbs

Postworkout - add some 1% milk (may induce some insulin release, however i can think of a much worse time for insulin to be about)

400ml will add 20g carbs, 15g protein, 4g fat

gets you a bit closer to your macros

Thanks bro. When you put it that way, 70g of carbs isn't that tough to reach. I currently do skim milk in my PWO shake but was planning to drop it when I start this diet. I'm really trying to go all out this time, i'm tired of failing - I came close to 10% BF in the past but never quite got there. To kick it up, I was going to try and eliminate ALL sugars, which would screw the banana and milk idea completely! ARGH! True, I can simply add more oats.... but damn that's like another cup and a half!

[baseline_9]

Adding more oats is a pain, but looks like the only way ur going to do it.

You could split the 70 over the whole day

or maybe add a bit of fat in the other meals to get ur cals up a bit.

Although if ur trying to get it bang on i wud just increast the oats pre and post workout.

[gbrice75]

You're right, i'll probably just have to increase the oats over my preworkout, PWO, and PPWO meal. That's only another 1/2 cup per meal. Damn I want that banana!!!

[Dan111]

Corn is also a great source of carbs and there's hardly any sugar in it, pretty easy to prepare as well (just another idea)

There's no way I could stomach that many oats in a day, lol, I'd get burnt out of eating that really fast!

[n00bs]

I'll be honest - I hate veggies. Not so much eating them, but preparing them. Plus, the veggies that I think I should be eating on a 'lower' calorie diet (broccoli, asparagus, spinach, etc) don't contain many carbs from what I know. If i'm wrong about this, let me know.

The fruit is another story - I disregard it right off the bat due to the sugar content. However, adding a banana to my oats for instance would give me some extra carbs AND flavor up my oats, i'd like that.

I'd like to hear some other's opinions, both on my original post but also the fruit idea as an option.

Fruit is not the enemy mate its your best friend in the morning... Red delicous apples berries nom nom nom,

Also what body fat? Is that your display pic?

Personally i would be aiming for more mass.. As a larger engine will burn more fuel then your next defecit might be 2600 cal not 2200..

Just a thought

[gbrice75]

Corn is also a great source of carbs and there's hardly any sugar in it, pretty easy to prepare as well (just another idea)

There's no way I could stomach that many oats in a day, lol, I'd get burnt out of eating that really fast!

Are you sure? As far as I know, corn has a relatively high sugar content compared to other starches. Corn on the cob is super sweet tasting!

[gbrice75]

Fruit is not the enemy mate its your best friend in the morning... Red delicous apples berries nom nom nom,

Also what body fat? Is that your display pic?

Personally i would be aiming for more mass.. As a larger engine will burn more fuel then your next defecit might be 2600 cal not 2200..

Just a thought

Thanks for the feedback n00bs. I actually do currently add blueberries to my morning oats, but haven't been counting them (i know, shame on me! )

Not much into apples, but wouldn't mind a banana every morning.

That is me in my avatar - but that was about 8 months ago. I was around 185lbs and 14% bodyfat. I am currently 200lbs and my best guess is 17% BF...so I did add some mass, but also some more fat. The thing is 10% has eluded me for so long, and i'm tired of getting close but failing. I NEED to get to 10%, then I will slowly add mass, hence this recomp diet. My TDEE is somewhere between 2500 - 2700.

[n00bs]

I would seriously be worried about more size **** body fat your lean enough there and probably lean enogh now... Everyone seems to have this obsession of abs retarded splits for begginers and other ridiculous retarded here .. Abs then add mass... Why root around? Get massive... Get strong, Losing bodyfat to extremes unless you have a welath of muscle is ****ing hard work and time consuming..

Get strong bench deadlift 4 gazillion kg and it will be easier to loose body fat... Hit the gym reach PB's every week.

I have tried all sorts of body composition methods.. Yes i have ****ed hormones so i suppose i have a better perspective of what works beter in the end as it is even harder for me...

I would be more concerned about adding weight to your 1rms but thats just me a stronger person can burn more calories at rest and burn more calories pushing heavier weights..

I think i counted calories once in my life...

I honestly rekon you are better smashing the **** out of the iron and not worrying so much about body fat... I see alot of guys here (im not tlaking about you) With six pack shots for display pics whos 1rms for a squat look like 50kg...

EAT EAT SLEEP AND EAT AND SLEEP!

[Dan111]

Are you sure? As far as I know, corn has a relatively high sugar content compared to other starches. Corn on the cob is super sweet tasting!

