Caloric intake/ Macro breakdown: help needed!
I am hoping to get the assistance from experienced people on this site!
… Calorie intake and macronutrient breakdown: me confused.
My goal is to gain muscle, with minimal fat gain, and to maintain a good cardio fitness.
I will post my stats below, could someone please provide feedback with the approx calories and macro breakdown I should be aiming for?
Me:
Female
59.5kgs (131lbs)
161cms tall (5"4)
17.8% Body fat
Activity Level:
Sedentry desk job full time (8hrs day/ 5days week)
Weights: Weights (30-45mins/session) x 3days/week. Plus x1 full body personal training session (30mins)/week
Cardio: Cycling (1×1hr high intensity intervals, 1×1.5hr moderate intensity, 2×2hr moderate intensity /week)
Jogging 3 x 35mins (some random sprints thrown in occassionally)/ week
I wear a heart rate monitor during all of my exercise activity and lately I have been burning on average 2500 - 3000 calories/ week during my exercise.
..that should be plenty of information.
So, being that my goal is to gain mass, given my current calorie expenditure - what should my calorie intake and macro breakdown be??
I have a clean diet, so I am not so concerned about fat gain, but I would like to get my macros right also so i know my body is getting the right amount of what it needs based on what i do!
Thank you in advance..
K2BL
(PS I have used a few online calculators and the result is wide and varied!!)
April 29, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Well if you want to gain, you need to be eating more calories than you’re burning. Break it down daily. I would write down EVERYTHING you put into your mouth for a few days, plug it into a calculator like the one on FitDay, and go from there. Most people here–and I’m one of them–will say between 1.5 and 2 grams of protein per lb of body weight. You could go based on LBM (lean body mass) too and that will help you use body fat for energy. Play with your macro ratios (40-40-20 carbs/protein/fat or 50-30-10 or something) and see what works. You’re going to want clean carbs like potatoes, oats, whole grains to gain muscle. Hope this helps
April 30, 2008 at 4:39 am
Thanks for your feedback!
Since making this entry I have been eating clean carbs including oats, potatoes (both sweet potato and normal) and brown rice as my main carb sources. Also ‘mountain bread’ corn wraps. I am experimenting with how much carbs i take in as I have gained a bit of BF. It appears to be a fine balance between taking in enough carbs to fuel workouts, yet not overdoing it..
I am LOVING rolled oats, and would eat them every meal if i could lol..
Thanks again!