Hey, all. I'm back to using fitday.com along with two full body workouts per week following the program in "Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great" by Stuart McRobert. I was just wondering what kind of ratio I should be shooting for each day? And also, does it matter if I get that ratio right at each meal or is it ok if I get it right by the end of the day? In other words, if I eat too many carbs for lunch, can I balance it off by eating more protein for dinner? My goal overall is to slim down and build muscle. I'm not looking to just cut right now. Just looking to make some nice overall changes at this point.

Thanks!

Everybody's body works a bit differently, so you need to experiment.

When trying to cut, I generally do better on less carbs, others don't. I also time my carbs to fall in the morning or during/post workout.

A good basic starting point a lot of people use is 40/40/20 (P/C/F). I generally cut on closer to 50/15/35 or so.

So pick something and try it. If you aren't getting the results you want in 3-4 weeks, tweak it, then reevaluate again.

I agree with everything MannishBoy said, except I tend to prefer a little bit of a higher carb ratio than 15%. :)

My best cutting routines seem to be something along the lines of:

PROTEIN: 45-55%
CARBS: 20-30%
FATS: 20-30%

But, that's what works best for me. Search around, lots of people doing well with much higher carb ratios.

Ideal macros will differ for everyone. You just need to find what works best for you. But remember that in the end, it's the calorie balance that'll determine your fat loss. I used to play more around with macros instead of calories and later found that it should be the other way around for fat loss to be optimal.

Ideal macros will differ for everyone. You just need to find what works best for you. But remember that in the end, it's the calorie balance that'll determine your fat loss. I used to play more around with macros instead of calories and later found that it should be the other way around for fat loss to be optimal.

What do you mean by calorie "balance"?

What do you mean by calorie "balance"?
I'm pretty sure he means what matters most is calories in vs. calories out.