Yeah bro, you can look it up on http://nutritiondata.self.com/

Whether you eat corn off the cob or canned corn, 1/2 cup is around 16g carbs and around 3-4g sugar while a medium sized banana has over 17g of sugar. And even just plain old fasion oats have about 2g of sugar in 1 cup unprepared.

So if you didn't want to add the banana in there for carbs you could try some corn maybe?

[gbrice75]

I hear you and appreciate your position on this, but trust me I look pretty bad right now. I just carry bodyfat very poorly, it looks really bad. If I showed you a current pic you'd vomit. You also have to keep in mind that I was overweight (actually obese, 255lbs @ 5'11 with very little muscle) for 10 years, so yes being lean and seeing abs IS an obsession of mine, simply because I've never really had that in my adult life.

I also have the uncanny ability to add bodyfat at an ALARMING rate; I don't think i'll ever be able to add serious mass without adding a TON of bodyfat... it's just the way my body works, however...

I feel with my current plan of starting at 2200 calories and adding 100 calories every month or so, I will be able to 'reset' my metabolism in a sense. If I eat 3000 calories today (which I have been doing for the past 3 months), I will add bodyfat very quickly. If I lean out and gradually work my way back up to 3000 calories, chances are my TDEE will have changed (due to body composition change) and chances are I will not put on nearly as much fat, if any.

[n00bs]

Your on trt arnt you?

have you had your igf-1 or gh tested? ( i cant remmeber if it was you or if i asked you)

[gbrice75]

Your on trt arnt you?

have you had your igf-1 or gh tested? ( i cant remmeber if it was you or if i asked you)

I'm not on TRT, but next week is the last week of a 3 month test e cycle. However, once I get things back to normal, I will be getting full testing done - I have reason to believe I may need to be on TRT.

I have not had either of the other 2 tested yet.

[n00bs]

Must of been someone else with similar avatar.. all you torsos look the same :P

[gbrice75]

Must of been someone else with similar avatar.. all you torsos look the same :P

And how would that be? Fat, blubbery and undefined?

[n00bs]

Too ****en skinny :P

[collar]

increase the fats a little, the two meal with lower carbs amount increase a little and you will reach your target.

Also you can add carbs to your fifth meal if you dont want to increase some carbs to your 3rd and forth meal.

you can go like this 50g/50g/25g/25g/25g and then add some fats.

or 50g/50g/50g/50g and then add some fats.

Do not be afraid to go into your fifth meal with carbs, but personally I would increase a little in 3rd and forth and then rest calories from fats.

[collar]

forgot one thing.

whats your stats and what is your calorie target>??

[gbrice75]

increase the fats a little, the two meal with lower carbs amount increase a little and you will reach your target.

Also you can add carbs to your fifth meal if you dont want to increase some carbs to your 3rd and forth meal.

you can go like this 50g/50g/25g/25g/25g and then add some fats.

or 50g/50g/50g/50g and then add some fats.

Do not be afraid to go into your fifth meal with carbs, but personally I would increase a little in 3rd and forth and then rest calories from fats.

This is most likely what i'll do, adding carbs over the other meals and bring fats up a bit. I am hesitant to bring carbs into my fifth meal just based on the fact that i'll be sitting at a desk ALL day, sitting during an hour ride home, and then a couple hours before bed i'm lying around watching TV (hey, we all need some peaceful time!). That is my main concern with the carbs later in the day.

[gbrice75]

forgot one thing.

whats your stats and what is your calorie target>??

Current stats:

34 years old
5'11
200lbs
BF% - My best guess is 17% - I know i'm not under 15% or over 20%. Goal is 10% (or less of course).

Caloric target is whatever will allow me to start adding mass with none to VERY little fat. My TDEE is somewhere between 2500 - 2700, so i'm thinking 3000 would be a decent target for now. Slowly adding calories of course.

[gbrice75]

Too ****en skinny :P

LoL, we'll a skinny torso is something that'll never bother me after being a fat fvck for 10 years.

Now, skinny legs, chest, arms etc is another story...

[collar]

Current stats:

34 years old
5'11
200lbs
BF% - My best guess is 17% - I know i'm not under 15% or over 20%. Goal is 10% (or less of course).

Caloric target is whatever will allow me to start adding mass with none to VERY little fat. My TDEE is somewhere between 2500 - 2700, so i'm thinking 3000 would be a decent target for now. Slowly adding calories of course.

