Overall calorie intake.

lesee

New member
I've just had a bio analysis test and over the past 3 months have gone from 10% bf to 18% and lost a little bit of lean muscle mass, but still gaining strength in the gym. At the 10% bf, I was training 6 days a week and cardio x 4. Since then I've dropped my cardio increased my cals from 1650 to now 2000 on average, with the occasional cheat meal. I'm 5'2" and 59 kg (130lbs) and have good muscle definition. I would like to stay at around 15 % but when I eat at about 1800 cals I feel weak in the gym by the end of the week (I'm doing the phat program) so I'm finding it difficult to find that calorie range which will keep me strong and growing, but keep me lean also. My macros have been 40 protein, 30 fat, 30 carb..
 
This crap where I still can't post links kind of blows....

You probably need to adjust your macros. I'm not hearing or seeing too many lifters eat 40/30/30.

At a bare minimum you'll want 130g of protein per day, but honestly you'll probably want even more than that depending on how serious you are as a lifter.

Fat should be about half of protein intake in grams. Yes, you do in fact actually need fat.

The remainder of your intake will be your carbs. If you are gaining too fast reduce carbs, check gains, adjust as necessary.

There is some great stuff out there on Base metabolic rate (BMR) and macros but you will have to hit the search engines. I still can't post links.
 
Before getting into specific macros, I would take a week of tracking you cals. See what your average is over the course of the week, if you gain too much, you know you need to cut back a little, if you gain nothing or lose, you'll know that you'll need to increase.
 
I track my cals every day using my fitness pal. I usually eat pretty much the same thing. At the moment I'm eating 2000 cals and my weight has stayed at 59-60 kg. I was eating 1800 cals, and my weight was 58, and I was feeling tired by the end if the week and struggling to get thru my workout, which is why I increased my cals. I have been eating no less than 200g if protein all year, was taking in about 60g fat and about 140 carbs. I thought I might adjust my macros to lower fat and gradually increase carbs to keep my calories the same.. Which might increase my energy.. But I might try replacing the carbs for fats for my energy..
 
If you're feeling sluggish and your weight has stayed the same, why don't you add in some calories in the form of carbs.
 
In one of your other threads you mention you train hard 5 days a week. Maybe you just aren't recovering. A couple years ago I got talked in to training 3 days on and 2 days off. My strength stalled. My weight stalled. I was dragging ass constantly. I stopped doing that and started training just 3 days a week. I swear I gained 10 pounds overnight and all my lifts improved. Maybe something to think about.
 
Thanks! :) I think I have been over training as I also work 55hrs a week as a busy chef. I am taking a week break. I have heard many times that less training frequency gets better results. Its something I think i'll Try. ;) As for more fat.... I'll try that too.
 
lesee said:
Thanks! :) I think I have been over training as I also work 55hrs a week as a busy chef. I am taking a week break. I have heard many times that less training frequency gets better results. Its something I think i'll Try. ;) As for more fat.... I'll try that too.
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Try it out and see how it works for ya. As far as the overtraining, I think that term is used too loosely. I Think it is hard to overtrain, but easy to under eat and under rest. A 3 day split may be all you need.
 
Don't be scared of fat - just make sure it is coming from good sources. Fish, avocados...etc. Fat is important in hormone production, so if you want to keep your test levels up (ie be stronger, more aggressive in the gym) you should make sure that you've got an adequate amount in your diet. I notice a pretty big difference if I skimp on fat throughout the day before a workout. Same goes with carbs - don't be scared, just get them from good sources.

I recommend quinoa, oatmeal, sweet potatoes/yams, rice...etc. Find what works well for you, too. In my experience people react differently to different carb sources. Personally, quinoa and oatmeal give me fullness and stamina that I just don't get from rice. Dial it in and enjoy the more productive gym time!
 
Hey thanks :)

As I clean eat only, my fats only come from nuts, seeds, meats etc. I'm eating about 30-40g per day. My carb sources too are from what u have described. I guess it will just be a trial and error thing to see what works best for me. Im trying to bulk, but am scared of gaining too much weight.. It's the silly girl thing in my head :/ my thoughts are if I
 
I eat a good supply of carbs (40% daily macros) that when I start a cut, my calories which I will slowly chip away at will be the carbs I reduce, hence lowering my daily calorie in take.. Does that sound the right way to go about it?
 
I also think you're training volume is too high...weights six days a week and cardio four days a week. Just this week, I've had to take three days off from all form of exercise because I was feeling pretty tired and was struggling to sleep at night. Maybe even take a few days to a week off.
 
lesee said:
Hey thanks :)

As I clean eat only, my fats only come from nuts, seeds, meats etc. I'm eating about 30-40g per day. My carb sources too are from what u have described. I guess it will just be a trial and error thing to see what works best for me. Im trying to bulk, but am scared of gaining too much weight.. It's the silly girl thing in my head :/ my thoughts are if I
Click to expand...

Don't be scared of saturated fats bro
 
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