Personally if your calorie target is 3000 and you are going slowly add calories as you go along into the diet, I would start at a lower calorie reason is because your bf% is not so low.

I dont mean starve yourself or anything like that.

But I would reduce to about 2600-2800 and then add a little more as you go, thats another thing you may want to think about.

Because dont forgot you have being eating shit and whatever for so long, if you start at such a high calorie count, I personally believe you will gain mass and wont lose too much fat at all.

Also that way it will alow you to reduce the carbs a bit when you first start off.

But I would not personally reduce the fats.

Im a great believer of fats in my diets more than carbs.

Of course Im talking about good quality fats.

[gbrice75]

Personally if your calorie target is 3000 and you are going slowly add calories as you go along into the diet, I would start at a lower calorie reason is because your bf% is not so low.

I dont mean starve yourself or anything like that.

But I would reduce to about 2600-2800 and then add a little more as you go, thats another thing you may want to think about.

Because dont forgot you have being eating shit and whatever for so long, if you start at such a high calorie count, I personally believe you will gain mass and wont lose too much fat at all.

Also that way it will alow you to reduce the carbs a bit when you first start off.

But I would not personally reduce the fats.

Im a great believer of fats in my diets more than carbs.

Of course Im talking about good quality fats.

I probably didn't make my intentions clear. I won't be starting off at 3000 calories as that's over my TDEE. I'll actually be dropping back to around 2200 calories and adding 100 calories per month. The target is 3000 calories eventually, and i'm hoping to raise my metabolism and TDEE in doing this so slowly.

I haven't been eating shit, lol. I've just been bulking (sort of) as i'm on the tail end of a test e cycle. I've spent just about all of my diet career cutting with the exception of the past 3 months during the cycle. My diet is actually well in check, just too many calories at the moment to drop bodyfat.

Does anybody see flaws in this plan? Basically dropping a guesstimated 500 or so below TDEE, and slowly adding calories (100/month) in an effort to boost metabolism and raise my TDEE, and eventually start adding lean mass with as little bodyfat as possible.

[collar]

well then thats fine, then you will have to decide would you rather increase fats to get your calories or increase carbs.

personally I would go fats, but thats what works for me.

you should experiment and see works for you.

also to boost metabolism, you just have to keep your meals consistant and you should have no problem burning fat.

[gbrice75]

well then thats fine, then you will have to decide would you rather increase fats to get your calories or increase carbs.

personally I would go fats, but thats what works for me.

you should experiment and see works for you.

also to boost metabolism, you just have to keep your meals consistant and you should have no problem burning fat.

I actually may go with a little of both... fats are always fun to increase because I enjoy eating them, lol. I'll definitely be playing around with it all until I (hopefully) find my sweet spot.

My meals are very consistent (more so during the week, still working on those damn weekends!) so that's all in check. Burning fat... that's what i'm hoping for! I failed to reach 10% on previous cuts, I don't want to fail again!

[n00bs]

Remember food especily proteiN. Has a thermogenic effect... So its better to put your body into over drive rather then be too concerned with calories.. Ill post an article when i finish work.

Also my friend you seem to be so concerned with a nunber thats all it is.. You will know and feel what number is right when you reach it.. Numbers are deciving i also want a 350kg deadlift.. But ince you reach your number will you be content? Also how easy will it be to maintain,..

[gbrice75]

Remember food especily proteiN. Has a thermogenic effect... So its better to put your body into over drive rather then be too concerned with calories.. Ill post an article when i finish work.

Also my friend you seem to be so concerned with a nunber thats all it is.. You will know and feel what number is right when you reach it.. Numbers are deciving i also want a 350kg deadlift.. But ince you reach your number will you be content? Also how easy will it be to maintain,..

I completely understand what you mean about numbers, and in the end you're right - it's what I see and feel. However, the numbers simply allow me to gauge with something concrete, makes it a bit more scientific. I can almost guarantee 10% is something i'd be happy with. Forever? I don't know, probably not - i'll either want to go lower or get bigger (or both) - but if that's what motivates and keeps me going, so be it!

[danimal79]

I'll be honest - I hate veggies. Not so much eating them, but preparing them.

get a supplement powder to throw in your shakes. aside from that, snack on some orange slices and grapes here and there. don't worry about the sugar from fresh fruit. you NEED sugar. honestly though...i wouldn't force it if i was you. if you're able to blast through your training with the current plan, why add more carbs just for the sake of it? if you're looking to add more calories, you'd be better off upping your fats.